Media Rich Project

A JAPAN Web Quest URL: http://sites.google.com/site/japanwebquestprojectsite/home by Linda Tavares Arthur Middleton Elementary School Third Grade Step by Step Instructions INTRODUCTION: At the beginning of our study of Japan, and before using the computers, we will look at the geography of Japan. The geography of this tiny island country has greatly affected how its people live. We will see how it is different from the United States. We will also see that it is about the same distance from the equator as Kansas. Through some hands on map study we will see that Japan has many large, important cities and is surrounded by several different bodies of water. Our introductory lesson will include the creation of a world map that identifies three climatic regions: temperate, polar, and tropical. We will identify countries which are located in the temperate region and color code a map including a legend (key) and compass rose. In this Web Quest lesson, the students will spend several days conducting research focusing on specific objectives. They will use laptop computers and will be encouraged to work as partners and share ideas even though each will have their own computer. The lesson will span a total of eight days and the physical environment will be a classroom setting. The teacher will scaffold the Web Quest by displaying the lesson on a Smart Board, simultaneously with the students. While I have taken the precautionary steps to ensure the materials contained in this Japan Web Quest are suitable for young children, there is always the possibility for online surfing to take place. Before beginning the lesson, it is important to review safe internet usage procedures with the students making sure to post a class created poster which highlights the steps that are necessary to stay safe on the internet. These steps will include: 1) staying on only the web pages allowed by the lesson, 2) never clicking on any advertisements, 3) never surfing the internet, 4) never post any personal information on the internet including name, phone number or address, 5) follow along with the teacher as she models good internet behaviors. Linda Tavares Page 1

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OBJECTIVES: Students will: Locate Japan on a flat classroom map Locate Japan on a globe Plot climatic regions Identify oceans and seas surrounding Japan Identify the four main islands Locate Japanese Alps Understand there are many active volcanoes and as a result, earthquakes Realize that earthquakes are very common Identify surrounding countries and bodies of water Understand that the Japan has a scarcity of space and the United States has 25 times more land than Japan Learn about Mt. Fuji BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES The students will analyze a global map in order to identify the location of Japan and by creating a labeled map of Japan and it's surrounding bodies of water. The students will gather and read appropriate non-print sources materials in order to investigate and compare the homes of Japan, food and clothing with that of Maryland. The students will gather information about the buildings and landscape of Japan in order to create a poster image of Japan and it's interesting buildings--both traditional and modern. The students will gather and analyze information concerning Japan's climatic regions and its seasons. The students will identify geographic formations and animal of Japan in order to create a poster to display both. The students will read and gather information about schools and students in Japan in order to compare with Maryland schools and by creating a Venn-Diagram. The students will read from non print sources information about life in Japan and use information to construct a paragraph. The students will investigate Japanese culture in order to compare holidays in Japan with the holidays in America. MARYLAND STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
Voluntary State Curriculum Indicators VSC 2.A.1.a Use fiction and non-fiction to compare the elements of several cultures and how they meet their human needs for clothing, food, shelter, recreation, education, stories, art, music, and language VSC 3.B.1.a Compare places and regions using geographic features VSC 1.C.1.a Describe the responsibilities of being an effective citizen, such as cleaning up your neighborhood, being informed, obeying rules and laws, participating in class decisions, and volunteering

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VSC 2.A.1.a Use fiction and non-fiction to compare the elements of several cultures and how they meet their human needs for clothing, food, shelter, recreation, education, stories, art, music, and language VSC 6.A.1.a Acquire and apply new vocabulary through investigating, listening, independent reading and discussing a variety of print and non-print sources VSC 6.D.1.a Gather and read appropriate print sources, such as textbooks, government documents, timelines, trade books, and web sites

Objectives
VSC 2.0: Peoples of the Nations and World Students will understand the diversity and commonality, human interdependence, and global cooperation of the people of Maryland, the United States, and the World through a multicultural and a historic perspective. VSC 4.0: Economics Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world. VSC 6.0: Social Studies Skills and Processes Students shall use reading, writing, and thinking processes and skills to gain knowledge and understanding of political, historical, and current events using chronological and spatial thinking, economic reasoning, and historical interpretation, by framing and evaluating questions from primary and secondary sources.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: classroom maps and globe large flat map of Japan for each student Japan Web Quest 20 laptop computers (or enough for pairs to work with one computer) 1 teacher audio/video cart with computer access Smart Board Access to computer printer VOCABULARY: rubric Honshu Hokkaido Shikoku Mt. Fuji Tokyo Japanese Alps Yokohama Hiroshima Nagasaki Kyushu Tatami mats scarcity of space

PROCEDURE: Day 1--1 hour: Whole class discussion about Where Japan is located using maps, and a globe. Distribute maps of Japan to students. After initial discussion, pass out lap top computers and access Japan Web Quest. Using link to map, print out outline map of Japan and label the 4 main islands, plot in major cities, bodies of water surrounding Japan, what countries it faces, and where the capitol and Mt. Fuji are. Draw in the Japanese Alps. Label with black pens and color in with colored pencils. Include a drawing of a legend and compass rose. Day 2--1 hour Linda Tavares Page 3

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As an anticipatory set, have students draw a picture of their own house. Post several student pictures and describe the exterior and interior of the houses. Access the Japan Web Quest for day 2. Have student locate and click on the appropriate links that allow for examination of houses in Japan. Discuss the differences between homes in Japan and in Maryland. Discuss the similarities. Ask students to print out the worksheet and answer questions regarding homes in Japan while referring to the web site links. Day 3-1 hour After passing out computers, have students access the Web Quest and click on Day 3: Japanese buildings. The students will examine various photographs of buildings in Japan, those which are modern day buildings, traditional buildings and unusual buildings. Ask them to choose their favorite building, draw a picture of the building and write a 5 sentence explanation of why it is their favorite. As a wrap up, ask students to write about the differences between buildings they saw in the Japan photographs and buildings they see in Maryland in their writing journals. Day 4: Using the computers, students will gather and analyze information concerning Japans climate including seasons. Point out the relative proximity of Japan to the equator and that it is the same distance as Maryland to the equator. Ask students what the climatic region is of Maryland (temperate). Ask what climatic region they think Japan is in (also temperate). After exploring the links on page four, ask students to print out and complete a worksheet with guiding comprehension questions. Day 5: Using computers, ask students to locate and click on day 5 of the Web Quest. Here they will identify geographic formationsspecifically Mount Fuji. Students will also investigate the kinds of animals that live in Japan. Using a printable worksheet, students will complete a drawing of the tallest mountain in Japan an answer two comprehension questions. Day 6: Students will locate and click on day six of the Web Quest. They will click on the available links and read about the schools in Japan, including the kinds of courses students take, the way the dress, hours of schooling, and daily behaviors. After a careful discussion of the differences between the schools in Japan and the schools in Maryland, the students will print out and complete a Venn-Diagram displaying the similarities and differences between schools in Japan and Maryland. Day 7: Students will locate and click on day seven of the Web Quest. Here they will find interesting factual information concerning the daily lives of Japanese. Students will read and discuss the similarities and differences between the culture of Japan and that of Maryland. Students will refer to a rubric in order to write a descriptive paragraph explaining three differences between Japan and Maryland. The rubric is a link on the page for day seven. The rubric may also be printed out and referred to as the paragraph is written.

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Day 8: Students will locate and click on day eight of the Web Quest. This page concerning Japans holidays contains a link that offers short explanations of holidays celebrated in Japan. The students will read and choose one holiday they would like to learn more about. By clicking on the title of the holiday, they are linked to a reading comprehension page concerning that holiday. After reading a short paragraph, they will print out and answer five comprehension questions about the holiday. Then they are asked to print out a line drawing of the holiday to color. Both are handed in and hung in classroom. Early Finishers Several activities have been included for those students who complete their assignments early. These activities include a Japanese Homes interactive game, a flag of Japan may be printed out and colored. The students may investigate Japanese phrases and here how they are pronounced. They may practice speaking Japanese. There are question and answer links they may enjoy should they finish assignments early. ASSESSMENT: I will collect and grade each project component of this Japan Web Quest to ensure the students have constructed information in a meaningful way. Technology Lesson Rationale Each year, in my third grade classroom, I teach many Social Studies lessons about Japan. It is mandated by the Voluntary State Curriculum that students be presented with specific information concerning Japans location on the map, the countries and bodies of water which surround Japan, and compare their traditions, lifestyle, and culture with our own. The resources I have available to use to teach about Japan are a globe, classroom map and classroom sets of three informational books. I found limiting myself to using these materials in the age of technology stifling. The learning problem I had was the school has an insufficient supply of learning materials to address my desire for wellrounded lessons that motivate students to learn. I wanted to create lessons which included a rich variety of experiences for my students and ones that would allow me to

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share specific elements of life in Japan in an interesting way. I chose to create an interactive Web Quest about Japan. The Web Quest I created includes objectives which encompass the indicators on the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum. The lessons I created for the Web Quest are project- based in which each culminates in a product created by the students. These projects demonstrate their level of understanding. By using a Web Quest format for my lessons, I was able to combine direct instruction with constructivist lessons which allow my students to analyze information and construct their own knowledge through exposure to high quality resources. The relative advantage of using this technology based lesson includes the fact that it would have been much more expensive to purchase new books and videos which could accompany a textbook based lesson. The internet provides a wealth of resources that can be used to enrich lessons and to present students with a variety of experiences related to the lessons and the cost was free. Instead of relying on text and pictures in a book, the Japan Web Quest provides a platform for student interaction with the lessons. They are asked to not only read text and view pictures, but to interact with the lessons. They can interact with animations using graphic software and manipulate icons to promote a better understanding of homes in Japan. They can hear the Japanese language being spoken. They can print out worksheets that help guide their understanding as they work with each other. I feel creating a Web Quest was an appropriate way to present my lessons on Japan because it places all the resources I need to teach in one place that is easy to

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access. My Japan Web Quest encourages students to enjoy themselves while they interact with the lessons and better motivates them to learn. Lesson Evaluation I presented my Japan Web Quest to my Social Studies students over the span of several days and the time allotted for each lesson was one hour. My Social Studies class consists of twenty-four students and the even number worked to my advantage since I wanted students to work in pairs. This was the students first experience using laptop computers so during the first day of lessons, we spent a great deal of time talking about how to be safe on the internet and included an introductory lesson for the Web Quest. I asked my schools Media Specialist to add a link and icon to our schools media start page. This way, the students needed only to click on the icon for the media start page on the desktop and then click on the icon for the Japan Web Quest to find the lessons. The arrangement of laptops on student desks allowed them to see my display of the Web Quest on my Smart Board and allowed me to circulate and keep a watchful eye on the students as they worked. They were asked to follow along with me as we navigated and familiarized ourselves with the Web Quest. I had not envisioned spending so much time with these kinds of prerequisite activities and so on the first day, we did not actually take part in any lessons. One the second day, however, the students were ready and eager to begin with the lesson on Day One. Since we spent so much time learning how to navigate the Web Quest, the students had a very good idea how to complete the assignments. I plan to make these kinds of familiarizing activities a procedure for using internet lessons in the Linda Tavares Page 7

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future. As they worked, I noticed the students were not only engaged with the lessons, but were reading out loud to each other and moving from desk to desk to explain to other students how to find interesting facts they had found. Throughout the lessons, the students seemed very excited to use the laptop computers. They seemed proud to be able to complete the work without having problems. One problem I noticed immediately was the students did not have enough work space to complete the project portion of the lessons. To help with this problem, I passed out clipboards and offered for the students to use the floor and other tables in the classroom. During the fourth day of lessons, we had a small problem with the laptops. It seemed several had not been properly plugged in to recharge and were not usable. The decision was made to place the pairs of students into groups of four. They worked well at sharing and taking turns using the computers. Because the lessons were organized day to day, the students were all working on the same lessons and as a result sharing computers worked out well. On this day it was noted that one of the students found themselves on a page outside of the Web Quest parameters. I do believe it was an accident and a few quick clicks of the back button solved the problem. I printed out the required materials for each days lesson so students would not have to print them and I found passing out materials to be the best option. Due to time constraints, we have not finished the Web Quest and we will continue the lessons throughout the second quarter.

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Technology Integration Planning (TIP) Model

Phase 1: Determine Relative Advantage What is the problem I am addressing? (Roblyer p. 55) In the past when I have taught lessons about Japan, I found it difficult and expensive to locate enough resources so students could be exposed to the culture and lifestyle of Japanese people. The books I used fell short of meeting my lesson requirements because they were not comprehensive enough to explain each aspect of the climate, geography and cultural traditions. I found myself searching and purchasing books, magazines and photographs to help present the lesson material. I felt I needed to have one resource that could include a vast array of information about Japan and the logical structure for such a lesson is to create a Web Quest about Japan. A Web Quest can include all these different kinds of resources and makes them available in one comprehensive lesson or a succession of lessons. The behavioral objectives I have chosen allow students to demonstrate their understanding through producing projects which will allow for ongoing assessments and culminate in an end result that is measurable. A KWL chart will be completed by the students prior to administration of the lessons and will be revisited after the implementation of the lesson. The information contained on the KWL chart will be used to assess the students learning growth. Different products are expected for each lesson on the Japan Web Quest. Some examples of the products the students will create are: 1) a written paragraph, 2) a Venn-Diagram, 3) a comprehension multiple choice quiz, 4) a poster, 5) a cloze question worksheet, and 6) a vocabulary sheet for definition explanations. The kinds of instruction methods which are needed in light of the objectives was determined to be single content based and includes having students work in pairs. Since the overarching goal was to promote a better understanding of Japan and its culture, traditions, and geographic location, the content needed to be focused on this single topic. I needed to keep in mind that I have the inclusion classroom which contains students who are reading on a kindergarten level, students reading on a sixth grade level and most every level between the two. Asking students to work in pairs allows for the coupling of students who have higher abilities with those who have lesser abilities. Therefore, the decision to have students work is pairs was made. To fully implement this lesson, it is necessary to have the appropriate technology available to the students. They need to have access to at

Phase 2: Decide on Objectives and Assessments

Phase 3: Design Integration Strategies

Phase 4: Prepare the

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Instructional Environment least one computer for every two students and for at least eight consecutive lessons. The individual student does not, however, need to have access to a printer. The teacher can print out the required worksheets ahead of time if necessary. If enough computers are not available, students may work in small groups of four to complete the project or the lessons may be split into a sharing routine where students take turns using classroom computers. The physical environment of students during the implementation of this lesson should include constant adult supervision. The use of firewall software is recommended to promote student safety and a release form should be signed by parents. Were objectives achieved? What evidence do I have to indicate success? By examining the work students produced throughout this lesson, I feel the objectives were met. The evidence collected indicates successful learning related to the lesson objectives and to the indicators on the Voluntary State Curriculum. Have I solicited feedback from students about how to improve activities? While students worked using this Japan Web Quest, I continually took notations regarding their response to each page. Students were asked what they would like to see done differently and what would improve the Web Quest. I was very surprised some students asked to have Japanese music available on the site. They also asked if I could add a page they could learn about the sports of Japan. One student asked I to see more Japanese writing. I would like to add a page of Japanese characters the students can print out and trace. Learning to write in Japanese will provide an additional source of motivation for the students. I have given these suggestions careful consideration and have decided to add these new elements to my Web Quest in the near future. Do data and comments indicate changes are needed to improve outcomes? According to the work produced by the students, there are changes that need to be made. In the lesson on page six regarding School Life, the lesson originally asked students to read several pages of material, examine photographs and use the information to create a Venn-Diagram. While the students were working, they seem to really struggle with what information they should include on the diagram. It was obvious to me they needed more scaffolding of this lesson. I decided to change this lesson to include a set of guiding questions in the form of a worksheet. The students may then use the worksheet questions and answers when completing their Venn-Diagram. When page four of the Web Quest, I offered a flag for the students to print out and color if they finish work early. I did not, however, include a photograph of the Japanese flag. It was determined this needed to be on the same page so students could use as an example. It was noted during the lesson that questions were being asked concerning navigation of the site. On pages where external links were

Phase 5: Evaluate and Revise Integration Strategies

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used, students were confused about how to return to the Web Quest. During the lesson, I had to continually remind students to click on the back arrow button to return to the Web Quest. In the future, I plan to make changes to the html text so the external links will open in new windows automatically. Are there other ways to arrange technology resources or activities to improve results? Other ways to arrange technology resources would be to use the computer lab at the school instead of using a class set of laptops. If laptops are not available, my school has a computer mini-lab available in the library with 25 student accessible computers. If schools have neither laptops nor access to a mini-lab, this Web Quest may be accessed during the regular computer lab classroom with the computer lab instructor.

References School improvement in maryland: State curriculum. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2009, from http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/index.html. Roblyer, M.D. (2006). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.

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