Summer Research Program for Science Teachers
How can we
determine the reliability of an internet resource?
IO:
1. Students will access information via the internet.
2.
Students will be able to summarize and categorize the types of
information available on any given website.
3.
Students will use critical thinking to develop questions to pose in order to
evaluate any given website.
4.
Students will make written and oral reports to the class on their
group’s findings.
Do Now:
Ask students to read the headlines from The Inquirer or some such
“newspaper”, and to comment on how true or realistic they are.
Ask them why they believe or disbelieve what they read.
Materials:
Copy of the most outrageous
article from The Inquirer or Globe, etc.
Computers with internet access,
or print-outs of websites to be assessed (see print-out on “classification of
snakes” from bj@herbison.com), or Powerpoint
slides of same.
Formatted worksheets for directed
responses.
Procedure:
Ask students to key in the term “classification of snakes”
on the internet or review a hardcopy of the listing for the key phrase.
(Teacher’s note: use the first listing offered by Yahoo, or Google.
It should be by BJ Herbison)
Students should work in groups of
3-4 and review the information on the document. They should be able to come up with at least 10 bits of
information from the site. This
list is to be ranked by order of importance and the reasons for the listing
written in the worksheets provided. The
groups can “jigsaw” the information with other groups and a class list
generated from all of the groups.
The students will continue in
their groups and now create a list of questions they have regarding the site, or
it validity. Again, they will rank
and give reasons for their rankings.
Finally, the students will assess
the reliability of the source based on what information is given and what is
not. They will rank their reasons
and give an explanation of their ranking.
Summary:
Students will write 1-2 paragraphs on what makes a reliable source.
Standards:
S4a
Demonstrates an understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts.
S4d Demonstrates an understanding of the impact of
technology.
S5c
Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions,
explanations; and distinguishes between fact and opinion.
S5f
Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and
ideas.
S6b
Records and stores data using a variety of formats.
S6d
Acquires information from multiple
sources.
S6e
Recognizes and limits sources of
bias in data.
S7a Represents
data and results in multiple ways.
S7b
Argues from evidence.
S7c Critiques
published materials.
S7e Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience.