Life is Everywhere -- Examining the Interdependent Life
Welcome Teachers! I hope you have enjoyed browsing through the WebQuest Activity. There really is an endless amount of resources out there for students wanting to learn about life and how we all connect. Especially now, in this age of technological advancement, understanding interconnectedness is vital to realizing that we all need one another--not only people, but animals, plants, and the Earth. What a very genuine and exigent reality with which our students can jump start interaction!
If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact me via the Contact Link at the top of the page. I would love to hear comments. After all, teaching is being open, flexible, and willing to develop craft for the benefit of students. If you're interested in doing a similar WebQuest or other activity, I have included some information that you might find helpful below!
General Ideas and Goals: Children should be inquisitive. They should ask "why?" If my students were not asking "why," I would be concerned that my projects were not interesting, not connecting with them on a personal and genuine level. Children should be engaged. I try to use a lot of pictures, colors, sound, and other types of stimulation when I am working with children. I know that this sounds obvious, but sometimes in our busy planning schedules with our limited resources, corners are cut or erased all together. I try to think of myself. Would I rather walk through an art museum with everything in black and white and a drab, monotone lecturer? NO!
The idea of interdependence is complicated, but it is also real and a critical aspect of our lives. Have faith in your students! They can understand more than we think. We just have to fit the ideas in packages that are graspable for our little thinkers and explorers. For deadline purposes, I had to complete this WebQuest design in its entirety; however, I think it beneficial to NOT have the WebQuest completely designed before embarking on the journey. Certainly have the backbones (and perhaps the ribs, femurs, and humerus) in place, but if you have the time, build the WebQuest at the end of each mini project. Students may surprise you and spend longer on some ideas or want to explore an area that you had not considered. Give them that space. Options are key to engagement. Also, I am sure it is a treat for a student to log back onto the WebQuest and find new images, buttons, and links to explore--it could be a reoccurring birthday gift!
SOLs Used: My students and I tackled Plant and Animal cycles before we started talking about a more globalized perspective on interdependence. In prefacing the WebQuest with fundamental ideas and terminology (i.e. producer, consumer, food chain, ecosystems, etc), the children were better prepared to engage the material.
Living Systems
3.5 The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts
include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer;
b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
c) predator and prey.
3.6 The student will investigate and understand that ecosystems support a diversity of plant and animals that share limited resources.
Key Concepts include
a) aquatic ecosystems;
b) terrestrial ecosystems;
c) populations and communities; and
d) the human role in conserving limited resources
3.8 The student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include
b) animal life cycles; and
c) plant life cycles.
3.9 The student will investigate and understand the water cycle and its relationship to life on Earth. Key concepts include
d) water is essential for living things; and
e) water on Earth is limited and needs to be conserved.
3.10 The student will investigate and understand that natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species. Key
concepts include
a) the interdependency of plants and animals
b) the effects of human activity on the quality of air, water, and habitat;
d) conservation and resource renewal
Technology Research Tools
C/T 3-5.6 Plan and apply strategies for gathering information, using a variety of tools and sources, and reflect on alternate strategies
that might lead to greater successes in future projects.
A. Collect information from a variety of sources.
• Conduct research using various types of text- and media-based information.
B. Apply best practices for searching digital resources.
• Apply effective search strategies that will yield targeted information. • Identify basic indicators that a digital source is
likely to be reliable.
Draw conclusions from research and relate these findings to real-world situations. A. Use research to support written and
oral presentations.
• Apply research derived from digital resources to original work.
• Demonstrate how to cite digital resources when developing nonfiction reports and presentations.
B. Apply knowledge when conducting research to develop accurate and balanced reports.
• Use best practice guidelines for evaluating research results.
Objectives: In the WebQuest, the student will
1. Engage with material learned regarding resources in a problem solving and exigent way involving their own communities.
2. Utilize approved websites to gather information and synthesize relevant data to complete mini projects.
3. Conduct at home research with a family member to analyze the varied and international aspects that go into the production of a
single item.
The Challenge:
Students are asked to Save the Earth! There are three mini projects that are components of a final presentation project.
Each mini project scaffolds material and understanding to the next mini project challenge. For example, the first mini project asks the children to research water as a limited resource (and a scarce resource in some parts of the world!). After their research, they are asked to write their local representative regarding their concern for water conservation. Students not only learn about how they as individuals contribute to water waste, they are also asked to do something with that knowledge and become involved in a responsible and active way.
The second mini project builds on the first. In the second mini project, students are asked to research bees and local gardening. In their research, children will learn some "invisible" ways that human activity affects the life of the bee. They also discover that their food in the grocery store really originates in different parts of the country or world and how resources are used to transport that food. Part of their research involves community gardens and their benefits to not only local communities but to bees, too! Part of the challenge is to design a community garden that is beneficial to bees and other pollinators and responsibly utilizes water (rain barrels, irrigation systems, etc.)
With each activity, children are required to take their knowledge one step further into understanding our interdependent lives (whether that be with water or food). In the last mini project, the students must look at an everyday item in their own lives and research its origins. This investigation requires students to conduct retrosynthesis and look at their item not as an entire piece but rather as several small pieces put together. In doing so, students get to utilize the internet (with the help of an adult) and investigate the history and lives behind an item that they might have taken for granted. This final project provides tangible evidence for our globalized and interconnected lives.
Process ... the how to:
1. Students are strategically put in teams. Attempt to combine strengths and weaknesses when creating teams so that children can be both teacher and learner.
2. Introduce the subject. Teachers can use a wide variety of strategies here: books, video clips, movies, nature walks. I use two strategies. I start off by reading The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. This is a wonderful story that helps people understand how their use of natural resources affects other creatures. Afterward, weather permitting, the students and I conduct our own nature walk. Fortunately, our school has a trail through woods on our property. If your school doesn't offer this, a simple walk around the school grounds would work, too. I ask the children to take their journals. As we walk, they can write what they observe. Are there birds around the property that eat from the ground? Are their other creatures? What types of trees do we have? What do the trees offer us at our school? They can write anything that they would like. The point is to get them thinking about their surroundings and their place in those surroundings.
3. Start the WebQuest! Students enter the website for the WebQuest and begin their journey. The website is very user-friendly and provides lots of photos and buttons for the students to move on to the next page. The first couple of pages of the website remind children of our previous lessons and motivates them to engage with the material as a team with critical thinking skills and interest.
4. Begin mini project research. There are three mini projects that children must complete. Each mini projects has its own thought provoking introduction and approved website links to research the material. In each section, I have listed several questions to get the students thinking on the right track to be able to complete the mini projects.
5. Begin mini projects. Each mini project has multiple parts. The students much choose among themselves which team members will complete certain components of the project. This gives the students choices regarding what they want to research and encourages collaboration when completing a project.
6. The third mini project is a special case. This project needs to be researched at home. The students will be given some class time to work with their research and inform their teammates of their findings, but the bulk of the work should be completed with a family member.
7. Presentation Component** The final aspect of the WebQuest is a class presentation by all team members. Each team member is required to contribute to the public speaking component. Mini project one and two, completed by all members, should be reported, but the students should select among themselves only one student to tell about their mini project three.
8. An assessment example is included below.
Materials: Student Journals, construction paper, rulers, colored pencils, black sharpies, school stationary, Microsoft Word (or other software to create pamphlets), computers, world maps.
Formative and Summative Evaluations:
Teachers should be conducting formative assessments throughout the WebQuest process. Students might struggle with various aspects of the long and involved project, so teachers should watch, listen, and read student journals daily to form ideas about student's level and difficulties, etc.
Welcome Teachers! I hope you have enjoyed browsing through the WebQuest Activity. There really is an endless amount of resources out there for students wanting to learn about life and how we all connect. Especially now, in this age of technological advancement, understanding interconnectedness is vital to realizing that we all need one another--not only people, but animals, plants, and the Earth. What a very genuine and exigent reality with which our students can jump start interaction!
If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact me via the Contact Link at the top of the page. I would love to hear comments. After all, teaching is being open, flexible, and willing to develop craft for the benefit of students. If you're interested in doing a similar WebQuest or other activity, I have included some information that you might find helpful below!
General Ideas and Goals: Children should be inquisitive. They should ask "why?" If my students were not asking "why," I would be concerned that my projects were not interesting, not connecting with them on a personal and genuine level. Children should be engaged. I try to use a lot of pictures, colors, sound, and other types of stimulation when I am working with children. I know that this sounds obvious, but sometimes in our busy planning schedules with our limited resources, corners are cut or erased all together. I try to think of myself. Would I rather walk through an art museum with everything in black and white and a drab, monotone lecturer? NO!
The idea of interdependence is complicated, but it is also real and a critical aspect of our lives. Have faith in your students! They can understand more than we think. We just have to fit the ideas in packages that are graspable for our little thinkers and explorers. For deadline purposes, I had to complete this WebQuest design in its entirety; however, I think it beneficial to NOT have the WebQuest completely designed before embarking on the journey. Certainly have the backbones (and perhaps the ribs, femurs, and humerus) in place, but if you have the time, build the WebQuest at the end of each mini project. Students may surprise you and spend longer on some ideas or want to explore an area that you had not considered. Give them that space. Options are key to engagement. Also, I am sure it is a treat for a student to log back onto the WebQuest and find new images, buttons, and links to explore--it could be a reoccurring birthday gift!
SOLs Used: My students and I tackled Plant and Animal cycles before we started talking about a more globalized perspective on interdependence. In prefacing the WebQuest with fundamental ideas and terminology (i.e. producer, consumer, food chain, ecosystems, etc), the children were better prepared to engage the material.
Living Systems
3.5 The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts
include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer;
b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
c) predator and prey.
3.6 The student will investigate and understand that ecosystems support a diversity of plant and animals that share limited resources.
Key Concepts include
a) aquatic ecosystems;
b) terrestrial ecosystems;
c) populations and communities; and
d) the human role in conserving limited resources
3.8 The student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include
b) animal life cycles; and
c) plant life cycles.
3.9 The student will investigate and understand the water cycle and its relationship to life on Earth. Key concepts include
d) water is essential for living things; and
e) water on Earth is limited and needs to be conserved.
3.10 The student will investigate and understand that natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species. Key
concepts include
a) the interdependency of plants and animals
b) the effects of human activity on the quality of air, water, and habitat;
d) conservation and resource renewal
Technology Research Tools
C/T 3-5.6 Plan and apply strategies for gathering information, using a variety of tools and sources, and reflect on alternate strategies
that might lead to greater successes in future projects.
A. Collect information from a variety of sources.
• Conduct research using various types of text- and media-based information.
B. Apply best practices for searching digital resources.
• Apply effective search strategies that will yield targeted information. • Identify basic indicators that a digital source is
likely to be reliable.
Draw conclusions from research and relate these findings to real-world situations. A. Use research to support written and
oral presentations.
• Apply research derived from digital resources to original work.
• Demonstrate how to cite digital resources when developing nonfiction reports and presentations.
B. Apply knowledge when conducting research to develop accurate and balanced reports.
• Use best practice guidelines for evaluating research results.
Objectives: In the WebQuest, the student will
1. Engage with material learned regarding resources in a problem solving and exigent way involving their own communities.
2. Utilize approved websites to gather information and synthesize relevant data to complete mini projects.
3. Conduct at home research with a family member to analyze the varied and international aspects that go into the production of a
single item.
The Challenge:
Students are asked to Save the Earth! There are three mini projects that are components of a final presentation project.
Each mini project scaffolds material and understanding to the next mini project challenge. For example, the first mini project asks the children to research water as a limited resource (and a scarce resource in some parts of the world!). After their research, they are asked to write their local representative regarding their concern for water conservation. Students not only learn about how they as individuals contribute to water waste, they are also asked to do something with that knowledge and become involved in a responsible and active way.
The second mini project builds on the first. In the second mini project, students are asked to research bees and local gardening. In their research, children will learn some "invisible" ways that human activity affects the life of the bee. They also discover that their food in the grocery store really originates in different parts of the country or world and how resources are used to transport that food. Part of their research involves community gardens and their benefits to not only local communities but to bees, too! Part of the challenge is to design a community garden that is beneficial to bees and other pollinators and responsibly utilizes water (rain barrels, irrigation systems, etc.)
With each activity, children are required to take their knowledge one step further into understanding our interdependent lives (whether that be with water or food). In the last mini project, the students must look at an everyday item in their own lives and research its origins. This investigation requires students to conduct retrosynthesis and look at their item not as an entire piece but rather as several small pieces put together. In doing so, students get to utilize the internet (with the help of an adult) and investigate the history and lives behind an item that they might have taken for granted. This final project provides tangible evidence for our globalized and interconnected lives.
Process ... the how to:
1. Students are strategically put in teams. Attempt to combine strengths and weaknesses when creating teams so that children can be both teacher and learner.
2. Introduce the subject. Teachers can use a wide variety of strategies here: books, video clips, movies, nature walks. I use two strategies. I start off by reading The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. This is a wonderful story that helps people understand how their use of natural resources affects other creatures. Afterward, weather permitting, the students and I conduct our own nature walk. Fortunately, our school has a trail through woods on our property. If your school doesn't offer this, a simple walk around the school grounds would work, too. I ask the children to take their journals. As we walk, they can write what they observe. Are there birds around the property that eat from the ground? Are their other creatures? What types of trees do we have? What do the trees offer us at our school? They can write anything that they would like. The point is to get them thinking about their surroundings and their place in those surroundings.
3. Start the WebQuest! Students enter the website for the WebQuest and begin their journey. The website is very user-friendly and provides lots of photos and buttons for the students to move on to the next page. The first couple of pages of the website remind children of our previous lessons and motivates them to engage with the material as a team with critical thinking skills and interest.
4. Begin mini project research. There are three mini projects that children must complete. Each mini projects has its own thought provoking introduction and approved website links to research the material. In each section, I have listed several questions to get the students thinking on the right track to be able to complete the mini projects.
5. Begin mini projects. Each mini project has multiple parts. The students much choose among themselves which team members will complete certain components of the project. This gives the students choices regarding what they want to research and encourages collaboration when completing a project.
6. The third mini project is a special case. This project needs to be researched at home. The students will be given some class time to work with their research and inform their teammates of their findings, but the bulk of the work should be completed with a family member.
7. Presentation Component** The final aspect of the WebQuest is a class presentation by all team members. Each team member is required to contribute to the public speaking component. Mini project one and two, completed by all members, should be reported, but the students should select among themselves only one student to tell about their mini project three.
8. An assessment example is included below.
Materials: Student Journals, construction paper, rulers, colored pencils, black sharpies, school stationary, Microsoft Word (or other software to create pamphlets), computers, world maps.
Formative and Summative Evaluations:
Teachers should be conducting formative assessments throughout the WebQuest process. Students might struggle with various aspects of the long and involved project, so teachers should watch, listen, and read student journals daily to form ideas about student's level and difficulties, etc.