Teacher Resource

Lesson

Lesson: Treehouse Page Design and Content Guidelines

Lisa Schwartz

Overview

This lesson introduces to students the general philosophy behind the design of the ToL web site. Students view some model pages, as well as some pages that do not conform to ToL design and content guidelines. Students will assess which treehouses meet the basic guidelines, which do not, and what improvements could be made.

Learning Information

  • ToL Learner Level:
    • Beginner; Intermediate; Advanced
  • Target Grade/Age Level:
    • All Grade/Age levels.
    • Can be modified for many age/grade levels
  • Learning Objective(s). Learners will:
    • Assess several treehouses according to the basic treehouse design and content guidelines.
  • Type of Activity
    • Classroom resource; Web-based resource; Informal learning resource
  • Suggested Time Frame
    • One class period.
  • Sequence and Context
    • This lesson is presented as the second treehouse building lesson. It is helpful to use this lesson early on in the treehouse building process to show students examples of treehouses that follow the basic treehouse design and content guidelines.
  • Teaching and Learning Strategy:
    • Visual Instruction;
    • Technology Integration/Computer Assisted Instruction;
    • Discussion

Introduction

This lesson introduces to students the general philosophy behind the design of the ToL web site. Students view some model pages, as well as some pages that do not conform to ToL design and content guidelines.

The ToL aims to present pages that let media and quality content about organisms take center stage, and for page design not to detract from the core content with too much flash and color. Treehouses are ToL pages that we encourage you to fill with your own experiences, observations, investigations, stories, games, artwork and ideas, but that also need to conform to the basic Tree of Life design principles and content guidelines. If you stray considerably from the look of our site, be aware that when you contribute a treehouse page the ToL editors may change your treehouse so that it fits within the design standards of the ToL. Also, when you submit a treehouse for publication, if the content is deemed inappropriate or we feel that the content needs to be modified or enhanced you will be asked to revise your work.

Preparation

The instructor should become familiar with the pages that are presented for the students to assess in the Learner Section.

Prior Knowledge

Learners/Teachers should have experienced an introduction to the ToL, either with the Introduction the ToL WebQuest (accessible from the WebQuest page) or a ToL Learning Tour (accessible from all ToL Learning section pages).

Lesson

For this lesson, the instructor can show students the guidelines and treehouses listed on the page Treehouse Page Design and Content or they can have students follow the instructions in the Learner Section.

  • Instructor with Computer and Monitor/Projector
  • Students on Computers
    • Students can follow instructions in the Learner Section (see link below in the Support Materials section).

Students should each have a copy of document iconView Assessing Standard Treehouse Page Design and Content Guidelines  Assessing Standard ToL Page Design and Content Guidelines Worksheet (or students can answer questions in a notebook).

  1. Students view one or both treehouse pages (depending on time) that conform to ToL design and content standards on the page Treehouse Page Design and Content
    • Students complete #1 on the worksheet. They must list at least 5 reasons why these pages follow the ToL design and content guidelines.
  2. Students view the treehouse pages that do not follow ToL design and content guidelines.
    • Students complete #2 on the worksheet. They must list at least 3 reasons why the pages do not follow ToL design and content guidelines.
  3. Students view the treehouse pages that have been edited to follow design guidelines but could still use some content improvements.
    • Students need to list at least two content improvements that could be made to each page.

Evaluation

Go over students work as a class and compare it to the reasons and improvements listed in "Potential Answers: Assessing Treehouse Page Design and Content" (see the support material section).

About This Page

Lisa Schwartz
University of Arizona

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Lisa Schwartz at

All Rights Reserved.

 Treehouses are authored by students, teachers, science enthusiasts, or professional scientists. Anyone can sign up as a treehouse contributor and share their knowledge and enthusiasm about organisms. Treehouse contributions are checked for general accuracy and quality by teachers and ToL editors, but they are not usually reviewed by expert scientists. If you spot an error, please get in touch with the author or the teacher. For more information about quality control of Tree of Life content, see Status of Tree of Life Pages.

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