Session 6: Searching the Web & Internet Foundations
At a glance: pupils tell the Internet from the Web and a browser from a search engine, read a URL, check for the padlock, and run a smart keyword search they fact-check. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, pupils can:
- Explain the Internet vs the World Wide Web, and a browser vs a search engine.
- Type a URL straight into the address bar, name its parts and domain extension, and use Back, Forward, Refresh and New Tab.
- Spot the padlock and https:// and say what it means.
- Turn a chatty question into specific keywords and check a fact with the 4-Way Fact-Check Shield (Who? When? Why? Agree?).
Before the session
- Check early that en.wikipedia.org and a search engine load on the PCs.
- Note which browser each PC has (Chrome, Edge or Firefox) so you can tell pupils which icon to look for.
- Load the Internet Town 3D lab on the projector PC and check it runs.
- Copy the offline pack to USB, with a few saved web pages or printed screenshots of a search results page, in case the internet fails.
Running order
| Time | Activity | Workbook | What the mentor does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Welcome and the road network of computers | Page 1 | Trace Figure 6.0 from the school PC to the undersea cables at Accra and Tema. |
| 10–20 min | Internet vs Web; the browser and its buttons | Pages 1–2 | Show the real browser and its controls on the projector. |
| 20–30 min | Reading a URL, domain extensions, the padlock | Page 3 | Break down an address on the board. Ask "who runs this site?" |
| 30–40 min | Browser vs search engine, keywords, fact-check, pop-ups | Page 4 | Pairs improve the weak searches. Cover the 4-Way Shield and the "free iPhone" panic button. |
| 40–55 min | Internet Town 3D lab | — | Demonstrate, then pairs try the missions. |
| 55–75 min | Hands-on lab: The Web Researcher (Kakum) | Page 5 | Check pupils read summaries before clicking. |
| 75–85 min | Review and verification | Page 6 | Pupils work alone, then mark together. |
| 85–90 min | Self-assessment, sign-off | Page 6 | Sign off; everyone closes the browser. |
Key ideas and how to explain them
- Internet vs World Wide Web: the Internet is the physical road (cables, masts, routers); the Web is the cars: the pages and videos that travel on it.
- Browser vs search engine: the browser is your window on the web (Chrome, Edge); the search engine is the head librarian you ask, a website you open inside that window (Google, Bing).
- URL: like a GhanaPost GPS address, every page has its own. Read https://www.example.org/science/water part by part (example.org is a made-up teaching address, not the club's site).
- Domain extensions: .gov.gh and .edu.gh are high reliability; .org is often a non-profit but anyone can register one, so still check who wrote it; .com needs caution because it may be selling.
- Padlock / https: look for a closed padlock (grey or black, not green, in modern browsers; newer Chrome shows a small "tune" settings icon in the same place). The "s" means Secure: what you send is scrambled so snoopers cannot read it. Stress that it protects the journey, not the truth of the page; a padlocked site can still be wrong.
- 4-Way Fact-Check Shield: Who? When? Why? Agree? Two independent reliable sources agreeing makes a fact trustworthy.
The 3D lab
Use Internet Town. On the projector, demonstrate Click the blue globe called "The Internet" to anchor the road-network idea. Then pairs do Visit a website that has a padlock, followed by Visit the website with the warning sign, and compare what the snooper sees each time (scrambled letters vs readable text). Leave the email and shared-document missions for Session 7 and later.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
| Pupils often… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Type the web address into the search box on the page | Point to the long bar at the very top; click inside it first, then type. |
| Type whole questions ("how can our school get clean water?") | Ask "Which words would the librarian need?" and cross out the filler. |
| Click the very first result | Make them read the short summary and the web address under each title first. |
| Think Google is the internet | Ask: "Is Google the window or the librarian?" |
| Copy a fact straight from one site | Ask "Who? When? Why? Does another source agree?" before it goes on the record sheet. |
When things go wrong
- No internet: run Internet Town and do the URL and keyword work on paper. Use the saved pages or screenshots from the offline pack for the record sheet.
- Not enough PCs: pairs or threes with a driver and a navigator who reads the steps aloud; swap at step 3 of the lab.
- A PC freezes or the power goes: press Refresh first; if the whole PC hangs, move the pair to a neighbour. Nothing is saved in this session, so no work is lost; the record sheet is on paper.
Answer key
1. Match the Web Term to its Meaning
- Web Browser: the program on your computer (Chrome, Edge) used to visit websites.
- Search Engine: a website (like Google) that helps you search the web using keywords.
- URL: the unique address of a webpage (e.g. https://...).
- Undersea Cable: physical glass fibres on the Atlantic seabed carrying internet data.
- .gov.gh: official domain extension for Ghanaian government institutions.
2. Written Review Questions
- Look for: three specific target words with no filler, for example "moringa seed water purification", "moringa river water treatment Ghana".
- The connection is secure (https): information passing between the computer and the website is scrambled into secret code so eavesdroppers cannot steal it. Bonus if a pupil adds that it does not prove the information is true.
- Look for: .edu.gh sites are run by Ghanaian schools, colleges and universities; a .com is commercial and may be selling or showing ads, and a personal blog is not checked by experts.
Lab record sheet: answers vary. Check the URL is complete, the organisation is named, and the two facts come from a .org, .edu or official tourism page.
Support and stretch
- Needs more support: give them the URL card with the five parts already labelled and let them match a second address to it.
- Finished early: find the same Kakum fact on a second, independent site and note both URLs.
Evidence for sign-off
The pupil can, without prompting: type a URL into the address bar and open a new tab; point to the padlock and say what it means; explain browser vs search engine in one sentence; and show a completed record sheet with a full URL, an organisation and two facts.
Safety and wellbeing
Remind pupils of the panic button: if you did not buy a ticket, you did not win. Never click prize pop-ups and never type a name, school or phone number into one; close the tab and tell you. Pupils should not sign in to anything today. Watch screens during searching and steer back gently from unsuitable results. At the end, everyone closes the browser so the next class does not inherit open tabs.