An Introduction to Webquests
by Rebekah Wilson

Webquests are quickly becoming a teacher’s best friend—and if not careful, webquests may take over! Webquests aren’t new; they have actually been around for over ten years and are just now making the news in schools and across the nation and world.

What is a webquest? Quite simply put, a webquest is an online lesson plan on steroids. The webquest is created by teachers, parents, or students on a topic they want to teach others about. A webquest may be a one-day lesson or it may stretch out over a week or even a month. It depends on the author creating the webquest and how detailed she would like it to be.

In the webquest there is an introduction, task, and process link to the topic being learned. This explains to the student what he will be learning about and a general idea of how the topic will be laid out. There may be YouTube videos, multiple informational links, online games, online photos, written or typed assignments, quizzes, or more involved in webquests. Webquests are very Internet interactive!

Following these pages, the webquest begins in earnest. One page may be listed if the webquest is only one day long. In my example webquest in the sidebar, I created a week-long webquest for students and each day is clearly marked with both the Learning portion and the Assignment portion.

On each learning portion page the daily work is shown. Depending on the person who created the webquest, it can be in-depth or it may have very little on the page. Generally you will find an introduction to that day’s lesson and then live links for students to begin learning. They click on a link and are taken to websites where they read information, very much like they would read textbooks. There may be photos, images, graphics, video clips, or any number of interesting things that are part of the pages. There may be links that take the student to an online game that reinforces something he just learned. Or perhaps there is an online virtual tour students take that day—allowing students to visit places they could never physically visit, but they are still involved in a field trip! YouTube videos are often a fun break for many students and a good webquest creator will stick a few of those in as well.

Each day the student works through his Learning portion and then moves on to his Assignment portion. The Learning portion does not require that he read the entire article on each of the links he is sent to, but that he exposes himself to the information. Some students may simply scroll down looking for pictures. Other students may read a few paragraphs here and there and gain information in some areas but not everything. Once they go through each link and expose themselves to the information, they go to the Assignment page. This is where the creator can either put something very simple down, or create something really interesting and exciting or very challenging for the student. Since the webquest basically replaces any and all teaching from the actual teacher for that subject, I personally feel the assignments should be structured, challenging, and something the student turns in. Many public school teachers simply want to keep the student busy in an educational way and do not require assignments. So you will find webquests that go both ways.

Students progress through the webquest to the end. In my webquest example, there is a final quiz and the ongoing assignment/project for this webquest culminates on the final day. I also ask the students to keep an ongoing vocabulary list so they can look up new and unfamiliar words each day and learn something new. In the final quiz, a number of commonly seen vocabulary type words will be on the quiz and I explain this in the introduction.

Public school teachers are beginning to rely on webquests more and more; not only for days where they may be sick and a substitute teacher is present, but also to keep the students quiet and in groups so the teacher can do other things during class time. For homeschooling parents, a well-written and complete webquest can help to reinforce what is being learned, to help by allowing the student to learn something while the parent is spending one-on-one time with another sibling, or if the mother needs time to catch up with laundry, attend to a new baby, or if there is illness in the home. For homeschoolers, webquests would be an incredible asset by using them occasionally so the uniqueness doesn’t wear off, and children consider a webquest as a fun break in schooling! Plus parents get a break while their child is learning and having fun— just don’t overdo it and take the teaching out of homeschooling!

The History of Horses

Grades: 3-5

There was a time when mankind did not have tamed horses to help with labor and travel. Humans had to do all the hard work themselves, they had to walk everywhere they wanted to go and they had to carry whatever they needed to take with them. There were no tamed horses to help them and horses were actually hunted for meat! So how did humans begin to see the benefit of taming these wild equine animals to help them with daily living? This webquest is all about the history of the horse and its domestication into a working animal.

All About Geography

Grades: 6-8

Geography is fun and exciting when you can actually practice what you learn – whether that is orienteering or using a compass, drawing a map for someone on local areas you know well, or understanding how geography affects us on a daily basis.

CAMPING

by Rebekah Wilson
Grades: 6-8

Camping brings you face-to-face with God’s nature as nothing else can! Come learn the in’s and out’s of camping and fun, unique ways to enjoy yourself while out in the boonies.

Charting the Course: Social Studies

Grades: 6-8

Study current and ancient history to see how ancient civilizations created governmental ideals that are still functioning today!