Introduction
Little Willy has sent you a letter saying that the great, undefeated Stone Fox has entered the National Dog Sled Race in Jackson, Wyoming. Little Willy wants to run the race and would like your help to get ready. He has invited you to his potato farm to aide in his training. Can you help Little Willy win the race and save his grandfather's farm?
Task
Since you're not yet 18, your parents are a little concerned about you going to Wyoming all by yourself, so they have made a deal with you. In order to go, you'll need to become an expert on the state of Wyoming, Samoyeds, sled dog racing, farming potatoes, and more before you'll be allowed to join Little Willy on grandfather's potato farm. You will prove you are an expert by creating Google Slides. You will create a slide for each task below.
Task 1: First you will need to write Little Willy a friendly letter telling him you are coming to the farm to help him. Be sure to tell Little Willy that you will come as soon as you convince your parents that you are ready. Be sure to give Willy a message to encourage him so he feels like he can beat Stone Fox. When you finish your letter, save it and add it to your Google Slide #1.
For help with your letter go to: www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_generator/
Task 2: You will be traveling to Wyoming. You must plan your trip carefully. Go to
www.travelwyoming.org Find 3 facts about Wyoming. It can be about the weather, interesting places to visit, or something else that interests you. Include the 3 facts and an interesting picture on your second Google Slide.
Task 3: The Grand Tetons Mountain Range is near Little Willy's house. Click here to take a virtual field trip of the Grand Tetons National Park https://www.nps.gov/features/grte/grandteton/eclimb.html . Complete slide #3 with 3 facts that you learn as well as a picture.
Task 4: Now that you are an expert on Wyoming, you will need to learn a little more about what Little Willy does on grandfather's farm. Grandfather is ill, so Little Willy has to take care of the potato farm all by himself. You need to watch this video to learn more bout potatoes so you can help once you arrive. The video is from England, so when they say chips they mean French fries! On Slide #4 list 3 facts that you learned about potatoes and include a picture.
www.thepotatostory.co.uk/default.aspx
Task 5: The reason Little Willy has to run the farm all by himself is because his Grandfather is sick. He has an illness called depression. Your job is to find three causes of depression for slide #5
www.kidshealth.org/en/teens/depression.html#a_Why_Do_People_Get_Depress…
Task 6: You just learned that life events can cause depression. The reason that Grandpa is depressed and can't talk or get out of bed is because he hasn't been paying his taxes and now the state of Wyoming wants to take his farm away. Find three good facts about taxes and include them on slide #6 with a picture.
www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/progress/jb_progress_taxday_1.html
Task 7: The Iditarod dog sled race is the Last Great Race on Earth. It is a grueling adventure that covers over 1,000 miles of the Alaskan wilderness. Find three facts about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox. Read all of the information and become an expert www.teacher.scholastic.com/activities/iditarod/index.htm When you think you are an expert, take the quiz here
www.teacher.scholastic.com/activities/iditarod/activities/quiz/index.asp
If you scored 7 out of 10 or higher, you are ready to move on. Show your teacher your score before moving on to Task 8.
Task 8: Stone Fox is the biggest threat to Little Willy winning the race. He is a member of the Shoshone Tribe. Find three facts about the Shoshone Tribe for slide #8. Be sure to add a picture.
www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/society/shoshone.html
Task 9: Stone Fox has never lost a race because he is very motivated to win. The reason he wants to win so badly is so he can buy his people's land back. Watch the video, then write a one paragraph essay explaining why Stone Fox's people were treated so poorly. Use the paragraph for slide #9. Don't forget to include a picture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnTaYEsXWAk
Task #10: One reason why Stone Fox has never lost is because he uses a team of five Samoyeds to pull his sled. Learn more about this amazing breed of dogs. Find three facts about Samoyeds that prove they are an excellent breed for pulling sleds. Use this as Google slide #10. Be sure to include a picture.
https://blog.pawedin.com/dogs/facts-about-samoyeds/
Process
See Task Section
Evaluation
|
Beginning 1 point |
Developing 2 points |
Accomplished 3 points |
Excellent 4 points |
Picture 1 point | |
|
The student will be able to create a friendly letter using an online application. |
The student met a few or none of the criteria for the friendly letter-many grammatical errors | The student met most of the criteria for the friendly letter with many grammatical errors | The student met all of the criteria for a friendly letter with many grammatical errors. | The student met all criteria for a friendly letter with few grammatical errors | |
| The student will be able to review the TravelWyoming website and record 3 facts from the website on a slide. | The student comprehended zero facts from the website or failed to state the facts on a slide. | The student comprehended one fact from the website and stated the fact on a slide. | The student comprehended two facts from the website and stated the facts on a slide. | The student comprehended three facts from the website and stated the facts on a slide. | |
| The student will be able to complete a virtual field trip and record 3 facts learned on a slide. | The student could not complete the virtual field trip or failed to list any facts on a slide. | The student completed the virtual field trip made evident by listing one fact on a slide. | The student completed the virtual field trip made evident by listing two facts on a slide. | The student completed the virtual field trip made evident by listing three facts on a slide | |
| The student will be able to find 3 facts about potatoes after viewing a video | The student did not list any facts about potatoes from the video. | The student was able to list one fact about potatoes from the video | The student was able to list two facts about potatoes from the video. | The student was able to list three facts about potatoes from the video. | |
| The student will be able to identify 3 causes of depression from the website. | The student did not list any causes of depression from the website. | The student was able to list one cause of depression on the slide. | The student was able to list two causes of depression on the slide. | The student was able to list three causes of depression on the slide. | |
| The student will be able to list 3 facts about taxes from the website. | The student listed no facts about taxes from the website. | The student was able to list one fact about taxes from the website. | The student was able to list two facts about taxes from the website. |
The student was able to list three facts about taxes from the website. |
|
| The student will be able to list 3 facts about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox from the website. | The student was unable to list any facts about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox from the website. | The student was able to list one fact about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox from the website. | The student was able to list two facts about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox from the website |
The student was able to list three facts about the Iditarod that pertain to Stone Fox from the website. |
|
| The student will be able to list three facts about the Shoshone tribe from the website. | The student was unable to list any facts about the Shoshone tribe from the website. | The student was able to list one fact about the Shoshone tribe from the website. | The student was able to list two facts about the Shoshone tribe from the website. |
The student was able to list three facts about the Shoshone tribe from the website. |
|
| After watching a video, the student will be able to write a one paragraph essay explaining how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated. | The student was unable to explain how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated. | The student was able to explain how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated, citing one example from the website. (many grammatical errors) | The student was able to explain how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated, citing two examples from the website (many grammatical errors) | The student was able to explain how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated, citing three examples from the website. (few grammatical errors) | |
| The student will be able to list three facts from the website about Samoyeds that prove they are good sled dogs. | The student was unable to list any facts about Samoyeds that prove they are good sled dogs. | The student was able to list one fact about Samoyeds that prove they are good sled dogs. | The student was able to list two facts about Samoyeds that prove they are good sled dogs. | The student was able to list three facts about Samoyeds that prove they are good sled dogs. |
Possible Points: 50
Conclusion
By completing this webquest and Google Slide presentation, you have proven that you are now experts on the state of Wyoming, potatoes, depression, and taxes. You now know what makes a good sled dog and how the Shoshone tribe was mistreated. Because of this, you will now understand the story of Stone Fox on a much deeper level and enjoy it even more!
Credits
ReadWriteThink.org-Letter Generator
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_gener…
Wyoming Tourism
https://www.nps.gov/features/grte/grandteton/eclimb.html
McCain Foods Limited
http://www.thepotatostory.co.uk/default.aspx
Library of Congress
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/progress/jb_progress_taxday_1.html
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia-Fact Monster
http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/society/A)845028.html
You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnTaYEsXWAk
Scholastic Books
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/iditarod/index.htm
https://blog.pawedin.com/dogs/facts-about-samoyeds/
Andrew Risser
risser.edublogs.org