CyberSmart! : Lesson Plans : Investigating Search Engines and Directories

Investigating Search Engines and Directories

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

Overview
Students learn how search engines, directories, and meta-search engines work and compare and contrast their features.

Objectives

		Compare search engines, directories, and meta-search engines
		Describe the features of one or more specific search sites
		Explain why smart searching includes trying more than one search site

ISTE^® National Technology Standards

Performance Indicator # 8

Site Preview

		Search Engines Sites Ask.com Google Live.com Quintura for Kids Clusty
		Directory Sites About Open Directory Project Lycos Yahoo!
		Meta-Search Engine Sites Dogpile MetaCrawler

Online Resources

Visit sites providing background information on Search Engines and Directories.

Materials

		Activity sheets (3)
		Online computer access

Introduce (offline)

		Ask: What search sites have you used? What do you like about each? Students who identify a particular site should explain why they use it. Reasons for using the site may or may not be related to its search functions.
		Tell students they will now look at some ways these sites differ.

Teach 1 (offline)

		Distribute Activity Sheets 1 and 2.
		Have students read and discuss "How does a search engine work?" Explain that a "spider" periodically returns to recheck a site. In this way, the index is kept up to date.
		After students read "How does a directory work?" point out that editors add new subject categories and sites depending on the number of information requests recorded by their computer for particular information.

Teach 2 (online)

		Distribute Activity Sheet 3.
		Take students to www.becybersmart.org and click on the diamond. Find the title of this lesson, and open its links.
		Have students investigate one or more search sites and record their findings on Activity Sheet 3.
		Tell students that search sites do not always tell whether they are primarily a search engine, directory, or meta-search engine. To answer Question 1, have students check the information provided with the links for this lesson.

Teach 3 (offline)

Have students share the information they collected. If more than one student looked at the same site, have them compare their data and impressions.

Close (offline)

		Ask: How do search engines and directories differ? (Search engines are indexed by computer programs and directories are indexed by people. Search engines usually have many more sites indexed than do directories.)
		Ask: What was one feature of the site you visited? Have students refer to the data they recorded on Activity Sheet 3.
		Ask: Why is it a good idea to try more than one search site? (Because no one search site covers the entire Web. Also, search sites offer different search options.)

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

Allow students to choose a simple keyword to submit to a search engine. Have them practice being "editors" at a directory by evaluating the first five sites returned as results and assigning each site to one of the subject categories from a popular directory.