What Does the Internet Look Like?

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Journal writing is an activity that follows the same pattern every day; only the topic changes. The idea is to get kids thinking about an important concept that will be used in other projects and activities that day—in this case, the Internet. Each day, you'll give them instructions for things to write or draw in their individual and group journals, then ask them to share the results with the class.

We strongly recommend that you use journals as an ongoing part of your work with kids. Opening every day with such activities offers the following benefits:

    • It provides the kids with something to do while waiting for class to start
    • It sparks kids' creativity from the beginning
    • It sets the theme for the day
    • It reinforces a sense of community
    • It generates ideas for activities later in the day
    • It reinforces the importance of journals so that kids continue to use them on their own, in and out of class

Recommended Time: 

Approximately 20 minutes

Goals: 

In addition to the goals mentioned above, this particular journal writing activity will help you introduce the Internet. Because even kids from the same school and neighborhood are likely to have very different levels of exposure to the Internet, an activity like this will help you assess where you have to begin in order to get everyone's knowledge to the same point.

Materials and Equipment: 
Oversized pad of paper, 2' x 3' (preferable), or blackboard,
Individual journals for each student and yourself,
Group journals for each table or group work area, Assortment of colored pens, crayons and/or markers at each table
Preparation (Before You Begin): 

Think carefully the night before about questions or instructions to pose to the group to get everyone started on their individual and group journals. In this example, the instructions you would give for the individual journal activity is: "Draw what the Internet looks like." The instructions you would give for the group journal activity is: "List things you can find on the World Wide Web."

Your questions or instructions should be carefully crafted to anticipate work for a later activity or project. They should be stated clearly, but not restrictively, so that kids have room for creativity and flexibility and can incorporate their prior knowledge. For example, "Draw what the Internet looks like" can have dozens of interpretations, such as a diagram of the network, someone sitting at a computer, or a picture of a Web site. Here are some general guidelines for journal questions or instructions:

    • Encourage kids to write or draw.

    • Present an open-ended concept that involves self-expression. Good journal activities allow for both personalization and imagination, such as "Write or draw things that you'd have in your own amusement park."

    • Lists work well for group journals because kids work together using a fairly small sheet of paper. Lists are also good because they help kids generate lots of options for a subsequent mapping or pattern writing activity. Think of the individual journal as cultivating creativity in the right side of the brain and of group journals as cultivating thinking and analysis in the left side. By opening the day with an activity like this, you'll have both sides raring to go for later work.

    • Do your own version of the day's activity in your own journal the evening before, because you'll have to share it with the class. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but your participation is essential.
tip

Never show your version to the kids until the follow-up pair-share activity; you don't want to prejudice their interpretation. The reason to do it the night before, rather than while the kids are doing theirs, is that you want to be able to wander and make comments while they are working.

The only time that you might show your version earlier is if it's clear that several students don't understand your instructions well enough to do the activity, and something in your version might help. Remember, if kids are having problems, it's not their fault—it means that something is confusing about the exercise or instructions.

    • As soon as you get to class, write both sets of instructions in large letters on separate sheets of oversized paper and tape them to the wall, or write them on different parts of the blackboard. Be sure to write "individual journal" and "group journal" with each set of instructions so that the kids know which directions are for which book. Always put the instructions in the same place every day, so that the kids get used to looking for them as soon as they come in.

      Another reason for making the instructions simple and clear is to enable kids who come in early to start working right away without you having to repeat the instructions a number of times as more and more kids enter. You're training them to understand that journal activities are a regular and predictable pattern to the day.

    • Have a number of pens, markers and/or crayons in a variety of colors available on each table or group work area so the kids can express their creativity.
Activity Steps: 

Step 1: Give Instructions

If you've been doing day-opening journal activities for a while, kids will know the process by heart and will just start working as soon as they sit down. The first few times, however, you'll have to give them instructions so that they know what to do. You should always give the instructions completely once class officially begins, even if your kids are veteran journal users.

Point to the individual journal instructions and read them aloud exactly as written. Then say, "When you're done with that..." and read the group journal instructions. One reason for the group journal activity is to give kids who finish early something to do while their classmates wrap up. The individual journal work is slightly more important than the group journal work, however.

When reading each set of instructions, you can elaborate on the concept, but don't add to the directions in a way that will limit their approach. For example, in this activity we are using the instructions:

    • "Individual Journal: Draw what the Internet looks like."
    • "Group Journal: List things you can find on the World Wide Web."

You can say things like, "What do you think it looks like?" or "What have you tried to find?" but don't elaborate on what the phrase "looks like" means. That's an important, open-ended part of the instructions, and you don't want to impose your own vision on them. If a child asks about an intentionally open-ended aspect of the instructions, don't answer. Instead, simply repeat the instructions and let them figure it out in their own way.

You can answer, however, if it's apparent that the kids don't understand the instructions, either because what you wrote is unclear or if they don't have the knowledge necessary to proceed. For example, if someone asks, "What's the World Wide Web?" you'll have to give them more information. 

Step 2: Let Them Work

Give the kids between three and five minutes to work. This is a warm-up activity, so that's another reason to keep the instructions simple and focused so that the kids don't have to do something elaborate or involved that takes a lot of time.

Walk around the room while they're working to observe; talk, ask questions and compliment their work. This is a community-building activity as much as anything else. Shortly after they begin, find someone who is following the letter of the instructions and hold their work up for everyone to see. Explain the picture and compliment it, then quickly find someone else who is doing something completely different, yet still correct. Hold this work up as well, compliment it and point out how it's different. By doing this, you're modeling how many correct approaches and giving the kids new ideas.

Keep walking around the room observing, talking and holding up examples. You're also gauging how close the class is to finishing and whether everyone understood the instructions. It's not important that everybody completely finish their drawings, just that they have enough on paper to share the concept later. Don't let it go on too long. Warn them when they have about another minute to work so they can finish up on the pieces they think are most important.

tip If you see that a number of kids are having problems, your instructions may not have been clear or the kids may not have enough knowledge to complete it. Adjust your plans accordingly, either by clarifying the instructions, showing what you did in your personal journal, setting a new goal, or hurrying through the exercise and spending time discussing the material the class didn't understand. Make sure that you're positive and supportive and that the kids in no way end up feeling that they failed.

Step 3: Share

Call the class back to attention and get a pair-share partner, either by calling for a volunteer, asking someone in particular to come to the front, or walking over to someone. Have the person stand so that everyone can see what the two of you will do next. Follow the standard three-part pair-share process. In this case:

1. You and your partner should each explain, in turn, what you did in your journals in front of the class.

2. Have another pair of students do the same, standing, in front of the class.

3. Finally, have everyone get a partner; give the kids about a minute to share their work with their partner.

If you like, you can now have a few people share what they did with the entire class to get discussion going for the next activity. Be sure to immediately move into another activity that builds on some aspect of this one, such as reading aloud from a book on the same theme or starting a mapping activity that will use the theme as part of a new or ongoing project.