Saturday 17 January 2009

My search skill approach

Here’s the place to share with us:

1. Three links you find interesting to share with us (Here’s how you can add links you your posts)

2. Which search approach did you use? Why? Did you use a different one?

Just click on "Comments" to share!

25 comments:

  1. Hi all! I choose food as the main topic, then, I decided to narrow the topic to countable and uncountable food.

    My first search was using google and I found these two great activities:

    http://www.upenglishup.com/pg011.html

    http://www.englishlab.intercol.edu/internetlessons/l2.htm

    The second search was using yahoo, and I came across this site, which I thought was very nice to expand the students' vocabulary on the topic:

    http://www.uncookedfood.com/Food/

    And, although I already had the three links, I went on to ask.com. When dealing with countables and uncountables, I always have to explain why bread in uncountable (in Spanish you can say "un pan, dos panes", though I'll go for the uncountable side). And I found... A very nice explanation to use in class :)

    http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhyIsBreadUncountable/cccvn/post.htm

    Hope u like the activities!
    Dora

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi everyone!
    As the task says to find three sites and to use three methods, this is what i'm doing: I'll use google, yahoo and ask respectively and try to find one link by each. MY topic is "hosehold chores", this is the first topic I'm doing with my 1st year students after the winter break we are having right now.
    1. http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-chores.htm
    I've found this by Google. This is vocabulary practice. The student are supposed to listen to the words listed and consult the dictionary for thier meanings. Then, they are to make some sentences with the words like clean up the room, dust the furniture, etc. Then, they do an interactive vicabularu test.As the follow up, they are to listen to a text, which seems to be authentic and is accompanied with pre- while and post listening activities. A nice link, I'd like to use it!
    2. http://www.sch130.nsc.ru/~eva/japan/theme1.html
    this was foung through yahoo. I did "household chores+ELT" search and among others had this page of a joint Russian-Japanese school project.Teenages from a Russian and a Japanese school tell about theri chores - I think, a good reading practice and a discussion starter
    3.http://www.eslgold.com/vocabulary/household_chores.html
    this is very much like link 1, was also find in goocle. I tried ask.com - but didn't like the results.
    So, 2 out of my 3 links were found in google! This is not very trustworthy statistics, though. Usually I search materials through ELT sites, like those annotated in Dave's ESL cafe.
    What about you?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I decided that since the internet is so vast I would start by becoming more informed about different options for search engines. So I uses google to search and came up with the following link;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines
    I found a search engine called powerset which uses natural language to process the search
    instead of key words.
    http://www.powerset.com/

    Now my real goal is to find out a good travel web page to show my students as an example for them to plan their own.

    For this search I used yahoo search.
    http://www1.travelalberta.com/en-ca/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, everyone! We're enjoying a lovely day in Argentina. Well, let's write about the task.
    I first chose Google and tried to find a link. I wrote "conditionals" and there appeared a very interesting link where you can see all the uses of the different types of conditionals and games practising for examples, when/if. It's www.englishpage.com/conditional.
    Then, I tried yahoo and clicked on education and then "conditionals" and there appeared a really good link, which I will absolutely use in my classes: www.eslflow.com and there you click on "imagining and wishes" and there are lots of exercises and games to choose from, as well as a box with lots of different activities. I hope you enjoy them.
    I found it a little more complicated to use "ask.com" although it seemed easier than the other. Finally, I found www.eslprintables.com and you have two boxes to choose from, on the left, one about vocabulary and on the right a grammar box, and there I clicked on conditional and you can choose the different activities according to the levels you need.
    I hope you enjoy them and I do hope I did things correctly for week two.
    Monicazk - Argentina - January 19th

    ReplyDelete
  5. Every year my third graders cover body systems. I used google to look up some new sites.
    1. http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html
    This site is an interactive game where students can match the organs to the body system.

    2. http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/ske1.htm
    This stie talks about bones that are in the skeletal system

    3. http://www.innerbody.com/image/digeov.html

    This site is about the digestive system. It is interactive and student can click on the organs to learn more about them.

    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  6. http://media.monster.com/uken/ebooks/ebook-cvs.pdf

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9sum%C3%A9
    http://www.businessballs.com/curriculum.htm

    These are my three links.

    I found them using yahoo search and I used the words CV to search for the information.
    Many of the sites that come up are companies wanting to write the CV for you but these three are information based so I am happy to use them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great....This is a test!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello all

    3 LINKS
    All my links are about teaching writing. I narrowed the topic to strategies how to teach writing skills:
    The first one (Google) is for Advanced Level Writing
    http://esl.about.com/od/advancedwriting/Advanced_Level_Writing_in_English.htm

    I focused on collocations because I need them for my students and myself and there is a nice material ready to use:
    http://esl.about.com/od/advancedwriting/a/eexpressions.htm

    The second one (Yahoo)is very organized and nice. Writing strategies are divided in 4 steps and each step is accompanied with a video:
    http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/steps.htm

    The third one (Ask) offers lesson plans for teaching writing skills
    http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/language_arts/writing/
    What I found especially useful is 'Related searches' where there are more materials and ideas a teacher doesn't think of when planning a lesson.

    SEARCH APPROACHES
    I tried all three. I usually use Google and this time I spent much more time for Yahoo and Ask to check why they seem better and interesting to me. Because they are new? Well, I liked them a lot.

    I enjoyed this task. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Miguel,
    YES, it works now.THANKS A LOT.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Everybody,

    I thought of a lesson for adult learners studying Tourism (Intermediate Level). I chose “places in Patagonia” first and, then, I narrowed down to “sports to play in Patagonia”.

    I chose these three links because I think they will provide learners with ideas and help them to enlarge their vocabulary:

    http://www.interpatagonia.com/ Google

    http://www.wangulen.com/activities.html (Yahoo)

    http://argentinastravel.com/destinations/regions/patagonia/what-to-do-in-patagonia/ (Ask)

    As their final task will be to write a brochure to promote extreme sports somewhere in Patagonia, Argentina, I selected this link for them to find help organizing their writing:

    http://howtowriteaparagraph.com/ (Yahoo)


    I used the three approaches to try and compare them. The three were fast and efficient. I am used to using Google rather thanYahoo, but Ask is absolutely new for me.
    I enjoy doing this task a lot. Regards. Cristina

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi everybody,
    I want to prepare a lesson on Conspiracy Theories for my high school students.

    I used the three search options and got slightly different results each time. These are the sites I chose, all came up within the first two pages in each search instance.

    http://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=what_are_conspiracy_theories.php
    This site introduces the concept of conspiracy theory. I found this one through Ask.

    http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/15-11/st_best
    This article ranks the best conspiracy theories ever. I found this one through Google.

    http://www.conspiracytheory.com.au/
    This site showcases different conspiracy theories by topic. I found this one through Yahoo.

    I hope I can build a sound lesson with these materials.

    Vicky Saumell

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi everybody,
    The government of the Russian Federation has approved introduction of
    Uniform Graduation Examination (UGE) in the territory of Russia with 2009 year.English is one of the exams. So I have chosen the topic "UGE" to prepare my students for exams.The skills to be tested are: reading, writing, speaking and listening. I have started with looking for the information concerning "writing a letter".
    I have tried Yahoo and Yandex and found some links which will help students in writing an official letter.
    I would like to know if I have done the task correctly.
    My blog:http://speakenglishblogspot.blogspot.com/
    Larissa Ilina
    Russia

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi everyone,
    I'm teaching English to a top executive student that has problems to explain to foreigner, the Venezuelan Law of Social responsibility.
    So this is my topic. I typed in Yahoo search: Social Responsibility in Venezuela.
    I found this http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/downloads/medialaw.htm
    That has all the required information,and is very complete. I can work with the vocabulary , ask questions, etc.

    Lourdes, from Venezuela

    ReplyDelete
  14. I searched for the topic of Needs Analysis and Needs Assessment to help determine what a group of students need to learn.

    My suggestions and findings are:
    1. copy and paste your search information into a MS word or similar document. It makes it east to retrieve information.
    2. Search this site for professional documents. It has some very useful ESL material ->
    http://www.docstoc.com Here is a sample:
    http://www.docstoc.com/search/Needs-assessment-ESL-students-/?catfilter=1

    Finally here is an on line dictionary you'll love http://exploreourpla.net/languages/english/
    try a search like abbreviat* or a???e

    Steve
    http://steveksds.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. I used three different search engines to find websites for my lesson: Alamo Verbs: French verbs that use "être" in the Passé Composé.

    Google: http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/pr/tap3.html
    Wikipedia:
    http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/pr/tap3.html
    Yahoo:
    http://french.about.com/library/verb/bl_etre.htm
    online dictionary:
    http://wordreference.com/

    All of these websites would be useful from beginner level to advanced level.

    Donna Peacher-Hall
    Pasadena, CA
    www.donnapeacher.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi!I typed in yahoo and google "young learners + sea animals". This is a topic I will be working on with my third form students. The web sites presented by yahoo were more relevant. Here are the ones I chose:
    *http://bogglesworldesl.com/seaanimalbingo.htm
    It provides a card generator so that teachers can prepare for example a sea animal bingo.
    *http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-sea-animals.htm
    Young learners can play games, read a story or listen to a song related to sea animals.
    * http://www.teachingfirst.net/ocean.htm
    On this page, teachers can have access to lesson plans, different resources and information to help them put together a unit about sea animals.

    Maria Laura Garcia from Argentina

    ReplyDelete
  17. Roxana Chevez (roxache)

    First, I chose “Tourism” as my topic. Then, I narrowed it down to “Best Places in Costa Rica.”

    I used yahoo as the search engine and found these sites.

    1. Article about Costa Rica
    http://www.bestplacesonearth.com/destinations/costarica.shtml

    2. Articles about Costa Rican places.
    http://www.infocostarica.com/places/

    3. Videos on Costa Rican attractions:
    http://www.metacafe.com/tags/costa_rica/page-13/

    The idea is to have the students learn about their own country and its tourist attactions. They will be asked to prepare a brochure and give a short presentation.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello from Texas everyone! My level 3 French students are studying the various kinds of French shops.

    In Google I searched for:

    1. Papeterie en ligne
    http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/loisirs-creatifs/papeterie/2718/109/categorie.html



    2. Superette en ligne
    http://www.superette-st-sulpice.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=15


    in Yahoo I searched for
    "grand surface" en ligne
    http://www.prospectuschezmoi.com/detail-prospectus.php

    The students can then see which of the vocabulary items they had in their textbooks are on the shopping site and can add addition vocabulary to their vocabulary lists. This will be helpful for journal writing as well as virtual online shopping experiences

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi,

    Sorry for taking so long.I was on vacation.I decided for looking for clothes and narrowed down for winter clothes and got the following links:
    http://www.global-b2b-network.com/b2b/69/211/winter_clothes.html

    http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Weather-Apparel/b?ie=UTF8&node=1232947011

    http://www.germes-online.com/catalog/69/211/winter_clothes.html

    I tried Google, Yahoo and Ask.com. Google has provided the best links.

    Isabel Teixeira

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello guys!
    I chose my topic "The Periodic Table of Elements" (eeek) but actually the information I found was really cool.
    I want my Ss to define it, its history, make up and I even found some on line games and a SONG...
    I started by using yahoo and typing in my title. I also tried ask.com and Google.
    I got good information from all but actually got the best sites when I narrowed my topic to the age level of my students and added that to the search > "Teaching the Periodic table + to sixth grade"
    Thanks all!!!
    Laura Gang
    Costa Rica

    ReplyDelete
  21. I chose the topic Daily activities and used google and yahoo to find the following sites: usuarios.lycos.es/.../images/routines/COMER0.GIF (google). A nice exercise for students to do online to test vocabulary. They have to choose the phrase tthat matches the picture.

    http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards/files/dailyroutines1.pdf (google) Excellent flashcards and handouts, you can even make your own!


    http://www.eslflow.com/Routineslessons.html. (Yahoo). This page links to other sites where you can find exercises and grammar expalanations for different levels related to the topic.
    There are also other fantastic sites that I have use before such as eslprintables and http://teachers.thelanguagemenu.com/Register (I love this last one becuase it's got a great crosswords generator).
    Luján from Argentina

    ReplyDelete
  22. I made a mistake on the previous post! the first address is wrong, this is the actual site:
    http://usuarios.lycos.es/englishweb/vocabulario/routines2b-spot.htm
    Sorry! Luján

    ReplyDelete
  23. With my classes of teenage students we are talking about junk food and healthy diet..
    Then we thought about discovering the case in England. I searched in google by writing junk food+England and interesting links came up
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4287712.stm
    http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/06/fat_ed3_.php
    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050928/junk_food_ban_schools_050928/20050928?hub=World

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi everyone! I teach Business Translation to university students, and they ask a lot of questions on the global economic crisis. So I chose this as a general topic and narrowed it to "causes of the global economic crisis".
    As I usually use Google or Yahoo to search for information, this time I decided to use ask.com. Here are the sites found by ask.com that I liked most:

    1) http://crisistalk.worldbank.org/
    This site focuses on the unfolding financial crisis in emerging markets. The blog features opinions on what solutions may be possible, what shape the financial sector may take in the future, and how the crisis affects the real economy.

    2) http://www.mindfully.org/
    The goal of mindfully.org is to provide useful and relatively independent analysis to those who want some objective information. Mindfully.org is to be used as a nonprofit research tool.

    3)http://www.globalresearch.ca
    The Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) is an independent research organization and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists based in Montreal, Canada.
    The Global Research webpage publishes news articles, commentary, background research and analysis on a broad range of issues, focussing on social, economic, strategic and environmental processes.
    Hope these sites may prove useful for some of the members of our group.

    ReplyDelete