Rocking and Rolling

This Web Quest will take the
students through a process of learning about each type of rock and the rock
cycle.  It will also touch upon fossils
and where they fit in with the rock cycle. 
For the final project, students will be required to create a Power Point
presentation of 5 slides.  This Web Quest should take from 3-4 weeks to complete.  

Standards

This Web Quest was created for fourth graders in West Virginia.
The standards covered by this Web Quest are listed below.
Content Area: English Language Arts
Number and Text: CCSS RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in an informational text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Content Area: English Language Arts
Number and Text: CCSS RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas or concepts in a historical, scientific or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the informational text.

Content Area: English Language Arts
Number and Text: CCSS RI.4.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in an informational text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

Content Area: English Language Arts
Number and Text: CCSS RI.4.9
Integrate information from two informational texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Content Area: Science
Number and Text: SC.O.4.1.12
Draw and support conclusions, make predictions and inferences based on patterns of evidence (e.g., weather maps, variation of plants, or frequency and pitch of sound).

Content Area: Science
Number and Text: SC.O.4.2.33
Differentiate between types of rock and describe the rock cycle.

Content Area: Science
Number and Text: SC.O.4.3.3
Observe that changes occur gradually, repetitively, or randomly within the environment and question causes of change.

West Virginia 21st Century Learning Skills by number and text of objective
Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.LS.1
Text of Objective: Student identifies information needed to solve a problem or complete an assignment, conducts a search and prioritizes various sources based on credibility and relevance, retrieves relevant information from a variety of media sources, and uses this information to create an effective presentation.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.LS.2
Text of Objective: Student accurately interprets symbols and visuals and can distinguish fact from opinion when presented with visuals through various media; student uses his/her knowledge to construct new knowledge and communicate information.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.LS.3
Text of Objective: Student, cognizant of audience and purpose, articulates thoughts and ideas accurately and effectively through oral, written or multimedia communications.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.2.LS.1
Text of Objective: Student engages, with teacher assistance, in a critical thinking process that synthesizes knowledge and ideas.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.3.LS.4
Text of Objective: Student appreciates, accepts and works cooperatively with others, in both academic and social contexts, shares responsibility for continued improvement of the academic performance and climate of the school, and exhibits ethical behavior while working alone or communicating with others.

West Virginia 21st Century Technology Tools by number and text of objective

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.TT.1
Text of Objective: Student uses keyboard, mouse and other common input and output devices (including adaptive devices when necessary) efficiently and effectively; student handles diskettes, CD/DVDs, USB drives, microphones, and headphones with care; student opens files independently, saves documents, and sends documents to the printer.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.TT.4
Text of Objective: Student finds, imports, inserts, and resizes or moves pictures, images and charts in word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other electronic templates.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.TT.5
Text of Objective: Student uses word processing software to create and format a document (e.g., paragraphs, tabs, page justification, margins, spell check, grammar check, word count, insert page breaks, page numbers), uses Edit menu to cut, copy, paste, change font type, size and color, select and highlight text, and other common editing features.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.TT.7
Text of Objective: Student creates a presentation of at least four to six slides. Student inserts slides and chooses backgrounds, fonts, and slide layouts. Student understands and uses different formats for viewing (e.g., slide sorter menu, slide show menu, normal view).

Number: 21C.O.3-4.1.TT.9
Text of Objective: Student participates in several curriculum-based telecommunications projects as class activities (e.g., web quests, ask an expert, collaborative email projects, online discussions). Student uses telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information and communicate with audiences.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.2.TT.3
Text of Objective: Student uses technology tools (e.g., presentation software, word processing software, publishing software, group web page design, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create informative products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.3.TT.2
Text of Objective: Student evaluates bookmarked Internet sites or teacher-directed sites for relevance to curriculum tasks.

Number: 21C.O.3-4.3.TT.6
Text of Objective: Student selects appropriate technology tools and resources needed to communicate information to others, to achieve personal goals, and to support independent learning.

Credits

All of the images I used are copyright free images from Flickr.

I would like to thank my instructor for introducing me to Web Quests. Before I took this class, I didn't realize how wonderful Web Quests can be. I also didn't realize that they require students to utilize information while creating something new. It involves higher level thinking and questioning.