Using Keywords 1

Published on: Author: cxyz

WALT – WAre Learning To…

  • use keywords to locate information on the internet,
  • choose keywords that will produce the best search result.

WILF – What I‘m Looking For…

  • that you understand the function of keywords and keyword searches,
  • that you use a step-by-step procedure for selecting suitable keywords.
  • that you use your chosen keywords to find the information you are looking for on the internet.

What are Keywords?

Keywords are the important words in a question, They are the ones that will help you find an answer to your question when you search the internet. That are like the main idea in a story. Just as the main idea is what the story is about, keywords are what a question is actually asking (the focus of the question).

Task 1 – You do

Look at a set of theme cards. Each has pictures of items that all go together. Decide on one keyword to describe each collection.

Choosing keywords

To search on the internet, you need keywords. The computer uses these words to find websites that have the information they want. For this reason, choosing the right keywords is very important.

See what happens when you search on the internet.

Direct Link

Task 2 – We do

can_i_keep_himWe are going to learn about using keywords by investigating pets. To get us thinking about pets, let’s first enjoy this story: Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg. I will read you this story from the book in our library. Here is a digital version of the story as well. (although it is very thin!)

Arnold wants a pet but has trouble finding one his mum is happy to have. Let’s help him find one by searching the keyword pets.

How many results? What do these results tell us? Do they give us ideas about what pet Arnold could have? A search for a single keyword may find millions of sites. Adding more words finds fewer sites that are closer to what you need.

If our question is, What is a good pet for a family? What are helpful keywords? Add these keywords, one by one, to the results of the search for pets and check these new results. Do they give us better information for suggesting a pet for Arnold?

Task 3 – Do with a partner

You think you would like a pet guinea pig. You hope you can talk your family into letting you get one. To do this, you need the facts. You want to find out if they make good pets, so you can then convince your parents to allow you to get one. Your parents will ask you questions like these:

  •  Are they friendly?
  •  Where do they usually live?
  •  What do you need to do to take care of them?
  •  What do they eat?
  • What else might they ask?

You can find the information on the internet by following these steps: What do you want to find out? Write a question. Example: What food do guinea pigs eat? For each question, circle the important words in the question. These are your keywords. These are the words you will use to search for information on the internet. Example: What food do guinea pigs eat? Type your chosen keywords into a search site. Use one of these kids’ safe search sites:

Record your answers on this activity sheet: Word | PDF

Task 4 You do 

Convince your parents to let you have guinea pigs. Using all this information decide now if guinea pigs make good pets. Write a persuasive text for your parents to convince them to let you introduce guinea pigs to your family.


For the Teacher

Years 3 and 4
Australian Curriculum Links – Learning Objectives

Digital Technologies

  • Explain how developed solutions and existing information systems meet common personal, school or community needs and envisage new ways of using them. (ACTDIP012)
  • Define simple problems, and describe and follow a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve them (ACTDIP010)

English

  • Year 3: Identify the audience and purpose of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts ACELY1678)
  • Year 4: Identify characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (ACELY1690)

Resources and Acknowledgements: