Week 7: The Internet Detective Lab
Searching, Better Questions, and Search Results
So far we have learned how to:
- control the computer
- save our creations
- type messages
- draw pictures
Now we learn something powerful:
How to find information.
The internet contains an incredible amount of knowledge.
But finding good information requires curiosity and judgment.
The big idea this week:
Searching is a skill.
Good searchers think like detectives. They ask questions such as:
- What am I really trying to learn?
- Which words will help me search?
- Which result looks most useful to open first?
This week focuses on how to ask better questions and how to understand what search results are showing us.
- You do not need to teach every bullet on the page. Use the learning goal and one or two activities for the session you are teaching today.
- If time is short, teach one guided session well and leave the rest for later. The lessons are designed to stretch across the week.
- The independent session works best after the learner has already explored the main idea with you once.
Teacher Preparation
- Time needed: approximately 30–40 minutes per guided session.
- Device needed: any computer or tablet with a browser and internet access.
- Ensure a browser is available.
- Enable SafeSearch if possible.
- Bookmark a few kid-friendly sites such as:
- Prepare a few topics related to the child's interests (dogs, animals, rockets, machines, etc.).
- Set up a visual timer.
Before the learner searches on their own, remind them of these habits:
- Never click on links that look unfamiliar, flashy, or promise prizes. If something looks strange, ask an adult.
- Stick to kid-friendly search engines (like Kiddle) or use SafeSearch on Google.
- Check who made the website — results from schools, museums, and well-known organizations are usually more reliable.
- If a page asks for personal information (name, age, address), close it and tell an adult right away.
- Watch for ads disguised as results — some search results have a small "Ad" label. Those are paid placements, not necessarily the best answers.
For a full quick-reference on staying safe online, see Digital Habits & Safety.
The goal is not memorizing search tools.
The goal is helping the student develop curiosity and search habits.
Encourage questions like:
“What am I really trying to find out?”
“Which words will help me search better?”
Guided Session 1
How Searching Works
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- analyze a broad question and turn it into stronger search terms
- compare multiple searches and evaluate which wording produces better results
- create a more effective search strategy by revising keywords and questions
Activities
1. What Do You Wonder About?
Ask the student:
“If you could ask the internet any question, what would you ask?”
Write down 2–3 curiosity questions.
Examples:
- Why do dogs wag their tails?
- How do rockets launch?
- How fast can a cheetah run?
Explain that search engines help us find answers.
2. Meet the Search Bar
Open a kid-friendly search engine such as:
Explain that the search bar is where we type keywords.
Try searching one of the student’s questions.
Look at:
- pictures
- article titles
- short descriptions
Explain that each result leads to a different website.
3. Try a Better Search
Search for something broad first, such as:
dogs
Then improve the search with more specific words, such as:
why do dogs wag their tails
Ask the student:
- Which search gave a clearer answer?
- Which words made the search better?
Explain that search works better when we ask a clear question.
4. Ads, Clickbait, and Tricks on Search Pages
This is an important part of becoming an internet detective.
Explain that search results pages often include things that are not real answers:
- Ads: Some results at the top or side have a small "Ad" or "Sponsored" label. These are paid by companies to appear first. They may or may not be helpful.
- Clickbait titles: Headlines like "You won't BELIEVE what happened!" are designed to get your click, not to teach you something.
- Fake download buttons: Some websites show big "Download" or "Play" buttons that are actually ads leading somewhere else entirely.
Demonstrate by scrolling through a real search results page together. Point to:
- The small "Ad" label on sponsored results
- The difference between a normal result title and a clickbait-style title
Ask the student:
"If you saw a result that said 'Click Here for FREE Dog Facts!!!' and another that said 'Why Dogs Wag Their Tails — National Geographic Kids,' which would you trust more? Why?"
The key message:
"Good searchers slow down and look at the results before clicking. Not everything on the results page is trying to help you learn."
5. Opening Links in a New Tab
Show the student a useful browser skill:
- Right-click a link → Open in new tab: This lets you keep the search results page open while you read a result in a new tab.
- On some computers, Ctrl+click does the same thing.
Explain why this is useful:
"If the page you open isn't helpful, you can close that tab and go back to your results without searching again."
Reflection Questions
- “How did your search change after you improved your question or keywords?”
- “Which search words gave you the best results, and why?”
- “What search strategy would you use next time if the first results were weak?”
- “My search got better when I changed the words to…”
- “The result I picked was helpful because…”
Guided Session 2
Understanding Search Results
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- analyze a search results page and interpret clues about what each result offers
- evaluate which result is most worth opening and justify that choice
- judge how algorithms influence what appears first while still making an independent decision about where to click
Activities
1. Look Closely at a Results Page
Search for a familiar topic.
Ask the student to notice:
- the title of the result
- the short description
- pictures, if the search engine shows them
- which result seems most helpful to open first
Explain that the search results page is giving us clues before we click.
2. Open Two Different Results
Choose two different websites about the same topic.
Example:
“Why do dogs wag their tails?”
Ask the student to notice:
- Are the explanations similar?
- Do the pictures look different?
- Is one easier to read?
Explain that different websites are created by different people.
3. Why Do Some Results Show Up First?
Explain simply:
Search engines use algorithms to decide what results to show and what order to show them in.
That means the internet is not just a big pile of information. It is also organized by systems that influence what we notice first.
You do not need to explain the full technology. The goal is simply for the student to notice:
- search results are chosen by a system
- the first result is not automatically the only good one
- we can make thoughtful choices about where to click
Reflection Questions
- “Which clues on the results page helped you judge where to click first?”
- “How did you compare two possible results before making a choice?”
- “Why is it important to evaluate results instead of trusting the top one automatically?”
- “I decided to click on that result because…”
- “I could tell the first result wasn’t the best because…”
Independent Session
Curiosity Search
Instruction
Think of something you are curious about and investigate it like a careful searcher.
Try two or more searches for the same topic: one broad and one more specific.
As you search, compare:
- which wording gave better results
- which result looked most useful
- what clues helped you decide where to click
Then create one short record of your investigation:
- write the best fact you found and how you found it
- draw something you learned and label it
- explain to someone which search worked best and why
Save anything you create in your My Projects folder.
Skills Reinforced
- designing better searches from stronger questions
- refining keywords to improve results
- analyzing search result clues before clicking
- evaluating which search paths are most useful
- exploring information with curiosity and judgment
Setup
- browser open
- kid-friendly search engine ready
- access to My Projects folder
- visual timer
🔄 Simplify or Extend
To simplify:
- Search together side by side — the adult types while the learner suggests keywords.
- Limit the session to one search topic and two searches (broad vs. specific).
- Use a kid-friendly search engine like Kiddle that shows visual results.
To extend:
- Ask the learner to compare the same search on two different search engines and note differences.
- Introduce the idea of checking the date of a result to see how recent the information is.
- Have them create a mini “Fact Sheet” with three facts, each listing where they found the information.
💾 Save This Week’s Artifact
Save the learner’s search notes, fact sheet, or written record of their investigation in the My Projects folder. This could be a short document listing what they searched for, which results they chose, and the best fact they found. It shows they can search with purpose and evaluate what they find.
✅ Success Indicators
Look for these signs that the learner is making progress:
- They can type a search query and press Enter to get results.
- They tried improving a search by changing or adding keywords.
- They looked at more than one result before deciding which to open.
- They can explain why one result seemed more useful than another.
- They noticed that not all search results are equally helpful or reliable.
- They can identify at least one ad, clickbait headline, or suspicious result on a search page and explain why they would skip it.
- They recorded at least one fact or discovery from their search.
Search engine • Keywords • Search results • Ad / Sponsored result • Clickbait • Tab (browser) • Algorithm • Source
See the Glossary for definitions.