This "fractured fairytale" is an analogy for an adventure we are sending our students on every day. The web is becoming one of the largest repositories of easily accessible reading material. However, many sites are filled with inaccurate information or hidden agendas. The WOLF project was designed to send our students on this adventure with the critical thinking skills and tools necessary to find, read, evaluate, and report on the information they find on the web.
The WOLF project was implemented at our two middle schools, Holman and Pattonville Heights. Ten teachers were chosen through an application process to participate. Each teacher participant received 3 computers, printer, and internet access in their classroom. One computer was connected to the television to facilitate whole group instruction. Throughout the school year, teacher participants:
The teachers received comprehensive training, in developmentally appropriate sequence, which allowed them to accomplish these teacher related goals.
The 300+ middle school student participants involved in the project learned to evaluate and utilize the information they fourd on the web. Students developed skills to:
Throughout the project, students published their work, i.e. reports, Powerpoint presentations, and video essays, on the web utilizing Pagemill web authoring software.
The following represents exemplary work from the project:
