Karst Dictionary

Making a Karst Dictionary
Teacher Guide

Grade Levels: 6-10. Vocabulary list and activity may be adjusted depending on student skills.

Subject Areas: Communication Arts, Earth Science, Computer skills

Duration: 50 minutes

Objectives: To teach students earth science vocabulary in the area of geology and hydrology.
To teach Internet research skills, including how to cite an Internet source.

Show-Me Standards:
Process:
Goal 1.4-use technological tools to locate information
Goal 1.5-comprehend and evaluate written, visual and oral presentations
Communication Arts #3-comprehending and evaluating nonfiction materials
Communication Arts #4-writing formally and informally
Science # 5- Processes and interaction of the earth's biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere

MAP skills it teaches
Capacity of students to follow multistep directions

Materials: Student Worksheet, the Citing Online Resources sheet, access to Internet and word processing software, textbook or classroom handouts of relevant material.

Background: Lesson is completed by the student at a computer while online. You might also shorten the list based on the time the student has for the activity. You may want to adjust the list depending on the student's reading level.

Procedure: The student handout is self explanatory. Review the citation instructions with the student; use this opportunity to show the student what the citations should look like. You may want to help the student locate and bookmark the necessary websites. You may also need to review the student's word processing skills. More advanced students may want to reformat some of the definitions. Have the student follow your standard procedures for printing the completed dictionary.

Evaluation: You may grade the students on the completeness of their work, on following the directions, including citing references appropriately, and on the appropriateness of their examples. Ask the student what they learned about the different dictionaries they used. What did they observe about the dictionaries and the Atlas?

Extensions: Suggestions for further activities on the same topic :
A special "classroom edition" of the Karst Dictionary could include student illustrations, photos clipped from the Atlas, or magazine pictures. This dictionary process could be followed using any vocabulary list of your choice.