Use the following 5-day plan to help students conduct this week's Internet inquiry
activity on symbols of freedom. Remind students to follow classroom rules when
using the Internet.
Identify Questions Discuss the lesson focus question: What does the Statue of Liberty mean to Americans? Brainstorm ideas for specific inquiry questions about American symbols of freedom. For example, students might want to learn more about the Statue of Liberty, or how the bald eagle became our national bird. Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to write an inquiry question they want to answer.
Navigate/Search Students begin an Internet search. Have them type keywords related to their inquiry questions. Review how to use an advanced search, which narrows the number of sites. Students can then read the descriptions to select only those sites that contain information relevant to their inquiry questions.
Analyze Have students explore the Web sites they identified on Day 2. Tell
them to scan each site for information that helps answer their inquiry questions. Students may need to do additional searching if more information or different information is needed to completely answer inquiry questions. They can print
relevant information or take notes.
Synthesize Have students organize the information from Day 3. Remind them that when they organize, they pull information together and arrange it in an orderly, functional way. Organizing information will help students develop answers to their inquiry questions.
Communicate Have students share their inquiry results. They can use a word processing program to create a short informational article about symbols of freedom.