Page 3 Thematic Units and the Web

The search may even uncover one or two Web-based thematic units. However, upon closer inspection, one might discover that although the units have been published on the Web, the activities focus on traditional methods and materials or simply provide an accompanying list of links on related whale topics. Moreover, upon closer examination of all the Web-based resources acquired from the search, one may conclude that the links are not directly associated with the specific learning outcomes necessary for the targeted students, nor do they model the integration of interactive meaningful Web-activities. A teacher may very well ask herself a critical question: "How am I going to keep my students focused, attentive, and motivated to learn the content of a thematic unit and provide meaningful exploration on the Web?

Learning can become more meaningful for students with mild disabilities when the teacher imposes an external structure over a collection of Web sites and takes responsibility for the following:

1. Selecting only those sites that are directly relevant to the learning objectives;
2. Informing the student of the learning activities for each site; and
3. Sequencing how students should access the sites (e.g. establish the order in which a student should ideally view sites for the first time).

With careful planning teachers have the ability to offer multiple examples and explanations of the same materials using traditional print media and Web-based information. By enhancing thematic units with Web-based activities, teachers can provide students with active learning experiences. In addition, because Web-based information makes use of multimedia, students with mild disabilities in general education settings, who historically have difficulty with lecture or books, will have additional pathways to interact with information.

Strategies for Enhancing Thematic Units with the Web

Enhancing a thematic unit with Web-based activities involves a number of considerations. The following steps serve as a framework for designing and/or enhancing thematic units. In each case, there are a variety of strategies and/or Web-based resources that can facilitate the construction of a thematic unit and provide meaningful learning activities. Table 2 provides an overview of these steps and strategies.

Step One: Identify a topic or theme that thematically acknowledges the focus of study.

Select a topic or theme that clearly sets students' anticipation for learning. Topics should also be reflective of the age and developmental level of the students. It is probably best to select a broad topic that allows individualization of the unit to meet diverse needs in the classroom. For example, by selecting a topic such as "Eastern Cultures" instead of "The Influence of Eastern Cultures on our Society," you can provide an overview of the countries to all students. Then you can allow some students to research in-depth a single country or consider how other cultures influence ours.

Topics are also influenced greatly by state and national curriculum standards for science and social studies. For example, thematic units based on social studies and science themes such as the middle ages, early explorers, magnets and electricity, oceans, or weather still allow us to integrate activities that support learning core skills in language arts and math. However, if students have the necessary prerequisite skills and the goal is to develop higher-order thinking skills, a more specific topic might be desirable. Therefore a topic about "Rainforests" might become "What are the dangers to the rainforest and their impact on animals and the ecology?"