Digital Literacy WebQuestPoet Biography

A WebQuest for 3rd Grade (Language Arts)

Designed byJennifer E. Benzo

jeb119@zips.uakron.edu

IntroductionYou are a biographer trying to find out

information about your favorite poet. By using three different search engines, you need to:

discover their life span (birth to death [or still living]),

where they are from, their style of poetry, and a famous poem they have written.

Task At the end of your internet search, you will

have: Used three different search engines to discover

your information Answered the questions on the following form to

organize your information Poet Biography.docx Included the websites in which you found your

information (Each website should come from a different search engine so you should use at least 3 websites.)

Process1. You will first open the “Poet Biography” document;

print it; and write your name at the top of the page next to By: _________. Poet Biography.docx

2. Next, choose a poet you want to write your biography about. Write his or her name on the first line next to Poet’s Name.

3. Choose 3 search engines you would like to use to conduct your information search.

1. www.kidrex.org 2. www.boolify.org 3. www.sweetsearch.com4. www.qwiki.com

Process Continued…4. After choosing your three search engines, type in:

“poetry” and “[your author’s name]” and “biography” into each of the search engines.

5. Choose a website listed from each of the 3 search engines.

6. Fill out numbers 2 – 5 on your Poet Biography sheet (the information about your poet).

7. After you have compiled the information about your poet, list the three search engines as well as the websites where you found the information on your Poet Biography sheet.

8. Share your biography with 2 classmates.

EvaluationNeeds

ImprovementAcceptable Accomplished

Search Engines Uses 1 Search Engine

Uses 2 Search Engines

Uses 3 Search Engines

Websites Lists 1 Website Lists 2 Websites

Lists 3 or more websites

Poet Biography Sheet

More than 1 area of information is missing

1 area of information is missing

All areas of information are complete

Peer Sharing Does not share biography with classmates

Shares biography with 1 classmate

Shares biography with 2 or more classmates

ConclusionAfter fully completing your WebQuest and

Poet Biography sheet, you will have become an accomplished biographer. Here are some additional websites to find out more about your poet or other poets’ your classmates discovered.

www.poets.orgwww.gigglepoetry.com

Teacher PagePURPOSEThis lesson was developed to encourage students to become better digital citizens.

Specifically, the lesson will address the issue of Digital Literacy, which is defined by Ribble (2012) as the “process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology.”

www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

STANDARDSAcademic Content Standards/Benchmarks Addressed: ELA – Reading Applications: Informational, Technical, and Persuasive Text

3. Identify and list the important central ideas and supporting details of informational text

Technology Standards/Benchmarks Addressed: Technology and Information Literacy

B3. Search for information in an online library catalog, electronic encyclopedia, or teacher-selected list of websites.

B4. Select, record, and use needed information to answer a question or complete a project. C2. Type a simple search time in a teacher or librarian selected search engine to find general

information (e.g. “weather”). D1. Read the list of results retrieved from a simple search performed in a search engine and

select one of the search results and review the information it provides.