Teacher's Guide

Overview

Main Goal:	Understanding how such domains as science and the humanities relate to the world around us.
Subject:	geography, physical science, life science, social studies
Grade Level:	K - 4th Grade
Learning Goal:	engage students in critical and wholistic thinking

Goals

This activity was specifically designed as a companion to a unit offered by The Museum of Television & Radio. The unit is called Around the World and is available for in-person visitors to the museum in Beverly Hills, California, or online via the Web and videoconferencing. You can contact Diane Siegel at The MT&R for further information.

Those interested can download the overview of this complete Around the World unit (in pdf format).

Author's Comments

The goal in creating the WebQuest was to illustrate how the strategy can be used with younger students. Less emphasis is placed on finding specific information than encouraging students to engage in very sophisticated thinking. The Relationship Wheel in the Group Work section especially demonstrates that a simple visual organizer can scaffold higher order cognition. The goal is for students to begin establishing the schema that will support later assimilation of information in the related domains.

Also, seeing how things work, impact each other, and interrelate builds a network of understanding that memorization of simple facts can't. How do mountains form? Why is it night and winter in another country when it's daytime in the summer in our home? Why do animals look as they do? Why do people in some places live in tents and in others they live in brickhouses? Once these kinds of questions are understood, further knowledge of science, geography, and the humanities can follow.

Introduction   ·   The Big Question   ·   Windows on the World
Group Work   ·   Conclusion    ·   Scoring Rubric   ·   Teacher's Guide