Teacher Page
Background InformationThis webquest was developed to satisfy the technological and personal interest of my fifth grade students as well as to meet the district's Information and Technology Literacy curriculum. My students had just completed a lenghy webquest on colonial history and really wanted to switch geers into either science or geography. One day, one of my students asked if he could present some information about a comet traveling through our area in late February of 2009 (the comet was Lulin). Several of my other students were requesting to "play" in Garage Band, still others in KidPix (our drawing package). I decided to combine all these interests into a webquest which requires some research, documenting a works cited, sketching in KidPix and creating a Podcast.
The students will imaging themselves in two roles - the first being that of a scientist who has discovered a new comet. This comet will slice past earth, coming into view of the United States (where we reside - certainly you can adjust this to fit your location). The students will each create a picture of their comet in KidPix and label the three major parts of the comet. This will require some brief research of comets - what they are, the three major parts, where and when they have appeared, etc. I have set up a Google search window using a customized search which limits the websites to those I have chosen. I did this to prevent unwelcomed words and images. Note: should this feature not work, I do have a list of suggested websites on my Works Cited Page (link is on the Teacher Page).
The students, in their scientist role, will answer a series of questions in a MS Word document (this can also be printed if you would rather have the students write in the answers). One question will be a bonus question - a choice of three. In addition, they will each create a picture of their comet in KidPix and label the three major parts.
Finally, the studens will work in teams to prepare their podcasts or similar deliverable. I offer a choice with this webquest so it may be tailored to those without Garage Band or PowerPoint. The student in the scientist role will pull in their pictures and works cited for their podcast on their computer. The speaking portion will be done as a team - this is where the second role comes into play. One student will be a reporter from a network news show (Foxnews, CNN, ABC, BBC, ect.). The student reporter will use a set of questions plus the bonus question if completed. After the interview, the students will switch roles and record on the other student's computer.
The students questions and answers should be reviewed prior to recording. If the responses are far-fetched (i.e., duplicating the plot from "Deep Impact" or "Armengedon"), then some revisions are required. Likewise, if it is light on details, then more attention is required.Pictures should include one of each student in the team, one of the newly created comet, area of where the comet will be seen and optional similar comet or constellation. In addition, the works cited should also be scaned or saved as a jpeg and brought into the project.
Connecticut Standards
The standards used in this lesson are from the Learning Resources and Information Technology discipline.
Defining Information Needs
Content Standard 1: Students will define their information needs and identify effective courses of action to conduct research, solve complex problems and pursue personal interests.
Application
Content Standard 5: Students will use appropriate technologies to create written, visual, oral and multimedia products to communicate ideas, information or conclusions to others.
Responsible Information Use
Content Standard 7: Students will demonstrate the responsible and legal use of information resources, computers and other technologies, recognizing the attendant social, economic and ethical issues.
- a. Demonstrate competency in previously identified performance standards.
- b. Observe, in all original work, the ethical restraints imposed by copyright on using and transmitting information.
- c.Observe educational "fair use" guidelines for all types of protected materials.
- d. Differentiate among various types of ownership or protection of intellectual property (e.g., copyright, patents).
- e. Demonstrate responsible and ethical use of hardware and networks. BACK
Students with Autism or displaying Autistic characteristics and any student with hearing issues (deafness or high sensitivity to noise) may have difficulty with the Garage Band piece. My recommendation would be to have these students create a script for a news skit. These students could be recorded with a computer or other recording device but without being confined in front of a computer or using headsets. Creating a PowerPoint or similar presentation could be yet another project (See my alternate project suggestions for other ideas).
Students with difficulting writing could sketch further pictures, placing their comet inside a constellation.BACK
Enrichment Activities
Students competing their work quickly and accurately could walk the room and assist other students completing their assignment. Alternatively, these same students could create a sky map of where their other classmates' comets will appear, research when and where the next real comet will appear over the United States and/or create a formal news statement about their comet as if it were coming from NASA itself. BACK
Substitutions
Directions are enclosed to alternatively create another product - PowerPoint presentation, but you could certainly substitute a newsletter or general essay. The deliverable could certainly fit any Language Arts writing piece. For example, the background knowledge could be used to write a science fiction piece on a comet crossing paths with earth. It could also be used as an expository piece - a newspaper article on a comet or a general essay.
This project also includes creating a new comet using an drawing based piece of software called KidPix. This is an Apple product which allows the picture to be saved as a jpeg file to iPhoto or anohter product. Again, another product could be substituted such as Paintbrush. Alternatively, this can be done in an art class with the results scanned. BACK