Webquest
Last
Updated January 2005 by Trisha Armstrong
Have you ever read the picture book
"Liza Lou and the
How
about "
Third graders all study
about Indiana Wetlands for a grade level project. You as a team are going
to give a presentation to each third grade class, discussing different aspects
of Indiana Wetlands. Each one of you will create a part to be presented
in your final presentation.
The Task 
This is a webquest. You will be using the internet to
visit sites.
You will each decide which
questions to investigate as part of the total presentation given to the
classes. All the questions must be answered and reported on for your
presentation to the classes. It
would be good to work in pairs to answer the questions. These are the questions you will be answering:
Write out a definition of
the term wetland.
Write about the
classifications of different wetlands.
Discuss the importance of
wetlands. Why are they valuable, what is their function?
Detail the consequences of
losing or degrading wetlands.
Report on the economic
benefits of wetlands.
Detail current facts about
our American wetlands.
Discuss the Indiana
Wetlands exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo. What has happened with
the plant Purple Loosestrife?
Write about the
When you have all finished writing out information on your particular
questions, as a group, decide what plants, animals, birds, insects, and trees
and shrubs you would put in a wetland landscape here in
Resources
You will have the
book "Wetlands" by the National Audubon Society.
You will have
"The Book of Swamp and Bog" by John Eastman.
You will have the
book "Liza Lou and the
You will have the
following internet sites to browse. Print information from the sites you
use and highlight what facts are important to the questions you need to answer.
Pigeon River talks about what's
happening in this area of
The
Indianapolis zoo
has an exhibit about Indiana Wetlands.
http://www.idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/wetlands/facts.html
http://lacoast.gov/education/FragileFringe/glossary.htm
The Process
To accomplish
your task, you need to take the following steps:
- Each one of you needs to use a notebook to
take notes from the books and to find drawings you want to contribute.
- Among yourselves, you need to decide what
pair is answering which questions?
- While one pair is on the internet, the others
may use the books available or encyclopedias.
- You all need to look at the books; you all
need to answer your questions on the internet.
- Get large paper to begin your brochure.
- Discuss as a team what plants, animals,
birds, insects, trees and shrubs you want in your brochure advertisement.
- Each team member should draw a plant or tree
and an animal or bird. They should be labeled.
- Each member should contribute a paragraph to
the brochure.
- Present all of the information you have
collected on the questions you answered. You should all take
part.
- Designate one person to tell about the
brochure ad you made for the wetland area you designed.
Learning advice
After
gathering information to answer questions, before you present your portion to
the classes, it would be good to put main ideas you want to present on 3 X 5
cards and practice at home. You will need to speak loudly, look at your
audience, and be familiar with what is on your cards so that you can just
glance at them. Designate a person who speaks well and enjoys it when you
are showing the brochure to classes.
Remember this is a cooperative venture. Everyone needs to
participate. After you practice at home, we will videotape each of you so
we can make constructive criticisms about your presentation before you go to
the three classrooms.
Conclusion
When you have completed
this webquest, you should have lots of basic
information about wetlands. Perhaps at a later time this year, we can videotape
presentations on some of the different plants, animals, insects, trees, birds,
and shrubs you included in your wetlands area and in your brochure. Can
you tell a friend why
