Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge - Day 7: Searchable Words for Google

Day 7: Searchable Words for Google

Remember the Bloom's Taxonomy questioning post (Day 5)? Using questions from this activity allowed us to practice search terms. We just had students underline key search terms and write notes next to each question.

At this point, reiterate to your students that we want YARD questions, AKA questions that can't be answered in one search online. Therefore, the classic type in the whole question trick won't really work. Let's use this foot question to help guide:

What makes French Bulldogs unique?  

1. What is the main topic of this question? French Bulldogs
2. What other words are important? unique
3. Are there any other synonyms or more specific words you can adjust to help find your answer? charactaristics instead of unique, traits instead of unique
4. Google Search: French bulldog characteristics OR French bulldog traits

Always sample their search terms to see if you can actually find them. Try searching it even if they give a totally incorrect answer. We once had a student that suggested we search "What" and "makes" in this question (seriously). Instead of prompting the student, we just projected Google for him to see, and tried it out. We asked him to observe what came up, and he quickly realized that he needed the other words in the question to find his answer.

Let's use this higher level thinking question for an example now:

What is the difference between a French Bulldog and a Golden Retriever, and which is a better fit for my family? 

1. What are the main topics? French Bulldog and Golden Retriever
2. Since most sites probably won't have information on both topics, you might research each separately. 
3. What other words are important? difference, family, fit
4. Which part of this question can be found online, and which part requires us to draw OUR OWN conclusions? finding the difference can be found online, and deciding if it's a good fit can be done in my head
5. What kinds of searches can help you find the differences between French Bulldogs and Golden Retreivers? 

• care for French Bulldog
• care for Golden Retriever
• training French Bulldog
• training Golden Retriever
• French Bulldog activity
• Golden Retriever activity
• French Bulldog pros and cons
• Golden Retriever pros and cons 

Why the focus on French Bulldogs you may ask? 

Seriously? Need I say more?

There's nothing wrong with sharing a good website with students, but providing feedback to help students with using better search terms is necessary. Here's an example of a way to help students find a website, but still allowing them to think about how their search terms affect what sites you find.

For more advanced Google-ers, this infographic may be helpful. Not sure I'm even at this level yet, but it would be a great poster for the classroom for students to refer to.