Computing · Year 5

Active learning ideas

Websites and Hyperlinks

Active learning is highly effective for understanding websites and hyperlinks because it moves students from passive consumption to active creation and exploration. By engaging in hands-on activities, students build a concrete understanding of how digital information is structured and accessed, mirroring real-world internet use.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Computing - Information Technology

• 40–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry-Based Learning
• 45 min · Small Groups

Format Name: Design a School Website Map

Students work in small groups to brainstorm and sketch a sitemap for a fictional school website. They must identify key sections (e.g., About Us, Admissions, Curriculum, News) and decide which pages should link to each other, drawing arrows to represent hyperlinks.

Explain what a website is and what kind of information it can hold.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, encourage students to leave specific, constructive feedback on sticky notes for each display, focusing on clarity and organization of the sitemaps.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Inquiry-Based Learning
• 60 min · Individual

Format Name: Build a Hyperlinked Story

Using a simple word processor or presentation software, students create a short story where different choices lead to different narrative paths. They use hyperlinks to connect text boxes or slides, allowing readers to navigate through the story based on their decisions.

Describe how clicking on a link helps you move from one page to another.

Facilitation Tip

During the Build a Hyperlinked Story activity, circulate to help students troubleshoot linking issues and ensure they understand how to connect different parts of their narrative.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Inquiry-Based Learning
• 40 min · Pairs

Format Name: Website Scavenger Hunt

Provide students with a list of questions that require them to find specific information on pre-selected, age-appropriate websites. They must use hyperlinks to navigate between pages and locate the answers, documenting their journey and the links they used.

Identify different types of websites you might use for school or fun.

Facilitation Tip

During the Website Scavenger Hunt, prompt students to explain their search strategy if they get stuck, reinforcing their understanding of how to locate information online.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

When teaching about websites and hyperlinks, focus on concrete analogies like a book or a library to explain structure and navigation. Avoid overwhelming students with technical jargon; instead, emphasize the user's perspective – how they find and interact with information. Research suggests that visual and kinesthetic learning activities significantly improve comprehension of abstract digital concepts.

Students will demonstrate understanding by successfully navigating and creating hyperlinked content, accurately identifying website components, and explaining the interconnected nature of web pages. They should be able to articulate the purpose of different websites and the function of hyperlinks.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During 'Website Scavenger Hunt,' watch for students clicking on any text, expecting it to be a link.

  Redirect students by asking them to identify visual cues of hyperlinks, such as color changes or underlining, and to justify why they believe a specific piece of text is or isn't clickable, reinforcing that not all text is a hyperlink.

• During 'Design a School Website Map,' students may not grasp that a website is a collection of multiple, interconnected pages.

  Guide students to explicitly label connections between pages on their sitemaps and to explain the user's journey through the site, reinforcing the concept of a structured, multi-page entity.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry-Based Learning