ISLAND COLONIZATION WEBQUEST

 

Introduction

 

This WebQuest was designed as part of the University of Northern Iowa’s Problem Based Learning with WebQuests online class. 

 

Groups of four to five students will work together to create a persuasive argument for or against colonization of a newly discovered island.  In order to make an informed choice, students will need to research early American colonies and the impact they had on indigenous people.  The persuasive format can be a letter, PowerPoint, or video.

 

Students

 

This project is for 5^th grade students and incorporates Language Arts and Social Studies as an integrated unit.  It was designed more specifically for the third unit of study for 5^th graders at Taipei American School.  The students previously completed a unit on exploration and designed their own island posters, complete with flora, fauna, and geographic features.  This WebQuest takes them on the next step of the journey…to think about colonization, which will lead into one of the 6th grade units, where the students design a 3-D island with a fully developed culture.

 

Curriculum Standards

 

This WebQuest addresses standards in Language Arts, Social Studies and Technology.  Students focus on Taipei American School adopted Language Arts and Social Studies standards and Technology Standards from National Education Technology Standards for Students.

 

Language Arts, Level II: Grades 3-5, 1. Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process

• IILan1B12: Prewriting: Uses prewriting strategies to plan written work (e.g., uses graphic organizers, story maps, and webs; groups related ideas; takes notes; brainstorms ideas)

Social Studies, Level I: Grades K - 5, 3. People, Places and Environments: Understands relationships between humans and their physical environment

• ISoc3B8: h. examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions;

Social Studies, Level I: Grades K - 5, 5. Individuals, Groups and Institutions: Understands the interactions among individuals, groups and institutions

• ISoc5B2: b. give examples of and explain group and institutional influences such as religious beliefs, laws, and peer pressure, on people, events, and elements of culture;
• ISoc5B4: d. identify and describe examples of tensions between and among individuals, groups, or institutions, and how belonging to more than one group can cause internal conflict;
• ISoc5B5: e. identify and describe examples of tension between an individual's beliefs and government policies and laws;
• ISoc5B7: g. show how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so.

Social Studies, Level I: Grades K - 5, 6. Power, Authority and Governance: Understands how people influence and are affected by structures of power, authority and governance.

• ISoc6B6: f. identify and describe factors that contribute to cooperation and cause disputes within and among groups and nations;
• ISoc6B8: h. recognizes and gives examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concept, such as fairness, equity, and justice.

Technology Foundation Standards for Students

 

1)      Basic operations and concepts

·        Students are proficient in the use of technology.

 

2)    Social, ethical, and human issues

·        Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.

·        Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.

·        Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

 

3)    Technology 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.

 

4)    Technology communications tools

·        Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

 

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.

 

6)    Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools

·        Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.

·        Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

 

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Process

 

This Webquest will take between three to four weeks to complete. I found when I used this last year that I needed to print out some of the web resource pages in order for my students to read more carefully for pertinent information. Computer access can be problematic, but once the research is complete, the students can work offline to generate answers to questions and formulate opinions.  All of our students have Internet access at home, so they can also do part of the task as homework.  And since all of the students have telephones and email, they can communicate with their group members from home as well. 

 

Before students begin the WebQuest, take a look at it yourself so you know what it’s like.  Next, divide the students into groups of four or five.  Then, depending on the technology skills of the students, they can be allowed to move into looking at the WebQuest on their own, and getting right into it.  If their technology skills are still developing, you might want to demonstrate the navigation of the site.  It would be helpful to add the URL to the favorites on the computers they’ll be using or including it in a shared file.  This helps eliminate pesky spelling problems when inputting web addresses.

 

Student Process

 

You will be part of an assigned group, consisting of four to five members.  Before you and your group can persuade others on the pros and cons of colonization, you will need to learn about past colonization.  Looking at early American colonization will give you many ideas that will help you form your opinions and complete your task.

 

Before you start the Process, read through the entire page.  You might also want to take a quick look at the rest of the site to see how it all works.  You can always return to the previous page by hitting the browser's "back" button.  You should keep this in mind when you look at the guides and rubrics on the "Rubrics/Resources" page.  Keep in mind also the fact that you will be completing a self-assessment rubric at the end of this WebQuest.  Looking at it now will give you an idea of what is expected of you.

 

Begin by brainstorming answers (use the brainstorm guide provided to help with your brainstorm session) to the following questions:

Note to teachers:  It would be a good idea to have students keep all their work, no matter how sloppy.  I have mine keep papers in a divided binder, but you could use whatever system works for you. 

·        What is a colony?

·        Why do people colonize?

·        What might be the needs of the new colonists, and how will they be met?

·        What impact might colonization have on native culture?

 

Look at the vocabulary and definition sheet for help with the questions.  When the brainstorming is complete, your group will research answers to the following questions:

 

• Why did people leave their homeland and colonize in America?
• Who were some of the important people in the early American colonies?
• What supplies did the colonists need in the first year?
• How were the needs of the colonists met?
• How were the natural resources of the land used?
• What geographic features helped make a colony successful?
• How did early colonists govern themselves?
• How did the early American colonists change the lives of the indigenous people?
• Which early American colony was the most successful, and why?

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Instructions for research:

1.  First, carefully read through the questions to make sure all members understand them.

2.  Next, answer the questions based on the knowledge you already have as a team.

            Note to teachers:  Some students may need help understanding these questions.  Since the questions need to be divided up between group members, you may wish to help with the dividing up.

 

Divide the questions among team members in order to search more effectively.  Complete your research by using the websites provided.   If you still need more information, you can use books from the school library.  Doing your own Internet search for more information is not recommended because there is so much information out there!  However, if you still feel the need to search the web, use the key words provided, and be prepared to sift through a lot of sites to find good ones.

        Note to teachers:  The web is inundated with sites that relate to the colonies and early American history.  The students can quickly become overwhelmed and spend hours searching in vain for just the “right” source. 

 

Key Words for Internet search:

1. Colonization of early America
2. Jamestown colony
3. Thirteen colonies
4. Early American history
5. American colony timeline
6. Indigenous people in early America
7. Indigenous cultures
8. Native Americans
9. History of Jamestown
10. American colonies
11. Middle colonies
12. Why people colonize
13. Common elements of culture
14. Cultural clash between indigenous people and colonists
15. Factors for colonization

 

3.  You must ask permission before beginning your own web search, and use only the search engines your teacher tells you.

4.  Meet back together as a team to discuss answers.

 

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Instructions for task completion:

1. Your teacher will present your group with a sealed envelope, which will indicate whether you are to be for or against the colonization of the island.

         Note to teacher:  You can use the Pro and Con cards provided for this. 

2. You and your team need to decide which format you will use to persuade others.  You may write a persuasive letter, or make a PowerPoint or video presentation.

Note to teacher:  You may decide to limit the choice of formats to only PowerPoints or letters.  Making a video, especially if the students are the ones doing it, can be a time consuming and nightmarish proposition!  On the other hand, it could certainly encourage creativity.  Also, if you don’t have PowerPoint, another option would be to have the students make a slide show using Hyper Studio or other slide show software. Also, before filming the videotape, I've learned that it is a must to have a completed storyboard, as well as a well-written script.  Lots of practice will go a long way toward having a successful videotape.  Last year we just used a regular video camera, so we weren't able to do any editing with it.  This year we will be using a digital video camera and Movie Maker in order to have a better end product. 

3. Divide your group so that you all share in the creation of the persuasive format.  You may wish to assign several people the task of doing the writing, while others may design the format of the presentation.  This choice will be left up to you to determine how best to use the skills of each group member.

Note to teacher:  You may not wish to leave this decision making process in the hands of the students.  I’m not sure I will either!

 

Use the persuasion graphic organizer to help you with your planning.  You should have three reasons to support your opinion, along with three supporting facts or details for each.

4. Use the persuasive letter rubric if you have decided to write a letter.  If you are going to make a PowerPoint or video presentation, use the persuasive presentation rubric to make sure the necessary elements are completed.
5. Present the completed task to the class.
6. Complete the self-assessment rubric.

      Note to teacher:  The rubrics are pretty student friendly.  Our school has been using rubrics for several years now and the students are quite adept at interpreting them.  You will be completing rubrics for the group, but you may want to make a copy of the rubric for each student.  They of course, will be completing their own self-assessment rubric.  This is something that would be a great addition to students’ portfolios.

 

 

 

Go to Conclusion for final thoughts on this WebQuest.

 

Resources Needed

 

This WebQuest can’t be completed without the use of computers with Internet access.  The computers also need to have software such as Word, Appleworks, and PowerPoint or Hyper Studio. Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Safari web browsers should all work well with this WebQuest, although the boats on the pages sometimes stop moving with Safari!

 

Reference Materials

          ALL WRITE: a student handbook for writing and learning, published by Great Source Education Group, a Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0-669-45980-1

 

          America Will Be, a Social Studies textbook published by Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 

 

There are also many related books found in public and school libraries.

 

Websites:  (this is the hot list I created to save students time)

http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/natives2.htm

http://www.timepage.org/spl/13colony.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/thanksgiving/mayflower/index.htm

http://www.umkc.edu/imc/mayflow.htm

http://www.pilgrimhall.org/plgrmhll.htm

http://www.apva.org/history/index.html

http://www.jamestowne.org/history0.htm

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/colonial (this may load slowly, but is woth the wait)

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/colonial/jamestwn_1 (loads slowly)

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch1_p9.htm

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/package.jsp?name=fte/ancientcity/ancientcity

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/package.jsp?name=fte/pocahontasvillage/pocahontasvillage

http://www.plimoth.org/

 

Some of the addresses are different from the student page since I converted some to Tiny URLs. 

 

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Evaluation

 

Students are evaluated using the rubrics. 

 

Conclusion

 

The development of this WebQuest was an agonizing labor of love.  It helped to have an idea of where our third unit was heading, but organizing and producing all the components was definitely time-consuming.  That’s not to say I didn’t have an absolute terrific time finding and producing graphics and information that would help make it appealing and intriguing.  My students have yet to try this WebQuest, so my conclusion may change after they do!  Stay tuned for follow-up.

 

Credits and Thanks

 

Many thanks go to Becky Mather, instructor extraordinaire from UNI.  Her guidance and inspiration have made it possible for me to feel refreshed and invigorated even with many sleepless nights spent tossing and turning while thinking of ways to add components to this WebQuest.

 

Thanks also go to my Fall 2003 classmates of UNI Problem Based Learning with WebQuests.  Their guidance and insights were invaluable.  And I cannot forget to thank my Grade 5 team at Taipei American School...they are truly a group of remarkable people who help make it a pleasure to go to school most every day.  

 

I looked at many completed WebQuests in my search for inspiration, ideas, help, and answers to questions I didn't know I had.  Thanks to all who paved the way by creating such great WebQuests.

 

TeacherWeb gets a lot of kudos from me because they provided the free WebQuest templates and hosting.  Talk about a great service for educators.

 

I designed the compass rose graphic for my home page.  The animated island and town graphics both come from Microsoft Word clip art.  The background for the pages was downloaded from Mediabuilder.  I also used TinyURL to manage some of the long URL's on the Website page.  This is a really cool service.

 

Finally, many thanks go to my husband who put up with my inattention while I was intensely absorbed in the creation of this WebQuest.

 

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