Brief Description

This lesson teaches students the dangers of chat rooms and guides them in learning about chat room safety. Students finish this lesson by creating a letter or report for their parents. Parents are asked to read, sign, and return this document in an effort to educate both the students and parents.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 2T-E1. Discuss basic issues related to responsible use of technology and information and describe personal consequences of inappropriate use

• 4CH-E3. Describe the influence of technology on personal and family health
• W-E6. Write formal communications, such as personal or business letters, messages, directions and applications, in an appropriate format and for a specific audience and purpose.

Academic

• Students will gather information about the existing problem.
• Students will describe existing problem.
• Students will organize ideas in a meaningful sequence.
• Students will present clearly written and organized information.
• Students will express ideas that are clear and directly related to the topic.
• Students will present information in the form of a letter or report.

• Students will gather information using the Internet and word processing.
• Students will use word processing to create a letter or report.

• Basic computer skills.
• Basic understanding of saving and opening documents.
• Previous experience in the basics of Microsoft Word.
• Basic skills required to navigate the Internet.

• Computer with access to the Internet
• Microsoft Word

REACH (gifted students): Gifted students should be placed in seats throughout the lab where they will be able to assist other students with reading and navigating the Internet. These students may search for other sites on the topic of Chat Room Dangers, if they wish to create a more detailed letter/report.

SEI (Sheltered English Immersion) students: SEI students should also be placed next to a student(s) that can help them understand the various tasks in this project. The letter/report that these students create may be simplified by just having them list facts with bullets.

Special Education Students: Special Education students should work next to students that can help them understand the tasks of this project. Their letter/report may also be simplified by just listing the facts that they have learned instead of writing a formal letter or report.

Procedures

Day 1:
Introduce the lesson to students explaining that they will be using a TrackStar lesson that will guide them to several sites with information about chat room dangers.

• Demonstrate how to get to the TrackStar lesson at the following address:  http://trackstar.hprtec.org/main/track_frames.php3?track_id=151200&nocache=627580924 . Or students may go to the TrackStar home page at http://trackstar.hprtec.org/ and enter track #151200 to get to this lesson.
• Demonstrate how to get to the different links in the left frame of the window and show students where the directions for each link are located which is in the top frame of the window.
• Students should click on the link for the student worksheet. This is the second link down on the left side of the window. Or click on link below.

http://www.amphi.com/~abooth/instructions5.html
• This document should be saved and titled with their name so they can find it when they return for Day 2 of this lesson.
• As students read the information at each site, they will record their answers and information on this worksheet.

• Have students open the student worksheet they saved on Day 1 of this lesson.
• Have students also open a blank word processing document.
• Using the information that they recorded on the worksheet, students need to create either a letter or report that tells what they have learned about chat room dangers.
• Detailed instructions for this part of the assignment are written on the student worksheet.
• Students should look at the assessment rubric, which is on the student worksheet, so they know what is expected of them.
• Students should save and print this letter/report.
• This document is then taken home and students share their work with their parent/guardian.
• After reading this document, both the student and their parent/guardian sign in the space provided to verify that they have read and discussed this information together.
• Students return this document to school.
• Reading and signing the letter/report and returning it to school are worth 25 points.

Students will be assessed on the quality of the answers on the student worksheet using the assessment rubric which can be found at the end of the student worksheet.
 

Teacher Name: Anne Booth
Site: Coronado K-8
Date Submitted: April 10, 2003