Swift and Slow on the Internet You Will Go (Grade 6)

Summary

Students will perform Google Searches, trying to answer Trivial Pursuit Questions. They will perform timed searches before learning search skills, and compare their search time after learning search skills. The skills they learn are Boolean: AND, OR, NOT and Quotation Marks.

Materials

Background for Teachers

The top four useful search techniques for elementary students are:

• and
• or
• not
• " " quotation marks

Student Prior Knowledge

Vocabulary:

• Trivia
• Compare
• Before and After
• Expand
• Narrow

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will experience the utility of Boolean words and other search symbols by doing a timed search activity before learning and after learning skills for effective searching on the internet.

Students will experience three poetry readings with visual imagery of both slow and fast to facilitate a discussion of the appropriateness of "fast/swift" when searching and "slow" when closely reading.

Instructional Procedures

Pacing (min.)	Instructional Sequence	Grouping Structures
10 min	Introduce the concept of "SLOW" by slowly reading the second stanza of Swift Things Are Beautiful. Distribute six Trivial Pursuit cards (one of each catagory), or your choice of questions, to pairs or small groups with access to a device for searching the internet. Give them "on your mark, set, go" directions to search choosing a time that will not allow them to complete the search task.	Whole Group, Small Group, Pair
20 min Adjust to your grade and time alloted.	Gather to whole group and briefly ask how it went. Read the first stanza of Swift Things Are Beautiful. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbVY8F7KGfw for an elegant explanation of AND and OR to Boolean operators. It's under five minutes. Demonstrate other methods to speed up searches as time and interest allow using https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DQfwc72PM . Direct students to experiment using "AND and OR" using the questions they already have. If you've taught other methods choose a sequence of demonstrate experiment that works for your students.	Whole Group, Small Group, Pair
15 min.	Distribute a NEW set of six Trivial Pursuit cards (one of each catagory), or your choice of questions, to pairs or small groups with access to a device for searching the internet. Give them "on your mark, set, go" directions to search using the same amount of time as the before teaching search. Read the entire poem Swift Things Are Beautiful. Discuss the visual imagery and the theme fast is perfect for somethings and slow is perfect for other things. Lead students to relate that concept to the appropriateness of searching quickly and efficiently and then finding the perfect source of information and reading it slowly and thoroughly.	Whole Group, Small Group, Pair

Strategies for Diverse Learners

Be sure to have enough trivia questions for students who are quick. All students will show an increase in search success.

Put a fast typist in each group.

Students could search individually as your technology resources allow.

Have older, or high students search individually.

Extensions

Chart the data from both the before teaching and after teaching search experiments. Discuss if the data is valid using the criteria of only one variable. Is learning in fact the only variable?

Assessment Plan

Collect the data for both timed searches.

Discuss and informally vote on the most useful search methods.