USING WIKIPEDIA AS A READING AND WRITING TOOL

wikipedia.jpg

Wikipediahas really cleaned up its act over the last couple of years to become a far more reputable site than it ever has been. As a teacher I now feel far more confident in letting my students use it for researching general information as long as they are aware of the model upon whichWikipediais built and recommend verifying a fact from a second source such as a .edusite.

I recently put this activity and worksheet  together for my students to use in our reading hour to give them a platform for generating ideas for the writing hour.  It works as follows usingWikipediaor any other great information sites you feel comfortable with.

Students have to spend 15 minutes researching something onWikipediathat personally interests them.  It can be absolutely anything.  This covers the text-to-self element of the activity.

Secondly students will look at the Text-to-World element of reading for fifteen minutes by researching and reading about events that affect our world.  This could both a recent event or an ongoing issue such as climate change.

Finally students will make a link to a book that they are currently reading by researching a person, place or event that is related to their text being read or maybe recently finished.

When Students have completed the 45 minutes of reading they bring their sheets back to the group to discuss what they have found and also outline one of the three writing ideas they generated by completing the attachedwikipediarecording sheet.

The next phase of the task is to begin putting those writing ideas into action.

I hope you find this reading activity useful.

Lesson Plan: Using Wikipedia as a reading and writing tool

Wikipedia has really cleaned up its act over the last couple of years to become a far more reputable site than it ever has been. As a teacher I now feel far more confident in letting my students use it for researching general information as long as they are aware of the model upon which Wikipedia is built and recommend verifying a fact from a second source such as a .edu site.

I recently put this activity and worksheet  together for my students to use in our reading hour to give them a platform for generating ideas for the writing hour.  It works as follows using Wikipedia or any other great information sites you feel comfortable with.

Students have to spend 15 minutes researching something on Wikipedia that personally interests them.  It can be absolutely anything.  This covers the text-to-self element of the activity.

Secondly students will look at the Text-to-World element of reading for fifteen minutes by researching and reading about events that affect our world.  This could both a recent event or an ongoing issue such as climate change.

Finally students will make a link to a book that they are currently reading by researching a person, place or event that is related to their text being read or maybe recently finished.

When Students have completed the 45 minutes of reading they bring their sheets back to the group to discuss what they have found and also outline one of the three writing ideas they generated by completing the attached wikipedia recording sheet.

The next phase of the task is to begin putting those writing ideas into action.

I hope you find this reading activity useful.

Kidipede - Simple information for students

Kidipede is a kids' encyclopedia, online since 1996. A lot of kids use Kidipede for school reports or for homeschooling. You can find out about Ancient Greece or Ancient Egypt, or how to make yogurt, or about why fires need air to burn. Kidipede will tell you who invented algebra, and what happens in the Iliad, and what Confucius said. Click here to access it.

Questioning Authority: Evaluating Wikipedia Articles

Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, with an assistant, James Owen.

Jim Wilson/The New York TimesSue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, with an assistant, James Owen.Go to related article »Overview| If Wikipedia is a collaborative project open to all, why are fewer than 15 percent of the site’s contributors women? How authoritative and complete do Wikipedia articles tend to be? In this lesson, students evaluate Wikipedia articles and consider the factors that contribute to the articles’ reliability.

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