Teacher Page:

The purpose of this page is to provide teachers with some background information in order to complete this webquest with students.

The instructional goal of this project is to encourage students to use the Internet to research the following areas of study: Social Studies and Language Arts.

Title: "In a Poetic State" Webquest

Author:
Joel Solomon, Technology Specialist
Sagebrush Elementary
Cherry Creek School District

Grade Level: Grades 4-8

Objective:

1) Understand the different types of poetry in order to communicate creatively and effectively
2) Conduct online research about one of the 50 States and incorporate these into a creative writing project
3) Create a final product that includes a presentation of learning (i.e. Power Point presentation or picture book)

Instructional tools:

- Students will work in teams of four. Lessons can be conducted in a large group setting (computer lab) or in small groups (students take turns using classroom computers)
- Two computers per group is the ideal number that teachers make available to students. This way students can work in cooperative pairs and still be able to work as a foursome.
- Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, and Kid Pix should be installed on each computer used in this webquest. Paper and coloring tools can also be used by students to create their final product.
Internet Explorer Skills: If students have no experience navigating through websites, teachers should model how to use the BACK button, how to recognize links to other sites, and downloading the sample documents included in the webquest.
PowerPoint Skills: While it is not necessary for students to be 'experts' in PowerPoint, it would be helpful if they had a few mini-lessons on creating slides, choosing layouts and designs, inserting text and using the Formatting Palette, and adding graphics.
Kid Pix Skills: Students should know how to paint a picture, use the drawing tools on the left and modify the corresponding choices on the bottom, insert text, and using the stamper tool to insert graphics.
To learn more about these and other applications, Atomic Learning offers online movie tutorials that provide a good overview of basic operations.

Timeline:

Please allow approximately 7-10 days to complete this webquest (based on 45 minute periods).

Day 1: Introduce "In a Poetic State" website to students. If they have not completed a webquest before, be sure to review each step of the process, from Introduction through Conclusion. Form groups of four at teacher's discretion.

Day 2: Students should decide what state they are researching, and begin completing the job chart, beginning with the research areas (geography, state symbols, etc.). Students should begin reviewing the poetry resources in order to decide which type of poem to write.

Day 3: Job charts should be completed with both topics and poetry choices. Students should begin taking notes on their state topics.

Day 4: Continue taking notes. Some students may be ready to begin drafting their poems based on the notes that were taken.

Day 5: Continue taking notes and drafting poems on paper. Some groups (or individuals) may be ready to transfer their poems to PowerPoint or Kid Pix.

Day 6: Students should be ready to compile their poems via PowerPoint, Kid Pix, or drawing/writing on paper.

Day 7: Continue to work on final project. Some students may finish, and can assist other group members, or write more than one poem. Others may need teacher guidance to include graphics and/or assistance writing poems that conform to the rules found in their research.

Day 8: Complete "About the Author" page, as well as finishing putting together final product.

Day 9: Make final revisions to presentations, complete "Conclusion" section by answering the online survey.

Day 10: Present final products to the class.

Webquest Documents:

FINAL PRODUCT EXAMPLES: Tennessee.ppt (1.5MB) Hawaii.ppt (868kb)

STUDENT JOB CHARTS: Job_Chart.doc (28kb)  Job_Chart.pdf (20kb)

Technology Management:

In order to successfully implement this webquest, teachers will need to delegate the use of computers. If two computers are being assigned to each group, both computers should be used for research the first two days.  Once students have created a poem, and the teacher has approved it, a computer should then be used for creating and compiling the PowerPoint presentations only. Students can work in pairs and take turns doing Internet research and then writing their poems.

Saving work correctly is VERY important! Groups should have ONE PowerPoint document that students access and share to create their presentation. This PowerPoint document should have at least six slides (Title Page, 4 poems, About the Authors Page). Steps to create a group slide show:

1) One student creates a title slide with state name and student names
2) Each student will choose INSERT > NEW SLIDE and create their poem with graphic
3) Students can customize their own slides by changing slide design and/or background color
4) After each student has inserted their slides/poems, add a final "About the Authors" slide
5) If your school allows students to save files on a server, or if students have individual storage areas, students can then choose FILE > SAVE AS and put copies of this document into other folders.

By designating computers for either research or PowerPoint, students will be able to divide their tasks and switch roles each day.

Online Resources:

Websites for researching the 50 States:
http://www.50states.com/fileindx.htm

http://www.netstate.com/states/

http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/stateknow/skhome.html

Poetry Websites:
http://shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html

http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtypes.html

http://rhyme.poetry.com/

Standards Addressed:

Writing 2a: Writes in a variety of modes for the purpose of informing or explaining to a variety of audiences.
Writing 2c: Uses appropriate choice of words to communicate clearly.

NETS Standard 3 / Productivity Tools:
- Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
- Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
NETS Standard 5 /Technology Research Tools:
- Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
- Students use technology tools to process data and report results.