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Introduction /Learners /Learning Outcomes/Process/ Resources /Evaluation / Conclusion /Credits /Student Page

A WebQuest for English 10
Designed March 2002 by Rosalina Cordeiro

This project was developed as part of a course requirement for University of British Columbia's EDCI 396C: On Ramp to the Information Highway, a computer course designed to familiarize educators with the Internet and to investigate the use of emerging technologies in a variety of educational settings and learning environments.

As a teacher-librarian (with a secondary English background), I specifically chose to design an English NovelQuest in order to encourage English teachers at my secondary school to bring their classes in for research related to the literature they are reading in class. I hope that this WebQuest will act as a catalyst and an example of how library research can be tied into Language Arts.

The library would be an ideal location to conduct this project as students are able to access Internet-ready computers and print materials about deserts and survival skills.

During this WebQuest, students will use information from the novel Deathwatch and on-line resources to develop a People magazine.Students will be required to write articles, design advertisements and draw/find pictures which all relate to the survival theme and desert setting in the novel.

This project is designed to teach students literature appreciation, writing skills, and to develop creative thinking skills while integrating computer and Internet skills.

This lesson is intended for Grade 10 English students who have already completed the reading of Robb White's Deathwatch.

Learners

This project is anchored in Grade 10 English Language Arts. The project can be extended or modified to younger or older students simply by using an age appropriate novel and locating Internet sites appropriate to each novel's content.

The project is adaptable to many novels. For example, this project could be suitably used as a closing activity for the Grade 8 novel The Outsiders and the Grade 9 novel In the Heat of the Night. Internet sites about gangs could be used for the The Outsiders novel while sites about racism and life in the southern United States could be identified for In the Heat of the Night. (See Teacher Links below for other NovelQuest ideas.)

Prior to beginning this lesson, learners will need to know how to access the Internet, how to correctly cite resources used, how to insert clip art and copy images, and how to use word-processing software or Aldus PageMaker.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

This project will require students to work as a team, to think critically about the information they gather, and to produce a creative project (developing both their creative thinking and writing skills).

The project addresses the following British Columbia Ministry of Education Learning Outcomes:

The students will:

Click here to link to the IRPs for English Language Arts 8-10.

Process

For a complete description of the process, refer to the student Process page.

Students must have completed reading Deathwatch before starting the project.

To complete the project, one to two weeks would be required, depending upon the availability of the computer lab or library.

I usually allow students to choose their own groups, reminding them to choose wisely since a group mark will be assigned. Therefore it is their responsibility to choose members who will complete their share of the work. As well, the number per group may be down-sized with teacher permission but I have always informed my students that I still expect the same amount of work as if they had four members (ie:twelve articles,eight ads,four pictures, etc.).

Resources

Items that are needed to implement this unit:

• Word processing software
• Internet connections
• Print resources on deserts and survival skills (as a backup for Internet problems)
• Back issues of People magazine and other magazines for layout ideas and cutting for ad creation
• Blank paper, scissors, glue sticks for ads, pictures and article layout