Introduction
This WebQuest was created as an introductory exploration about the topic of Immigration and Heritage. The exploration was created for 6th graders in a class called Writer's Studio. The class focuses on helping 6th graders become better writers. The Heritage and Immigration unit is one of two units of study this class covers. The other unit it Courage. Throughout the course of this unit, students will practice their research skills in order to help them become better and finding information. They will then use the information they researched to write about and do a final project about immigration.
In this lesson, students begin their exploration about Immigration and Heritage by finding out what it was like for immigrants to come to The United States. The research focus questions that help guide them in their understanding of the immigration process. Once they research the information they will then use it to tell others about what it is like for immigrants to come to The United States and the process in which immigrants went through to gain access to the country.
In this lesson, students begin their exploration about Immigration and Heritage by finding out what it was like for immigrants to come to The United States. The research focus questions that help guide them in their understanding of the immigration process. Once they research the information they will then use it to tell others about what it is like for immigrants to come to The United States and the process in which immigrants went through to gain access to the country.
Learners
This lesson is designed for 6th graders in Writer's Studio, which is a writing class. It is anchored in ELA and Social Studies standards and could be easily extended to other grade levels by changing the complexity of the questions. It could also be extended by not providing the websites for students to use to find the information with, making students do all the research themselves.
Students need to have a basic understanding of how to use the internet and computer/iPad in order to research using the websites provided. They will also need to have some understanding in either how to create a website or use Microsoft Office Tools to create a product.
Students need to have a basic understanding of how to use the internet and computer/iPad in order to research using the websites provided. They will also need to have some understanding in either how to create a website or use Microsoft Office Tools to create a product.
Curriculum Standards
English Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
Social Studies Standard
Students must analyze how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions (6 – G2.2.3).
Along with the content standards, students will also learn critical thinking skills. They will have to go through a lot of information and decide what is worth while information and which isn't as important. They will also learn how to show their learning creativity through their final project and presentation. They get to choose how their project looks, and evolve it into their own way of showing what they know.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
Social Studies Standard
Students must analyze how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions (6 – G2.2.3).
Along with the content standards, students will also learn critical thinking skills. They will have to go through a lot of information and decide what is worth while information and which isn't as important. They will also learn how to show their learning creativity through their final project and presentation. They get to choose how their project looks, and evolve it into their own way of showing what they know.
Process
- First you will be broken up into groups of 4. You will need to get a hard copy of the scavenger hunt for each person in your group from the cart at the front of the classroom to take notes on. At the bottom of this page you will also find an embedded document with the questions. Students are broken up into groups based on ability level. I made sure that in every group there was at least one person who felt very comfortable using the technology and felt that they could teach or guide the rest of their group if they needed it.
- Once you are assigned to your group, you will each decide what part of the scavenger hunt you want to work on. There are questions about the history of Ellis Island, the process of going through Ellis Island, immigrant experiences, etc. Divide up the questions among you so that everyone has an equal part in the research.
- Once you have decided which questions each person is going to research, you can use iPads, the classroom computers, or your own device to start researching. Below are links you will want to use to find the answers to the scavenger hunt. You will want to choose a site, read the information given, then look through your questions to see if it answers one of them. Do not choose a question and spend your time looking for the answers one at a time because it will take you a lot longer. If you are having a hard time finding the answer to one of your questions talk with your group about it. Someone may have come across the information already and can lead you to the right place. Remember there are multiple parts to a website. Explore the different pages and information that is available on each website. I would remind students that there are multiple parts to each website. The sites that give the most information are the first two on the list. They tell a lot about the history of Ellis Island and experiences that immigrants had coming through Ellis Island. The scholastic site is very cool. It takes you on a step by step tour through the immigration process providing videos, pictures, audio and a summary at each stop in Ellis Island.
- www.ellisisland.org
- http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Eihist.html
- http://www.nps.gov/elis/index.htm
- http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/stop1.htm
- http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island
- http://www.powayusd.com/online/usonline/worddoc/ellisislandsite.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Clinton
5. When all of your questions are answered, you will begin creating your final project which is an informational brochure or website for people wanting to immigrate to The United States. If you decide to make a brochure, you will want to make a rough draft before you make the final copy on the computer using either Microsoft Word of Microsoft Publisher that will be presented and handed in. The final copy should be neat, organized and colorful. If you want to make a website, here is video tutorial about Weebly, which if one of the different website creators you can use. Once you watch the video you can go to Weebly, sign up and get started. Depending on your students ability level you may want to limit the options they have in making their final project or give them more options. You may have to help them get started in the correct program but once they get started they shouldn't have any trouble.
6. Remember your brochure or website need to contain the following information in an easy to find, easy to read manner. Remember to include all of your names on the first page of your website or the cover of your brochure.
- What it is like traveling to The United States
- What items should they make sure they bring with them (ex. money, belongings, etc.)
- What the process is when the reach Ellis Island
- What happens if someone is detained
- A personal account of an immigrant going through Ellis Island
- Any other important facts you think immigrants should know before coming to Ellis Island
7. Once you have finished your brochure or website, each person needs to read through the information you provided and make sure that it is accurate, check spelling and grammar. When it is ready, print your brochure (if you made one) or e-mail me the link to your website (if you created one).
8. When every group has finished their project, you will be sharing yours with the class either through the use of the projector or the ELMO.
Resources Needed
Scavenger Hunt Questions
Internet access
20 to 30 iPads/computers/tablets
Printer
ELMO/Document Camera
Projector
One teacher is enough to teach this lesson. Students should have enough knowledge of technology that they should be pretty independent. Their biggest struggle will probably be reading through the information and pulling out the important information.
Internet access
20 to 30 iPads/computers/tablets
Printer
ELMO/Document Camera
Projector
One teacher is enough to teach this lesson. Students should have enough knowledge of technology that they should be pretty independent. Their biggest struggle will probably be reading through the information and pulling out the important information.
Evaluation
You will have two parts to your grade. The first part is a grade as a whole group. This grade will be on your overall final project and presentation. The second part of your grade will come from your group members' evaluation. On a piece of paper you will list the members of your group including yourself. Then give them a score from 0-10, with 10 being the highest possible score. If a group member receives a 10 it means that they answered the questions that were supposed to, they shared their information with the group and they had an equal part in creating and presenting the final project. If they receive a 0, it means that they did not contribute to the group at all and the other members had to do extra work to account for it. When I get an evaluation sheet from each member of the group, I will average the points given to each person to get their total participation score. Below you will find the rubric for how your final project and presentation are evaluated. This score will be added to your participation score from you and your group members to get your final grade. The total points possible for this project are 100.
Conclusion
After completing this lesson, students will not only have an understanding of what it was like for immigrants to come to The United States, and Ellis Island, but they will also be able to tell others about the information they learned. Students will also be able to research and find answers to questions through the practice they got with the websites they were provided with. This will help to prepare them for researching their own topic and finding websites and sources that are reliable on their own. Lastly, it gives the students an introduction to immigration and heritage, which will lead them into our unit of study for the quarter.