Sally Gill shares her experience in using two different WebQuests with her grade 6 class.

What is a WebQuest?

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. There are at least two levels of WebQuest that should be distinguished from one another.

Short Term WebQuests

The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration. At the end of a short term WebQuest, a learner will have grappled with a significant amount of new information and made sense of it. A short-term WebQuest is designed to be completed in one to three class periods.

Longer Term WebQuest

The instructional goal of a longer term WebQuest is extending and refining knowledge. After completing a longer term WebQuest, a learner would have analysed a body of knowledge deeply, transformed it in some way, and demonstrated an understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to, on-line or off-line. A longer term WebQuest will typically take between a week and a month in a classroom setting.

There is a role for both types in an English classroom!

Oz-WebQuests is the Australian WebQuests site Here WebQuests are defined as one of a range of web-based activities that involve the development of student-centred problem-solving activities.  Students work collaboratively on a real life task taking on real life simulation roles. They use the Internet as one of many resources, and then share what they have learned with others.

There is also a database for WebQuests developed in Australia. Here the quests are organised under key learning areas and levels. Take a look. You may also be interested in the award winning WebQuest by Clarence High teacher Ann Jones on Advertising and Image.

What I’ve done

In my grade 6 classroom I have trialled a number of WebQuests with students, with mixed results. I have also devised a Quest around a study of Sweden. As this was an extremely time-consuming task I decided to trial some that were available on-line. If you would like to make your own, the WebQuest page is a good site to start with.

I chose two very different quests with very different students in mind. They worked in groups of four.

In Judy Hoke’s The Realm of Fairy Tales, students:

• Read a selection of online fairy tales. 
• Analyse fairy tales by identifying recurring themes. 
• Outline a story map for their own fairy tale, including standard story elements and fairy tale themes.
• Write their own fairy tale, based on their story map.

The other Quest was A New Twist On an Old Tale designed by Rene Geraci, Wesley Kohl, and Stacy Stevens. This one is based on the Cinderella story and seeks to combine the study of literature and the study of history.

In this WebQuest, the students are asked to imagine that they have been asked by the United Nations Historical Society to uncover artefacts from Ancient Greece. Once they become knowledgeable about life in Ancient Greece, they are asked to share their understanding with the children of the world by creating a fairytale

Here the tasks are much more complex and the students take on roles.

Team Member #1 - Societal Expert
Team Member #2 - Marriage and Family Counsellor
Team Member #3 -Gender Investigator
Team Member #4 - Stage Setter

Why use this type of WebQuest?

Students are motivated and stimulated by computers and this type of task focuses their efforts in a very productive way. The teacher has already found good web sites and tasks are designed around higher order thinking skills.

Take a look at the desired outcomes for this Quest as defined by the developers:

4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills, present accurate directions to individuals in small groups, contribute to group discussions, seek the ideas and opinions of others, and begin to use evidence to support opinions.

4.4 The student will read fiction and non-fiction.

4.5 The student will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of literary forms and describe relationships between content and previously learned concepts or skills, and write about what is read.

4.7 The student will write effective narratives and explanations, develop a plan for writing, organize writing to convey a central idea, and use available technology.

5.1 The student will listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject-related group learning activities. The student will participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas, organize information to present reports of group activities, and summarize information gathered in group activities.

5.5 The student will read a variety of literary forms, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The student will describe character development in fiction and poetry selections. They will also describe the development of plot and explain how conflicts are resolved.

5.6 The student will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of literary forms. The student will locate information to support predictions and conclusions. They will also write about what is read.

5.7 The student will write for a variety of purposes: to describe, to inform, to entertain, and to explain. The student will choose planning strategies for various writing purposes, organize information, and use vocabulary effectively. Students will also revise writing for clarity and edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation, especially the use of possessives and quotation marks.

5.8 The student will synthesize information for a variety of resources. They will skim materials to develop a general overview of content or to locate specific information. The students will develop notes that include important concepts, paraphrases, summaries, and identification of information sources. Students will use available electronic databases to access information.

6.1 The student will analyse oral participation in small group activities, communicate as a leader and contributor, evaluate own contributions to discussions, summarize and evaluate group activities, and analyse effectiveness of participant interactions.

6.3 The student will read and learn the meaning of unfamiliar words.

6.4 The student will read a variety of fiction and non-fiction and explain how character and plot development are used in a selection to support a central conflict or story line.

6.7 The student will write narratives, descriptions, and explanations. The student will use a variety of planning strategies to generate and organize ideas. The student will establish central idea, organization, elaboration, and unity.

Take a look at the sites mentioned and see what you think as a further resource to get your class writing and thinking with a real life purpose.

Sally Gill Kingston Primary School
rspmgill@netspace.net.au