Webquest Project Update

For my webquest I chose to do an activity where students research and "become" one of the early explorers of the Americas. Through their research of one of the explorers they begin to write journal entries from the point of view of their explorer during his explorations and discoveries. At the end of the week the students will share their journals with the class through a presentation.

So far I have not had any problems with quest garden besides just trying to figure out how everything works. I finished adding my text and am now looking for pictures to add to each page, as well as appropriate links that the students will use to gather information. I think the links are the hardest part for me because I want to make sure the websites they go to are appropriate, have valid information, and are useful for this specific assignment.

I have enjoyed quest garden and I like how it seems simple enough to use, and it kind of walks you through the process. That is nice, especially since I am new to this whole webquest thing. I am excited to see how my webquest turns out and to see the webquests that my classmates make as well.

WebQuest Project

My Idea: I want to make a WebQuest that is focused on the early explorations of the Americas. Students will research different explorers and their motivations, entrepreneurial characteristics, aims, obstacles, and accomplishments. They will also trace the routes of the major land explorers of the United States and interact with maps in order to learn the land claimed by Spain, France, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Russia.

Standards to be addresses:
History-Social Science 5.2.1-5.2.4
English Language Arts - Writing Strategies 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
English Language Arts - Writing Applications 2.1, 2.3
Technology Standards 3:a-d, 6:a-d

Final Project: A possible final project for this assignment would be to have students choose an explorer that they want to focus on. The students would then complete journal entries throughout the week writing from the point of view of the explorer they chose, and answering questions posted on the WebQuest. At the end of the week the students would type up and edit their journal entries, add photos and print them out. The project would be completed by putting together a journal with all of the entries and pictures (including maps from the lesson on maps) and use art media to make the journal look old and rugged as if it came from the time of the early explorer.