Week Nine

It's been interesting to look through some existing WebQuests and get a better idea of what it will take to create an effective quest. I evaluated a WebQuest that was designed for 5th grade American Revolution and it was a valuable experience. The pieces needed to create a WebQuest were there in name only. There was no real opportunity for higher level evaluation on the part of students. I've found that I tend to learn as much from learning what not to do as I do from seeing something done well.

I'm moving forward with my plan to build a WebQuest for 5th grade American Revolution. I have been working on the introduction and I think it will look something like this:

You and four friends are playing in your front yard when you hear a loud crashing noise come from your neighbors garage. Smoke begins to trickle from around the garage door as it opens and you see your neighbor, Mr. Brown, a bit singed but looking quite excited. You all run to see what has happened and Mr. Brown tells you that he has finally been successful in creating a time machine. You all step inside the garage to see the machine, but you get too close and the machine backfires, the next thing you know you're in Boston and the year is 1775. You're just looking around when a man runs out of a store and drags you inside. He thinks the five of you are the new newspaper reporters he's been waiting for. Before you can explain he's given you your assignments.

The task will be for each student to complete a pre-determined newspaper article, complete with an image (not cut and pasted from the www). The five articles will be combined to create a newspaper.

I need to do some reading and see if there is a particular event that I would like the students to focus on for this assignment. A key battle or event that will serve to make them do some deep thinking. I would like them to have a Current Event type article, a Headline article, Across the Colonies, Dear Abby type help column and an Editorial.

I've started to put together some of the resources. I found a British based site on the WebQuest I evaluated, which outlined the American Revolution from the British standpoint and I will include this along with the many US based sites on the revolution. I'm still working on the steps and angles that will insure higher level thinking. Some columns may be broader in scope than others which will allow the teacher to distribute the articles based on student strengths. More to come as I move forward!

Week Eight

I read through the WebQuest materials this week and I learned a bit more about WQs. I learned that a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity where students interact with internet sources in order to gather information that is then used to solve a problem of some sort. The WQ has six components, which include an introduction to set the stage, a task that the student is to complete, informational resources which are largely available on the world wide web, though other computer based activities such as video conferencing and e-mail can be used as well. The fourth component is the process, which is broken into attainable steps for students to follow in order to complete the task and the fifth component is a tool that will provide guidance, such as a graphic organizer or a series of questions crafted to guide the development of the activity. The sixth is the conclusion, an opportunity for students to recap what has been learned and consider further exploration of the subject matter. WQs are often collaborative and may be designed to address a single content focus or they can be designed across multiple content areas.


I'm still wanting to address 5th grade social studies content. I said last week that I am leaning toward the American Revolution. I was looking to this content area for two reasons, first because the fifth grade teachers at my school had expressed an interest in using the WQ, and second, because I don't have a lot of personal knowledge in this area. The lack of personal knowledge is giving me some cause to pause. I don't want to get in over my head trying to learn as I design, but I'm hanging with my original decision for now. 


After some thought provoking questions from my professor, I am looking to develop a WQ that integrates multiple subject areas. I haven't had time to really look at very many existing WQs yet, but my original thought was that I would have students create a period newspaper with the information they collect through the WebQuest. I was somewhat put off of this idea when I saw that there was an existing WebQuest that used this format. I'll try to look more closely at the existing WQ this week to see how much it has in common with my vision. I have no desire to recreate the wheel, but if I can add something or present a different focus, I may go ahead with this idea for the project. I like the idea of integrating both writing and possibly art. I want to avoid students cutting and pasting pictures from the www, though I would be agreeable to drawing pictures or trying to create photos that appear to fit with the events and time period of the project. It's still in the very early stages, but I'm excited to complete my WQ Evaluation and really get going on the creation of my very first WebQuest. More thoughts and ponderings to come.  ~Sheri

Week 7

This week I am supposed to determine what subect I want use for the WebQuest I'll be designing. It's been an interesting decision. Because I'm not teaching this year, I'm not tied to any particular grade level or topic, so I've been all over the board trying to make a choice. I thought seriously about using 4th grade life science, because it's the topic of my thesis project, which is also technology based. I thought the WebQuest would be a nice companion piece, but after reading Jennifer Diaz's blog, I decided that she made a good point. Even though a WebQuest would be interesting and informative for the students, I would rather use my time in science with hands on inquiry. I also gave it some thought and I don't think many of my teacher friends would have time to add a WebQuest to their science unit, considering how limited they are on time and the limited access to computers, so while I haven't given up on the idea entirely, I started looking at other possibilities for this assignment.

Something that's important to me is that the WebQuest I construct is put into use. With that in mind I went to ask the fifth grade teachers at my school if there was a WebQuest they would want to use in their classrooms and there was a strong agreement that they would like to have a WebQuest for social studies. I haven't spent a lot of time with social studies and I'm kind of excited to create a project in an academic area that will let me learn new information as I go. I read through the content standards this morning and I think I'll focus on the causes, course and consequences of the American Revolution. It should be interesting! I'll let you know how it's going as I get things started.  ~Sheri