Robin M. Cayce           EDUC 575

WebQuest                  March 31, 2003

Let’s Go to Mexico!

A Trip Across the Border

By

Robin M. Cayce

INTRODUCTION    TASK    CURRICULUM STANDARDS    PROCESS    EVALUATION    CONCLUSION    CREDITS

INTRODUCTION

TASK

Purpose:   

    The purpose of this WebQuest is to assist fourth-grade students in learning more about Mexico and its capital and largest city, Mexico City.

Preceding/Ensuing Events of Instruction:   

    The PowerPoint Presentation, Using an Atlas, should have been viewed prior to commencement of this exercise.  Student groups should have already completed the follow-up activity to that lesson of preparing a project for class presentation pinpointing geographical  locations and a short list of cultural attributes of chosen county.  In addition, students will have completed the Postcards From Abroad! activity using Microsoft Publisher.  The Excel spreadsheet applications involved in the Spring Break in Chattanooga activity will have been completed, as well, and students should now be  prepared to focus their attention to our neighbor to the south.

    Some students may have already chosen Mexico as their country of interest in the Postcards from Abroad! activity and that information should be shared with the entire class at the commencement of this exercise.  Following the WebQuest, more interest could be generated in Mexico by viewing video tapes about the country, listening to Mexican music, and, possibly, dining on Mexican fare.

Debriefing:

    This activity will improve students’ experience with studying the world around them and will enlighten them to the cultural and geographical attributes of a country which actually borders the United States of America.

Improvements/Expansion:

    Improvement of this activity could be achieved by spending more classroom time on learning about Mexico and focusing specifically on Mexico City and the other large cities in Mexico, as well as the beach resorts and ancient cities of the country.  The lesson could be expanded, as detailed in the ensuing events suggestions, by introducing the class to Mexican music, food, movies, and, possibly, inviting guest speakers to share their travel experiences.

 CURRICULUM STANDARDS

Tennessee Department of Education Computer Technology Standards, Standard 7, Literacy & Usage, Grades 3-5:  The student will use technology resources to develop problem solving strategies, improve decision-making and support real world applications –

• Organize the information to solve a given task.

• Analyze and identify the appropriate resources to accomplish the task.

NETS Curriculum and Content Area Standards, Standard 1, Social Studies, Culture, early grades:  Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity –

    ·         Give examples and describe the importance of cultural diversity and diversity within and across groups.

NETS Curriculum and Content Area Standards, Standard 5, Mathematics, early grades:  Mathematics instructional programs should include attention to data analysis, statistics, and probability so that all students –

    ·         Pose questions and collect, organize and represent data to answer those questions;

    ·         Interpret data using methods of exploratory data analysis.

PROCESS

The class will divide into their previously assigned five small groups.  Each team will be given a specific task to accomplish so that, as a whole, a long weekend trip to Mexico City can be simulated assuming that travel will begin on a Friday evening (June 13, 2003 for purposes of this simulation) and that the family will return on a Monday afternoon/evening (June 16, 2003 for purposes of this simulation).  Explanation will need to be given that air travel will have to be calculated from Atlanta, GA and that only non-stop flights should be examined.  (There are not presently any non-stop flights departing from Chattanooga, TN to Mexico City, so for simpler arrangements, the family will travel to and from Atlanta, GA).

(For a look around Mexico, follow this link to:  http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/mexico.html).

EVALUATION

Formative:        The teacher will monitor group activity to ensure that students are on-task and utilizing WebQuest in an appropriate manner.  Questions will be answered as they arise as to technical usage. 

Summative:       The teacher will oversee oral presentations from each group and will evaluate completion of assigned task.  The teacher will collate gathered information from all small groups and distribute in itinerary form to each group in order to share the information.  Seminar discussion will occur once itinerary is complete to determine if a successful trip could be simulated from the information gathered.

CONCLUSION

Students should be advised by the teacher:

“For this project, each group will be responsible for providing information to be shared with the class as to their assigned task.  Remember, our trip to Mexico City will only be successful if each group is successful in obtaining accurate and detailed information.  We all want to go and we all want to have a good time!  It is important to use all resources available to you to ensure that the ‘family’ has the best trip possible.  So -- Let’s go to Mexico!”

CREDITS

Tennessee Department of Education.  (2003).  Computer technology:  Literacy & usage grades 3-5.  Retrieved February 10, 2003, from  http://www.state.tn.us/education.

National Educational Technology Standards.  (2002).  Curriculum and content area standards - social studies standards.  Retrieved February 10, 2003, from http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-ss_i.html

Family Education Network, Inc.  (2002-2003).  Infoplease.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/mexico.html

Family Education Network, Inc.  (2002-2003).  Infoplease.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from  http://teachers.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107779.html

Fodors, LLC.  (2002).  Travelchannel.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from  http://travel.discovery.com/destinations/fodors/mexicocity/overview.html

Discovery Communications, Inc.  (2003).  Discovery.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from  http://travel.discovery.com/destinations/mexico_latina/mexico_la.html

Expedia, Inc.  (2003).  Expedia.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from   http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?tovr=2002092403&ps3u=http://w,  http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?tovr=2002092403&ps3u and  http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?itty=&itid=&itdx=&part=0

Mexico Hotel Guide.  (2002-2003).  Mexicohotelguide.net.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_resturants.htm, http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_specialcusine.htm,  http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_breakfast.htm, http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_coffeshops.htm,  http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_sight.htm, and http://mexicohotelguide.net/mexico_sight.htm#family

OANDA.com.  (1997-2002).  Bankrate.com.  Retrieved March 24, 2003, from http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calculators/frames/currencycalc.asp