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AFTER READING
OBJECTIVES
  • Formulate an inquiry question that is connected to this week's lesson focus.
  • Effectively and efficiently find, evaluate, and communicate information related to an inquiry question using electronic sources.
New Literacies
Synthesize
Analyze
Communicate
Navigate/Search
Identify Questions
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
OBJECTIVES
  • Review ideas related to clarifying directions.
  • Follow directions to complete a science experiment.
Practice Book
Practice Book 3.2 p. 30
with | without Answers
NEW LITERACIES
Internet Inquiry Activity
EXPLORE ROCKS AND MINERALS
Use the following 5-day plan to help students conduct this week's Internet inquiry
activity on rocks and minerals. Remind students to follow classroom rules when
using the Internet.
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 4
DAY 3
Identify Questions Discuss the Explore topic: Rocks and Minerals. Brainstorm ideas for specific inquiry questions about rocks and minerals. For example, students might want to find information about their birthstone, or how to identify rocks. Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to write an inquiry question they want to answer.
Navigate/Search Review how to begin a simple Internet search. Have students type in keywords related to their inquiry questions. Review the meanings of endings in URLs. Remind students that .gov indicates government sites, .edu are education sites, .biz are business sites, and .org are organization sites. Remind students that looking at these URL endings will help them determine the credibility of the Web site and the reliability of the information.
Analyze Students will explore the Web sites they identified on Day 2. Tell them to explore each site for information that helps answer their inquiry questions. Have students analyze information for usefulness. They can print and then highlight relevant information or take notes.
Synthesize Have students synthesize information from Day 3. Remind them that when they synthesize, they combine ideas and information from different sources to develop an answer to their inquiry questions.
Communicate Have students share their inquiry results. They can use a word processing program to create a short informational article for a class book on rocks and minerals.
DAY 5
RESEARCH/STUDY SKILLS
Clarify Directions
TEACH
Ask students to describe something they have done that involved following directions.
Have students open their science textbooks to an experiment or investigation that follows
a step-by-step procedure. Discuss these ideas.
  • Directions are often numbered. Follow the directions in numerical order.
  • Read all of the directions before completing any one step. This will allow you to gather any materials that you need.
  • Make sure each step is complete before continuing.
  • If the directions include diagrams, study them carefully. Use this information to help understand what the directions say.
You may want to complete this activity during an actual science class. Have
students work in pairs or small groups to complete an experiment from the
science text. Before students begin the activity, discuss these questions.
1. Why might it help to read through the entire set of directions before beginning the experiment? (to get a better idea of what the activity is about; to find out all materials that are needed)
2. Why is it important to follow the directions in numerical order? (The results of the experiment may not be the same if the steps are not completed in the correct order.)
ASSESS
As students perform the experiment, check that they have gathered all necessary
materials. Make sure they complete each step in the correct order.
For more practice or to assess students, use Practice Book 3.2, p. 30.
Lab Zone Directed Inquiry
Science