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Science, New Literacies, and Higher Level Thinking In Grades 4 and 5:
Preparing Clinton's Students for the 21st Century

Facilitated by members of the
New Literacies Research Team from the University of Connecticut

Julie Coiro and Donald J. Leu

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Internet Webquest

A WebQuest is a complete teaching/learning units for students on the Internet. Students simply follow the directions and complete their learning experiences at a WebQuest site.  WebQuest pages usually contain the following sections:
   
1.    Introduction
2.    Task Definition
3.    A Description of the Process
4.    Information Resources
5.    Guidance in Organizing the Information
6.    A Concluding Activity

WebQuests may be developed by anyone but they are often developed by teachers.  Because they appear on web pages, they are then available to other teachers. Many different examples may be found by doing a search for a WebQuest in the area you are studying.  Use search key words such as: Geometry WebQuest, Panda Bear WebQuest, Eric Carle WebQuest, etc. Many more examples are available in the content area chapters of Leu, Leu, & Coiro (2004), Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times, 4th Edition, Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

Here are three examples:
  • In the Eye of the Storm: Gain insight into the destructive forces of tornadoes and hurricanes.
  • The King of Tides: Can you find a pattern that will convince the jury that the moon is responsible for the tides?
  • You can also use older ones with dead links or different grade levels and adapt them to your needs: A Webquest on Sound
You can also explore collections of webquests prepared by others:
Webquests can serve many purposes.  Explore the range of Webquest Design Patterns and decide if one fits in best with your learning goals.  You can also read how two new communication technologies, Blogs and Wikis, have recently been incorporated into Webquests.

Be Careful! Does the WebQuest meet these standards?
  • Does this WebQuest meet important curriculum goals and learning objectives?  How? What would students learn from this experience?  What does it teach? Is this important?
  • How much time will this take my students? Is this time well spent or could we accomplish more in less time with another learning experience?
  • Does the WebQuest require students to think critically about information and evaluate the information they encounter? Does higher order thinking take place during the WebQuest or are students only required to develop literal, factual knowledge?
  • Is this WebQuest developed so as to accommodate individual learning needs and interests? Will all of my students be able to benefit from this activity?  If not, what must I do to meet individual differences?
  • Is there an opportunity for students to share the results of their WebQuest with the rest of the class for discussion and additional learning?  How do students share their learning with the rest of the class, enriching everyone's insights about what took place?
  • Do students know, in advance, how their work on the WebQuest will be evaluated? Will students know what is important to accomplish in the activity based on how it will be evaluated?
  • Are all of the links on the WebQuest active and appropriate for students? Have I completed the WebQuest myself, and checked each of the links to resources that appear?
Webquest Examples
Try It Out: Clinton's Science Themes Grades 4 and 5

Explore at least one or two of the websites related to a theme you study.  For each site, develop two short activities that you would ask your students to answer as they engage in Internet Workshop back in your classroom.   This activity should be open-ended enough to encourage students to bring back different information to share
during the workshop session. 




Internet Inquiry
Once your students have become familiar with locating Internet resources, Internet inquiry may be a useful means to develop independent research skills and allow students to pursue a question which holds a special interest for them.  Internet Inquiry may be developed by small groups or by individuals.  Inquiry units usually  begin with students identifying a topic and a question that they find important.

For more information, you may view an Internet Inquiry video by Donald Leu from the University of Connecticut or read many more examples in the content area chapters of Leu, Leu, & Coiro (2004), Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times, 4th Edition, Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

Internet Inquiry consists of five phases:
  1. Develop a question.
  2. Search for information.
  3. Evaluate the information.
  4. Compose an answer to your question.
  5. Share the answer with others.

One of the most difficult components of this model is the first step: developing a question.  This is a new way of involving students in their own learning.  Thus, it will take time for students to feel confident in asking their own questions and for teachers to feel confident that there is more than one way to answer a question.  Some sites to visit that may provide ideas in this area include:
Internet Inquiry Examples

Younger students are being introduced to the inquiry process as early as first grade.  Units of learning are organized around central questions, teacher questions, student questions and family questions. 
You can also explore examples of Inquiry Projects developed for older students to see where your students may be headed in middle school:

Try It Out: Clinton's Science Themes Grades 4 and 5

The following sites were collected as examples of open-ended tools and topics related to themes in your science curriculum. Explore at least one of the websites below and construct a guiding thematic inquiry question that might serve to inspire students to develop their own personal inquiry investigation around a curriculum theme.

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Designed by Julie Coiro, August, 2005