Pennsylvania+Webquest

toc This webquest was orignally created by a teacher in Bethlehem, PA... feel free to visit her [|site] for the original version of this! = = = = =Pennsylvania - A Perfect Place to Visit= - A WebQuest for 4th grade students - Designed by [|Amy Amadaro]

Introduction
You are all going to be travel agents. As part of the job, you will need to find out as much as you can about the state of Pennsylvania. Your goal is to show why Pennsylvania would be a perfect place to visit. You need to convince as many people as you can to plan a vacation to our beautiful state. As you are doing this job, think about the qualities of a fun, exciting vacation.

Task
Your task is to research information about the state of Pennsylvania. After you have located all of the information needed for a wonderful vacation, you will:
 * create a travel brochure that gives interesting facts about Pennsylvania

Group / Individual Roles

 * Everyone will be assigned to a team of 4 students.
 * Each group member will research a specific topic about Pennsylvania. The 4 research topics will be:
 * Attractions/places to visit,
 * The group member assigned to research the attractions/places to visit must find at least 10 visitor sites. Some examples of visitor sites are museums, theme parks and national parks.
 * Important historical facts,
 * The group member assigned to research the important historical facts must find at least 10 historical facts that you think are important. You may include important people in Pennsylvania history, important historical events and any other historical facts you find interesting and informative.
 * Interesting facts about Pennsylvania
 * The group member assigned to research interesting facts about Pennsylvania must find at least 10 facts. An example of this could be "Did you know that...". Your job is to simply find facts that many people do not know about Pennsylvania.
 * Landforms/bodies of water and weather.
 * The group member assigned to research landforms/bodies of water and weather will find information about any mountain ranges, and lakes or rivers. This person will also research the weather in Pennsylvania. Be sure to find the weather for each season.

Research and Organization

 * Your group will use the web sites listed below to find the required information to which you've been assigned. All group members should look at **__all__** of the web sites. They are all very interesting and informative.
 * Once each person finds his or her information, you may copy what you need (links, text, images, etc) to your wiki.
 * After you have gathered the information which you need, you will need to organize it.
 * You may use any of the following strategies to help you:
 * Print out your wiki page and number everything so that you can organize everything on your page…use line and headings to help separate categories
 * Use Inspiration to create a web and outline.
 * Use a Graphic Organizer like the one at this link: http://www.teachnology.com/worksheets/graphic/ladder/

Group Project

 * After all group members have organized the information, the group will come back together to create a travel brochure. The brochure will contain all of the information which you have collected.
 * You will make the brochure by folding a piece of construction paper three ways. The front and back may contain any pictures or any other information you may wish to include. You may draw the pictures or find them on the internet. The inside of the brochure will contain the information which you collect. You may put some of your information on the front or back if you wish.
 * After the brochure has been completed, your group will present it to the class.

Resources
[|http://www.state.pa.us/ -Pennsylvania Facts] [|http://www.hersheypa.com/ -HersheyPark Web Site] [|http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/-Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission] [|http://www.ushistory.org/tour/-Historic Philadelphia] [|http://www.padutchcountry.com/- Pennsylvania Dutch Country] [|http://www.50states.com/pennsylv.htm-Pennsylvania Facts from 50 states] [|http://www.visitpa.com/visitpa/home.do- Visitor Information] [|http://www.50states.com/facts/penn.htm- Pennsylvania Facts and Trivia] [|http://www.weatherhub.com/states/PA.htm-Pennsylvania weather] [|http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108264.html- Pennsylvania Facts] [|http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0108264.html-Pennsylvania facts from Fact Monster] [|http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/states/pennsylva.html- World Almanac for Kids- Pennsylvania Facts]

Assessment
Students and Groups will be assessed using the following rubric: 1 || Developing 2 || Accomplished 3 || Exemplary 4 || Score || researches a topic about Pennsylvania ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || organizes research ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || brochure with all requirements met ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || works in a cooperative setting ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || presents the brochure ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Beginning
 * Student effectively
 * Student effectively
 * Group produces a
 * Group effectively
 * Group effectively