How To Search The Web – A Lesson Plan With Discussion Questions And Answers For Teachers

Objective

Developing the skills to find specific information online

Instructions

Have students read the following article:

Searching the Web [https://websitebuilders.com/how-to/search-the-web/]

Also, view this interactive animation:

How Search Engines Work [https://websitebuilders.com/how-to/the-animated-internet/how-search-engines-work/]

Discussion

1. What are some of the search tools you can use to find information?
2. What is the difference between an index and a directory?
3. When would you use an index? When would you use a directory?
4. Which ones do you currently use? Which do you prefer and why?
5. What are some ways to refine your search?

Activities

1. Ask students to perform a search using the same keywords with Yahoo!, Google and Bing. Have them compare the differences in the search results for each one. Now have them try the search again using different keywords and compare the results. Finally, compare search results when they place quotation marks around a phrase.
2. Break the class into groups and have them take our Net Hunt 1.0, asking them to cite their sources for the answers.

Discussion Guide

1. What are some of the search tools you can use to find information?

You can use search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

2. What is the difference between an index and a directory?

Directories are like a card catalog in a library, classifying websites into categories. They’re often updated manually. Search engines use software programs called spiders and robots that scour the Internet, analyzing billions of web pages, newsgroup and blog postings, and indexing all of the words.

3. When would you use an index? When would you use a directory?

Directories can be good at identifying general information by category. Search engines are better for specific information since they identify the text on individual pages of a website that match your search criteria.

4. Which ones do you currently use? Which do you prefer and why?

Discuss how your students search online and what specific tools they use.

5. What are some ways to refine your search?

You can narrow your focus by combining terms and by using Boolean operators. Regardless of which search engine you use, it pays to find out the particulars of how it works.

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