Effective Google Searching

Students use Google all the time. They use it because they are trying to find an answer. Researching is an important skill to teach students. It aligns with the common core standards, so it is a skill that must be taught.

During my science, social studies, or  reading lessons we are constantly using the internet to find information. I align researching skills to our content in class. Also, my students have been working on their genius hour projects, so before they start on that it's important to build foundational research skills before letting them lose.

If you aren't familiar with Genius Hour here is a quick video that explains it!

Not only are resarching skills important, but also knowing the features of a Google search!

So here are some researching tips to help keep it more efficient and effective:

1. Use quotation marks for an exact phrase. This allows the search to find only resources that have the words exactly in the quotation marks.


2. Use a hyphen to omit certain words form a search

3. Go to books.google.com to search words in books rather than online resources.

Here is a great cheat sheet about different Google search shortcuts and tools!
Google Search Cheat Sheet

Here is a great video that demonstrates some of these tips and tricks:

Webmix with Symabloo and Social Media in Schools

Symabloo is a great tool to use to put all your bookmarks in one place. What I love about Symabloo is that it is a kid friendly site. You can create icons for all the websites your students use. You can create "webmixes" for different subjects or units. I have created my own Webmix of different websites my students use often.

Here is an example of one that I will be using with my students:






Here is a great video that describes and shows you how to create one!

I have also created a guide to Social Media in schools. Please take a look to see my favorite social media tools for the classroom and what we need to do as educators to make social media safe for our students.