I teach applied biology to 10th graders. This year, I have access to a cart of laptops to use in my classroom/lab. I’d like to have the students use the Internet to find information related to science topics as an extension of the textbook, but many of my students are struggling readers. Would Wikipedia be a good source?
—Michael, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Congratulations on having such a wonderful resource in your classroom! Working individually or in small groups, your students can have many opportunities to find and share information, work on labs and simulations, keep electronic notebooks, contribute to class websites or blogs, and create written and multimedia demonstrations of what they are learning.
Searching for information to supplement and extend what is in the textbook can be a way of differentiating instruction to meet students’ individual background levels and interests. Wikipedia articles are often among the first results returned in an Internet search. However, some teachers have raised concerns about the accuracy of information in the articles (see Wikipedia in the Science Class), and many schools block the site.
For example, I looked at the Wikipedia entry for “cells.” It’s a long, comprehensive discussion with many illustrations. A quick readability check (you can find several readability calculators online) estimates it is written at a 12.0 level. The length, reading level, and style of writing could be overwhelming or frustrating for some students.

Have you considered accessing NSTA’s SciLinks? Enter the search term “cell” and select grades 9-12 to get a list of focused categories such as Eukaryotic Cells or Cellular Respiration with websites selected and reviewed by other educators and correlated to the National Science Education Standards. Try terms such as Mitosis or Glycolysis for similar lists. You can tag specific sites as “favorites” and create a list of sites for your students to examine. Look at similar topics at the 5-8 grade level that could be appropriate for your struggling readers.
Some resources on my favorites list include Structure and Function of Cells from the Teachers’ Domain and Inside the Cell from the National Institute of General Medical Services.
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Within a day of responding to Michael, I heard back from him:
SciLinks is wonderful! I’m starting a unit on biochemistry in a few weeks, so I used the search term Carbohydrates. Within a few minutes, I had compiled a list of sites that would be appropriate for the content and for my students. For example, the first one on the list, Biomolecules: The Carbohydrates,was just what I was looking for. I also found a biochemistry discussion on the Chem4Kids site  that would be very helpful for students who need a basic introduction to the topic. I added links from the sites on my list to my course webpage so students can access them easily in school (or even at home, I can hope). I also found some simulations I can display on the interactive white board in my room.
I’m going to do the same for my earth science classes. I also looked at the tutorials about the Quiz Manager. I’d like to try this feature, too. Thanks!
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