After first learning about webquests at my school, I was immediately sold on the idea. It seemed like a perfect project to incorporate into my reading centers. Up until this point, my "technology" center has been comprised of online skill-based games. Finally, I had a useful resource for students to use that would not only keep them engaged so I could meet with small groups, but would also provide them with the tools they need to conduct independent research and learn something new. Never would I have imagined that a first grader could independently complete an extensive research project without my help!
From my perspective, webquests are almost like an in-class flipped lesson. The layout and format of the project walks the student through the process step-by-step. It sets an objective and a goal, provides resources and tools to reach that goal, and sets expectations so students are held accountable for their work. It has all the components of a good lesson, without the involvement of a teacher.
After hearing about webquests, my team and I immediately began searching for appropriate webquests for our first graders. There are many, many databases of available webquests on various topics (click here to visit a search engine). However, our only obstacle seemed to be that the webquests we found did not have audio that could READ the directions and pages to the student. Since our first graders are still early readers, a lot of them cannot independently read these pages on their own. We also wanted to find a topic that correlates with the essential questions/objectives that we were using in our classrooms at that time.
At the time, our reading theme for the week was "Long Ago and Today". Students were spending the week reading short stories about school and life long ago versus school and life today. This seemed to be a very appealing topic to my students. They were very engaged in the subject matter and displayed so much curiosity about what life was like long ago. I decided that a webquest focusing on this topic would be PERFECT.
I spent some time researching webquest components and necessities. This allowed me to set up a layout that would meet the requirements of a successful webquest. I decided the best way to create and implement a webquest with my class would be through a PowerPoint, where I could attach links AND add audio.
Was it difficult to make? Yes. Was it time-consuming? Yes. Will I do it again? Totally.
Click here to get the WebQuest resources.
From my perspective, webquests are almost like an in-class flipped lesson. The layout and format of the project walks the student through the process step-by-step. It sets an objective and a goal, provides resources and tools to reach that goal, and sets expectations so students are held accountable for their work. It has all the components of a good lesson, without the involvement of a teacher.
After hearing about webquests, my team and I immediately began searching for appropriate webquests for our first graders. There are many, many databases of available webquests on various topics (click here to visit a search engine). However, our only obstacle seemed to be that the webquests we found did not have audio that could READ the directions and pages to the student. Since our first graders are still early readers, a lot of them cannot independently read these pages on their own. We also wanted to find a topic that correlates with the essential questions/objectives that we were using in our classrooms at that time.
At the time, our reading theme for the week was "Long Ago and Today". Students were spending the week reading short stories about school and life long ago versus school and life today. This seemed to be a very appealing topic to my students. They were very engaged in the subject matter and displayed so much curiosity about what life was like long ago. I decided that a webquest focusing on this topic would be PERFECT.
I spent some time researching webquest components and necessities. This allowed me to set up a layout that would meet the requirements of a successful webquest. I decided the best way to create and implement a webquest with my class would be through a PowerPoint, where I could attach links AND add audio.
Was it difficult to make? Yes. Was it time-consuming? Yes. Will I do it again? Totally.
Click here to get the WebQuest resources.