A WebQuest for all students in all subject areas.

Designed by Art Across the Curriculum Dream T.E.A.M. Collaborators

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Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction

You might not realize it, but art is an important component of all the subjects that you study in school. Think about trying to learn about science without diagrams that represent those most abstract concepts that you must understand ... Think about how art is a part of social studies; whether you are interpreting a political cartoon or a nation's flag or ruling family's crest. In english, think about bringing a Shakespearen play to life through performance art, and how difficult it would be to understand without doing so. Think about trying to understand the mathematical concepts of area and volume without a representative picture or diagram that reflect real-life applications. Finally, think about trying to complete an art project without subject matter. If you take some time to think about all the art projects that you have accomplished in the past, you will see that having a project theme is essential. That theme is usually related in some way to one of the other subjects you learn in school. Think about it .. you'll see.

Task

[Describe the task as being in two stages: First, the students (whether individually or in partners) will define what caliber of information is wanted and will research it. Second, with the information found in the research process, students will compile the necessary information into a nicely formatted product. It might be helpful in this step to give a bulleted list of the general items to be rounded up and/or created (e.g. intro, summary, picture, bibliography). Remember to be general; do not bog students down with the process yet.]

Process

Part 1 Researching


1. The class as a whole must brainstorm the elements needed; list some topics which must be decided upon before the research is begun (What information should be included? How will the students know it when they find it? How will the final product be formatted?)
2. Once these questions are answered, go through one entry with the students so they all see the process.
3. If students are to work in partners/groups, have them assigned at this time. Have the specific responsibilities of each of the roles laid out clearly (researcher, secretary, illustrator, editor).
4. Assign sections of the compilation to each team (e.g. A-D, 1970-1980, specific authors, specific cultures).
5. Have students begin their research by going through the resources the teacher has listed. Scaffold this with a handout/table/chart of questions to answer and ideas to keep in mind while researching (these may be the ideas the class came up with in step 1). Remind students to keep track of their sources for documentation later.
   
   Part 2 Compiling
   
   
6. Have students review their information according to the criteria established. If they are to rewrite the information in their own words (recommended in order to reach the higher-order thinking skills), at this time they should use their scaffold charts, put away their research, and begin writing the summaries. Scaffold this step with another handout/table/chart with space for the student to input all required information in the desired format. All research must be cited.
7. Explain in detail what the final product will look like (e. g. a brochure, anthology, annotated bibliography, cookbook, a field guide to a particular set of wildlife, a dictionary of terms used in a specific realm; a Who's Who; a "Best of..." collection). The final draft must be a professional-looking, properly formatted product. Scaffold this step with the sample entry (from step 2) formatted properly.
8. Students turn in and/or present the final product. The teacher may wish to use a simple form created at http://www.response-o-matic.com/. The students would then submit the required information to the teacher by email.

Evaluation

Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades. You may want to have separate rubrics for individual and group work.

Conclusion

Put a few sentences here that summarize what they will have accomplished or learned by completing this activity or lesson.

You might also include some rhetorical questions or additional links to encourage them to extend their thinking into other content beyond this lesson. To foster the habit of lifelong learning, give them links to additional information here that they can pursue on their own.

Credits & References

List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using (with permission, of course). Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources, help or inspiration.

Don't relist all the links you've already included. They're self-documenting.

As a matter of style and to keep ownership clear, all pages that you call up that are external to this site should appear in a new window outside of this frame. Add "TARGET=_BLANK" to the link to bring this about.

List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.

Include a link back to The WebQuest Page and the Design Patterns page so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials.

You might want to include the following statement:

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."

Last updated on (put date here). Based on a template from The WebQuest Page