Teacher's page
Content Area: The Great Barrier Reef
Stage 2: Years Three and Four
Strand: Environment
Outcome: ENS2.6
Describes people's interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments.
Indicators:
- Identifies issues about the care of places such as the Great Barrier Reef.
- Evaluates the necessity of caring for and conserving The Great Barrier Reef.
- Is able to plan management strategies that could be implemented for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef.
Subject matter: This strand ensures that students learn about environments by exploring: location, position and direction; places and features; relationships between people and environments; and care of environments.
Prior Knowledge Required:
This web quest is very hands on and informative, requiring the students to research and learn about the topic (mission one and two) before engaging in the presentation aspects (mission three and four) therefore limiting the need of background knowledge and allowing all students to participate regardless of their prior knowledge. However, it would be beneficial for students to have an understanding of what environmental issues and the impact they can have to assist them with mission two, as well as an understand of what a report is and how to write one in order to complete mission three.
Students would benefit by having an understanding of ICT and computers, specifically websites, in order to find their way about the Web Quest and find each of the missions. With this in mind, this web quest has been designed and set out simplistically to help those who may struggle with ICT find their way around the site by having large bold headings, specific instructions and by providing the needed web links.
Assessment:
Mission One -
Students are able to watch and listen to the provided video and identify the necessary information to answers the questions provided. This assessment task aims for students to gain a sound knowledge and understanding of the Great Barrier Reef.
Mission Two -
Students choose a current issue and use the links provided to answer the given questions, in order to gain a deeper understanding of issues surrounding the Great Barrier Reef. This assessment task aims for students to be able to show how they can use websites to retrieve the needed information and communicate their understanding of the issue researched.
Mission Three -
Students will be assessed on their creativity and confidence in presenting information they have collected on a particular issue relating to the Great Barrier Reef. Through this task it aims for students to demonstrate their ability to identify relevant and significant pieces of information which should be presented within their report to inform their viewers.
Mission Four -
Students are invited to create a poster demonstrating what they would do to protect the Great Barrier Reef as part of an environmental leader election campaign. This assessment task aims for students to demonstrate sound knowledge of environmental issues and ways of prevention. Students will also be assessed on their creativity of the poster.
Links to KLAs:
Not only does this web quest relate to the Human Society and Its Environment syllabus, it too links to other key learning areas. The other key learning areas include:
- English: Students will explore various text types such as reports, interviews and posters to display and present various pieces of information they are gathered.
- Creative Arts: Students are encouraged to use the creative arts elements of drama and visual arts to complete particular missions, such as drama for the news report (mission three) and visual arts for the development of the poster (mission four).
- Mathematics: Within this web quest there is an element of mathematics present as some information provides measurements, data and statistics that students can analyse to develop a more knowledgeable understanding of the Great Barrier Reef.
- Science and Technology: Science is explored within this web quest as it investigates various impacts on the environment which relates to the Earth and its surroundings component within the syllabus.
Support provided to learners:
- The Web Quest aims to interest and relate to children on their level by describing the Great Barrier Reef as 'Nemo's Home' as seen in the movie Finding Nemo.
- The Great Barrier Reef Web Quest is divided into four different missions, with each mission building upon the previous one and exploring a new different element
- Each of the four missions that create the Great Barrier Reef Web quest provide safe web links on the page for the students to access that will provide them with the correct and necessary information.
- Structure is provided for each of the tasks with specific questions being asked in relation to help develop the students knowledge.
Benefits of WebQuest:
- Allowing students to research, investigate and explore the Great Barrier Reed by using ICT within the classroom setting.
- A number of various elements of ICT have being used throughout the WebQuest to interest all types of learners and to ensure that all students are interested and engaged by the activities.