Choose quality literature that is relevant and meaningful.

  Decide which key themes or areas of interest to explore. Limit the project to what can be done well.

  Determine what aspects of the story could be supported by building students' background information (cultural, historical, geographical).

  Search for appropriate web pages that could help students build this background knowledge, bearing in mind the age and reading ability of your students.

  Check the source of the web pages you choose. Web pages that are created and monitored by recognized institutions (libraries, museums, universities, etc.) are more likely to maintain their links and monitor them for appropriate material.

  Also check all the links from the initial pages for suitable content. This will prevent students from "going astray" as they explore the pages.

  Look for web pages that provide a more interactive experience for the students, using multimedia such as sounds, pictures and animations. Caution: Be careful to not use material that is copyright protected; use only copyright-free or permission-granted material.

  Write the Student pages in a style that is suitable for their age group. Students should be able to navigate these pages independently. (Write as if you were talking directly to the student.)

  Keep the text simple and use graphics where appropriate (especially for primary students).

   The Student pages should have strong visual appeal. The Student pages may suggest some things to think about or ask for a response. However, keep this to a minimum, especially for younger students. The objective is to promote student enjoyment of the text.

  The Teacher pages can contain more text, but they should still be brief and to the point. Include informative links here that may be too sophisticated or otherwise unsuitable for the Student pages.

  The Teacher pages can also contain suggestions for classroom instruction and discussion.

  Make sure students and teachers will not get lost in the web pages. Include 'back' and 'home' and other navigation hotlinks. Wherever ideas are connected, include a link. Remember that "reading" the Internet is much like flipping back and forth through a book. If you forget to mark a page, you may have trouble finding it again. Well-constructed web pages anticipate what pages (links) will need to be marked.

  Your "home" or index page should be simple and load quickly. Include the title of the book, a graphic, the author's name, your name and email address, the date the page was last updated and links to the Student and Teacher pages.

  Don't get carried away with too many pictures and animated gifs. Viewers lose interest in pages that take too long to download.

from the Literature Alive Web Project

Faye Brownbridge, Project Coordinator