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Recommended WebQuests and ThinkQuests for History and Social Studies Teachers

• Finding WebQuests
• Evaluating WebQuests
• Select WebQuests in History and Social Studies

Excerpt from Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers, by Teachers . . .

WebQuests were pioneered by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University way back in 1995, but they have matured into one of the most effective frameworks for teaching with technology. Dodge's two sites for WebQuests, http://www.webquest.org/ and http://www.questgarden.com/ represent a tremendous resource for educators. Over 29,000 teachers have registered on the site and over 14,000 WebQuests are available for teachers to use online. 14,000 WebQuests represents something like 14,000 week-long, free lesson plans for projects built by teachers in all disciplines from around the world.

WebQuests are structured Internet research exercises that lead students to create some kind of educational product. They typically consist of seven standard sections

1. Introduction-an introduction to the essential question or task of the WebQuest.
2. Task-a brief description of what the student is expected to do and to produce.
3. Process-a step-by-step explanation of the research process and the assessment for the WebQuest
4. Resources-links to Web sites that students will use to conduct their research
5. Evaluation-a rubric evaluating the assessment piece(s) of the WebQuest.
6. Conclusion-a parting statement from the WebQuest designer
7. Teacher's Guide-details on how to use the WebQuest and, usually, correlations to state standards.

The genius of the WebQuest model is that it provides simple structure for student inquiry on the Web, guiding them towards important questions and the most useful Web sites. Once you have guided students through one WebQuest, they'll be ready to tackle future ones almost on their own.
WebQuests can be used not only in History, but in almost any discipline. Any time you have an activity where students create a product-a paper, a poem, a PowerPoint, or a play-using guided Internet research, a WebQuest is a great format for presenting and structuring that activity.

Finding WebQuests

A great place to start looking for WebQuests is Dodge's WebQuest portal at http://www.webquest.org/. Click on Find WebQuests for three search options.

1. Search the San Diego State University Database. Choose amongst WebQuests in eight languages and then choose a key word or phrase.
2. Search a Curriculum by Grade Level Matrix. Pick a discipline, pick a grade level, and you'll get a list of all of the appropriate WebQuests.
3. Put your search term in the Google box and you'll get search results for your term plus WebQuests. You can find WebQuests on just about anything this way; it makes sense that Wisconsin students might need to study up on Cheese Days.

Another way to find great WebQuests is to browse our select list below!

Evaluating WebQuests

WebQuests vary in quality. Many on the Web are made by pre-service teachers, many of the older ones have broken links, and many have resources that are not well-chosen or age-appropriate. And some are just brilliant.

If you search through the webquest.org search portal, many of the WebQuests that you find will be ranked on a scale from 1-50. You can usually depend on WebQuests ranked in the high 40s and 50 to be excellent. Those that are unranked often include the newest WebQuests, so you might check out those as well.

You might also review Tom March's list of recommended WebQuests at http://bestwebquests.com/. March, a former colleague of WebQuest Creator Bernie Dodge, recommends over 40 English and Language Arts WebQuests and nearly 50 History and Social Studies WebQuests.

For every WebQuest you consider using, be sure to check all of the links to make sure that they are active and age-appropriate.

Select WebQuests in History and Social Studies:

Comparative Democracy (Lang. Arts/Hist./Soc. Sci. - 8)

Rock the Vote (Lang. Arts/Hist./Soc. Sci. - 8)

Snapshot in Time (Lang. Arts/Hist./Soc. Sci. - 8)

Return of the Great Game (Gov./Hist./Soc. Sci. 12)

Westward Ho, Shall we Go? (Literacy/Soc. Sci. 3)

WebQuest - Abraham Lincoln: Civil War
"Abraham Lincoln made many hard decisions during the Civil War. What would you have done?" The objective of this activity is to give students (of various levels) an understanding of the Civil War by identifying the results of the decisions Abraham Lincoln made during the Civil War.

A Stitch in Time: An Internet WebQuest on Quilting Traditions (middle school)
Students will be directed to sites that contain information on quilting and the cultures of African, Amish, and Native American people.

Journey Back in Time (Grafes 3-4)
You are to become an authentic character from Colonial Times. Your writing, research, and performance will be from the viewpoint of the colonial character you choose to be.

Tempests of Fact and Fiction (Grades 3-4)
With your group, write your own tale of your chosen shipwreck

Gilded Age WebQuest (ms or hs)
You are a member of a film production studio that has recently been hired to produce a documentary about the Gilded Age of American history.

"Extra, Extra: Read All About it!"(ms hs)
Analyze the world of the Great Gatsby

Brazil Brochure

But What Does It Mean? Symbols in Religion

Origins of Man WebQuest

Black History: Exploring African American Issues on the Web

Searching for China

Tradition and Change in Japan

Saving the Olympics

Look Who's Footing the Bill! (Democracy and the National Debt)

Voices From the Past (Oral History Project)

The 1920s and its Excesses

Bill of Rights WebQuest

The Decision to Drop the Bomb

Ancient Civilization Web Quest

Colonial Kids: A Celebration of Life in Southeastern Pennsylvania in the 1700's

Ancient Civilizations

A Revolutionary WEBQUEST

Summer 2010 Teaching with Technology Workshops

Organized by Tom Daccord and Justin Reich of Best of History Web Sites, Center for Teaching History with Technology, & National Council of Social Studies Technology Committee

Join educators from around the world who come to Boston each summer for a memorable educational experience:

8th annual Teaching History with Technology
Dates: June 30-July 2 or Aug 4-6, 2010

Geography & Maps 2.0
Date: June 29, 2010

Primary Sources 2.0
Date: June 28, 2010

Connecting Classrooms with Web 2.0
Dates: July 22-23, 2010

4th annual Teaching English and Language Arts with Technology
Dates: July 6-8, 2010

Creative Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards
Dates: July 19-20, 2010

21st Century Skills- Frameworks and Teaching Strategies
Date: July 28, 2010

and more. . .

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