CyberSmart! : Lesson Plans : Subject Category Searching

Subject Category Searching

Download Student Activity Sheet(s) for printout in PDF Format

Overview
Selecting subject categories is one of two main search tools used on the Internet. Students learn how to best select subject categories in a directory and explore the concept of narrowing their search.

Objectives

		Compare describing routes to locations in both the real world and in cyberspace
		Use an online children's directory to select subject categories that lead to a specified topic
		Recognize that directories may provide alternate routes to reach a Web site

ISTE^® National Technology Standards

		Grade 2, Performance Indicator # 9
		Grade 3, Performance Indicators # 6 and 9

Site Preview

Yahoo! Kids

Online Resources

Visit sites providing background information on Search Engines and Directories.

Materials

		Activity sheet (1)
		Online computer access

Introduce (offline)

		Ask volunteers to describe the route they take from home to school or between any two familiar places.
		Ask: Is there another way to get there? Students should be able to describe an alternate route.
		Explain that, just as they can travel more than one route to school, they can take more than one way to reach a site in cyberspace.

Teach 1 (online)

		Tell students that today they will go into cyberspace to find out more about turtles.
		Take students to www.becybersmart.org and click on the square. Find the title of this lesson, and open its link (s).
		Direct students' attention to the nine main categories ("Games," "Music," "Movies," "Ask Earl," "Jokes," "Sports," "Ecards," "TV" and "StudyZone") at the top of the Yahoo! Kids home page. Discuss the meaning of the term "category," and ask students to predict some items they might find under each category above. NOTE: Online directory subject categories may be reorganized from time to time. Therefore, your class may need to select different categories than the ones suggested here.
		Ask: Which of these categories, or subjects might lead us to turtles? Guide student’s attention to “StudyZone” and click on it. Then, scroll down to the section of the page titled “Yahoo! Kids Directory.” Guide students’ attention to “Science & Nature” and click on it to bring up a list of categories.
		Ask: Which of these science and nature categories, or subjects, might lead us closer to turtles? Guide students' attention to "Animals" and click on it to bring up a list of categories.
		Ask: Which of these animal categories, or subjects, should lead us closer to turtles? While several categories may lead to turtles, the most likely one is "Reptiles and Amphibians."
		Have students click on "Reptiles and Amphibians" and examine the new categories that appear underneath.
		Ask: What should we click next? (the category "Turtles")
		Students will now see Web sites listed under "Turtles." Congratulate students on having found the path to their goal.

Teach 2 (offline/online)

		Distribute the activity sheet.
		Challenge students to recall the path or route they took to get from the home page of Yahoo! Kids to sites about turtles. Have them write each subject category in order. (StudyZone>Science & Nature>Animals>Reptiles and Amphibians>Turtles) Note that the worksheet has spaces for selected categories after the students’ are in the StudyZone area.
		If they have trouble recalling category names, show them how the subject categories are posted at the top of the last Yahoo! Kids page they viewed. Explain how categories are connected by "greater than" symbols, indicating how one category leads to the next.

Teach 3 (online)

		Point out that there is often more than one way to reach the sites they want.
		Return to the “Science & Nature” page by using the back arrow.
		Challenge students to use different subject categories to reach sites about turtles. (Two possible solutions are: Science&Nature>LivingThings>Animals>Pet Care>Reptiles and Amphibians>Turtles OR Science&Nature>LivingThings>Animals>Endangered Species>Sea Turtles).
		If students reach a dead end and do not find sites about turtles, have them use the back arrow to return to Home and have them try another path. Explain that choosing subject categories does not always lead them to sites that they want.
		Use the activity sheet again to record the second successful path they took in choosing subject categories.

Close (offline)

		Ask: How do you use subject categories to find an interesting place in cyberspace? (Click on subject categories one after another until you reach your goal.)
		Ask: What can you do if you do not reach the subject you want? (Back up and choose other possible subjects.)

Extend (offline)
The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.

Have students choose a subject to locate Web sites about. Allow them to share their results by recording their selected subject categories with a "greater than" symbol, so that other students can retrace their path.