Website Review

The website I chose to critique is called FirstGov for Kids (http://www.kids.gov/

). If a website is measured by its easy of use, reliability, and usefulness, this site covers all angles. The homepage is designed as a portal to Federal Government websites as well as other child friendly websites that are useful in all aspects of education. It is broken down into many, well organized, reliable sites for students of all ages.

The homepage is easy to navigate. All links are clearly labeled with both titles and cartoon images that correspond with the topic of the link. Each page consists of links to other child friendly websites. They are broken down into 4 categories; Government sites, Organization Sites, Commercial Sites, and Educational Sites. There is a well written introduction at the top of each page giving a brief description of what type of site the links below will go to. Every page is linked together at the top making it easy to navigate from one place to another. There is also a search feature which is helpful when looking for a specific topic.

The websites that FirstGov for Kids link to are well chosen. There are so many websites on the internet about every subject that it is important for students to understand how to find reliable sources when they are doing research. Teachers can feel confident that, by having students use this website as a resource, they will be receiving accurate information. It also allows them to use multiple resources without going through the time-consuming process of searching for reliable sources on the internet.

Another fun feature of this website is a Web Treasure Hunt. This link is on the homepage. It is a series of question that can be answered by searching the links associated to this website. The students have to decide which category they will need to look under to find the answers. This is an excellent tool for teaching students to navigate the site.

I have not used this website in my class as of yet but as I was going through it and looking at the sites it links to, I did notice several websites that my students do use for research. I intend to make this website readily available to my students and I will encourage them to take advantage of its many resources. I would like to use the Treasure Hunt with my younger students as a lesson on searching the internet as well as how to determine reliable websites for research.

What Students Need in the 21st Century

5 years into the 21st century and the needs of our students are ever changing. The ideals and practices that I learned when I was in elementary school, although generally similar, were less intense then they are now. Learning to use a computer was not even an option for me. Now, it is an essential skill for students of all ages. Living in a society where we can no longer live without technology we need to educate children not only how to use it but how to protect themselves while using it. Although computers can be infinitely helpful, they can also cause many problem. It is important for children to understand both ends of the spectrum.

Another skill that students receive that will be helpful in the 21st century are multiple language skills and knowledge of other cultures. Living in the melting pot that the United States is makes this an important skill for children to learn. Although learning English is very important living in this country, student should have exposure to other languages. They should learn to appreciate the cultural diversity as well as build an understanding of other people they will interact with on a daily basis.

I also feel it is important, unfortunately, that we need make children aware of the evils that are going on in the world. Although this is not a new issue, it has hit home moreso over the last few years. Children need to be aware of their surrounding and know how to protect themselves.

National Constitution Day

It's interestting to me that National Constitution Day falls out at the beginning of the school year. 5th grade curriculum covers the Constitution. If I were a fifth grade teacher, I would try and shape my first couple weeks discussing what the Constutition is and why it is necessary. I would use United Streaming video as a tool in doing for doing this. As a lesson to commemmorate National Constitution Day, the students could use Microsoft Word to create a Constitution spelling out the guidelines that they feel should be put in place for the classroom. We can then take their ideas and, using Inspiation, create a word webs with the Bill of Rights for the class. Doing this gives the student's ownership and guidelines, which they themselves decided on, to follow throughout the school year.