
A Web Quest for Chestnut Hill
Academy 4th Grade
Introduction
│Scenario
│Task
│Process
│ Roles
│ Resources
│Evaluation
│Credits

Introduction:
The Oregon
Trail
was one of the main overland migration routes on the
North American
Continent,
leading from locations on the
Missouri River
to the
Oregon Territory.
To complete the journey in one traveling season most travelers left in
April to June--as soon as grass was growing enough to support their teams and
the trails dried out. To meet the constant needs for water, grass and fuel for
campfires the trail followed various rivers and streams across the continent.
They traveled in wagons, pack trains, on horseback, on foot, by raft and by boat
to establish new farms, lives and businesses in the Oregon Territory. The
five to six month journey spanned over half the continent as the wagon trail
proceeded about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west through territories and land later
to become six
U.S. states - Missouri, Kansas,
Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.
Between 1841 and 1869 the Oregon Trail was used by more than 100,000 settlers,
ranchers, farmers, miners and business men migrating to the
Pacific
Northwest.
◄
Scenario
You and your fellow fourth grade students enjoyed
playing The Oregon Trail so much, that Mrs. Morlidge decided to build a
time machine in the Tech Lab so that she could send everyone back in time to
1848 to experience life on the Oregon Trail for real. She decides to send an
advanced party back first. You will be in a team with 3 other students, each
member of the team will need to choose a particular role for the trip. The team
will collect information and images from your experiences on the Oregon Trail
that you will use to make a PowerPoint presentation. When you arrive back in
Bellevue 2009 you will present your findings to your fellow students.
◄
Task
Your task is
to pretend that you have been teleported back to Independence, Missouri
and the year is 1848. Using the resources provided on this Web Quest and
based on what you learnt playing The Oregon Trail, you will collect
images and information You will use this information to help your
team make a PowerPoint presentation to present to the rest of the class.
You and your team need to assign each member a role and you will collect
information relevant to your particular role. If you only have 3 team
members, combine the roles of Technical Director and Navigator.
◄
Process:
In your groups, read through the whole Web Quest.
Assign team members. Separate out to individual computers and begin your
research. Gather your information and images in a Word document. Don't
forget you can cut and paste text and graphics where appropriate. Give
credit for quotes and images. Copy and paste website addresses so that
you can find them again easily. When you have answered all the questions
relevant to you roles reconvene as a group and discuss how you will make
your presentation As you will be making your slides individually, agree
a theme - color, font, background. Go back to your computers and make
your PowerPoint slides. Save them to your team's folder on the fourth
grade drive.◄
Roles
Environmental Scientist
- What is the landscape like as you travel on The
Oregon Trail?
- What obstacles does the land present in
completing the Oregon Trail?
- What plants do you see that you have not seen in
back home in the east? Describe these plants. How do they change as
you progress on The Oregon Trail?
- What animals do you see that you have never
encountered before? How would you describe them? Why are these
animals only found in certain parts of the country?
Social Scientist
- What type of people are the
pioneers? Why are they traveling west?
- You hear about many of the great
explorers who paved the way for The Oregon Trail. Who are these great
explorers and what contributions and discoveries did they make?
- Along the way you might meet Native American Indians.
Which tribe are they from? What are they like? What are their attitudes towards pioneers?
Technical Director
- What hardships do you experience
along The Oregon Trail?
- What types of sicknesses threaten
the pioneers in your group?
- What challenges does camping pose
to your group?
- What did you bring with you? How
did you decide? How will you ration supplies so that they last for the
entire journey?
Navigator
- What map will you use in following the Oregon
Trail?
- What landmarks will you see along the way?
- How long will it take to complete the Oregon
Trail?
- What kind of transportation you will use?
◄
Resources
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on their ability to:
- pick out appropriate data from the websites
presented according to their role while doing research
- present relevant information in respect to their
assigned role in the form of text, images, graphics, etc.
- work efficiently with other group members in the
assignment and completion of roles, making sure all students are
working equally as a team
- organize material gathered in to a PowerPoint
slide(s) for their teams presentation
- work as a team to present their PowerPoint
presentation to the rest of the 4th Grade
◄
Credits
-
Structure of the roles
came from
Mandy Ann Wheeler
-
Images used on this web page are from
istockphoto.com
-
The Oregon Trail Version 5 is available from
Amazon
◄
©
Sarah Morlidge
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