webquest
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A WebQuest for 9th Grade Biology
Designed by
Based on a template from The WebQuest Page
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Simply put, you will be separated into groups of 4 to 5 and build a community. This community will take place in the Medieval Era. The clincher of this particular assignment, is that this will be the only information that you will be provided. You as the class will be the designers and executors of your own assignments.
Please be aware, that I will be testing your designs, questioning your information, and walking around. This assignment will be ongoing through several weeks, as I will be forcing you to adapt, rethink, and revise your projects. As the semester goes on, you will learn the purpose of your project and draw comparisons and conclusions based off of your projects.
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In order to understand what it is that makes a medieval community thrive, you must do some research. What do these communities need? How do they endure? How do they adapt? You will need to answer these questions, and come up with several of your own to begin your community.
Once complete, every member of your group should be assigned a role. It will be up to you as to what these roles are. (Hint: What roles are played in today’s society to help the community thrive and survive?) I will be around to give you hints, but you are ultimately responsible for your assignments of role.
I regret to inform you however, that you will be leading your own project which will be ongoing. I will be stopping to grade your progress based off of thoroughness of research, your ability to adapt, and revise your projects.
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[Teacher Page]To start your project, you must begin your research on medieval communities.
Before you research, ask yourselves some fundamental questions on how these societies survived? Where do they get their funds, their food, their infrastructure?
1. Come up with a series of questions that will help inform you of medieval society. Try to make predictions about how your society will work.
2. Once you have enough information, you will assign roles to each member of your group, who will be responsible for one part of your project.
3. Once you have researched what it takes for a medieval community to survive, and assigned your roles, you will have to ask me to review your work before being OK’d for the next step.
4. The next step will be given verbally by me once you have been briefed.
Please keep in mind that a great deal of the information gathering and project building will be your responsibility. The outcome will be your own, and the grading will be based not off of how well you do, but on how thorough you are, and how you adapt your projects as the semester progresses.
I encourage you to visit the following websites:
- http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/medsoc/- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/- http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_masons.htm- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/industry.shtml- http://www.medieval-life.net/life_main.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/transport.shtml- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_hall_in_Szyd%C5%82owiec
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Beginning1
Developing2
Accomplished3
Exemplary4
Score
Information Gathering
Information taken from only one source and/or information not accurate.
Accurate information taken from a couple of sources but not systematically.
Accurate information taken from a couple of sources in a systematic manner. .
Accurate information taken from several sources in a systematic manner.
Data Collection
Data not taken carefully OR not taken in a reliable manner.
Data taken once in a careful, reliable manner.
Data taken twice in a careful, reliable manner. .
Data taken several times in a careful, reliable manner.
Plan Plan does not show measurements clearly or is otherwise inadequately labeled.
Plan provides clear measurements and labeling for most components
Plan is neat with clear measurements and labeling for most components..
Plan is neat with clear measurements and labeling for all components.
Modification/Testing
Little evidence of troubleshooting, testing or refinement.
Some evidence of troubleshooting, testing and refinements.
Clear evidence of troubleshooting, testing and refinements.
Clear evidence of troubleshooting, testing, and refinements based on data or scientific principles.
Infrastructure
There is no infrastructure, or the infrastructure has no purpose and cannot be reasonably used to aid in the survival of a medieval society.
The infrastructure has an unclear purpose for a medieval society.
Infrastructure has a clear purpose which can aid in the survival of a medieval society
Infrastructure has clear and precise purpose which aid in the survival of a medieval society.
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Now that you have done some research, assigned your roles, and have begun your planning, it will be time for you to get your assignments from your teacher. Make sure that you keep your data organized, and to strive to find other sources of information to help improve your project.
As you continue on your project, you will learn more about what your project is about, and where it is leading.
Please keep in mind, that this project will be mostly student lead.
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Thank you to those who did the research on the websites that are provided on the Process page and for displaying that information online for us to read.
- http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/medsoc/- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/- http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_masons.htm- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/industry.shtml- http://www.medieval-life.net/life_main.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/transport.shtml- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_hall_in_Szyd%C5%82owiecAll photos provided by: JC Page
The WebQuest Page , The WebQuest Slideshare Group
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A WebQuest for 9-10th Grade (Put Subject Here)
Designed by:
(303)999-5755
Based on a template from The WebQuest Page
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The idea itself came from JC Page in a methods class, where he was inspired to create an inquiry lab. Although the idea was formed in 2007, there was no solid implementation of the idea until Webquest came along.
This is a half lecture, half lab experimental project for students to essentially create for themselves. This lab is an inquiry lab aimed at teaching cellular biology in a unique way without allowing the students to know what they are learning until it is too late.
It is a bit sneaky, but I feel that the students will be able to draw analogies from what they are doing to cellular biology, which are much harder to forget than a standard lab and/or lecture.
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This particular lab can be expanded or collapsed for any grades between 7th and 10th grade biology. In fact, it is likely that if a teacher is clever enough, this lab can be used all the way to 12th grade. Therefore, depending on the teacher’s ability to draw analogies and their ability to lead students to certain pieces of information, one can make this lab extremely successful.
What the learners need to know prior to this lab is truly dependent on the grade level you begin with. Assuming the learner has no prior experience with the cell at all, then we will assume 7th grade, and thus they require no experience anyway. The entire idea is for the students to build upon teamwork, observations, adaptation, and creativity. Once they begin to form a picture of what their work is analogous to, they will begin to learn the material.
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Contrary to the simple nature of the project, the education has more depth than just cellular biology. They will learn how science works, hypothesis, failure in science, re-testing, evolving their ideas, peer criticism, critical thinking, and re-evaluation of their work in order to improve upon it.
Science Standards Addressed:
Standard 1: Grades 6-12; All benchmarks for 6-8; Benchmarks 1,2,4,5 and 6 for 9-12.Standard 3: Grades 6-8; Benchmarks 1-3, 5-6; Grades 9-12; Benchmarks 2-4, 9-10, 18.Standard 5: Grades 6-8; Benchmarks 2,4, and 5; Grades 9-12; Benchmarks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
As a teacher, you should be familiar with these standards particularly for this project. The interweaving standards truly show a high amount of critical thinking and evaluation skills pertaining to how science itself works. If you lead them to learn, re-evaluate, constructively criticize, hypothesize, and re-test, then the student’s final product should be an example of how science works.
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If you would like to see the process, just scroll up to view the student version, for I disallowed further information on that page.
However, here the process is far more complicated. The students will be in the dark about what lesson they are learning. I want them to form a medieval community after doing initial research and observations, assigning roles, making a plan and putting that plan into action.
My goal is to steer them to creating a castle community. This project is ongoing throughout cell biology. If a student, for example, does not build a castle, but a quaint little town, I will add in an attack of my own which will force the students to respond and revise their town to add protection.
- Please note, that whatever you do in an event such as this, that it should be analogous to cellular biology. The example above would be a bacterial or viral attack on a cell with no protection. This would devastate a living organism, but evolution drives us to adapt to changing conditions, which is exactly my goal for my students. If they can evolve a cell that includes components such as the nucleus, Golgi complex, mitochondria, the phospholipid bi-layer, RER, SER, vacuoles, lysosomes, integral proteins, and various membrane-bound proteins, then their lesson will be complete and will end in a class discussion. Hopefully the students will lead themselves in this conversation and draw comparisons and conclusions from their efforts.
VariationsMy idea is to use Lego's, so that students can physically build their communities. These aren’t cheap, but can be purchased in bulk at the Lego store or online. Variations could include cheaper materials such as popsicle sticks, toothpicks (be careful since some students get rowdy), Styrofoam cups and plates, plastic utensils etc. Other variations could include online programs that do the building for you.
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I suggest you have the following to do this lab:
•Any good biology book containing evolution, cellular biology, genetics, and cancer (mutations)•Enough Lego's and/or supplies for at least 5 groups of 5.•Imagination and patience•You may need school permissions for websites involved•You do not need video/audio material as of yet. It is possible to incorporate video once the students know what the assignment is all about.•Make sure to include in your lesson a plan to guide students to where they need to go without giving them the answers and how to test their societies in ways relevant to cellular biology.
•Try to steer them towards evolution, the immune system, genetics etc. This is a great opener into other topics.
- http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/medsoc/- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/- http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_masons.htm- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/industry.shtml- http://www.medieval-life.net/life_main.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/transport.shtml- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_hall_in_Szyd%C5%82owiec
The human resources needed are minimal. The students will build their projects, and you will overlook them while they are out of class to see what you can do to encourage them to improve (via a “viral” attack , AKA a military invasion)
The other primary human resource is the students themselves. They are truly the key to this entire project.
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The rubric is truly for the student’s guidance. You will know if the project is successful during the final conversations about what the students have done.
It is successful if:-They made connections to the scientific method-They made connections to cellular biology-They used critical thinking skills in order to improve on their weaknesses as well as have the foresight to avoid complications-They responded appropriately to failure and/or peer criticism-They have been able to react to stimulus from the teacher in order to keep their project going.-They can draw inter-science conclusions using a wide variety of knowledge (this is more for the 9-12 grades)-They can use the knowledge gleaned from this project to predict the outcome of more complicated topics.-They can draw connections between their project and evolution, genetics, cellular biology, macrobiology, the immune system, and cancer.
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The wonderful thing about inquiry labs is the small amount of time it takes to set up the project. The drawback to inquiry labs is that you must be at least as creative as your students, and you will be a participant in your own plans. The following will be a step-by-step setup on how to initiate the Kingdom project, but please be aware, these can be easily changed and altered to create a less creative, student-run lab, but that also means you must provide more resources and guidance yourself.
**READ THROUGH THE WEBQUEST AS YOU GO THROUGH THE SCRIPT**
Title Page: The first thing you’ll tell them is that they will be creating a medieval society. Expect some confusion from the students, and expect the infamous “why” question from them. It will be at this point you will face the most challenging part; What NOT to tell your students:
- Tell them that this project will become clearer to them as it progresses rather than why they are doing it.
- Tell them that this is a student-run creative process that will be guided, rather than administered by, the teacher.
- Make sure you make no hints of science during this process. Your job is to guide them to the science, not show it to them.
- You will lead them to the introduction section after this part.Introduction: The introduction is actually stated succinctly. Just follow
that format.- Expect to hear questions like, “What does this have to do with science,”
and ,”What’s the point?,” and many other skeptical questions. They will occur. Instead, try to direct their energy to their curiosity as to why they are doing it.
*If the students skepticism exceeds their curiosity, mention that they will be building these societies with Lego’s, and feed them bits of information to get their curiosity going.
- Lead them to the Task link after this.Teacher Script: Page 2
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Task: The task is simply what they will have to do. Just go over the directions with them and answer the typical questions that will come up. You want to guide them to make a village, a town whatever. If they come up with castles, which is the final product, fine, but try to lead them towards something smaller in scale so that you may test their adaptability later on in the process.
The Title-Task pages are extremely important. Take as much time as necessary for the students to understand that they will be doing this on their own and to expect drawbacks. Answer their questions, guide them, and make sure to leave just enough time left in the class for them to actually follow the process.
Process: The process page contains their resources, a few examples, and how they should begin their research. Make sure you have permissions to the websites provided. Quickly cover their steps and let them get to work. Their questions will likely be more private, so walk around the room offering guidance.
- There is a hitch on this step: Once students have gathered their information, they are to come to YOU for guidance, and to receive their next steps. It is here that they leave the computer and begin the planning process to actually build their society. You will have to explain that they will be provided with the building blocks of their society, and that they must follow the process they created while doing so. Keep an eye on students to help keep them focused on the project!
Lead them to the rubric and conclusion pages after discussing the process, and before letting them get to work.
Rubric: I do not like the idea of using a specific rubric for this project until their projects are underway and they are beginning to understand. However, you can edit it to make it more vague, or use the one provided. It is up to you if you wish to discuss it. My advice however, is to avoid discussing the infrastructure section. Teacher Script: Continued
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Conclusion: This is the page where they should get the idea of how they must continue their project. Their final questions will likely be revolved around their assignment rather than their skepticism. This is where you let them go, and start the guidance and seeding process.
This page is linked to the Process segment off of the Teacher Page
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This project is intended to teach teamwork, peer criticism, the scientific method, how to respond to stimuli, ability to adapt, the ability to troubleshoot, and about core knowledge such as cell biology, evolution, genetics, and the immune system.
The interlacing connectivity of this project makes it a strong and worthy effort that can tie in several areas of Biology without the students realizing what they’ve learned until it’s too late. By the time they figured out they were actually learning something, they will already have the knowledge and the analogies needed to keep this information.
Furthermore, the number of scientific standards this project encompasses truly shows the versatility and value of a project such as this. If done correctly, your students should be able to draw several conclusions, and even hypothesize about future subjects in biology.
Good luck!
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The only sources used were the websites, to which I extend my thanks for publicly putting up their research and efforts for us to share.
- http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/medsoc/- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/- http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_masons.htm- http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/industry.shtml- http://www.medieval-life.net/life_main.htm- http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/transport.shtml- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_hall_in_Szyd%C5%82owiec
The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group
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