The ABC’s Of Search Engines Lesson 6: The Wildcard *

Background You have come a long way in mastering how to use a search engine. There is one last strategy, and I saved the easiest for last. Did you know if you do a search for volcano you will not see many results on volcanoes (plural)? Let’s continue on, and find out why that is.

By the end of this lesson you will know: That using a wildcard * can help in searching for words with multiple endings/spellings. Using a wildcard * in a search expands (increases) your search results. Combining strategies will lead you to the most successful search possible. Objective

Lesson If you are watching this as a slide show on your computer, sit back and watch the tutorial. If you are watching it as a class, follow along with the screen shots. Start by opening up your Internet program (Explorer, Netscape…) Then go to a search engine site, we will be using Google ( in the examples.

You want to do some research on teenagers for health class. But, what should you type in? teen, teenager, teenagers… The answer is that you can do a search for all of them by typing in teen*

The wildcard or * at the end allows for all possible spellings and word endings from the root word teen. This works because teen, teenager, teenagers all have the same root word teen. Why type in the search term teen* ?

Think about it: Mountains, mount, mountain Teacher, teaching, teach If I wanted information on the following topics: I would search for teach* I would search for mount*

You are now ready to try it yourself. Complete the activity sheet for Lesson 6. Remember:  Think and plan ahead before starting a search so you know what it is you want to find out.  Wildcards * can help you look for multiple spellings of a similar (root) word.  Used in combination with the other search strategies you will find what you are looking for.