It's a Miracle

I've made it a habit of asking social studies and science questions nightly to reinforce what we've learned. For my lowest group of students these questions, even when differentiated, can be difficult. Sometimes students will use the internet to help out with these questions. I don't mind if their answers aren't always their own words, because I appreciate the effort and it's a good introduction to research skills. Still, I had to laugh at this response from Digo to my question, "What crops do they grow in the Dominican Republic?" Digo is a girl who can barely read or write, and yet she answer the question with the following (mistakes left in for posterity):

Karachi: Senior US Scist Dr Michel hensen has said genetically modified crops are not the pencea for food security. Rather that answer to food security lies with smallscale ecologically rational sustainable local agriculture that focuses on local food systems.

I would say the whole, allowing students to use the internet for research has reached its limits. Time for a quick lesson on research and plagiarism. Still, it was funny to see the little false miracle of Digo not only writing complete, coherent sentences, but also words like panacea and sustainable.