A WebQuest for 7th Grade English Language Arts

Designed by

Jacquelyn McGregor

LINKS:

INTRODUCTION TASK PROCESS EVALUATION

CONCLUSION CREDITS AND REFERENCES TEACHER PAGE

With the final days of the school year approaching, I bet you’re thinking about how much you’ll miss the homework, the tests, the timeouts, the detentions, the missed recesses (to avert detention). “Maybe!”

Well, will you miss your wonderful teacher and your cooperative friends. “No way!”

Okay…will you miss the cafeteria food? The “What’s that” casserole, the questionable meat patties, or the “not so hot” hot meals!! “DEFINITELY NOT!” I’m getting to the crux of the matter!

How would you like to remember the final day of the school year with a good taste in your mouth?

What do you think about having a party with something tasty to eat on the final day of the school year?

Having a party is fun, but planning a party takes work and the collaboration and cooperation of everyone in your class.

For this task you will be assigned to one of four teams of six members to research and analyze information from authorized websites to plan an end of the year school party and prepare a PowerPoint presentation summarizing your findings. Then you will analyze each plan and vote for the party that you will enjoy best!

By the end of this lesson, the class will discuss these questions:

Did you adhere to brainstorming procedures?What challenges did you encounter forming your team or did you work as a team?How did you determine member roles?What challenges did you have finding party planning information on the Internet?Were you able to use prior knowledge of the Internet, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word successfully?Did you use all elements of the writing process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing?

To complete your task you will perform the following steps:Observe as the teacher performs a WebQuest.Organize into your assigned group every Thursday and Friday at the beginning of class for 20 minutes. Brainstorm ideas for party, team name, member roles, and presentation.Use concept maps to organize ideas and Excel spreadsheet to organize costs and create a timeline—you have six weeks to complete this taskConduct WebQuest clicking on these website links:Subway Target Wal-MartParty City Amazing Moms Pizza HutGet your teachers authorization before accessing other websites!List all websites accessed on your spreadsheet. Reference websites used in your PowerPoint, last page.You will combine party costs in an Excel spreadsheet and collaborate with other teams to create one spreadsheet to compare your costs.

You will complete the process according to the following plan for your daily grade:

Thursday Friday

Week 1 Organize, brainstorm

On-line exploration

Draft spreadsheet

Week 2

On-line exploration

Revise spreadsheet

Final decision

Revise spreadsheet

Week 3

Edit spreadsheet

Publish spreadsheet

Draft PowerPoint

Revise PowerPoint

Week 4

Edit PowerPoint

Publish PowerPoint

Rehearse presentation

Combine spreadsheets

Week 5Present PowerPoint Team 1 and 2

Present PowerPoint

Team 3 and 4

Vote on party

Week 6

Write about WebQuest experience in journal

Prepare for party

Discuss end of Task Discussion Questions

PARTY!

Things to think about:

You have $250 to spend on a party for 27 people.

Use your time efficiently because you have only 6 weeks until the party, and 40 minutes per week to prepare!

Consider the cost of food per person, supplies needed, donation (confirm), catering

Remember to apply the writing process.

Your performance will be evaluated with the following rubric. Print out the rubric and use it as a checklist as you complete the process.

Save a copy of your work to your team file on the computer. This project counts as a major assessment grade.

WebQuest (100 pts) Below average

(69% or lower)

Average

(70 – 85%)

Above average

(86 – 95%)

Exemplary

(96% or higher)

Application of team concept

Did not work well as a group

Employed some of the group processes. Lacked mutual support.

Accomplished team goal, but some social loafing occurred. Mutually supportive.

Applied teamwork concepts early in the process.

Application of brainstorming process

Did not brainstorm, only a few members participated

Brainstormed, but did not discuss all ideas presented, some ideas rejected before the discussion phase

Applied brainstorming technique, with some negative criticism of ideas

Applied brainstorming concept successfully. Went through each stage and generated creative ideas.

Use of Excel to record, evaluate and compare costs

Data recorded in Excel was insufficient

Excel data was adequate, but did not illustrate all costs

Identified all relevant data on Excel

Compiled Excel spreadsheet that identified, explained, and compared all relevant costs

Concept maps for planning all phases of the task and Excel spread for timeline and outline of costs

Limited use of concept map, some items listed not included

Used concept map but could have expanded

Used expanded concept maps and Excel spreadsheet to outline costs

Mapped all items and tasks. Outlined all costs and created timeline

Writing Process Did not follow the writing process. Limited planning (prewriting). Errors on PowerPoint—lacked adequate revision and editing. Points not unified or organized.

Followed the writing process,

But some errors on PowerPoint slides. Lacked an important point that was discussed in the presentation.

Transferred all of the main criteria from concept map and spreadsheet to PowerPoint. Demonstrated knowledge of writing process. Some errors on slide.

Published clear and coherent PowerPoint slides. Demonstrated knowledge of writing process. No errors on slides. Summarized main information successfully.

Organization and presentation of information

Presentation did not engage class. Not prepared. Did not answer questions appropriately.

Presentation engaged class somewhat. Answered most questions appropriately.

Engaged audience with oral/PowerPoint presentation. Answered most appropriately.

Engaged audience in a conversation. Answered all questions appropriately. Information well organized and appeared to be well researched.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your team has successfully completed your first WebQuest to plan a party for the end of the school year. During the process you used the writing process, oral language and listening skills, worked as a team, and integrated technology in learning. Again, congratulations and enjoy the party!

Beebe, S., Masterson, J. (2000). Communicating in small groups: Principles and practices (6th ed.). New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc.

Little, C. (2003). High performance work teams (2nd ed.). USA: Little

The webquest page template. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/templates/lesson-template1.htm, (1 April 2009).

Tompkins, G. (2005). Language arts: Patterns of practice (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

www.amazingmoms.com

www.partycity.com/

www.pizzahut.com/

www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx

www.target.com/

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks

www.walmart.com/

INTRODUCTION: This lesson originated as a coursework assignment at Dallas Baptist University. This is a hands-on lesson where students explore the internet, use Language Arts’ skills, teamwork, and technology to plan an end of the school year party. LEARNERS: The lesson is designed for 6th grade Language Arts’ students and involves the writing process, visually representing information, oral and listening skills, research, technology, and teamwork. The learners will need to have prior knowledge of the writing process; the classroom website; Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel; teamwork, brainstorming, and oral presentation skills. CURRICULUM STANDARDS: Language Arts and Technology TEKS standards addressed include: Using elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Writing persuasive texts to influence attitudes or actions. Recording data, utilizing available technology…in order to see the relationship between ideas, and convert graphic/visual data into written notes). Organizing and presenting ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into a written and oral presentation. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students work productively with others in teams. Students demonstrate knowledge and appropriate use of hardware components, software programs, and their connections. Students use a variety of strategies to acquire information from electronic resources with appropriate supervision. Student evaluates required information. Student uses appropriate computer-based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems. Students uses research skills and electronic communication, with appropriate supervision. The student delivers the product electronically in a variety of media, with appropriate supervision.