WebQuest

The Great Invention Investigation! Dr. Uptonogood went back in time and stole some famous inventors’ ideas! He plans to take all the glory and create the inventions himself before the inventors do. If you hurry, you can help the inventors remember what they were going to make and stop Dr. Uptonogood. You must be quick! He is already on his way to his workshop!
 * a) Introduction: **

** b) Task: ** You and your group of expert historians will help the inventors remember what invention they were going to make before Dr. Uptonogood can take credit for their ideas. You will discover famous inventors, what inventions they thought up, and how we use their inventions today. You will each have specific roles as a group and individually.

Your team of historians will do the following: 1. You will be divided into groups of 3. 2. Each group will be assigned an inventor to research from the following listed below. There is a table of inventions also included. You will figure out which of those inventions your inventor came up with:    
 * Each group will be in charge of helping one inventor each.
 * Each team member will pick a role to fulfill: truth sleuth, blueprint designer, or scoop spiller.
 * Your group will share your discoveries with the class and give a presentation over what you found.
 * c) Process/Resources: **
 * Thomas Edison ||
 * Benjamin Franklin ||
 * Hedy Lamarr ||
 * Benjamin Banneker ||
 * Alexander Graham Bell ||
 * Alexander Fleming ||

Mary Anderson

Telephone, Penicillin, Windshield Wipers, Light Bulb, Bifocals, Communication System, or Clock ||
 * == __ Inventions __ ==

References: [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] 3. Review the roles below and make sure you understand your responsibilities:
 * __Truth Sleuth__** – Research the inventor’s hometown, year of birth, and career. What are some unique facts about the inventor? Did the inventor invent anything other than the invention listed in the above box?
 * __Blueprint Designer__** – Research the invention, how it was made, what it was made from, and how the inventor came up with the idea.
 * __Scoop Spiller__** – Research the invention in today’s times. Do we still use it? If so, what do we use it for now? What has changed about it from when it was first created?

4. Research your specific area. Keep and organize notes that you can share with your group. You may keep notes however you like, as long as they are readable and can be turned in to me at the end of the project. A reference page will be included in your final presentation, so make sure you keep track of what resources you use.

5. Meet with your group members and discuss the information you found. Teach each other about the specific area you researched. Compile the information into a paper that addresses all three parts. The length of the paper should be around three pages, but I am more concerned with content than length.

6. Your group will create a presentation for the class. Your presentation can be a PowerPoint, poster, skit, newspaper article, etc. Your presentation does not have to be from the ones I have listed, you may come up with your own original ideas. Your group MUST okay your presentation with me before starting on it. Your presentation will tell the class who the inventor is, what the invention is, when it was created, how it was made, and how it is used today.

7. Rehearse your presentations and come to class prepared with all the required materials. Groups will have 10 minutes to present to the class. Each historian should have played a role in creating the presentations and in speaking about your discoveries.

** d) Evaluation ** Your paper and final presentation will be graded by the below rubrics. You will also submit peer evaluations. You will fill out the peer evaluations anonymously and honestly. If you feel a group member did not do his/her share of the project or went above and beyond in the assignment, please tell me, and I will consider it when I grade. Peer evaluations are not worth points, but they will be used to make sure everyone does his/her part and grading is fair. Your paper and presentation are worth a combined 200 pts. Each is worth 100 pts. Each portion of the rubrics is assigned 2, 3, 4, or 5 points. I will add up the numbers and multiply by 5. For example, if you received two 4’s and two 5’s on the paper I would add 4+4+5+5=18. 18x5=90, so your grade for the paper would be 90/100. I will then add the paper grade and presentation grade together. Congratulations! With your help, the inventors have remembered their ideas and created their inventions before Dr. Uptonogood could steal them. You have accomplished several things during this project. You have learned about different inventors, their inventions, and how the inventions are used today.
 * = Paper Rubric = || Beginning 2 || Developing 3 || Accomplished 4 || Exemplary 5 ||
 * Analyzed facts about the inventor. || Paper does not give enough detail about the inventor. || Paper briefly discusses the inventor and addresses some of the facts. || Paper discusses the inventor and addresses all of the required facts about the hometown, year of birth, career and unique facts. || Paper goes into great detail about the inventor. It addresses all of the required facts and includes extra information. ||
 * Analyzed facts about the invention. || Paper briefly mentions the invention. || Paper discusses the invention, but does not meet all requirements. || Paper discusses the invention and all required facts about how it was made, what it was made out of, and how the inventor came up with the idea. || Paper addresses all requirements about the invention, and includes extra information. ||
 * Described the invention in the present. || Paper briefly mentions what the invention looks like today. || Paper discusses how the invention is used today, but does not provide enough detail. || Paper explains how the invention is used today and how it is made. || Paper addresses the invention in great detail about how it is used today and how it is made. Paper includes examples and/or other interesting facts. ||
 * Structurally and grammatically correct. || Paper shows no evidence that it was revised. It contains many careless errors. || Paper contains grammatical or structural errors. || Paper contains few errors. || Paper contains no errors. ||
 * ** Presentation Rubric ** || Beginning 2 || Developing 3 || Accomplished 4 || Exemplary 5 ||
 * Creativity || Not much thought was put into this presentation. || Had some good ideas, but could have been more interesting. || Great ideas that were used effectively. || Very unique, original idea(s) that were used effectively. ||
 * Preparation || Group was missing members, missing a part of the presentation, did not have all of the needed materials, and/or did not know what to say about topic. || Group forgot part(s) of the presentation and/or did not have all of the materials ready. || Group was prepared and had all of the necessary materials for the presentation. || Group came prepared with all the necessary materials and presentation flowed smoothly. ||
 * Effort || No effort put into presentation. || Some group members put effort into the presentation. || All group members put effort put into the presentation. || All members worked extra hard to complete this presentation. ||
 * Informational || Presentation addresses 2 or fewer pieces of information required. || Presentation addresses 3-4 of the pieces of information required. || Presentation addresses all 5 pieces of information required. || Presentation addresses all 5 pieces of information required plus some. ||
 * e) Conclusion **

** f) Teacher page ** This is a great WebQuest for 5th grade social studies. Students will be grouped into teams of 3 historians. Each group will research an inventor, his/her invention, and how the invention is used today. Groups will compile their information into a paper and make a unique presentation for the class. Procedures can be found under the Task section, and the grading rubric can be found under the Evaluation section.

I chose to do the WebQuest this way, because students can become experts on a topic and teach it to the rest of the class. Since the project is spread out among several groups, the students can learn more details about the inventors than if the whole class were to do a broad study over all the inventors. I also like that the students are in charge of finding information, and that they become the teacher. I think that students pay more attention when their peers rather than the adult present them information.

This activity can be altered to fit upper or lower grades. To make it more appropriate for 6th-8th grade students, the teacher can include a study on patents and the process the inventors had to go through to get their patents. To make the activity suitable for lower elementary grades, the teacher can alter the paper and presentation requirements, as well as narrow the research requirements. Materials Needed: Access to computers (each student needs one), poster board (if needed by group), art supplies, and index cards or other note taking materials