National Geographic kids

I have chosen to describe the website National Geographic for kids, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ (2010). One can access the site without being a member and it is also possible to subscribe on their magazine for kids. The website contains many pictures and color and is also easy to manage, which Estling Vannestål (2010) says is motivating for the pupils. The website has different texts, videos, games and activities about animals, people, countries, science, history and fun facts. There is also a blog where one can register and share thoughts and experiences with others. One can thus read the thoughts of children around the entire world, but what is published on the blog is decided by the National Geographic kids’ staff.

How it can be used by pupils and teachers
This website has many opportunities for teaching, because it is directed to children and has different information about different topics. The language is though quite difficult and therefore the pupils should have studied English for a time and already have some vocabulary. Some things on the website can however be used with younger pupils, for instance pictures, videos and activities. For instance a picture of a lion can be used to tell a story about a lion, a video about a lion can be used to encourage an interest from the pupils for lions and experiments like how to balance an egg.

The older pupils, fourth too sixth grade, can use the website by themselves or in groups. Estling Vannestål (2010) mentions how important it is with group work, when the pupils can communicate and help each other in English. They can watch videos and read facts about animals, places and history. There are also quizzes to do to see how much they know about for instance about Maya culture, global warming and pirates. If the teacher wants the pupils to read the texts or watch the pictures and videos at the same time, there might be good if there is a possibility to connect the computer to the board. If this does not work, one can print out the facts by pressing “print this creature”.

The pupils can write their own texts about animals, places, people and history. They can read stories, which are like articles and make their own articles to make a newspaper. After reading the Blog they can write about an experience that also can be published in this newspaper or on a blog. The can write a fictional text about an animal or a place. One can even write a letter about why tigers should be protected and send in to the National Geographic, but the pupils parents need to sign that they are allowed to do this. There are also cartoon videos. The pupils can watch the beginning and continue the story themselves or in groups. They can discuss what they think will happen and after they can watch the video to actually see what happens.

There are activities like recipes, crafts and experiments that the teacher can use in theme-based learning. There are for instance recipes from different cultures and if the pupils are working with Asia the pupils can make Kaju Burfi, which is a sweet one eats to celebrate a festival. The teacher can thus combine the facts about Asia on the website with some of the activities on the site.

Other considerations
There are many games on the site and if the pupils visit the website by themselves during the lesson the teacher might make sure that the pupils do what they are supposed to do on the website. On the website one can also order the magazine and it is therefore important that the teacher make sure the pupils know this and that they do not order it by accident.