Here Ye!  Here Ye!  Read All About It!
Designed by:  Ashley Norton, Rosewood Elementary

Grade Level: Fourth    Subject:  Language Arts

1) Curriculum Objective: Demonstrate comprehension of text/selection by writing about what is read. (4-CM12)

2) Overview:  Students will work in pairs to find and read two articles for each of them on the internet.  Some directories, search engines, and specific sites are provided to assist students in their search.  The students will take notes on the information given in these articles. Using the writing process and guided by questions from the culminating assessment, each student will write or type a summary for both of the selected articles.  The students can choose 5 of the 7 questions from the rubric to answer and extra credit is given for additional correct responses.  Peer evaluation will assist students in providing guidance in completing this assignment.  Students and the teacher will evaluate and provide feedback for each summary using a rubric.

3) Focus Question:  How can you search the internet to find articles, read these articles, and compose a summary of  what you have read?

4) Resources:

Computer with internet access

Printer

Paper

Pencils

A copy of the culminating assessment for each student

Some Directories and Search Engines:

www.beaucoup.com

www.yahooligans.com

www.excite.com

www.hotbot.com

www.infoseek.com

www.ask.com

Specific Sites for Students:

Time for Kids - http://www.pathfinder.com/TFK

Sports Illustrated for Kids Online - http://pathfinder.com/SIFK/index.html

Mr. Showbiz (Sponsored by ABCNews.com, provides information about stars and
celebrities) - http://www.mrshowbiz.com

CNN Interactive - http://www.cnn.com

5) Culminating Assessment:

The following rubric will be used to guide students to the expectations and grading system for this assignment.  Each article will be scored individually using a copy of this rubric.

Name:_________________________ Date:_______________________ 

Total Points:_________________

Internet address:___________________________________________________

Title of the article:_____________________________________________________

The summary of each article should be in paragraph form and should include 5 of the 7 questions.  Attach a copy of the article to the summary.

** 10 extra credit points will be given if the student correctly answers the two remaining questions.

Comments:

6) Instructional Activities:

NOTE:  This lesson should take two class periods of 60 minutes each and assumes that students know how to use search engines to find internet sites and to type in specific web addresses.  An optional activity is provided as well as extension activities.

Day 1: 

Each student should be given a copy of the culminating assessment so they will be familiar with the teacher's expectations and the grading scale.  Using the computer and LC Projector, the teacher should demonstrate what is expected by going through the rubric and showing the students what to do. The teacher should find an article (using one of the sites listed below) and have a student read it aloud.  The teacher should ask the three questions from the culminating assessment, one at a time and have the students respond.  For example, ask a student the first question and wait for his/her response.  Then, ask different students if they agree or disagree and have them state evidence to back up their opinion.  Once the students understand what is expected from this assignment, the teacher should divide the students into pairs.  Students should be divided into pairs based upon their level of knowledge in using the internet (for example, pair a strong internet user up with a weaker one).  Although the students are divided into pairs for this assignment, each student is responsible for completing two summaries from two different articles.  They may work together, but must each turn in two individual assignments.   The students should search the internet for web sites containing articles they can read and summarize.   

The student pairs should assist each other in searching for specific sites to explore.   The students should evaluate the sites to determine which two would be appropriate for this assignment.  The teacher should assist students with this portion of the assignment.  Once the sites have been determined, the students should write the web addresses on their rubric.   (Note: The students may want to take notes on the articles to assist them in composing their summary.)

Activity 2:

Using the computer,  students should type in their web addresses located on their rubric and reread the articles. Students should print out each article to turn in with each summary.  The students may need to revise their notes before the writing process begins.  NOTE:  The steps of the writing process are:  Pre-writing, first draft, editing and revision, final draft.   Peer evaluation of the information gathered may be helpful at this point  During the peer evaluation, the students may want to ask such questions as, "Why do you think" or  "What would have happened if?"  Students should use the rubric to guide them in writing their summaries of their articles.  The summaries may be written on notebook paper or may be typed on the computer and printed out to be turned in.  Again, peer evaluation and teacher assistance should be included during this portion of the assignment.

Optional Activity:

The teacher may want to pass out enough copies of the grading rubric for every student to evaluate two articles written by a peer. The students should remember to print out copies of their articles for the peers to read.  Students would be given an opportunity to revise their summary if necessary.

Extension:

Some of the websites include links to additional information pertaining to the articles.  The teacher may want the students to research some of this information and share it with a peer group or with the class.  Also, some of the sites allow students to e-mail the author of the article or the webmaster to ask questions or to gather additional information.