We are what we eat takes on a whole new meaning!

Hello fellow teachers!

This webquest is designed for high school students with an "outside the box" and inquisitive mind or a teacher trying to open up the minds of his/her students. Everything that follows is only a suggestion.  The nice thing about education is that everything can and should be changed and adapted to meet the needs of the teachers and students alike.

Engage your students in the activity by catching their attention with foods that are not what they would expect. For instance: soak celery stalks in red food coloring, mini M &M's, cauliflower that is orange, and any other interesting foods you think will catch their attention. Have students decide which are genetically modified and which are  not. Pluots, tangelos, grapples, and other common products are great additions to your food collection.

Once you have their attention, find some interesting cartoons on GM foods and put them up for a brief minute on the screen or projector but DO NOT answer questions about them. Rather tell your students that these and other cartoons wait for them at the end of their quest. You could make a loop of the cartoons to play as the students enter the classroom.

1. Prepare index cards with the 5 types of genetic modifications on them for the teams to select from.

2. Read the Title page for the webquest with the class and assign the lab groups to read the Introduction and the Task portions and post any questions on the "Parking Lot" for review by the class before proceeding. If you have not used a "Parking Lot" before it is a large piece of paper posted in the room for students to write down questions they want answered before they proceed. Empty the "Parking Lot" so that the class may proceed.

3. Have each group make their selections of topics either by choice or random selection. At this point the students should be able to proceed on their own. My suggestion would be to assign the remainder of the webquest to be completed in the next two nights.

4. Leave the "Parking Lot" up to allow the students to post any questions they may have about the material and/or the information as they complete their mission. When doing these webquests,  I try to not answer individual questions but will address all questions and answers near the end of class.

5. On  a daily basis try to speak to as many students as possible to assess their progress and to keep them on task. Write the due date on the board and reiterate the assignment daily.