InstructionalLessonPlan

EnglishLanguageArts
Grade:

JulieKimballandJoGoslin

UnitTitle:StudentServiceLearning
Lesson:IntroductiontoWebsiteEvaluation

LessonOverview
Studentsarerequiredtocompleteaservicelearningprojecteachyear.Thisyear,thesixthgradewill
beplantingnativeplantsintheflowerbedsaroundCMS.Studentsaredevelopingresearchquestions
basedonatopicrelatedtonativeplantsinordertoconductshortfocusedresearchontheirtopicso
theywillunderstandthebenefitsofplantingnativespecies.Afterthestudentshaveansweredtheir
researchquestion,studentswillworkwiththeirgroupstocreateamultimediapresentationtoteachthe
restoftheclassabouttheirresearchtopic.Inthislesson,studentswillbeintroducedtoaprocessfor
evaluatingwebsites.
EssentialQuestion
Howcanhumansaffecttheirlocalecosystem?
MarylandTechnologyLiteracyStandardsforStudents
Standard5.0TechnologyforInformationUseandManagement:Usetechnologytolocate,evaluate,gather,
andorganizeinformation.

Grade6
A.Locate,Evaluate,andGatherInformation
1.Selectanduseinformationresourcesavailablethroughtechnology
c)Applyevaluationstrategieswhenusingelectronicresources(suchaspublication/copyrightdate,fact
vs.fiction,source,credibility,easeofuse)

MarylandCollegeandCareerReadinessStandards
Writing(W)
W7
Conductshortresearchprojectstoansweraquestion,drawingonseveralsourcesandrefocusingthe
inquirywhenappropriate.
W8
Gatherrelevantinformationfrommultipleprintanddigitalsourcesassessthecredibilityofeach
sourceandquoteorparaphrasethedataandconclusionsofotherswhileavoidingplagiarismand
providingbasicbibliographicinformationforsources.
SpeakingandListening(SL)
SL1
Engageeffectivelyinarangeofcollaborativediscussions(oneonone,ingroups,andteacherled)with
diversepartnersongrade6topics,texts,andissues,buildingonothersideasandexpressingtheir
ownclearly.
Resources
Laptops
5WsofWebsiteEvaluationPrezipresentation

http://www.knowmia.com/watch/lesson/15392

5WsofWebsiteEvaluationWorksheet
Preselectedhoaxwebsites

AluminumFoilDeflectorBeanies

 BurmeseMountainDog
DihydrogenMonoxideResearchDivision
Mankato(MN)HomePage
PacificNorthwestTreeOctopus
CaliforniasVelcroCropUnderChallenge

LessonProcedure
1.Warmupquestion:HowmanyofyouclickonthefirstwebsitethatpopsupinGoogle?
Followupquestions:Howoftenisthatwebsitehelpful?Howlongdoesitusuallytakeyoutofindthe
informationthatyouarelookingfor?
2.StudentswillviewPrezipresentationonthe5W'sofWebsiteEvaluation.
3.Studentswillworkincooperativegroupstopracticeevaluatingpreselectedhoaxwebsitesusing
the5WsofWebsiteEvaluationworksheet.
4.Eachgroupwillsharetheirfindings.
5.Closure:Exitpass:Whyisitimportanttoevaluatewebsitesbeforeyoubeginresearching?
Assessment:(formative)Exitpassquestion

RoleofSpecialEducatorand/orParaeducator
Monitorspecialeducationstudentsandprovideaccommodationsasneeded.

Name_________________________________________Date_______________________________Per_________

The5W'sofWebsiteEvaluation
WhattheURL(UniversalResourceLocator)cantellyou:

.com=commercialwebsite
.org=organization
.gov=government
.edu=education

Directions:Usethe5Wstoevaluateyourassignedwebsite.
Websiteaddress(URL):_________________________________________________________________________
1.Who?
Whoisthecreatorofthissite?
Thewebsitemaybelongtoa
personoranorganization.
Aretheauthor'scredentials

(academicbackgroundand
professionalexperience)
identified?

Istheauthorconnectedtoa
reputableinstitutioninthe
field?Couldtheinformation
bebiased?
Istherecontactinformation

provided?

2.What?
Whatisthepurposeofthe
site?
Toinform
Topersuade
Tosell
Toentertain

WhatdoestheURLindicate?
Isthesiteeasytonavigate?
Aretheredeadlinks?

Aretherealotofads(obvious
andhidden)?Ifso,doyou
thinktheadsinfluencethe
content?
Istheinformationaccurate?

Arethereerrors(typos)?

3.Where?
Wheredoestheinformation
comefrom?Istherealistof
references,aworkscited
section,orabibliography?

4.When?
Whenwasthesitelast
updated?
Isitimportant,givenyour
topic,thattheinformationbe
current?

5.Why?
Whyisthiswebsiteusefulfor
yourresearch?
Isthereanotherwebsitethat
maybemorereputablethat
youcoulduse?

Evaluation:Basedonyourfindings,wouldyoutrusttheinformationfromthissite? Yes

No

Why?
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