Introduction

Jan has been traveling the globe taking in breathtaking scenary and experiencing rich cultures. Like Jan, many of us have traveled near and far, and have kept souvenirs and pictures of our adventure. However, if we as travelers did more investigating of the countries, states, territories, or provinces, we would find a deeply rooted, richer, and more sophisticated community and culture we could ever imagine.

This WebQuest is designed to assist students in invesitigating lands that they've traveled or want to travel, and explore it's geography, famous landmarks, historical events, important people, industries, and the cultural traditions and foods of that area. The final assessment is a published memory book page for the classroom memory book called "Globe Trotting."

Learners

This lesson is designed for fifth graders invesitgating many facets of social studies, while incorporating language arts,creative arts, and speaking to a lesser extent. This lesson can be modified for fourth or sixth graders by designing it with grade specific performance standards in mind. Because of the required online searches, adult supervision may be necessary to achieve success in this investigation.

In order for students to fully participate in this investigative WebQuest, they will want to select a special place that they've visited or would like to visit. In preparation of this WebQuest investigation, you may want to actually do this assignment yourself and present it to your students to model what the process and final assessment would entail. Discuss with your students in advance of places they'd like to investigate before advancing into this Webquest. Students should also feel comfortable perusing through the internet. Adult assistance is highly recommended.

Curriculum Standards and Lesson Objectives

Standards Addressed:

Social Studies

• Geography vocabulary such as concepts of location, direction, distance, scale, movement, and region using appropriate words and diagrams.
• Use maps and charts to interpret geographic information.
• Locate and identify various continents and countries of the world.
• Recognize and identify how physical environments affect human activity.
• Recognize and identify how human activity can affect their physical environment.
• Recognize the relationships among the various parts of a nation's cultural life.
• Learn about the country's location in relation to where students live and the area's geographical features.

Language Arts

• Utilizing strategies of drafting, revising, editing and publishing to produce best quality work.
• Utilizing detailed descriptive words to captivate audience.
• Recognizing and utilizing appropriate conventions in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.
• Utilizing research reports for expository writing.
• Practicing best handwriting.

Arts

• Create and present a work of art.
• Apply the use of ideas, techniques and problem solving to the creative process and analyze the influence that choices have on the result.

Speaking and listening

• Communicate to support ideas and information by using technical vocabulary and descriptive words.
• Engage audience by using eye contact, appropriate pitch, volume, and pace.

Lesson Objectives:

• During the lesson, students will demonstrate an understanding of researching information by searching on the given websites, reference books and maps.
• At the end of the lesson, students will demonstrate a deep understanding of the geographic features of another country and its culture by investigating, writing and sharing their information.
• At the end of the investigative phase of the project, students will demonstrate their language ability by proofreading, revising, and editing their writing.
• After the research is completed, students will demonstrate their ability to communicate their information by legibly writing their information for the final project.
• At the end of the final project, students will have demonstrated their artistic ability by creatively implementing the use of layout, graphics, and various mediums to convey their information.
• At the end of this project students will be able to demonstrate there ability to verbally communicate their work by using eye contact, appropriate pitch, volume, and page when sharing their project with their peers.

Process

• Discuss with your students the various places where they have traveled. Your discussion may include special features of the country of choice whether its about it's cultural heritage or geographical features.
• After the class discussion, students will conduct an indepth investigation of their chosen country, and learn more about this country's cultural background and geographical features. Click here for an investigation form that your students can use for their investigation.
• By answering these questions, they will be able to use this information for their final project.
• Have them print out a map of their country, state or province.
• Find online photography or use personal photos that represent this area's landforms, people or culture.
• After filling out the research form, they will create a memory page with all the information that they've researched.
• Fill out an investigation form and make a memory page to model what you expect to see on their investigation form and their final project.
• To create their own memory page, students will legibly write or type their newfound knowledge on different colored sheets.
• Give each student an 12 x 12 memory page sheet. This should be heavy, acid free cardstock that you can find in craft stores.
• On their page, an original title representing their travel to this country should be artfully done at the top.
• Have students do a collage of all their information, maps and cultural pictures of their page. Collectively, it should be organized in a way that is easily understood.
• Bind all the pages together. Have a student make a front cover for this book complete with title, class name and graphics.
• Take another class period for the students to share what they've learned and showcase their page.

This may take 4 or more class periods and the use of multiple computers. If computers are all being utilized, have encyclopedias and maps available for those students who may not have access to a computer. Another option is to have the kids do the investigation at home where they can receive individualized attention if they need assistance with the internet.

Conference with each student to check their work, and help them organize their information. If necessary, go over summarizing and paraphrasing and avoid plagiarizing. Let students peer conference if this works well in your classroom. Parent volunteers would be a great asset for this project.

Resources Needed

• School computers accessible to all students
• Internet access
• school printer
• Investigation form
• world and country maps
• Specific reference materials such as encyclopedias, in the classroom or school library.
• drawing and writing materials: markers, cryons, pencils, paints
• textured papers
• scissors, rubber cement, stickers, ribbons, etc.
• 12 x 12 memory book cardstock
• Binding machine
• Plastic bindings
• Specific websites for students' investigation

Assistance should be provided for students that are struggling to find investigative information, photos, or assembling the final memory book page. The investigation can be done at home as well so that students can have parental assistance and more time to do this investigation. The final assignment should be done in school so that creativity is done solely by the student.

Evaluation

At the end of this project, students will have a final memory book page. This page will contain pertinent information collected, described, or summarized on their investigative page. The students' final page will include all of their investigative information that is well formatted, well written, and creatively designed. Evaluation will be based on the information provided, the effort implemented into the investigation, and the final memory book page, which should incorporate creativity, organization of information, and conventions. Refer and discuss the rubrics with your students before they begin the project.

This lesson will take some time. However, at the end of this unit, students will have a better understanding of another country, it's geography, and how it affects the local culture. Students will be evaluated individually. Each student's evaluation will be based on his/her effort for both the investigation page, as well as the memory book page, creativity of the final page, conventions, and graphics that they use. Their final project should be a genuine representation of their specific country. Sharing their project at the end will allow students to communicate what they've learned about another land and how it can be very different from what they are accustomed.

Conclusion

Your students have now gained a deeper understanding of another country and its culture. By communicating the information with their peers, students will hopefully gain even more knowledge about various countries that their peers have studied. This lesson allows them to investigate and present their findings in a creative way. This memory book will be part of their classroom library that they can be very proud of producing.

Credits & References

The following people have helped make this website possible:

Dr. Mark Bailey

Jan Neirynck

Yahong Zhang

Ismael Acosta