Below is the lesson plan for the Latin America WebQuest.
Purpose: Latin America WebQuest was designed to help my sixth grade World Cultures class have a fun and interactive way of learning about the people and geography of Latin America. I want my students to simulate traveling to Latin America and reporting their findings in the form of journal entries.
Rationale: We are required to learn about Latin America in our course and instead of just reading a few pages in a dry social studies text, I want my students to learn more than the "basic" information. In diving into this WebQuest, there is really no limit to what the students may learn in their research.
Learner Description: This WebQuest is designed for middle school students learning about Latin America. It could easily be used with high school students with some possible modifications.
Prerequisites: It is assumed that students have already been learning about Latin America, have internet access, and are ready to take their learning to the next level.
Instructional Objectives: The learner will
Texas Essential Knowledge Standards Addressed:
differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; and artifacts to acquire information about selected world cultures.[21.A]
analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.[21.B]
organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps.[21.C]
incorporate main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication.[22.B]
express ideas orally based on research and experiences.[22.C]
create written and visual material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies.[22.D]
use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation.[22.E]
use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.[23.A]
use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.[23.B]
Subject Matter Description: In this Latin America WebQuest we followed the model developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March as closely as we could. The following sections are included in the WebQuest:
Assessment: Students will produce a journal with at least ten entries describing their travels in Latin America. They have won a contest in which the prize is a two week trip to Latin America. The catch is that the students have to write a journal to present to their classmates when they get back. The product will be assessed with the rubric in the evaluation section of the Latin America WebQuest.