Thursday, April 26, 2007
Creepy, Crawly Insect Web Quest
The Mindtool that I have designed for use by my students is an insect Web Quest. The Web Quest is to be completed by a kindergarten student and a fourth grade buddy. The primary responsibility of the kindergarten student is to participate in the investigative research and complete all tasks as outlined, while the buddy is responsible for reading and explaining the directions of the quest. The buddy is also responsible for typing documents and importing pictures. The Web Quest was designed using Microsoft Power Point and includes links to self-made web pages, Microsoft Word and Excel documents, Kidspiration concept maps, and Internet resources.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I love your webquest! I think that kindergarteners will enjoy the use of technology at their own level where they can experience success! Your webquest is definitely a mindtool as it engages the students in a variety of ways: researching a specific bug, creating a concept map for their bug, working together on the class graph, collaborating on a buddy writing assignment, and completing a self-assessment.
Your kindergarteners will really grow from this activity as they are doing so much more than just learning about a bug! You are exposing them to technology and software that will certainly enhance their learning and train them to apply strategies in future years!
If your access to the network is a challenge due to the blocked accounts of your kindergarteners, I would truly consider completing the majority of the quest as a class and then have the materials pre-printed and ready for the children to work on. The mock-websites were so kid friendly that I don't think the fourth grade buddy is crucial - and if you print up the blank concept maps your students will be set to go!
I understand your frustration with relying on fellow collegues to complete activities. I can tell how much work you put into this webquest, and you are certainly a pioneer for your school! I think that this is a tool that you will be able to use for future years as you teach kindergarten, and now that you have done it once - I am sure you could adapt different versions if you were ever to switch grades.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree that the fourth grade buddy is probably not as crucial to completing the Web Quest as I once thought. I could definitely guide my students through the quest with a lot of explanation (and patience)!
I would probably end up doing more of the activites using paper/pencil versus using the computer because we do not have access to Kidspiration and my students are not able to type documents. I would print out the concept maps for the students to fill in by hand. I would still be able to have the students print the writing paper online and complete the Excel graphs on the computer.
Regardless if the entire quest is completed on the computer, the higher order thinking skills are still present. The students are still exploring a topic in depth and relating new knowledge to previously learned concepts. I can assure you that I have never done something this in depth during our study of insects.
I am excited to try it out with my students to see how it goes. We are doing our insect unit next week, so I think I will take your suggestion and do the Web Quest, regardless of the participation of the fourth grade teacher.
Good suggestions, Megan. Go for it Kelly! I expect to hear how it goes! Just plan ahead and have patience. Don't expect it to be perfect the first time around. It's all a learning experience.
Post a Comment