PRIMARY INTERNET LESSONS

These lessons have been designed and tested by practising teachers in a variety of classroom situations. No year level recommendations are made, since the classroom teacher is the best person to assess the suitability for their own classroom use. Schoolsnet recommends trialling each of the activities in advance. This will assist you to deliver the lesson successfully. Try small activities first and only tackle larger projects when you yourself are comfortable using the technology and are satisfied in meets your curriculum needs.

We are interested in your lesson plans. These can be submitted to the Education Team at Schoolsnet.

1. "What's on TV?"

Find out what TV shows people in other countries watch. This activity can be used to familiarise students with searching on the Web but is also an exercise in cultural awareness and social norms. Start with TV schedules around the world: (Eg New Zealand, the U.K. and America), but depending on the grade, you may wish to search for other sites. Sample questions for students to consider include: What shows do people in other countries watch that you watch? Which shows are on in what Americans call"prime time"? What new shows sound interesting? What was the name of the show and country of origin that you most/least liked? Which show sounds the coolest/wierdest? Where would you most/least like to live based on what is on TV?

2. World Ecology

Find out what ecology projects you can get your class involved in. Start at the Global Schoolhouse: http://www.gsn.org You may choose to join a project from here or use the information you find to start your own. Sample questions for students to consider include: What are the ecological problems in your city, town or local area? Who in the world shares your problems? What are the likely causes? What are some possible solutions? How can it be cleaned up? At what cost? What part can kids play in the process of identifying or cleaning up problems? Can you share this information electronically? From this you can develop stories, posters, essays etc., all of which could be published on your schools website.

3. "What's in the News?"

Find out the latest news headlines for your city or around the world. Find one event in your local newspaper then access other newspapers in different parts of the country. Which newspapers treated the event as important (gave it front page coverage)? Which newspapers treated the event as unimportant (gave it little or no coverage)? How do you account for the differences?

4. "What Would it Be Like?"

Pick a time in history and a place and find as much information as you can about how people lived, housing, clothing, entertainment, sport, food, technology, occupations, music, and the political system. This material could be recorded and presented in a variety of ways. Since the web is a great place to find pictorial information on many of the items listed, an annotated visual display or a slideshow offer enormous possibilities for kids to use learning technologies.

5. "A Day in the Life Of .. "

Ask students to conduct short interviews online or by email of other students around the world and put together a short story describing "A day in the life of…" it can be a list, a short paragraph or a picture. The class could brainstorm a list of questions to use for the interviews. If you don't already have email contact with other classroom teachers try subscribing to the k12.chat.elementary newsgroup.

6. "The Internet Oracle"

Here's a fun way to introduce email skills to your students. The Internet Oracle is available to answer any question. Students can email questions to: oracle@cs.indiana.edu The subject of the message must be something like "Oracle Most Wise, please tell me ..". Actually, all it has to have is "tell me" or "tellme" somewhere in it. The email itself should contain only your question. You should receive a reply within a few days at most, probably much sooner. In the meantime, the Oracle may require that students answer a question for it as payment for its services. Your students will receive this question as an email, and should respond with as most wise and witty an answer as they can. This is a safe, fun, and interesting way for students to gain emails skills.

7. "The Journey of a Nation": Here is an excellent Australian online collaborative project, based around the theme of Federation.

The Journey of a Nation project, for students aged 6 to 15, aims for students to, (a) learn about Australian history in the framework of the Centenary of Federation, (b) understand the Australian cultural identity developed over the last 100 years, and (c) learn to use technology in the classroom.

8. The Math Forum website resource is well worth a visit for maths projects.

For example, their Ask Dr Math page promises to be the Internet's premier ask-an-expert math service. Students can ask Dr. Math a question using the Dr Math Web form, or browse the archive of previous questions and answers.

In addition to this, the Math Forum's Problems of the Week are designed to provide creative, non-routine challenges for students in Years Three through to Year Twelve. Problem-solving and mathematical communication are key elements of every project. Finally, their Teacher2Teacher pages are an excellent resource for teachers and parents who may have questions about the teaching of mathematics.

9.An Introduction to Computers and the Internet: How computers work: A simple explanation for junior grades K3-5. The Internet, a simple explanation with diagrams. Includes history and explanations of the Web, email, safe surfing, viruses, chat and newsgroups, terminology. A good introduction. K3-8

10. The Teddy Bear Project: The exciting Teddy Bear Project aims to team pairs of schools and have them exchange a soft toy. All registered teachers are sent the details of a class to work with. Classes then send each other bears, maps, photos and local mementos by airmail. The bears send home diary entries via email about their adventures, the places they've been, as well as the things they've seen and done. This popular starter project aims to enhance understanding and acceptance of diverse cultures.