At a glance Web Search Lesson Plan: The Key to [Search] City
Table of Contents


Developed by:
Google Certified Teachers
Cheryl Davis
Kathleen Ferenz
Lucy Gray

Next Lesson in Module B:

Overview

In this basic search lesson students use critical thinking skills to formulate their searches, identify the specifics of a search topic and practice search refinements.
Objectives

Inquiry questions: What am I trying to find out? How do I refine my search to get better results?    
  • Students will use query strategies to search for information on the web.
  • Students will refine search strategies to narrow information sources on the web.

Materials


Instructions

Use the "Keyword Search" Google Presentation provided with this lesson to introduce students to 
keyword search. Slides that go with each section of this lesson are indicated by number [Slide #1]. 
Stop for class discussion where indicated on the slide.
1. As an introduction to narrowing search, show the Common Craft Movie [Slide #2] 
Web Search Strategies in Plain English.

 2. Start students thinking about keyword selection with a class "brainstorm" around the question: 
"What are ways to come up with the keywords to find what I'm looking for?" [Slide #3] List all ideas
 on a white board. Discuss with students their experiences finding things that weren't easy to search.
 How would these ideas help? 

3. Discuss with class the concept of keywords to narrow search terms. [Slide #4] 

4. Give students the following tips to narrow their search results: [Slide #5]
  • Think how the page you are looking for would be written.
  • Use the words that are most likely to appear on the page.
  • Describe what you need with as few terms as possible.
  • Choose descriptive words.

Students should also apply five key questions to narrow their topics.[Slide #6]
  1. What is it I’m looking for? (Think about common keywords)
  2. How would someone else talk about it? (What words would they use? How would THEY describe it?)
  3. Which of those terms would be most common?
  4. Which of those terms would be very specialized to this topic?
  5. What kind of thing would make me happy? (Do I want a single web page, a definition, a collection, an image...or?)


5. Interactive Class Activity - Keyword Challenge [Slide #7]: 
A. Teacher or students suggest a search topic that might be used in a class assignment. Select 
topics from your curriculum or topics that might be of general interest to teens such as:
  • What rights do students have under the First Amendment?
  • What is the state of teen health in the nation today?
  • What are the all time classic book favorites of teens?
  • How has teen involvement in the political process changed over time?
  • What changes do young people want in their school or education systems?
  • What issues matter most to teens today?
  • What have schools done to "go green"?

B. Divide class into teams, tell student teams they'll be brainstorming keywords they would use
to search a topic. Each team will have the same topic.

C. Either on paper, or via an interactive Google Form, students take 5 minutes to brainstorm five keywords they would use to search the topic. They can use a combination of words or use 
quotes or other features. They cannot use the exact wording of the search topic. 

D. After 5 minutes, teachers and students share the Google Spreadsheet where the results of the
form input are located. Class compares the list each team has made, discusses results and votes
on or ranks the top keywords that they think would be most effective on a search.

 E. Teacher tries the search terms that the students have selected as "the best" on Google. Class analyzes results and determines if they made good choices in their keyword search [Slide #8]. 

An alternate approach to this challenge - teacher or students select the topic and create the
keywords, then give the teams the keywords and see if each team can "guess" what the topic
might be from the keywords given.

Related Links

Evaluation

Students keep a search journal writing down phrases and keywords they use every time they do an 
Internet search. Students reflect on their successes, challenges and results in using keyword searches 
and narrowing search terms.

Standards

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making 
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students: a. identify and define 
authentic problems and significant questions for investigation, d.use multiple processes and diverse 
perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional
in a global and digital society. 
Teachers: d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, 
evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.