1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on the Microsoft Educator Network.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location, take a Skype lesson on today’s topic, or invite a guest speaker to expand on today’s subject. And if you are using Windows 8, the panoramas in the MSN Travel App are great teaching tools. We have thousands of other education apps available on Windows here.
Ja'Dell Davis is a Los Angeles native who currently divides her time between New York City and Madison, Wisconsin. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, pursing a PhD in Sociology. Ja’Dell previously taught high school in Philadelphia public schools, and implemented college access and academic enrichment programming in Chester, Pennsylvania and New York City in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood. Ja’Dell received her B.A. from Swarthmore College with a special major in History and Educational Studies, and a minor in Black Studies. She completed her M.S.Ed in Secondary School Education at the University of Pennsylvania.  In addition to her studies and work in the education field, Ja’Dell is a dancer, musician, avid people watcher, and Scrabble enthusiast.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Reading: Informational Text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

2. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value?
© Dave Yoder/Corbis
© Tanya Punitt/Shutterstock
© Matthew Kuhns/Tandem Stills + Motion
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value?
Dive into the waters of the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia to see the incredible marine life among the coral reefs surrounding the Whitsunday Islands. This detailed image of a clam’s shell hints at the neon rainbow of colors that adorn many of the aquatic creatures in these tropical waters.
At the western edge of the Great Barrier Reef and relatively close to the Australian mainland, the Whitsundays are a popular destination for adventure travelers interested in experiencing the world’s largest coral reef system up close. Seventy-four islands comprise the Whitsundays, and in between, the waters of the Coral Sea are calm and clear, making it seem almost easy to take underwater photos like this one.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 1
Web Search
Define the term “criteria” (“criterion”, singular form). 2
What are the other natural wonders of the world besides the Great Barrier Reef? 3
What are the criteria used to evaluate the Great Barrier Reef and other locations as a “natural wonders”? 4
Thinking
Have you ever been evaluated – in school, in a competition, as a friend, etc.? What criteria were used to determine your performance? 5
Are criteria helpful in our everyday lives? Are they limiting in any way?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 1
Web Search
Define the term “criteria” (“criterion”, singular form). 2
What are the other natural wonders of the world besides the Great Barrier Reef? 3
What are the criteria used to evaluate the Great Barrier Reef and other locations as a “natural wonders”? 4
Thinking
Have you ever been evaluated – in school, in a competition, as a friend, etc.? What criteria were used to determine your performance? 5
Are criteria helpful in our everyday lives? Are they limiting in any way?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 1
Web Search
Define the term “criteria” (“criterion”, singular form).
(Possible Search Queries: ”define criteria”)
From a Bing search (singular form of criteria)
criterion
[ krīˈti(ə)rēən ]
NOUN
a principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided:

8. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 2
Web Search
What are the other natural wonders of the world besides the Great Barrier Reef?
(Possible Search Queries: ”natural wonders of the world”)
From Seven Natural Wonders of the World (
This site gives details on the following natural wonders:
Aurora Borealis
Grand Canyon
Harbor of Rio De Janeiro
Mt. Everest
Paricutin
Victoria Falls

9. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 3
Web Search
What are the criteria used to evaluate the Great Barrier Reef and other locations as a “natural wonders”?
(Possible Search Queries: ”natural wonders of the world” “about natural wonders of the world”)
From Natural Wonders of the World (
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What are the qualifications of a natural wonder?
A: The primary qualification is that a wonder of nature is just that completely natural. For example, Mount Rushmore involves the splendor of a beautiful mountain peak, but it is the manipulation of that mountain creating the facial carvings that make it such a wonder. It would not qualify. Additionally, a natural wonder needs to be statistically and/or naturally unique. Statistical factors that come into play may include characteristics such as height, width, and volume – but the focus is on unique wonder, beauty and amazement.
Q: How are the Original Seven Natural Wonders Represented?
A: The original seven natural wonders deserve their distinctive places as “The Seven Natural Wonders.” Each wonder will serve as an ambassador to the seven natural wonders of each continent. For example, Mount Everest will serve as the ambassador to the 7 Natural Wonders of Asia.
Q: How will the winners be determined?
Q: There are two mechanisms for voting. The primary mechanism comes from experts in related fields. UNESCO counsels against any public voting because these types of campaigns are highly influenced by social marketing, marketing, and advertising efforts and do not reflect a true interest in determining the right 7. Such types of campaigns usually represent tourism or personal interest versus a collective representation.

10. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 4
Thinking
Have you ever been evaluated – in school, in a competition, as a friend, etc.? What criteria were used to determine your performance?
Students should consider times when they have been evaluated and reflect on the criteria under which they were bing evaluated.

11. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value? 5
Thinking
Are criteria helpful in our everyday lives? Are they limiting in any way?
Students should reflect on the usefulness of having criteria to evaluate various elements of life

12. What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something
What is the purpose of having criteria in evaluating something? Do you have criteria when evaluating things in your life that you value?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.