I chose to evaluate this site for several reasons:
it is a webquest, it is designed for fourth grade students, it included
a rubric to evaluate the product, it was designed by a teacher at a summer
institute, it includes state standards, and it is a lesson I would be interested
in teaching. The page is a Language
Arts Quest Focusing on Fables. Students are to read three fables
from the links provided and then using the graphic organizer, write their
own fable from a life lesson they've learned. The final project is
then written on poster board to present to the class. I created a
table to use when evaluating websites or webquests. The questions
were created to look for positive answers. The more "yes" answers-
the better the page. Look
Here for my evaluation of the page above.
Evaluation results: I think
that this a good quest to use with fourth grade students. The page
and the links used worked well and were age appropriate, the content was
interesting, it required cooperation between students, and the rubric included
to evaluate their efforts was well thought out. The graphic organizer,
also included, will help direct students in this project.
Recommendations: I would recommend going over the rubric in detail as a class using a completed project for demonstration purposes before beginning. You may even want to create a class fable to get started. I would be sure to begin this activity with attention getting material. I recommend using the links listed below that contain various types of fables, some including short movies and audios that would inspire student learning.
Fable Links to use with this lesson.
1st choice
This is my favorite fable link. It shows short
examples of fables with both traditional and modern versions
of each. Some of the fables found here are short films. You
need Flash 4.0 to view- there is a link available to download it from the
page. This one will keep them interested- careful if you are short
on time, they'll want to read them all! Be sure to check out the
"The
Fisherman and the Little Fish"
2nd
choice
This is a HUGE (655) collection of Aesop Fables, some
use 'Real Audio' so that students can listen to the fables as they read
them. It includes lesson plans, a dictionary, links to other fables and
suggested morals to use with your students.(background of this page comes
from this link)
3nd
choice
This link also includes fairy tales that are much too
long to use with this lesson- be sure to use only the fables at the top
of the page. This page links to a moving
cube that features story titles. Your mouse controls the cube,
but I couldn't get the fables to appear from there.
4th
choice
This one includes multiple 'Frog Fables'.
I liked this link because it gave a short description of what a fable is
at the top of the page.
Extensions:
This quest opens endless possiblities. Students
could create their own multimedia presentations using the puppet
show to display their work. The puppet show is an excellent motivator
for student writing. They could record themselves reading their fable
and share it with the class along with the poster presentation, they could
create a web page for their fable, or they could make real puppets to demonstrate
their moral.