Lesson 2: Searching the Internet

Student Objective: Students will practice oral communication skills and will understand the concept of shared knowledge and how multigenerational communication can help to build confidence.
Time Required: Thirty minutes for student lesson preparation; one hour for lesson with seniors
Materials: Name tags, list of senior participants and student teachers, computers with EarthLink software, Searching the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet 2 (PDF), pen/pencil for each student and senior, All About the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet (PDF), blank journal for students

Thirty-Minute Prep Before Seniors Arrive (optional):

1. Have students put on their name tags and redistribute the name tags of each student's senior partner, if necessary. Review Searching the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet 2 (PDF).
2. As a group, discuss specific examples of things that students learned from their senior partners during Lesson 1. Ask: Do you better understand something about yourself or your senior partner due to Lesson 1? What did you learn?
3. Explain that knowledge and understanding are built when people rely on each other for support. This support is called interdependence, and it can have a powerful effect on individuals and groups. For example, the GenerationLink experience is based on the knowledge that students and seniors depend on each other to learn. Students can learn from the life experiences of their partners, and seniors can learn from the younger generation about new technology that can help them in their daily lives.
4. Discuss how interdependence can help everyone build confidence and a sense of community. Ask students to think about what they are sharing with their senior partners during Lesson 2, beyond knowledge of the Internet.

Lesson Directions:

1. Seat seniors and students in the same pairs as for the Day 1 Lesson. Answer any outstanding or new questions pertaining to the Day 1 Lesson.
2. Instruct each pair to work together to access and check the senior's e-mail account. Encourage seniors to send e-mail to anyone whose e-mail addresses they brought to class.
3. Distribute All About the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet (PDF) to each pair and review the vocabulary together. Then, distribute a copy of Searching the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet 2 (PDF) to each pair. Ask each pair to complete Section 1.
4. After fifteen minutes, encourage each pair to take a five-minute break if time permits.
5. Review any questions from Section 1. Then ask each pair to complete Section 2.
6. After twenty minutes, reconvene as a group and review what you have learned. Answer any outstanding questions and ask seniors to take home the Searching the Internet Student/Senior Worksheet 2 (PDF) for their reference.

Senior Homework (optional):

Ask each senior to bring a printout of a news story, poem, or other item that they searched for and found on the Internet.

Student Wrap-up (optional):

For homework, instruct students to write a two-page journal entry about what they are learning from their senior partners during this GenerationLink experience. The entry should be written as a personal reflection that includes sensory descriptions, observations, and personal analysis.