Students love to "cyber shop." Instead of wasting time surfing for favorite electronic devices or wanted items for Christmas, students can complete research on two brands of the same item, research five criteria, and make a report.
Steps to Internet Research
Step 1 -- Tell students that they will be researching one item that they would like to put on their Christmas wish list. This lesson works best with electronic devices, cell phones, computers, small toys, and gaming systems. They need to first choose an item and then choose two name brands of the item. (Example: cell phone with MP3 Player
-- brands: LG and Motorola)
Step 2 -- Choose around five criteria for the item. This could be price, size, additional options, memory, color, service contract, etc. Have students put each criterion on notebook paper and leave space to write in information.
Step 3 -- Take students to computer lab to complete Internet research. The sources need to be included in the report. Make sure when students write down information that they write down the name of the site and the web address.
Writing a Report
Step 4 -- Students need to write specific information for each brand of the item using the five criteria. The introduction should tell what item the student chose. Also, it should include the reason why the specific brand names were chosen.
Step 5 -- The body of the report can include a chart of the specific criteria. Or, each criterion can be a separate paragraph where the researched information is listed.
Step 6 -- The conclusion should sum up the information. In addition, it should list the best "buy" or the best product by using the criteria to show why the specific brand name was chosen to be better than the other. If a bibliography or Works Cited is not included, the sources should also be listed in the conclusion.
Step 7-- Included with the report should be a clip art or photo of each
brand item. The optimal situation is to take the students to the computer lab to type their reports.
This is step one of a two-part lesson. After student complete their research and their report, they will write a persuasive letter to their parents asking for the item in part two of the lesson.