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United States Symbols, Holidays, and People

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United States Symbols, Holidays, and People

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The objective of this webquest is to inform students about the culture of the United States, different national symbols, the people who make up our country, and the holidays we celebrate. This webquest opens up with an explanation about an immigrant family coming to the country and the student's job is to teach them all about america. The one thing I would be weary of when teaching this in a classroom, is to keep religion out of the celebration of the holidays mentioned. This would be a great way to introduce the flag and many other national symbols.

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WebQuest: United States Symbols, Holdiays and People

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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The objective of this webquest is to help children to recognize different shapes within the community that surrounds them and why they are important. If my unit was focused on community, this would be a great way to integrate other subjects into my lessons! We could talk about the world around us, look at where our school is located on a map, and then highlight all of the different shapes we see. This webquest connects information from multiple content areas, giving children even more opportunities for learning!

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Teacher Page

TEACHER NOTES

This activity is designed to help children learn and/or review shapes and colors

CURRICULUM STANDARDS

The tasks in this Web-based activity address the national standards in mathematics and technology.

.

Tips This WebQuest is designed to be completed in five 20-minute sessions. One extension activity and one take-home activity also are included. First and second graders should be able to complete this WebQuest on their own, working alone or with a partner. Younger students will need assistance or you might want to complete the activities as a group.

Materials

Day 1: A copy of the Shapes and Colors WebQuest saved to your classroom computer(s) or network.

Day 1: A Shape Activity worksheet for each student.

Day 2: A Shapes and Colors worksheet for each student: Use the 2-Circle Venn Diagram Template on the Education World Tools and Templates page to create the Shapes and Colors worksheet. Highlight the word Topic on the template and type

Shapes and Colors. Highlight the Title on the left and type a color word; highlight the Title on the right and type the name of a shape; highlight the Title in the center and delete it. You might want to create several different versions of the worksheet, each with a different color and/or shape.)

Day 3: A Balloon worksheet for each student.

Day 4: A Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet for each student.

Day 5:A copy of the book The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss.

Day 5: A set of Shape Bingo cards created with DLTK's Custom Bingo Cards tool.

Day 5: A copy of The Shapes: A Coloring Book for each student.

Day 6: A copy of the Education World Shapes and Signs worksheet for the conclusion/extension activity.

Process

Day 1: Discuss with students some basic shapes: square, triangle, circle, rectangle, star, diamond, heart. Display an example of each. Provide to each student a Shape Activity worksheet (Sheets 1, 2, or 3).

Day 2: Invite students to explore Learn Your Colors and Shapes. Discuss with students the shapes they see -- circle, triangle, square, star, oval, rectangle, diamond, and heart. Provide to each student a Shapes and Colors worksheet and a variety of construction paper shapes in several different colors. Have students paste shapes of the designated color in the circle on the left; shapes of the designated shape in the circle on the right; and shapes that are both the designated shape and the designated color in the overlapping circle.

Day 3: Explain to students that they will make a shape balloon, and give instructions for the activity. Provide to each student a Balloon worksheet, a piece of 8 "x11" black construction paper, and a few cotton balls. Make available scissors and glue.

Day 4: Read aloud The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss. Provide to each student a copy of the Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet found at Circles, Triangles, and Squares! Oh, My!. Explain that they should find in the classroom one object that's the same shape as each of the shapes on the Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet and then draw a picture of each object.

Day 5: Help students make a list of why shapes are important. Then, provide to each student a Shape bingo card and an assortment of oak tag or construction paper shapes to use as markers. Play Shapes Bingo with your class.

Extension Activities: Display street signs of various shapes and colors and discuss meaning of each. Invite students to complete the Education World Shapes and Signs worksheet. You also might invite students to play one of the online shape games listed below. Provide to each student a copy of The Shapes: A Coloring Book to take home and complete with their families.

Online Resources
Students will use the following Web sites:

The following links provide additional information to help you guide, extend, and evaluate student work during this WebQuest:

General Information on Shapes

Online Shape Books

Shape Lessons and Activities

Online Shape Games

Sign Safety Sites

Click here for the main Shapes and Colors Student Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World

09/08/2004
Updated 05/28/2005

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WebQuest: Shapes and Colors | Education World

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TEACHER NOTES This activity is designed to help children learn and/or review shapes and colors CURRICULUM STANDARDS The tasks in this Web-based activity address the national standards in mathematics and technology. . Tips This WebQuest is designed to be completed in five 20-minute sessions. One extension activity and one take-home activity also are included.

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The objective of this WebQuest is to help prepare students mentally and physically for competition. A lot of schools  do field days so I could see myself using this source as a build up to an event like that. I think this would be great for lesson to pair with history while teaching students about diversity and goals. Using a topic and event of this nature is a great lead in to explaining dedication and adversity athletes face in order to achieve this level of excellence. The activity mentions working as a team and although several events in the Olympics are individual events we have seen other countries support each other in good times and bad. This would be a good example to show students the act of teamwork and sportsmanship in another form. (Wallach)

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INTRODUCTION

The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

Working in teams, you will choose a sport to compete in, research what you need to do to prepare physically and mentally for the competition, and then create a PowerPoint presentation outlining your preparation plan.

PROCESS

Step 1: The team chooses a sport to compete in.

Step 2: Each member of the team chooses one of the following roles:

Step 3: Each member of the team uses appropriate online resources as well as library resources, if available, to research the information needed to complete his or her assignment. Each researcher should take notes and create a bibliography for his or her research.

Step 4: The team works together to decide what information in each category should be included in the PowerPoint presentation.

Step 5: Each member of the team creates three to five PowerPoint slides illustrating the information he or she has collected.

Step 6: The Team Captain narrates the presentation for the entire class.

Sport Sites

General Olympic Sites

Olympic History Sites

Sports Nutrition Sites

Sports Training Sites

Sportsmanship Sites

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research as demonstrated by your notes. (25 percent)

the quality of the activity assigned to your role. (25 percent)

the quality of your group's final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to the group process. (20 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use the information obtained during your research and other Olympic sites to create a trivia game about the history of the summer Olympics.

Click here for the So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education WorldÂ®
Copyright Â© 2004 Education World

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WebQuest: So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? | Education World

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INTRODUCTION The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

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Going Buggy ask students to identify and create a bug guide. Young adolescents typically have curious minds and love to pick up things when they should not. I think this is a fun way to incorporate science and geography around their school or neighborhoods. Another positive of the task is they are working in groups which is teaching them teamwork, social interaction, and collaborative learning. Upon finishing the web quest and equipping students with a little more bug knowledge I think they could have a take home assignment where they have to identify a bug around their house.  (Wallach)

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INTRODUCTION

This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.

You and your classmates will research the most common species of insects and create a field guide about some of the insects that live in your area. Each field guide page will include information about one insect -- what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, and how it hurts and/or helps people.

Insects, like people, are part of the Animal Kingdom. The animal kingdom includes two large groups -- vertebrates, animals that have backbones, and invertebrates, animals without backbones. Insects are invertebrates that belong to the arthropod phylum. All arthropods have a segmented body, an even number of legs, and a hard outer shell -- or exoskeleton. Insects are a class of arthropods that have six legs and a body made up of three parts -- the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

Scientists have categorized insects into about 34 different species or orders. Some of those species include only a few insects. Other species of insects are very rare. The nature director in your town has decided that the people who go on his insect safaris will look for bugs in the ten largest species of insects. Those ten species are Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Dermaptera, Odonata, and Isoptera. Your teacher will assign one of those ten insect orders to you and one or two of your classmates. When you have your assignment, follow the directions below to complete the project.

Step 1: Work in groups of two or three to research your assigned insect order. Learn what the insects in that order look like, how they behave, what their life cycle is like, and other interesting or important information about them. Take notes about what you learn

Step 2: Use your notes to complete an insect order field guide worksheet. Include on the page the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of a typical insect in that order.

Step 3: Have each member of your group choose one insect from your assigned order, research that insect, and complete an insect field guide worksheet. Be sure to include the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of that insect.

Step 4: Present your work to your classmates.

Step 5: Combine your work with your classmates' pages to create an insect field guide. Be sure to include your insect order page as well as your insect field guide page in the field guide.

INSECT ORDERS

GENERAL INSECT RESOURCES

ORTHOPTERA (grasshoppers and crickets)

COLEOPTERA (beetles)

LEPIDOPTERA (butterflies and moths)

DIPTERA (flies and mosquitoes)

HYMENOPTERA (ants, wasps, and bees)

HEMIPTERA (true bugs)

HOMOPTERA (aphids and cicadas)

DERMAPTERA (earwigs)

ODONATA (dragonflies and damselflies)

ISOPTERA (termites)

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research. (10 percent)

the accuracy of your drawings. (20 percent)

the quality of your final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to entire field guide. (20 percent)

the quality of your oral presentation. (10 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use your field guide pages to create a PowerPoint slide show of your bug field guide.

Click here for the A Bug Safari Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World

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INTRODUCTION This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.

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The objective of this Webquest is to give students information on what they need to do to compete at a chosen Olympic sport.  It also gives links in which children can view the history of the Olympics.

I would use this Webquest on years that have had or will have the Olympic competition.  I feel that the Olympics is a naturally engaging event to school aged students.  Thus, I hope to harness that engagement with this Webquest.   I mostly likely would also incorporate a few math questions on Olympic stats and history.
(Wright)

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INTRODUCTION

The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

Working in teams, you will choose a sport to compete in, research what you need to do to prepare physically and mentally for the competition, and then create a PowerPoint presentation outlining your preparation plan.

PROCESS

Step 1: The team chooses a sport to compete in.

Step 2: Each member of the team chooses one of the following roles:

Step 3: Each member of the team uses appropriate online resources as well as library resources, if available, to research the information needed to complete his or her assignment. Each researcher should take notes and create a bibliography for his or her research.

Step 4: The team works together to decide what information in each category should be included in the PowerPoint presentation.

Step 5: Each member of the team creates three to five PowerPoint slides illustrating the information he or she has collected.

Step 6: The Team Captain narrates the presentation for the entire class.

Sport Sites

General Olympic Sites

Olympic History Sites

Sports Nutrition Sites

Sports Training Sites

Sportsmanship Sites

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research as demonstrated by your notes. (25 percent)

the quality of the activity assigned to your role. (25 percent)

the quality of your group's final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to the group process. (20 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use the information obtained during your research and other Olympic sites to create a trivia game about the history of the summer Olympics.

Click here for the So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education WorldÂ®
Copyright Â© 2004 Education World

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WebQuest: So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? | Education World

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INTRODUCTION The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

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The objective of the Webquest is to get students familiar with items that symbolize the United States.  The Webquest also introduces a few holidays to students.

I would use this Webquest to not only help to develop my student’s technology literacy, but to gain more insight on the holidays of Martin Luther King Day, Independence Day, and Presidents’ Day.  The website would also help to reinforce their understandings on how symbols work, and what symbols are popular to America.
(Wright)

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WebQuest: United States Symbols, Holdiays and People

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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I love how this starts out with the students being asked to create a bug guide! How fun for the students and what a great hook to get them excited! They are requested to make an insect field guide on the insects they see in their area. I would love to have the students explore the school grounds and find insects they want to look-up. This could be a great hands-on activity. The students could create a field guide and hang on to it so when they are on walks with family or friends they could tell them about certain insects! This could even lead into a small research project of an insect of their choice! (Anderson)

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INTRODUCTION

This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.

You and your classmates will research the most common species of insects and create a field guide about some of the insects that live in your area. Each field guide page will include information about one insect -- what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, and how it hurts and/or helps people.

Insects, like people, are part of the Animal Kingdom. The animal kingdom includes two large groups -- vertebrates, animals that have backbones, and invertebrates, animals without backbones. Insects are invertebrates that belong to the arthropod phylum. All arthropods have a segmented body, an even number of legs, and a hard outer shell -- or exoskeleton. Insects are a class of arthropods that have six legs and a body made up of three parts -- the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

Scientists have categorized insects into about 34 different species or orders. Some of those species include only a few insects. Other species of insects are very rare. The nature director in your town has decided that the people who go on his insect safaris will look for bugs in the ten largest species of insects. Those ten species are Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Dermaptera, Odonata, and Isoptera. Your teacher will assign one of those ten insect orders to you and one or two of your classmates. When you have your assignment, follow the directions below to complete the project.

Step 1: Work in groups of two or three to research your assigned insect order. Learn what the insects in that order look like, how they behave, what their life cycle is like, and other interesting or important information about them. Take notes about what you learn

Step 2: Use your notes to complete an insect order field guide worksheet. Include on the page the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of a typical insect in that order.

Step 3: Have each member of your group choose one insect from your assigned order, research that insect, and complete an insect field guide worksheet. Be sure to include the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of that insect.

Step 4: Present your work to your classmates.

Step 5: Combine your work with your classmates' pages to create an insect field guide. Be sure to include your insect order page as well as your insect field guide page in the field guide.

INSECT ORDERS

GENERAL INSECT RESOURCES

ORTHOPTERA (grasshoppers and crickets)

COLEOPTERA (beetles)

LEPIDOPTERA (butterflies and moths)

DIPTERA (flies and mosquitoes)

HYMENOPTERA (ants, wasps, and bees)

HEMIPTERA (true bugs)

HOMOPTERA (aphids and cicadas)

DERMAPTERA (earwigs)

ODONATA (dragonflies and damselflies)

ISOPTERA (termites)

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research. (10 percent)

the accuracy of your drawings. (20 percent)

the quality of your final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to entire field guide. (20 percent)

the quality of your oral presentation. (10 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use your field guide pages to create a PowerPoint slide show of your bug field guide.

Click here for the A Bug Safari Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World

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INTRODUCTION This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.

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I love how this starts out with the requirement to pretend you are a reporter! Students enjoy acting out certain things so this would be great! I love how this breaks it down step by step so the student knows what they should be doing and in what order. I think this would help the students stay organized. Essentially, this requires students to research ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle Earth's natural resources. I think people need to be educated on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle so I would love to do something like this in my future social studies classroom! (Anderson)

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WebQuest: Preserving Earth's Natural Resources

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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What a great way for kids to learn about their community and local landmarks.  This is great for kids because it helps them work by themselves and with a group.  There are a ton of social studies components in this webquest, reading a map, following a map and learning about the history of Grand Rapids! I can see using this in my future classroom!! (Machinski)

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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This is a great resource for students in the lower elementary. It starts by telling the kids they are having a "welcome to America day" for new immigrant families. It helps the students welcome kids from other cultures while learning about special days and symbols we celebrate in our country! (Machinski)

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WebQuest: United States Symbols, Holdiays and People

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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So You Want To Compete in the Olympics by Linda Starr

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So You Want To Compete in the Olympics by Linda Starr

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This webquest is meant to be done in groups of 4 students. Each picks a sport and embarks on an educational journey into the amount of training and discipline needed to succeed at that sport. The webquest includes an incredible amount of resources for the students from dietary information to sports training. I will be teaching 3rd grade, but this is a supreme webquest for upper elementary students and middle school students because it can assist in the teaching of planning, goal-setting, and perseverance. Students need to know that it takes a great deal of work to be successful, and they will learn so much extra along the way with this webquest. Also, students will obtain more practice presenting through the presentation portion. (Cyrena Johnson)

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INTRODUCTION

The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

Working in teams, you will choose a sport to compete in, research what you need to do to prepare physically and mentally for the competition, and then create a PowerPoint presentation outlining your preparation plan.

PROCESS

Step 1: The team chooses a sport to compete in.

Step 2: Each member of the team chooses one of the following roles:

Step 3: Each member of the team uses appropriate online resources as well as library resources, if available, to research the information needed to complete his or her assignment. Each researcher should take notes and create a bibliography for his or her research.

Step 4: The team works together to decide what information in each category should be included in the PowerPoint presentation.

Step 5: Each member of the team creates three to five PowerPoint slides illustrating the information he or she has collected.

Step 6: The Team Captain narrates the presentation for the entire class.

Sport Sites

General Olympic Sites

Olympic History Sites

Sports Nutrition Sites

Sports Training Sites

Sportsmanship Sites

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research as demonstrated by your notes. (25 percent)

the quality of the activity assigned to your role. (25 percent)

the quality of your group's final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to the group process. (20 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use the information obtained during your research and other Olympic sites to create a trivia game about the history of the summer Olympics.

Click here for the So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education WorldÂ®
Copyright Â© 2004 Education World

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WebQuest: So You Want to Compete in the Olympics? | Education World

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INTRODUCTION The International Olympic Committee has decided to hold a Junior Olympics during the next Summer Olympic Games. The committee has invited students from around the world to form teams and participate in that event. You and other students in your class hope to try out for the Junior Olympics, but first you have to plan how you will prepare for the competition.

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Grand Rapids Scavenger Hunt by Sara Wynia

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Grand Rapids Scavenger Hunt by Sara Wynia

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First of all, this webquest is a fantastic way to get to know Grand Rapids!  I will be teaching a third grade classroom, and this third grade level webquest is a great lesson aid.  Sara has it organized so that students know when to work individually and when to work as groups.  She has us looking at maps and hot spots (such as the Civic Theatre) and getting images of these hot spots. The result of the webquest is that students are making maps, following the third grade standards of map reading and making (including a compass rose, key, and symbols).  This is such a great task, and my third graders could truly benefit from knowing their own city!  (Cyrena Johnson)

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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I think it could be interesting for the students to think about how they would create their very own community. This lesson would work with civics, history, economics, and geography as to figure the best approach for designing your community. This project would have a lot of planning, researching, and team building opportunities as how they will develop their community. I would this lesson when we are doing a unit about our community. Warber

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You will be working with a partner to create a community. Under resources you will see links that will help you explore different communities, such as rural, suburban and urban communities. I also added a dictionary link to help you understand vocabulary words. Step One: What is a community?

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This could help students develop a better understanding how the Civil war took place. It offers the student primary documents and internet materials to help the students develop a deeper connections with the topic. I think Webquest is a great resource for the students to discover the information. I plan to use in my classroom to help the students research about a Civil War battle. Warber

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You are a team of newspaper reporters, living in the civil war era. Battles are raging all around you: brother pitted against brother; father against son; neighbor against neighbor. Golden meadows and rolling hills you and your friends once played in are becoming soaked in crimson with the blood of a nation's most valued resource; it's citizenry.

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This is a great option for kindergarten, and even Pre-K. It integrates so many of the basic ideas that students are required to learning in pre-k and kindergarten with aspects of social studies, like our civic duties and reasons for rules. (Barnhill)

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Teacher Page

TEACHER NOTES

This activity is designed to help children learn and/or review shapes and colors

CURRICULUM STANDARDS

The tasks in this Web-based activity address the national standards in mathematics and technology.

.

Tips This WebQuest is designed to be completed in five 20-minute sessions. One extension activity and one take-home activity also are included. First and second graders should be able to complete this WebQuest on their own, working alone or with a partner. Younger students will need assistance or you might want to complete the activities as a group.

Materials

Day 1: A copy of the Shapes and Colors WebQuest saved to your classroom computer(s) or network.

Day 1: A Shape Activity worksheet for each student.

Day 2: A Shapes and Colors worksheet for each student: Use the 2-Circle Venn Diagram Template on the Education World Tools and Templates page to create the Shapes and Colors worksheet. Highlight the word Topic on the template and type

Shapes and Colors. Highlight the Title on the left and type a color word; highlight the Title on the right and type the name of a shape; highlight the Title in the center and delete it. You might want to create several different versions of the worksheet, each with a different color and/or shape.)

Day 3: A Balloon worksheet for each student.

Day 4: A Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet for each student.

Day 5:A copy of the book The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss.

Day 5: A set of Shape Bingo cards created with DLTK's Custom Bingo Cards tool.

Day 5: A copy of The Shapes: A Coloring Book for each student.

Day 6: A copy of the Education World Shapes and Signs worksheet for the conclusion/extension activity.

Process

Day 1: Discuss with students some basic shapes: square, triangle, circle, rectangle, star, diamond, heart. Display an example of each. Provide to each student a Shape Activity worksheet (Sheets 1, 2, or 3).

Day 2: Invite students to explore Learn Your Colors and Shapes. Discuss with students the shapes they see -- circle, triangle, square, star, oval, rectangle, diamond, and heart. Provide to each student a Shapes and Colors worksheet and a variety of construction paper shapes in several different colors. Have students paste shapes of the designated color in the circle on the left; shapes of the designated shape in the circle on the right; and shapes that are both the designated shape and the designated color in the overlapping circle.

Day 3: Explain to students that they will make a shape balloon, and give instructions for the activity. Provide to each student a Balloon worksheet, a piece of 8 "x11" black construction paper, and a few cotton balls. Make available scissors and glue.

Day 4: Read aloud The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss. Provide to each student a copy of the Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet found at Circles, Triangles, and Squares! Oh, My!. Explain that they should find in the classroom one object that's the same shape as each of the shapes on the Shape Scavenger Hunt worksheet and then draw a picture of each object.

Day 5: Help students make a list of why shapes are important. Then, provide to each student a Shape bingo card and an assortment of oak tag or construction paper shapes to use as markers. Play Shapes Bingo with your class.

Extension Activities: Display street signs of various shapes and colors and discuss meaning of each. Invite students to complete the Education World Shapes and Signs worksheet. You also might invite students to play one of the online shape games listed below. Provide to each student a copy of The Shapes: A Coloring Book to take home and complete with their families.

Online Resources
Students will use the following Web sites:

The following links provide additional information to help you guide, extend, and evaluate student work during this WebQuest:

General Information on Shapes

Online Shape Books

Shape Lessons and Activities

Online Shape Games

Sign Safety Sites

Click here for the main Shapes and Colors Student Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World

09/08/2004
Updated 05/28/2005

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WebQuest: Shapes and Colors | Education World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TEACHER NOTES This activity is designed to help children learn and/or review shapes and colors CURRICULUM STANDARDS The tasks in this Web-based activity address the national standards in mathematics and technology. . Tips This WebQuest is designed to be completed in five 20-minute sessions. One extension activity and one take-home activity also are included.

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I think this Webquest is great for younger elementary students and learning about not only the historical aspect of social studies, but also getting into the cultural aspects of social studies. (Barnhill)

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WebQuest: United States Symbols, Holdiays and People

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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Although the language in this Webquest makes it sound like it is geared towards an older grade, I think this would be an awesome activity for first graders. The students research different New Years traditions of multiple cultures. Students are grouped into teams and are then “hired” as part of a travel agency. The students need to produce a project/presentation that will encourage the other students to book a trip to their country to celebrate New Years. This project will require a lot of hands on research and participate on the part of the teacher to help provide the tools for the students to be successful. Parents may even be need to be involved. This would be a great way to discuss diversity and cultural differences. (Dieterly)

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It's party time! Our class will have a New Year's celebration to learn about the cultural and religious differences and similarities between ourselves and other diverse cultures.

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United States Symbols, Holidays and People

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United States Symbols, Holidays and People

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This Webquest sounds like a great time for students. They will be learning about different symbols and important people in United States history. The students will work together to create quilt squares to present a project to help immigrants understand our important symbols. The students will be assigned groups and explore together to create and present the final project. (Dieterly)

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WebQuest: United States Symbols, Holdiays and People

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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This is a wonderful scavenger hunt that has students explore their community, if that community is Grand Rapids.  It is written for 3-5 graders, but you could do something similar to it for 1-2 graders as the standards for these grades might align better.  This could be used to hook students into a unit on their local community.  (Tiers)

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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In this webquest students will explore the Anasazi people of the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.  They will learn about the culture of the people and create a theory as to why they disappeared They will then present findings in a newspaper article.  I would not use this in my unit plan, however I could see creating a webquest similar to this for local tribes.  I see it being used as a performance assessment at the end of my unit on Native Americans as it can introduce the next unit of French exploration.   (Tiers)

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A resource page for Educational Technology

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This is a great group-centered webquest! Students each have a job in a real-life profession that would've been influencing this exploration. A great way to bring history to life with some role-playing and imagination!

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louisiana bicentennial - the big picture

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the landscape of the louisiana purchase in the early 1800's looked very different than the one we se

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Web-and-Flow WebQuest: Louisiana Bicentennial - The Big Picture

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The landscape of The Louisiana Purchase in the early 1800's looked very different than the one we see today. Imagine extensive wetlands replacing the cities, highways, and plowed fields of the 21st century. The acquisition of such a huge expanse of land changed the United States of America historically and geographically.

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This activity has students exploring the incests that live in their area and learning about what they look like, eat where they live, etc. This could be tied into social studies when studying communities in lower elementary (ex. where in our communities can these bugs live?) or while studying the state in upper elementary. This would be a great way to blend science and social studies!

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INTRODUCTION

This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.

You and your classmates will research the most common species of insects and create a field guide about some of the insects that live in your area. Each field guide page will include information about one insect -- what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, and how it hurts and/or helps people.

Insects, like people, are part of the Animal Kingdom. The animal kingdom includes two large groups -- vertebrates, animals that have backbones, and invertebrates, animals without backbones. Insects are invertebrates that belong to the arthropod phylum. All arthropods have a segmented body, an even number of legs, and a hard outer shell -- or exoskeleton. Insects are a class of arthropods that have six legs and a body made up of three parts -- the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

Scientists have categorized insects into about 34 different species or orders. Some of those species include only a few insects. Other species of insects are very rare. The nature director in your town has decided that the people who go on his insect safaris will look for bugs in the ten largest species of insects. Those ten species are Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Dermaptera, Odonata, and Isoptera. Your teacher will assign one of those ten insect orders to you and one or two of your classmates. When you have your assignment, follow the directions below to complete the project.

Step 1: Work in groups of two or three to research your assigned insect order. Learn what the insects in that order look like, how they behave, what their life cycle is like, and other interesting or important information about them. Take notes about what you learn

Step 2: Use your notes to complete an insect order field guide worksheet. Include on the page the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of a typical insect in that order.

Step 3: Have each member of your group choose one insect from your assigned order, research that insect, and complete an insect field guide worksheet. Be sure to include the requested information as well as a photograph or drawing of that insect.

Step 4: Present your work to your classmates.

Step 5: Combine your work with your classmates' pages to create an insect field guide. Be sure to include your insect order page as well as your insect field guide page in the field guide.

INSECT ORDERS

GENERAL INSECT RESOURCES

ORTHOPTERA (grasshoppers and crickets)

COLEOPTERA (beetles)

LEPIDOPTERA (butterflies and moths)

DIPTERA (flies and mosquitoes)

HYMENOPTERA (ants, wasps, and bees)

HEMIPTERA (true bugs)

HOMOPTERA (aphids and cicadas)

DERMAPTERA (earwigs)

ODONATA (dragonflies and damselflies)

ISOPTERA (termites)

EVALUATION

Your grade will reflect:

the accuracy of your research. (10 percent)

the accuracy of your drawings. (20 percent)

the quality of your final presentation. (30 percent)

your contribution to entire field guide. (20 percent)

the quality of your oral presentation. (10 percent)

CONCLUSION

Use your field guide pages to create a PowerPoint slide show of your bug field guide.

Click here for the A Bug Safari Teacher Page.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World

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INTRODUCTION This spring, your town's nature director has decided to conduct insect safaris in the park. Your class has been asked to create a field guide to help those who go on the safaris learn about the insects they see.