WebQuest

Charting the Course: Social Studies WebQuest

Process

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Part 1 - American History - Westward Expansion


Day 1 (60 minute lesson)

Materials and resources: 
- laptops with Microsoft Word and web access (with child lock)
- chart paper and pencils for taking notes
- resources located in the Task Tab labeled with part 1
- rubric located in the Evaluation Tab
- cards for vocabulary words
- printer to print out cards for game
- scissors to cut out the cards

1. Introduction (10 minutes)
Students are asked to consult the documents that present them with an overview of the reform movement, located under the Task Tab. Students summarize the components of the reform movement (suffrage, abolition of slavery, etc.) in a whole class discussion with the teacher on the board. 

2. Bullet points (5 minutes)
The teacher teaches a mini-lesson on bullet points, instructing the students that they will extract information from informative texts in an effective way. Bullet points are not sentences and include only the most important facts. They are to be kept in a consistent format to keep the information organized in a neat and clear manner.

3. Important reformers (20 minutes)
Students are divided into collaborative groups of four and are asked to research one of the important reformers: F. Douglass, H. Tubman, W.L. Garrison, S. Truth. The research is to be conducted with the sources located under the Task Tab, and comprises three important facts: 

1. Look up the definition of five important vocabulary words at http://www.merriam-webster.com 
2. Describe the life of your reformer in 4-6 bullet points
3. How did your reformer influence the antebellum civil war reform?
4. Design 4-6 cards with the most important facts on your reformer using the Word Document located in the Task Tab
5. Present the above information on an illustrated A4 Microsoft Word page

4. Presentations (15 minutes) PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Students present their information by means of a print-out of their Microsoft Word page in a 2 minute presentation. A copy of the Word document will be added to students' portfolio to assess their content, research, and vocabulary knowledge. (Teacher rubric located under the Evaluation Tab). Throughout the presentation, the other students are asked to look up definitions of the vocabulary words. One person, the "vocabulary volunteer" designs word cards for the vocabulary words.

5. Reform movement game (10 minutes) SELF-ASSESSMENT
Students' cards with the most important facts on the reformers are printed for each individual and are shuffled. Students individually assign the most important facts to the reformers to evaluate their knowledge. 


Part 2 - World History - Age of Revolution

Day 2 (60 minute lesson)

Materials and resources: 
- chart paper for timeline
- rulers for timeline
- pencils for timeline
- resources located in the Task Tab labeled with part 2
- laptops (with child lock) with Microsoft Word
- checklists and rubrics for assessment
- SmartBoard
- copybooks for Venn diagram and paragraph

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
Students will be informed that they will compare the outcomes of the American and French Revolutions. Students are divided into collaborative groups of 4 and are asked to create a timeline with the most important events of the American Revolution from memory. The American Revolution has been previously studied in American History in Grade 5. The timelines are briefly discussed in class. 

2. Vocabulary activity (10 minutes)
Students will read the sources named "overview", located in the Task Tab, on the French revolution and will look up the most important vocabulary words at http://www.merriam-webster.com. Students will create a vocabulary card for each word, which contains a picture, sentence, definition and the word. These words will be compiled in a revolutionary dictionary by the teacher. Students can refer to the words throughout their work. 

3. Timeline activity (10 minutes) SELF-ASSESSMENT
Students will research the sources named "overview", located in the Task Tab, on the French revolution and create a timeline on chart paper that contains the most important events. The timeline is assessed by the group by means of a checklist which is located in the evaluation tab. 

4. Role-play activity (15 minutes)
Student groups will then be assigned to research the outcomes of the American or French revolution. 
Students will write a speech held by the respective head of state at the time, summing up the outcomes of the respective revolution. The speech should only be 2 minutes long and present the major outcomes of the revolution in an understandable way.  The outcomes can be researched by students with the sources located in the Task Tab under "outcomes" or "causes and effects". Students can use google to increase their knowledge about the outcomes if necessary. Students should focus on the following questions: 
1.  What are the outcomes of the revolution?
2. What are their causes?

5. Presentations (10 minutes)
Students present their speeches and important outcomes of each revolution are recorded in a Word Document on the SmartBoard by a volunteer writer. 

6. Writing Activity (10 minutes) PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Students will individually construct a Venn Diagram, comparing the outcomes of the revolutions. Students will record their observations by writing a paragraph on their Venn Diagram. 


Part 3 - Civics/Government - Structure of Government 

Day 3 (60 minute lesson)

Materials and resources:
- laptops (with child lock) with web access
- paper for KWL chart
- pens for students
- parchment paper for constitutions
- resources located under the Task Tab labeled with part 3
- laptop with Microsoft Word (for teacher)
- SmartBoard
- costumes for constitution presentations
- scanner for constitutions

1. Introduction: Brainstorming (5 minutes)
Students will be informed that they will travel back in time into the 1700s when their country originated. Students have the opportunity to create their personal constitution for their own democratic country which broke away from the British monarchy. In order to create their democracy, students need to be aware of democratic and monarchic features. Students will therefore be assigned one of the two concepts and create a K-W-L chart on monarchy or democracy. Students will fill out the K- and W- columns of the chart. 

2. Researching monarchy or democracy (10 minutes)
Students will be placed in collaborative groups of four, depending on their form of government they created the KWL chart about, and will research the form of government with the resources located under the Task Tab. Students will answer their questions of the W-column of the KWL chart and fill out the L-column of the chart. Students will answer the following questions: 

1. What is my form of government?
2. Who is in control?
3. What rights does the population have?
4. How much is the government restricted?

In a whole class discussion, the teacher will jot down students' results in a Word Document which will be displayed by means of a SmartBoard for the rest of the class. 

3. Creation of laws/amendments (15 minutes)
Students will discuss what they have found out about democracy and imagine they are the founding fathers and have the opportunity to create laws. Students will create four laws (one per group member) and write down a short explanation and reason for the law. These laws will be written on parchment paper. 

4. Research of laws/amendments (10 minutes)
Students will research the U.S. Constitution with the resource located in the Task Tab and choose four more laws they will take over for their personal constitution. Students will add these laws to the constitution on parchment paper and give short reasons why they have chosen these laws in particular. In addition, students will look up five vocabulary words at http://www.merriam-webster.com and provide a key with definitions at the bottom of their constitution. 
 
5. Presentation of constitutions (20 minutes) PEER-ASSESSMENT, PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Students will dress up as the founding fathers and present their constitution in a role-play. Each student will read two of the laws/amendments. Throughout the presentations, students discuss the democratic features of each constitution. Students will be evaluated by each peer group by means of a rubric which can be located under the Evaluation tab.  A copy of the constitution will be added to students' portfolio and the constitutions will be scanned and published on the students' previously created Social Studies website.

Part 4 - Geography - Places and Regions

Day 4 (60 minute lesson)

Materials and resources: 
- paper and pens for creating questions
- laptops with web access, Microsoft Word, and Google Earth (and child lock)
- clay
- aprons
- resources located in the Task Tab labeled with part 4
- word cards for TPR
- list with words for TPR
- SmartBoard

1. Introduction (10 minutes)
 Students will be presented with an imaginary letter from a foreign student: 

"Dear friend, 

I have just been told that I will be your exchange partner in the school exchange program. I am very excited about coming to Arizona and staying with you. I also want to learn a lot about your state and travel around as much as I can. Can you tell me more about what there is to see? What kind of animals live there? And how is the weather, what should I wear? I have so many questions and am looking forward to your reply. 
Take care, your exchange partner, 

Sara"

Students will analyze the letter and find out that Sara is interested in the physical geography of the state. Students will be told that it is now on them to provide Sara with as much information about their state as possible. Students will therefore be placed in collaborative groups of three and create a question catalogue with the help of the geographic characteristics source located in the Task Tab labeled with part 4. Students should design about 8 research questions that they will answer throughout the following activity. These questions serve as the basis for their travel booklet that they will create with Microsoft Word. 

2. Vocabulary inference activity (10 minutes) 
The teacher has accumulated a list of unknown vocabulary words, e.g. "climate", "tundra", "emblem", "composition", "vegetation" and "province". These words are written on word cards and are illustrated as well as used in a sentence. Students are asked to infer their meanings from the context and write up definitions of the words. Each definition with its word will be displayed on the class's Social Studies word wall. 

3. Paraphrasing activity (10 minutes)
Before letting students research for the travel booklet, students are informed that they should practice their paraphrasing skills while completing the assignment. Students are reminded of plagiarism and are thus told to paraphrase the information presented to give it a personal touch and make it relevant and interesting. Students therefore practice paraphrasing these sample sentences in their collaborative groups, the results of which are then briefly discussed in a whole-class setting. 

"Each place has distinctive characteristics that distinguishes it from other places"
"Weather is how hot or cold and how wet or dry a place is"
"Minerals are found in rock and the ground"
"Animal life includes all the large and small animals that life on the Earth"

4. Researching the web for geographic characteristics (10 minutes)
Students will research the web as well as the resources (websites and maps) located in the Task Tab labeled with part 4, as well as Google Earth, to gather information on the physical characteristics of Arizona. Students will answer their questions by creating a travel booklet with Microsoft Word for Sara, in which they present the features of the State of Arizona. 

5. Clay model (15 minutes) SELF-ASSESSMENT
Students consult the resources from the Task Tab and Google Earth to design an outline of their clay model. The model must include the landform and bodies of water, and are shaped by consulting the sources. The clay model will be assessed by students themselves by means of a checklist which can be found under the Evaluation Tab. 

6. Presentation of the model and travel booklet (15 minutes) PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Students present their Word document (travel booklet) by means of the SmartBoard and show their clay model around. Students will be assessed by the teacher by means of a rubric which can be found under the Evaluation Tab. A copy of the travel booklet will be added to the students' portfolio. The travel booklets will furthermore be submitted to the local office of tourism to be handed out to tourists who want to know more about the state's geographical features. 

Part 5 - Economics - Personal Finance

Day 5 (60 minute lesson)

Materials and resources: 
- laptops with web access and Microsoft Word (and child lock)
- resources located in the Task Tab labelled with part 5
- paper for journal
- colored pencils for journals
- brainstorming mindmap model located in the Process Tab
- word and definition cards 
- fly swatters
- tape

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
Students will be introduced to the problem described in the Introduction Tab. Students will then be informed about different types of payment, namely cash, money order, credit card, debit card, check. Students will be divided into collaborative groups of 4 and be assigned one type of payment. Students will then create a brainstorming mindmap on what they already know about this type of payment. Students will use the model located in the Process Tab. 

2. Total Physical Response (TPR) vocabulary activity (15 minutes)
Students will be presented with important vocabulary words which will help them understand the research material used in the following activities. The teacher presents students with word cards and definition cards of words, such as "loan", "account", "credit", "merchandise", and "reimbursement". Students are introduced to each of the words by means of the defintion card and a practical example. The words and definitions are then mixed up and stuck to the board. Students build two groups and are each given a fly swatter. One group member of each group competes against the other. As soon as the teacher says a word, students have to hit the correct definition of the word with a fly swatter. The group with the most points wins. The words and definitions are then added to the Social Studies word wall. 

3. Researching the way of payment (15 minutes)
Students in their collaborative groups will research their way of payment with the sources located in the Task Tab as well as Google for further information, and create a profile card with Microsoft Word for the way of payment, including: 
- how the payment works
- when to use the payment
- at least 2 advantages
- at least 2 disadvantages 

The profiles will be printed out by the teacher and distributed to each individual. 

4. Developing an action plan (15 minutes)
Students will be given time to individually reflect on the two essential questions: 

1. Whether to buy the I-Pad
2. How to pay for it 

Students will present their action plan in form of a journal that will be read out to the class. 

5. Presentation of action plan (10 minutes) SELF-ASSESSMENT, PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Students will read out their journals to the class. The journal content will be evaluated by peers and discussed. The student then re-evaluates his decision with the help of a rubric. The teacher will furthermore evaluate the journal with the help of a rubric. Both rubrics can be found under the Evaluation Tab. A copy of the journal will be added to the portfolio.

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