Web Willy in CyberSpace

No not really. This story is very fictionalized so it’s hard to really make observations, hypothesis, measurements, or scientific inferences. Children may observe things like how Web Willy’s appearance changed when he got sucked into the computer, but processes based on science content is lacking in this book.

• Author: Keith Faulkner
• Illustrator: Pers Baker
• Year Published: 1998
• ISBN: 0803722850

Science Topics

• Physical Science

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

• 2nd Grade

Maximum Suggested Grade Level

• 3rd Grade

Summary

This book is about a computer whiz, Web Willy, and his adventures as he is sucked into his computer in order to save cyber space from total destruction from viruses.

Evaluation

• Appropriateness: Medium
• Authority: Low
• Accuracy: Low
• Liteary Artistry: Medium
• Appearance: Medium

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

No not really. This story is very fictionalized so it’s hard to really make observations, hypothesis, measurements, or scientific inferences. Children may observe things like how Web Willy’s appearance changed when he got sucked into the computer, but processes based on science content is lacking in this book.

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Students may ask questions but they may find difficulty in answering them. This story has a plot and details that students may ask themselves or their teacher. Students may wonder why and how Web Willy as sucked into the computer and though he later understand that the Webmaster brought him there to fix a problem, there’s no real opportunity for students to answer their own questions.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

Students may think of questions or from a literary standpoint, may analysis this text as a fiction text including the elements of character analysis, plot, setting, solution, etc. but this book doesn’t really promote children to think for themselves.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

No. If we were learning about technology, this would not be a tool that I would want to utilize to teach my students about technology. Though it’s pretty clearly an example of fiction, I wouldn’t want my students to get confused about the facts of technology with the ideas promoted in this book.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

No, it is impossible for the main character to be drawn into the computer and fix the virus in the way that it is described in this book. Though this is a book that students may pick up if they were choosing what to read during independent time, this would not be something I would teach in an integrated lesson because there are no accurate scientific principles portrayed.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

No. The text is pretty obviously fiction based on the text features and with what my students know about genres and their own background knowledge, I’m sure they’d be able to decipher that this is fiction, it’s not explicitly stated that there is fact or fiction in this text.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

The illustrations are clear and colorful but are definitely not accurate! The inside of a computer is depicted in an inaccurate way, with the “webmaster” being depicted as controlling the web. “Bytes” and “virus’s” are also inaccurately depicted.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

The current reading levels of my students vary from Kindergarten to 4^th grade, so although some of my students could read this text, and I could probably use it for shared reading, it would be a bit too challenging for some of my students to work on independently.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

Though, there are characters of different races in this book, I wouldn’t consider this a multicultural book. Culture isn’t really focused on at all, and this text is also free of stereotyping. Though there are human characters in the book, culture and characteristics of groups of people aren’t touched upon.

Is the book free from gender bias?

Yes. The main character is a boy, who happens to be a kind of computer whiz, however I don’t think that it causes a gender bias in this case. Another character in this book is named Jeanette, and she is also represented as being interested in technology so I don’t think that there is a gender bias in this book.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

The subjects of technology, computers, and computer viruses are all included in this book but they’re so vastly removed from fact that I don’t know if you could truly consider this a book. There is science as a main topic, but since this book is so fictionalized, I don’t think this could be taught as anything other than in language arts.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

Yes. Though there were a lot of challenges to science in this book because it was so fictionalized, it still made the idea of science and science-fiction seem fun and exciting. Web Wily being chased by bytes and entering into the computer, though not based on scientific fact, still makes science seem interesting and lively.