The English Room - I Search A Word Treasure Hunt

I Search A Word**

An Internet Treasure Hunt

Student Activity:

This assignment is about learning to search on the Internet.

The first activity you will do is to go to the following URL and work through the assignments found there: A District 214 Lesson Plan:    Searching the Internet.  There are 15 web pages for you to read and answer questions.  Once you have completed this assignment, turned it in, and had it approved, you may proceed to the second activity.

The second activity is the research and writing of a report on your research.  The step-by-step instructions are provided below.  Be certain you follow each step and that all items asked for are included in the packet handed in at the end of the project.

  1. From a list of abstract nouns, choose a word that you think you can live with for at least one or two weeks.
  2. When you access a URL, be sure to write down the page title, the URL, and, if it is available, the author or editor of the page.
  3. You may complete the following activities in any order you wish.  Keep a log of your research on the Internet.
    *  Look up your word in a dictionary.  Copy the word's etymology and its first definition.
    *  Look up your word in a thesaurus.  Copy the first group of synonyms.
    *  Look up your word in the Bible.  Find a verse which contains the word and copy the verse.
    *  Look up your word in one of Shakespeare's plays.  Find a passage which contains your word    and copy the whole speech which contains it.   Include the speaker's name, the act, the scene, and the line number.
    *  Look up your word in an index to poetry.  The poem you copy will be about the word you are looking up or have the word in it.
    *  Look up your word in Bartlett's Quotations.  Copy a quotation in which the word appears.
    *  Look up your word in a periodical.
    *  Look up your word in a newspaper.
  4. Writing the paper:
    This paper is as much about the process of discovering about your word as it is about the word itself.  Feel free to use "I" in this paper.   Here is an outline for you to follow when writing the paper.
    *  Introduction:
    *  Paragraph  1:  Write the most interesting thing you discovered about your word.
    *  Paragraph  2:  Tell the story of your search for information about your word.  Be sure to describe any difficulties you encountered in your search.
    *  Body:
    *  Paragraphs 3-10:  Write one paragraph on each source, including your summary of the information, your interpretation of the information, and your personal comment on what you found.  In each paragraph be sure to include complete information about your source:  page title, author, editor, URL, the date you accessed the site.  Remember, you are reporting on what you have learned.
    *  Conclusion:
    *  Paragraph  11:  Write your response to the project.  Overall, what did you learn?  Did you like the method?  Were you frustrated?  Did you amaze yourself in finding things on the Internet? 
  5. Submitting the paper:
    *  When you turn in this project, you will turn in all of your notes.   You will have a rough draft of your paper and a final draft, which is typed.

**  This project is based on the library research project of the same name created by Gaylynn Anderson, a consultant to the Northern Nevada Writing Project.   Information is used by permission.
**  Special thanks to Ken Weisman, Technology Coordinator at High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Illinois for permission to link to the "Searching the Internet" site.

Last updated on
09/14/2002

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