TEACHER PAGE
INTRODUCTION
As students of a foreign language, it is important for students to learn to communicate in that language. Cultural understanding is equally important to fulfill this learning experience. The New York State Standards for Languages Other Than English (LOTE) include these criteria.
This WebQuest aims at introducing students to famous Hispanics, both past and present, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
I wanted students to be aware of the contributions made by Hispanics and this WebQuest helps them not only to research it on their own but also to tell other students about what they have learned.
Since students are creating posters as part of the WebQuest, these could be displayed in the hallway in the school during Hispanic Heritage Month, thus giving everyone in school a glimpse of Hispanic culture.
CONTENT
The students will be divided into groups to research Hispanics in six categories: an actor, a musician, a writer/poet, a politician, a sportsperson and an artist.
They will present their research in a wiki, create posters and do a short presentation for their class.
The posters will be in English, as they are going to be put up in the school lobby and will be seen by students, parents and school staff who may not know Spanish.
GRADE LEVEL
This WebQuest is targeted towards students learning Spanish in 8th grade. These students are in the second year of Level 1 Spanish.
LEARNERS
Since the students have completed one year of Level 1 Spanish, they have enough knowledge of the target language to create simple sentences to describe people and what they do. They already have word processing skills and will be introduced to wikis and how to create one.
The students are from a predominantly non-Hispanic community and this WebQuest aims at exposing students to Hispanic culture. This project will help the students understand the important contribution of Hispanics across the entire spectrum of American society. It is important to correct the general stereotypical misconceptions about Hispanics being either rich and famous celebrities or poor illegal immigrants.
IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW
This WebQuest is aimed at introducing students, in a Spanish class, to Hispanic culture and its past and present contributions to society. It hopes to provide the students with an opportunity to not only enhance their knowledge but to also share it with others by publishing the information they have researched.
The WebQuest covers a period of two weeks. The computer lab will be booked for the first week. The students will require a few days in the computer lab to research the websites and collect the necessary information. They will continue using the lab to publish the wiki. As the students will already have prior knowledge of what a wiki is, they will require little or no explanation to get started. In the second week, the students will work on their posters and presentation in the classroom and as part of homework. The preparation for the presentations will require a few days. The students will discuss and prepare them in class and memorize their lines as part of homework. The actual presentations will take place over a period of 2-3 days. During the entire period, the students will work in collaboration with their group and also on their own.
The teacher should make sure that everything necessary for the project to easily accessible to the students. The computer lab should be booked in advance for a week, so that there is no interruption in the process of data compilation and publishing. The teacher should employ a scaffolding strategy to help the students, which will encourage them to work independently, knowing that the teacher is available to provide assistance if required. The collaboration work is combined with independent work, so as to allow the student to enjoy both aspects of learning. Each student has to independently complete his/her portion of the research in order to contribute towards the overall group effort.
NATIONAL STANDARDS ADDRESSED FOR LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Communication: Communicate in Languages Other Than English
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Cultures: Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.
Connections: Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
Communities: Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home & Around the World
Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
NY STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED FOR LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Languages Other Than English
Standard 1: Communication Skills
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Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.
Standard 2: Cultural Understanding
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Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings
ISTE STANDARDS ADDRESSED
1 Basic operations and concepts
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Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
2 Technology productivity tools
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Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
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Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
4 Technology communications tools
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Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
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Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences (Examples: Wiki on the internet, Music or Video clips for their presentation.)
5 Technology research tools
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Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
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Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
RESOURCES NEEDED
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The students should have access to the computer lab and should be able to print the necessary information for the posters.
The students also need the necessary art and crafts materials for the posters.
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For the presentations, the students may need a television and a CD player.
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Please look at the Resources page to see relevant websites.
EVALUATION
WebQuest will be evaluated by using a rubric. The rubric includes four sections.
Content and presentation: This section determines if the students used the appropriate vocabulary and visual aids. Since the students have been taught vocabulary for personal identification in Spanish, they should be able to use the vocabulary needed for describing the person they have selected.
Internet Use: Since this is a technology-based assignment, it is important to evaluate if the students used the internet effectively and were able to navigate through the links in the resource page.
Accuracy: Since this WebQuest is aimed at a foreign language, it is important to evaluate the language used in both written and oral form. Other aspects include spelling, word order, punctuation, pronunciation and intonation.
Collaboration: It is important to evaluate the level of cooperation during this assignment as the final result is a joint effort on the part of the students.
Effort: Finally it is equally vital to see if all the requirements were fulfilled.
CONCLUSION
This assignment was aimed at giving the students an insight into the impact that Hispanics has made in our society.
It is also aimed at clearing common stereotypes about Hispanic people. Students need to understand that Hispanics are an important and productive section of our society.
By participating in this WebQuest, the students are doing their part in providing information to other students and teachers in the school about Hispanic people and their culture.
This WebQuest can be customized to be used with other languages and cultures. It can also be used as part of a multi-disciplinary lesson combining the disciplines of Foreign Language, Social Studies, Art, etc.
CREDITS
This WebQuest was created by Seema Sumod, who is a Spanish teacher in a middle school in Long Island, New York.
Please look at the Credits page to see the sites where the images have been taken from and the Resources page for the websites for resources.
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