Teacher Information

Learners:
This WebQuest was written for 4th grade students in Missouri, but it can easily be used with a variety of grade levels.

Standards:
Missouri Science Grade Level Expectations:

Strand 4: Interactions among Organisms and their Environment
1.A.A- Identify specifically how organisms interact with other organisms and with their environment (pollination, shelter, etc)
1.A.B- Recognize different environments (pond, forest, prairie)
1.D.A- Identify in MO human impact on environment
2.A.A- Classify populations as producers, consumers, and decomposers
2.A.B- Differentiate types of consumers (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore)
2.A.C- Categorize organisms as predator or prey
3.C.B- Identify animal senses and how they help animals survive (antennae, beaks, whiskers, etc)
3.C.C- Recognize internal and external cues that causes organisms to behave in certain ways (hunting, migration, etc)
3.C.D- Predict which plant or animal will survive in a specific environment based on its structures and behaviors

Missouri Communication Arts Grade Level Expectations:

Reading:
2C4a - Use details from text to make inverences about setting, character traits
2C4c – Use details from text to identify author’s purpose
3A4 – Apply information in illustrations, title, chapter headings, table of contents, glossary, charts, diagrams, graphs, glossary, captions, and maps to comprehend text
3D4 – Read and follow two- and three- step directions to complete a simple task

Writing:
1A4a – Follow a writing process to independently use a simple prewriting strategy
1A4b – Generate a draft
1A4c – Routinely reread, revise for audience and purpose, ideas and content, organization and sentence structure, and word choice
1A4d – Edit for conventions
1A4e – Publish writing
2A4a – Compose text showing awareness of audience
2A4b – Compose text in a format appropriate to audience and purpose
2B4b – Compose text with relevant details/examples
3A4b – Compose a variety of texts selecting and using an appropriate format

 

Process Notes:
I (library media specialist) will introduce the project in the LMC by reading Diary of a Spider, showing the intro and task of the WebQuest, and having the students fill out a Big 6 research planner.

It would be great if the classroom teacher would read Diary of a Worm as an additional example.

Before the students do their official research in the LMC, they need to select their animal from the list of choices provided to the classroom teachers.

Step 1: I would suggest showing the BrainPop video on your SMARTBoard in the classroom. After watching the video, you might use your next computer lab time to do the online activities. If you wanted to check for understanding and get a quick grade for the gradebook, you could create a short quiz based on the information the kids learn from the video and online activities. It would be best if this step was completed before they do their animal research in the LMC.

Step 2: The kids need to know which animal they are research when they come to LMC to research. I suggest printing copies ahead of time of whichever research guide you want them to use (you could pick one or let them choose). The students will have access to books, websites, encyclopedias, and magazines to do their research. They will need to fill out a source card for each source they use so we can avoid plagiarism. I will have those cards in the LMC.

Step 3: When writing the rough draft, students need to concentrate on the content and form (diary format) of their story. Be sure they know how much factual information should be included. This is addressed in the scoring guide.

Step 4: Students will use the storyboard form to design the layout of their book (whether digital or traditional). They need to think about what pictures would be good for the text that will be on a specific page.

Step 5: Let me know if you need help teaching a certain computer program or if you need help with a traditional book format.