Hooking Teens with the Net

VOYA

Teachers and librarians are always challenged to find ways to actively engage teens in the mundane tasks of research and effective Web searching. Part of the Teens@The Library(tm) series, this book offers a different solution to the challenge. Braun uses topics and corresponding Web sites that are of immediate interest to teens, such as music, shopping, sports, or personal image. Each topic section has three parts: an overview; then lesson plans, activity sheets and templates; and finally a list of selected online and print resources. The objective is to provide students with the tools they need to successfully locate, evaluate, and use the Web. The lesson plans and activities are well designed and the templates are easy to reproduce. There is also a Web page available that offers links to all the Web sites and online resources chapter by chapter as they are printed in the book. Two features heighten the usability of this publication in the classroom. First, the activities are linked with specific curriculum areas, Internet skills, and critical thinking skills via a matrix. A librarian needs only to decide what Internet skill needs to be taught and the matrix helps to locate the activity, Web sites, and curriculum area that pertain. Second, the indexes are unique. Besides the standard subject index, there are separate URL and curriculum and skill indexes. These lessons will hold teen interest while they are taught Internet and critical thinking skills. Index. Biblio. Source Notes. Further Reading. Appendix. 2003, Neal-Schuman, 133p,
— Susan Allen

School Library Journal

A practical and well-organized guide to integrating information-literacy skills into the curriculum via the Internet. Through the use of popular teen sites, the author suggests that students will make an easy transition to more traditional electronic tools. For example, Launch.com, a teen mecca for information about music and musicians, is used to teach the difference between browsing and searching and suggests some crucial searching techniques. Consumer sites provide lessons in evaluating the validity of information. Sports sites help teens to access and analyze statistics, develop an appreciation for sports history, and provide opportunities for interactive chat sessions with professional sports people. Each chapter includes an overview and bulleted skills and technology requirements as well as skills taught and extension activities, and each one culminates with a resource list. URL, subject, and curriculum and skills indexes are included. A companion Web site for this book has been created. A detailed and useful teaching tool.-Beth Jones, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.