Lesson 6: Using/Creating WebQuest

This week in class I learned how to create something that I’m definitely going to use in my classroom from now on!! This wonderful thing that I’m talking about is a WebQuest. As an undergrad at Eastern Kentucky University I learned a lot about the benefits of making a WebQuest for the classroom. I knew that they serve as a fun interactive way for students to achieve higher levels of thinking.

WebQuest provide a break from the normal lecture/read from the book routine. I know that when I took Social Studies in elementary school, all we ever did was read from the text. Since I vowed not to do the same, I created a 5^th Grade leveled social studies WebQuest this week. It is about the Causes of the Revolutionary War. You can view it by going to http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=104477. My WebQuest centers on making a timeline about the major causes of the war. I feel that timeline’s are a great manner for students to not only learn important dates, but when they are done with illustrations and extensive research, they can be ways that students can fully comprehend important events in history.

Something new that I learned this week is that not all WebQuest actually have to extensively use the “Web”. Before this class, I always assumed that in order for students to complete a WebQuest in class that we would all have to be able to access the internet at the same time. I found out that this isn’t really true! Sometimes it can be a mixture of both class work and internet work. I took what I learned this week and applied it to my actual self-made WebQuest. I decided to make my WebQuest so that students would have stations set up all around the classroom that they could move to for research specifically available for a Cause of the Revolution. While some of the people in their group were busy researching information at a station in the class, other students could be online researching information about the same event, or another event that led to the war.

WebQuest are very time consuming to make, so proper planning is essential in order for it to be successful. I found that researching other teacher made WebQuest to be very helpful while completing this activity. Although a lot of work goes into developing a WebQuest, it is important for us as educators to know that when they are done with great effort and planning, the benefits that the students gain from them make it worth all the time!!