Web Site Guides for ESL Students
Amazon.Com
In this lesson we will learn about one of the largest and most famous stores on the Internet. We will learn how to navigate the site and how to search for products.
Amazon.Com is a huge online retail store.
Some of the things you can buy there are:
- Books
- amazon.com began as an Internet book store and has over 35 categories of books. Here are some examples.
Arts & Photography,
Audiobooks,
Biographies & Memoirs,
Children's Books, Entertainment, History,
Large-Print Books,
Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction,
Oprah,
Reference,
Romance, Science Fiction, Sports, Teens, Travel,
-
- Electronics
- There are over 30 categories. Here are some examples.
Computers,
DVD Players,
GPS & Navigation,
Handhelds,
Home Audio, Home Theater,
VCRs & TV Servers,
Video Games
- Music
- There are over 20 categories of music. Here are some examples.
Alternative Rock,
Blues, Children's Music, Classical: Instrumental,
Indie Music International,
Jazz, Pop,
R&B/Soul,
Rock, Soundtracks
- DVD
- There are over 25 categories of DVDs. Some examples are:
Action & Adventure,
Anime & Manga,
Classics,
Documentary, Kids & Family, Music Video & Concerts, Science Fiction & Fantasy
- In Theaters
- Some of the things you can do:
- Find out what movies are playing in your area and the showtimes.
- Find out which movies are the most popular.
- Find out what movies are coming soon.
- Listen to soundtracks and watch trailers.
- Outdoor Living
- Some of the categories are:
- Kitchen & Housewares
- Here are some choices.
- Tools & Hardware
- Here are some choices.
Power Tools, Hand Tools, Landscaping Tools, Hardware, Lighting, Painting Supplies, Electrical
- And more . . .
Practice 1
Finding a book for a twelve year old child at the amazon.com Bookstore.
- First I click amazon.com to get to the home page.
- Then, from the choices at the top of the page I choose BOOKS.
- I find the BROWSE BOOKS window and then choose and click Children's Books
.
- I find the Browse Children's Books by Age window and click Ages 9 - 12 .
- I find the Browse Ages 9 - 12 window and click General .
- Here is a list of Bestselling General books for 9-12 year olds that you can also sort by Price, Time, Alphabetical order, or Date by using the Sort by: window.
Practice 2
Finding Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the amazon.com Bookstore.
- First I click amazon.com to get to the home page.
- Then, from the choices at the top of the page I choose BOOKS.
- I find the SEARCH BOOKS window, type Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and then click GO!
- Here I find at least 9 matches of hard cover, soft cover, and audio books. I choose
a hard cover version. of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Once I get to the amazon.com page for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I can
- click to find out more about the author, J. K. Rowling.
- find information about the book.
- see the Average Customer Review.
- One star means "I don't like it" and five stars means "I love it".
- read Editorial and Customer Reviews.
- The customer reviews are also rated by other customers.
- find other books and authors that may interest me.
- I can see what other books customers who bought Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire buy.
- I can see what other authors that customers who like J. K. Rowling may like.
- I can look for similar books by subject.
Exercise 1
Follow the directions and answer the questions.
- Look at the
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
page.
- How much do I save off the list price?
- Click on J. K. Rowling.
- What is J.K. Rowling's bestselling book? (Hint...use the Sort by: window.)
- What is the most recently published book by J.K.Rowling? (Same hint.)
- What is the most expensive book or collection of books by J.K.Rowling?
- Go back to the
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
page.
- What is the size of this book?
- When was it published?
- How many pages is it?
- Look at the Customers who bought this book also bought section.
- What other books did these customers buy?
- Look at the Customers who bought titles by J.K. Rowling also bought titles by these authors section.
- What are some of the listed authors?
- Do you recognize any of the authors?
- What are some books written by these authors.
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
- _________________________________________
- Try this.
- Use the Search for books by subject to find some related book titles.
Exercise 2
Let's find a book about Snowboarding. Follow the directions and answer the questions.
- First I click amazon.com to get to the home page.
- Then, from the choices at the top of the page I choose BOOKS. Look at the BROWSE BOOKS window.
- What are two categories that probably include Snowboarding ?
- Click on Outdoors & Nature
.
- How many sections are there in the Browse Outdoors & Nature window?
- What section would I click if I wanted to find a book about animals?
- What section would I click if I wanted to find a book on plants?
- Click Outdoor Recreation
in the Browse Outdoors & Nature window.
- Then, in the Browse Outdoor Recreation window, click Snowboarding
.
- How many books on Snowboarding are there?
- How much is the most expensive book on Snowboarding? (Hint: Use the Sort by: button.)
- What is the bestselling book on Snowboarding?
- Which book would you choose and why?
Bookstores
There are other online bookstores, too.
alphacraze.com
barnes & noble.com
powells.com
and
amazon.co.jp
is in Japanese.
Vocabulary
-
Alternative
- not traditional
-
Anime & Manga
- a type of animation or cartoon from Japan
-
Appliances
- toasters, mixers, coffee makers, etc.
-
Audiobooks
- books on cassette tape or CD
-
Backyard Birding
- birdfeeders, birdbaths, birdhouses
-
Biographies & Memoirs
- a books about a person, usually a famous person
-
Classics
- famous movies in the past
-
DVD
- Digital Verstile Disc or Digital Video Disc
-
GPS
- Global Positioning System
-
DVD
- Digital Verstile Disc or Digital Video Disc
-
Fryers
- for frying foods in oil
-
Gadgets
- a small tool or machine
-
Grills
- for outside cooking of meat, seafood,and vegetables as in a barbecue
-
Indie
- from the word independent
-
ISBN
- International Standard Book Number
-
Large-Print Books
- books for people with poor eyesight
-
Oprah
- books chosen and recommended by the famous TV talk show host, Oprah Winfrey
-
R&B
- Rythm and Blues
-
Reference
- books with useful facts and information
-
Smokers
- for smoking/cooking meats and fish
-
Tableware
- forks, spoons, dishes, etc.
-
VCRs
- Video Cassette Recorders
Copyright (C) 2001 by Bruce Vorland
Last Update: November, 2001