Maryland Geography
WebQuest
Fourth Grade - Social Studies
by
Marsha H. Miller
Allegany County Public Schools
Allegany County, Maryland
Introduction
| Task | Resources | Process
| Evaluation | Conclusion
Welcome
to the “Free State,” the home of the Baltimore Orioles, jousting, and blue
crabs. You will soon begin an exciting journey around the state of Maryland.
You will visit many interesting web sites on your quest - determining
the best county in which to live. Enjoy your learning and
GOOD LUCK!
| The Task |
Maryland’s Tourism
Board has hired you. It is your job to determine the best county in Maryland
in which to live. You and your team must research vital information
and gather data using web site resources. You will need to design
a tourism advertisement about the selected county and write a persuasive
letter to the Board members. Next week, you will present your findings
to the group. A good evaluation and a job well done will help you get a
raise!
| Resources |
Student resources
1. Maryland Electronic Capital
5. DNR (Department of Natural Resources)
10. Southern Region
12. Interactive Atlas of Western Maryland
Teacher resources
1. The Literary Express - Writing Process Activities
3. Teacher to Teacher Talk - Perceptions on Writing/Language
4. Teacher to Teacher Talk - Actions in Writing/Language
5. Activities, Strategies, and Resources for Writing (4-5)
6. More Activities, Strategies, and Resources for Writing (K-8)
7. Maryland
Learner Outcomes
Social
Studies - Grades 4-5
#3 - Geography
Writing
- Grades 4-5
#2 - Writing to persuade
Reading
- Grades 4-5
#2 - Reading to be informed
Reading
Stances
Reading
Scoring Tools - Reading for Information
A
Reader's Checklist for Success
8. Content
Standards
Language
Arts - Reading
Writing
Social
Studies - Geography
| The Process |
I. Selecting your team
1. Your cooperative group consists
of four members.
2. You will work with your team
throughout this activity.
II. Limiting the search
1. Each member of your
team selects one county in
Maryland.
2. Your team gathers data
on four counties.
III. What you KNOW
1. Determine which graphic
organizer to use to write your
knowledge of each of the four counties.
2. All members contribute
information on any county.
IV. What you WANT to know
1. Your team determines
four factors, which influence
people moving to an area.
2. Think about factors
like economics, transportation,
natural resources, recreation, physical features,
location, agriculture, population, tourism, and
education. You may think of others.
3. Each member of your
team chooses one factor.
4. As you conduct your
research, you are responsible for
only one factor for each of the identified counties.
5. Determine a graphic
organizer to display only your data.
6. Record your findings
in your graphic organizer.
V. Present your data
1. After visiting websites
in the resource section, present
your data to your group.
2. Listen as each member
presents important findings.
3. Remember to discuss
data related to all four counties.
VI. Come to consensus
1. After listening to
everyone in your group, choose
the best county in which to live.
2. Your team needs to
decide how to come to consensus.
3. Think about ways to
vote like raising your hand,
secret ballot, saying yes, and thumbs up. You
may have your own idea.
VII. Becoming experts
1. Review all factors
of the county you choose.
2. Listen carefully.
You will include these factors in
your advertisement.
VIII. What you LEARNED
1. Each member of the
group designs a tourism
advertisement which includes the factors you
learned.
2. You may choose a poster,
brochure, flyer,
newspaper advertisement, or you may have your own idea.
IX. Persuasive letter
1. Each member of the
group writes
a persuasive letter
to the members of the Tourism Board.
2. Your job is to persuade
them why the county you
choose is the best county in the State of
Maryland in which to live.
3. Follow the process
of writing a persuasive letter from
the pre-write through the final draft.
X. Presentation
1. Now you’re ready to
shine. It’s your turn to make
your individual presentation to the Tourism
Board.
2. Remember that they
have an evaluation that they will
use in their decision about your raise.
Good Luck in your Quest.
| Evaluation |
Your raise depends on three things: your tourism advertisement,
your persuasive letter, and your presentation. Remember to include
your four factors influencing the county in your advertisement. Don’t
forget a title, your name, and the name of county. The letter should
include a heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature, and be persuasive.
As a presenter, you should speak loudly and clearly and be well organized.
The Tourism Board uses a rubric for evaluation. Review the rubric
so that you know what you need to do to get your raise!
Evaluation Rubric
3 - Tourism
advertisement includes all necessary data factors.
Persuasive letter is persuasive and follows
appropriate steps.
Presentation is clear and well organized.
2 - Tourism
advertisement includes some of the data factors.
Persuasive letter includes some of the steps.
Presentation is clear, but not well organized.
1 -
Tourism advertisement has few data factors.
Persuasive letter is not persuasive and includes
only a few steps.
Presentation is hard to understand and not well
organized.
0 -
Directions were not followed.
No presentation, tourism advertisement, or letter.
| Conclusion |
Were
you persuasive? Did you get your raise? I hope so! This
activity may be restructured to make decisions about any topic. You
may want to decide about the best state in which to live, or the best car
to buy, or what you should name your children! You will be making
decisions similar to this all of your life.
Comments are greatly appreciated.
Send comments to Marsha
H. Miller