Lesson - Grade 4 |
Overview
This lesson will teach students how to evaluate websites for creditability, while conducting research on one of the four perspectives of the War of 1812. Then students will use their research to write a persuasive argument for their given perspective.
Materials
Computer lab/laptop cart
Internet Connection
Website
Interactive white board
Projector
Rubric for persuassive essay
Assessment
Complete Google Doc- Website Evaluation Form with 80% accuracy.
Completed group persuasive essay graded with the rubric.
This lesson will teach students how to evaluate websites for creditability, while conducting research on one of the four perspectives of the War of 1812. Then students will use their research to write a persuasive argument for their given perspective.
Materials
Computer lab/laptop cart
Internet Connection
Website
Interactive white board
Projector
Rubric for persuassive essay
Assessment
Complete Google Doc- Website Evaluation Form with 80% accuracy.
Completed group persuasive essay graded with the rubric.
Day 1
Objective: Today students will identify the 5W’s of website evaluation and analyze websites using the 5W’s.
Introduction:
Watch the Youtube video on the Home page. Talk about how not all information on the web is true. Ask the students why they think that is the case. Today, we will be analyzing websites to determine their reliability.
Model:
Have you ever gone to a website and wondered if the information on it is true? Pull up the website Christopher Columbus. Have students take a few minutes to look at the website. Ask: Does this look like a reliable website? How do you know or why do you think so? Read the information together.
Share the 5W’s of Website Evaluation with students. Discuss each in detail: what it means and why it's important.
- With the Who questions, also talk about: What makes a reliable author? Can anyone post to the internet?
- With the What questions: When talking about what information, also ask if the information makes sense.
- With the When questions: Talk about when it might matter and when it might not matter when something was posted or updated.
- ** Talk about how these questions are just a guide to evaluating websites and that just answering yes and no are not enough.
As a class, answer the questions on the 5W’s page about the Christopher Columbus page. Encourage students to point out what is wrong with the website and use details from the text to support their answer.
Activity:
Have students break into heterogeneous groups and go to either the Tree Octopus or Dehydrated Water website. As a group, students will work together to go through the questions to determine if the websites are valid and reliable.
Closing:
Bring students back together. Pull up each of the websites that students evaluated. Have each group present what they found to the rest of the class. Have students defend their ideas with text evidence from the websites. As students present, they should be answering the questions from the 5W’s. Ask: How do the 5 W's apply to things other than websites we use for school research?
Day 1
Objective: Today students will identify the 5W’s of website evaluation and analyze websites using the 5W’s.
Introduction:
Watch the Youtube video on the Home page. Talk about how not all information on the web is true. Ask the students why they think that is the case. Today, we will be analyzing websites to determine their reliability.
Model:
Have you ever gone to a website and wondered if the information on it is true? Pull up the website Christopher Columbus. Have students take a few minutes to look at the website. Ask: Does this look like a reliable website? How do you know or why do you think so? Read the information together.
Share the 5W’s of Website Evaluation with students. Discuss each in detail: what it means and why it's important.
- With the Who questions, also talk about: What makes a reliable author? Can anyone post to the internet?
- With the What questions: When talking about what information, also ask if the information makes sense.
- With the When questions: Talk about when it might matter and when it might not matter when something was posted or updated.
- ** Talk about how these questions are just a guide to evaluating websites and that just answering yes and no are not enough.
As a class, answer the questions on the 5W’s page about the Christopher Columbus page. Encourage students to point out what is wrong with the website and use details from the text to support their answer.
Activity:
Have students break into heterogeneous groups and go to either the Tree Octopus or Dehydrated Water website. As a group, students will work together to go through the questions to determine if the websites are valid and reliable.
Closing:
Bring students back together. Pull up each of the websites that students evaluated. Have each group present what they found to the rest of the class. Have students defend their ideas with text evidence from the websites. As students present, they should be answering the questions from the 5W’s. Ask: How do the 5 W's apply to things other than websites we use for school research?
Day 2
Objective: Today students will analyze and evaluate websites while researching the War of 1812 using their critical thinking skills.
Introduction: Review the lesson from the day before. Ask students to explain what they learned and why it is important. Post the 5 W's for a reminder if needed.
Activity: Students will need to be broken into four heterogeneous groups. Each group with be assigned a perspective: the American perspective, the Canadian perspective, the Native American perspective, or the British perspective of the War of 1812. Students will be directed to the student page of this website, which provides websites to evaluate on each perspective. Each a group will look at the websites, one at a time, and will fill out the Google form for each website for their assigned perspective. They will determine which websites are trustworthy and dependable for them to use to help them with their essay. They are required to identify and use 2 reliable sources from those given.
Assessment: -The google forms are filled out correctly.
Day 3
Objective: Today students will research their perspective of the War of 1812 using the two reliable websites that they identified.
Introduction: Have students share what they have learned about critically analyzing websites the day before. Students will take five minutes to summarize their findings about the websites and share with the class.
Activity: Students will work within their groups to gather research on their perspective. Since students have already evaluated the websites, they will use the two websites that they found to be reliable and valid. Students will use the website www.popplet.com to organize their information. (Example Popplet) As a group, students will discuss which information is important to their persuasive essay. While they are researching, the teacher will conference with each group to make sure that they are getting the important information.
Assessment: If students complete their research, they will hand in their popplet.
Day 4
Objective: Today students will research their perspective of the War of 1812 and write a rough draft of their persuasive essay.
Model: The teacher will model how to write a hook and a concluding sentence. Students will need to hook the reader of their persuasive essay by grabbing their attention right away. The teacher will read two examples of opening sentences and ask students which one they would rather continue reading, the exciting one or the boring one.
Activity: Students will get right into their groups today to finish their research if they need more time. Students will need to hand in their popplet to the teacher if they have not done so already. Students will conference with the teacher about their perspective and once the teacher gives them the okay, students will begin their rough draft of their persuasive essay, making sure that they use an exciting hook. The students will need to write the essay using correct paragraph form, with an introduction, body, and conclusion for each paragraph. As a group, students will contribute to the rough draft. As students complete the rough draft, they will proofread and edit their writing. Students will need to turn in their rough draft to the teacher at the end of class.
Assessment: Students will turn in their rough draft to the teacher for the teacher to look over at night.
Day 5
Objective: Today students will publish and share their perspective of the War of 1812 by presenting their persuasive essay.
Activity: The teacher will pass back the rough drafts of the essays and meet with any groups who need a little extra help. Students will work on the computer to publish their final draft of their persuasive essay. As students complete their final drafts, they will come together at the end of class and present their final papers. Students will share their perspectives and try to persuade each other on why their perspective is correct.
Assessment: Each group will hand in a copy of their final draft of their persuasive essay. The essay will be graded based on the rubric.
Objective: Today students will research their perspective of the War of 1812 and write a rough draft of their persuasive essay.
Model: The teacher will model how to write a hook and a concluding sentence. Students will need to hook the reader of their persuasive essay by grabbing their attention right away. The teacher will read two examples of opening sentences and ask students which one they would rather continue reading, the exciting one or the boring one.
Activity: Students will get right into their groups today to finish their research if they need more time. Students will need to hand in their popplet to the teacher if they have not done so already. Students will conference with the teacher about their perspective and once the teacher gives them the okay, students will begin their rough draft of their persuasive essay, making sure that they use an exciting hook. The students will need to write the essay using correct paragraph form, with an introduction, body, and conclusion for each paragraph. As a group, students will contribute to the rough draft. As students complete the rough draft, they will proofread and edit their writing. Students will need to turn in their rough draft to the teacher at the end of class.
Assessment: Students will turn in their rough draft to the teacher for the teacher to look over at night.
Day 5
Objective: Today students will publish and share their perspective of the War of 1812 by presenting their persuasive essay.
Activity: The teacher will pass back the rough drafts of the essays and meet with any groups who need a little extra help. Students will work on the computer to publish their final draft of their persuasive essay. As students complete their final drafts, they will come together at the end of class and present their final papers. Students will share their perspectives and try to persuade each other on why their perspective is correct.
Assessment: Each group will hand in a copy of their final draft of their persuasive essay. The essay will be graded based on the rubric.