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NH Tourism WebQuest
A WebQuest for 4th Grade (Social
Studies)
Designed by
Cynthia Flynn
CFlynn@merrimack.k12.nh.us
Introduction
| Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Standards
Introduction:
Attention
Fourth Grade Students!
Your
school has just received some very exciting news! Rumor has it that the
owners and operators of one of the giant theme parks currently located in Florida and California are
considering opening a new, larger theme park that will outshine all the
others!
Unnamed
sources add the new location for the theme park will be somewhere in New
England. Representatives from the theme park do not have
time to personally tour each New England state.
Instead, they have requested that each state submit a brochure highlighting
what each state has to offer. Unfortunately, that is a problem for your
state. Because of budget cuts and reassignments, all of the state workers at
the Department of Tourism have been let go. The governor, however, is aware
of the state curriculum guidelines and knows what your grade level is
studying. He has asked that the fourth grade students in the state form
committees to help replace this vital work force and produce a brochure to
show that your state has something to offer to everyone!
As
an added incentive, the theme park has promised to give lifetime free passes
to the members of the committee in the winning state and their families.
Good
Luck! Remember, a successful brochure will mean economic success for your state
and personal gain for you and your family.
The Task:
Your
task is to work as a part of a team to research historical, recreational,
natural, weather, or transportation information about your state. You will
share this research and create a brochure in the form of a PowerPoint
Presentation to prove your state deserves to be awarded the theme park.
Your PowerPoint Presentation will describe and
illustrate at least four natural features unique to your state.
You will provide information about your state
including its capital, flag, origin, and its nickname.
You will provide information about two
recreational areas in your state.
You will include a map of your state showing the
major highways and the mileage between the major cities.
The presentation will also include a section
giving seasonal climate and weather information.
The Process:
Step
1. You will be assigned to a team of
four students. Each team will
gather information and after
discussion, decide which facts would
make your state appeal to
potential developers.
The teams will be:
The Weather/Land Form Team
The Transportation Team
The Historical/Informational Facts Team
The Natural Attractions Team
The Recreational Attractions Team
Step 2.
Each team member will participate by carrying out a different part
of your task.
Step 3.
Your team will create a PowerPoint presentation of 4 to 6 pages.
Each page should be imaginative, interesting, colorful, and
informative. All information should be written in complete
sentences,
Making sure that proper punctuation is used.
Step 4.
You will be graded on spelling and grammar, originality,
cooperation, and the accuracy of your
information.
Let’s get to work!
The Historical Informational Facts Team
The Historical/Informational facts team will
research and report on general information about your state. You should
include information that makes your state unique. Two team members will
report on historical information including the origin of your state, its
nickname, motto, flag, and government.
The other team members will report on interesting facts about your
state such as the major newspapers, television stations, and major
employers. Your team should include a
map of your state showing major cities and counties.
Some useful websites might be:
New Hampshire
State Homepage
Where New Hampshire
Clicks
New
Hampshire-Make up for Lost time
New Hampshire Government
Resources
Newspapers
The
New Hampshire Almanac
State
Information
The Weather Team:
The job of the weather team is to report on
climate and weather conditions for each of the seasons of the year. Remember,
this theme park will be open year round.
Each team member will choose one season and
report on the average daily temperature, the amount of precipitation, and
other pertinent weather information for major cities and areas within the
state.
The weather team will also be responsible for
reporting on the various land forms that make up your state
Some helpful websites that you might use are:
The Weather
Channel
Weather
Forecasts
National
Forecasts
New Hampshire
Weather
 
The Transportation Team
The job of the transportation team is to report
on the various forms of public transportation that are available in your
state. Remember, the developers of the theme park will be interested in
getting tourists to their park as quickly and easily as possible. Each team
member will choose to report on air transportation, train transportation, bus
transportation, and major highways. Each report should include the amount of
time involved to get from one area of the state to another as well as the
different times it would take to get from neighboring states. Your team
should include at least one map showing major highways and the locations of
the major cities and transportation centers.
Some helpful websites that you might use are:
Mapquest
Rand
McNally Maps
New Hampshire
Information
Maps of New
Hampshire
The
Manchester Airport
All New
Hampshire Airports
Getting
Around New Hampshire
The Natural Attractions Team
The job of the Natural Attractions Team will be
to focus on at least four natural attractions that already bring tourists
into the state. Since these natural attractions already bring tourists into
your state, perhaps the owners of the theme park would like to relocate near
one of them. Your report should include the location of the attraction,
background information, and what leisure activities might be associated with
each natural attraction.
Some useful websites might be:
The White Mountains Official
Website
The
Official New Hampshire Tourism Site
Welcome to
Hampton Beach
Lake Winnipesaukee Home
Page
Mount
Washington Information
More
Mount Washington Information
New Hampshire
Tourism Website
Outdoor
Attractions
The
Division of Parks and Recreation
The Recreation Attractions Team
The job of the recreation attractions team is to research
at least four man made attractions which already bring tourists into your
state. Since people are already coming to visit them, perhaps the owners of
the theme park would like to relocate near one of them. Your report should
include the location of the attraction, background information, and what
leisure activities might be associated with each manmade attraction.
Some websites that might be helpful are:
The New Hampshire
Speedway Site
Ski Areas
New Hampshire Ski
Areas
The Official
New Hampshire Guidebook
Scenic Train
Rides
Merrimack Valley
Attractions
Seacoast
Attractions
New
Hampshire Happenings
Evaluation:
Each
team will be evaluated on their Power Point Presentation according to the
following rubric:
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CATEGORY
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4
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3
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2
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1
|
|
Spelling and Grammar
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Presentation has no
misspellings or grammatical errors.
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Presentation has 1-2 misspellings,
but no grammatical errors.
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Presentation has 1-2
grammatical errors but no misspellings.
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Presentation has more than 2
grammatical and/or spelling errors.
|
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Originality
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Presentation shows
considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are
presented in a unique and interesting way.
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Presentation shows some
originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an
interesting way.
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Presentation shows an attempt at
originality and inventiveness on 1-2 cards.
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Presentation is a rehash of
other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at
original thought.
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Cooperation
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Group delegates tasks and shares
responsibility effectively all of the time.
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Group delegates tasks and
shares responsibility effectively most of the time.
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Group delegates tasks and
shares responsibility effectively some of the time.
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Group often is not effective
in delegating tasks and/or sharing responsibility.
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Content - Accuracy
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All content throughout the
presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.
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Most of the content is
accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.
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The content is generally
accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.
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Content is typically confusing
or contains more than one factual error.
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Your grade will be based on this point
system:
15-16 Exemplary
12-15 Good
8-12 Satisfactory
0-8 Needs Improvement
Conclusion:
Hooray! You have helped put your state in the lead
for landing the theme park! Along the way, I hope that you learned many
interesting facts about the state where you live.
If the
owners of the theme park require additional information to help them come to
a favorable decision, perhaps you could form a team to research state
demographics. Another team might want to research which areas of the state
would have the population of young people that would be needed to work at the
park. Still another might want to locate hotels and restaurants near major
cities in the state. Another idea could be to write a friendly letter to the
owners of the theme park thanking them for expressing interest in your
state.
Credits & References:
I
would like to think the following for helping to make this WebQuest possible:
Cyndy Currier, SERESC
Animation Factory
Animation Library
www.rubistar.4teachers.org
www.nh.com
www.visitnh.gov
www.flymanchester.com
www.nhparks.state.nh.us
www.skinh.com
www.seacoastnh.com
www.nhhappenings.com
www.directorynh.com
www.state.nh.us
www.visitnh.com
www.50states.com
www.intellicast.com
www.proteacher.com
www.weather.com
www.crh.noaa.gov/forecasts
www.mapquest.com
www.randmcnally.com
www.m-w.com
www.directorynh.com
www.visitwhitemountains.com
www.hamptonbeach.org
www.winnipesaukee.com
www.mountwashington.com
www.mountwashington.org
www.nhoutdoors.com
www.newenglandski.com
www.nhis.com
www.trainsnh.com
www.nhliving.com
Standards
This
WebQuest helps students meet the following New
Hampshire State
Curriculum Frameworks for Social Studies:
Students
will demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the geography of New
Hampshire, the United
States, and the world and understand the
impact of geography on political, economic, and social developments.
Students
will demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the history of their community, New
Hampshire, the United
States, Western civilization, and the
world, including the contributions of famous men and women, ordinary
citizens, and groups of people.
Employ observation, maps, and other tools to
identify and compare the physical features of particular places including,
soils, landforms, vegetation, wildlife, and climate.
Identify and discuss the human geographic
features of neighborhoods and places including population density, economic
activities, forms of shelter, and modes of transportation and communication.
Discuss
the attachments people have for a particular place and region as well as
their sense of belonging in certain places and regions.
This
WebQuest also meets the following standards:
National Education
Foundation
Technology Standards for Students
. Basic
operations and concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the
nature and operation of technology systems.
Students are proficient in the use of technology.
Students use telecommunications to collaborate,
publish, and interact bbbwith
peers, experts, and other audiences.
Students use a variety of media and formats to
communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
Students use technology tools to enhance
learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in
constructing technology-enhanced models, preparing publications, and
producing other creative works.
Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and
collect information from a variety of sources.
Students use technology tools to process data and
report results.
Students evaluate and select new information
resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness to
specific tasks.
Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a
template from The
WebQuest Page
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