WEBQUEST

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY

STUDENTS INTRODUCTION
Fearful Friend Afraid of Flying

You have won a two week holiday to Hawaii, all expenses paid. You can
invite one other person so you invite your partner. However, they tell
you they are deathly afraid of flying. Of course you are excited to share
this opportunity with your partner.

QUESTION: what would you say to convince your partner to travel

with you by plane to Hawaii?

TASK

To convince your partner to travel with you by plane to Hawaii you will
have to have a very convincing argument. You need to research and
develop information and statistics on issues regarding airplane safety
and convenience.

You will use the information you find to argue why it is safer and more
convenient to travel by plane than all other modes of transport.
Hopefully you will successfully persuade your partner to travel with you
to Hawaii.

THE PROCESS
1. Survey (Part 1) Class Data

For Day One, make a class survey with questions that find out what
mode of transportation the members of your class prefer and why. You
must have a minimum of ten questions for your survey.

Make a comparative chart/table showing your results for your

classmates transport preferences and their reasons for their choices.

THE PROCESS (cont.)

2. Research the Problem

For Day Two, use the websites below to find information while taking
short notes on airplane safety and convenience in comparison to
other modes of transportation.

http://anxieties.com/flying-howsafe.php#.VVgorfmqqko
-lots of information on airplane safety.

http://www.gogetterjetsetter.com/how-safe-is-flying.php
-more facts on how safe flying is.

http://www.flyingwithoutfear.com/information-to-help-your-fear-of-flying/the-facts-of-flying/
-a very comprehensive website on the facts of all aspects of flying safely

http://
www.bustle.com/articles/71702-after-germanwings-is-it-safe-to-fly-10-plane-safety-facts-for
-those-who-might-be
-a very current article on flying safety post-Germanwings.

THE PROCESS (cont.)

3. Interview on Personal Experiences

Interview at least two people asking them a minimum of ten questions

about their own experiences flying (e.g. did they feel safe, were they
aware of safety instructions, etc.)

Write a 250 word essay on the information you found from your
interviews.

THE PROCESS (cont.)

4. Presentation

Write a persuasive essay using the information that you have gathered
on airplane safety. Include any arguments that your partner may have
in not wanting to fly to help with your persuasion.

Work in pairs and attempt to persuade your partner to come fly with
you on your all expenses paid trip to Hawaii!

EVALUATION

(Evaluation Rubric)

Category

Reading and
Interpreting
Information

Findings and responses are

communicated accurately and
clearly.

Findings and responses have a few

errors and the information is
communicated a little unclearly.

Findings and responses have major

errors and the information is not
clearly communicated.

Students do not explain their findings or

respond appropriately.

Working
Independently

Required no assistance from

instructor.

Required little assistance from

instructor or peers.

Needed a lot of support from the

instructor and peers.

Constant aid and supervision were needed

from the instructor.

Group/Pair
Work

Always on task and worked hard

towards contributing to the group
or partnership.

Contributed to the group or

partnership.

Participated very little while working

with their group or partners.

Students are disruptive/unfocused and

unable to contribute to groups or
partnerships.

Mathematical
Data

Comparative charts/tables depict

accurate and relevant results from
their survey.

Comparative charts/tables have a few

error and/or show little relevance to
the results from their survey.

Comparative charts/tables have many

errors and/or show no relevance to
the results from their survey

Students do not show any comparative

charts/tables showing results from their
survey.

Clarity

Writings are extremely neat, clear,

attractive and well organised.
There are no grammatical or
spelling errors.

Writings are neat, clear, attractive

and well organised. There are one or
two grammatical or spelling errors.

Writings are somewhat neat, a little

unclear and disorganised. There are
three or four grammatical or spelling
errors.

Writings are messy and unclear and

disorganised. There are more than four
grammatical or spelling errors.

CONCLUSION

Good job! Hopefully you have convinced your mate (and maybe
yourself) that flying is still the safest way to travel.

Now, enjoy the world travel freely and I wish you many wonderful
adventures.

CREDITS

Author Biography:
-Kevin Birkhahn

I am presently a Master of Education student at the University of Wollongong. I

am working as a Certificate IV in TESOL trainer, an EAP teacher (both in Sydney and
Wollongong) and General English teacher (evenings).
-Permissions
Permission is granted to use this material for educational purposes.

TEACHERS INTRODUCTION

Teacher Introduction

This WebQuest was designed to help ESL students explore their own abilities to
persuade as well as research a topic. The topic for this particular WebQuest is
whether airplanes are the safest mode of transportation or not. This WebQuest
will work best with Chapters from textbooks where the context of the lesson has to
do with Airplanes or Air Travel.

LEARNERS

Learners: Adult ESL students ages ranging from 18 and up.

Levels: Upper Intermediate to Advanced

Lesson Focus: Persuading Others that Airplanes are the Safest Way to Travel.

The students will learn how safe it is travel by airplane as well as how to
research a topic in order to persuade an audience with facts and evidence.

TEACHERS PROCESS

THE FIRST ACTIVITY:

-Have the students work individually to read the instructions and create their surveys.

-Make sure students have written ten questions and check them for language accuracy
errors
before interviews begin.
-When the surveys are ready have students interview the rest of the class.

THE SECOND ACTIVITY:

-For Day Two, students use the websites to find information while taking short notes on
airplane safety and convenience in comparison to other modes of transportation.
-Monitor the students to give them support. When they have finished allow them to work in
groups and share their notes to build
ideas that will help them with the next stage.

TEACHERS PROCESS (cont.)

THE THIRD ACTIVITY:

-have students work in groups of three, interviewing at least two people asking them a minimum of ten
questions about their own experiences flying (e.g. did they feel safe, were they aware of safety instructions, etc.).
-make sure to give students time to write their ten questions and check them for language accuracy errors.
-Students then have to write a recount of 250 word essay on the information they found from their interviews.

THE FOURTH ACTIVITY:

-The students are going to write a persuasive essay using the information that you have gathered on airplane
safety. First,
have the students work in groups or with a partner brain storming possible arguments that
their partners/mates may have for not wanting to fly to help with your persuasion. Have students take short notes
while brain storming.
-Have students work in pairs and attempt to persuade their partners who have a fear of flying to come fly with
them on an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii. Organise pairs by designating students either A or B and checking
those designations and then begin monitoring for any language or meaning issues.