Man vs Earth is a webquest developed so children can educate themselves with information on the Earth's cycles. They will concentrate on how the Earth cycles are beneficial to them and how what we are doing is effecting them in negative ways. After collecting the information they will have to be creative and create a promotion or campaign to educate other people outside their classroom and all around the world. The children will learn that even though they may feel small in this world their one step can make a big impact!
Who is this for?
This web quest was designed for a class of 20 children in Year 6 at VELS level 4 to be completed over a two month period. The students will be broken into 4 groups of 5. Each group will have their own cycle to follow, and each member of each group will have a particular role depending on the task. The cycles for each group will be chosen based on the children's ability level. Unknown to the children, some of the cycles are more involved then others. This allows the children to work at their level and have an important role in each task. It also allows all groups to participate in this WebQuest to the best of their ability and be engaged (not held back or confused) in every task.
VELS Level 4
Intended Learning Outcomes for Man Vs Earth challenge:
(Black font are VELS standards for Level 4 and tealfont is how these standards will be met in this WebQuest)
In Arts , students will:
-learn about ways to design, improvise, represent, interpret, make and present arts works that communicate feelings and their interests and understanding of themselves, their relationships and other people by creating mind maps, board games and comics strips in which they must design ways to communicate interests and ideas.
-role-play situations and events, sustaining role/character throughout their group or solo performance. Students research, improvise, practise and rehearse skills, techniques and processes, using a range of media, materials, equipment and technologies by participating in, planning and practising their Interview with a Scientist task using different materials and techniques.
-independently and collaboratively explore and experiment with different ways of presenting arts works and consider appropriateness of presentation for intended audience by creating visual representations of ideas with reference to their audience using different methods.
In Civics and Citizenship, students will:
-present a point of view on a significant current issue or issues and include recommendations about the actions that individuals and governments can take to resolve issues by completing the WebQuest and forming and presenting an opinion about what actions individuals can take to be sustainable.
-demonstrate understanding that there are different viewpoints on an issue, and contribute to group and class decision making by listening and taking account of other group member's ideas and opinions and working with their group to complete each task.
-understand that protecting the environment requires that people work together as citizens and consumers and participate in appropriate actions as environmental stewards or in other civic action to effect positive change by becoming more informed about a particpar aspect of our environment and sustainability and taking positive action with this information to reach people anywhere.
In Communication, students will:
-use their understanding of communication conventions to communicate effectively with peers and to respond appropriately when they are part of an audience by participating and being a respectful audience member on Discovery Day and communicating clearly and appropriately with other class members.
-develop their skills in organising ideas and information logically and clearly to suit their purpose and the needs of their audience, for formal presentations they begin to select appropriate forms for sharing knowledge and influencing others by planning and scripting their interview, drafting their comic strip and brainstorming their board game and presenting these in inspiring and informative ways.
-experiment with ways to improve their communication; for example, projecting their voice to be heard clearly and making sure that the audience can see any visual aids by listening to and taking on board peer assessments as well as teacher suggestions for presenting and making successful attempts at presenting well every Discovery Day.
-use provided criteria to evaluate and reflect on the effectiveness of their communication and to provide feedback on the communication of others by reading the instructions for each task carefully, as reflected in their presentations, and participating in peer and self assessments throughout the WebQuest.
In Design, Creativity and Technology, students will:
-develop possible solutions in response to design briefs, using simple mind maps, sketches, plans and annotated drawings, labelled diagrams models and flow charts by creating a mind map, brainstorming, using storyboards and planning tasks in accordance with instructions for a task.
-increasingly use information and communications technology tools and techniques to research, develop and communicate ideas by using many different sources to find information or fulfill a role/task (such as NASA webites, Google, Encyclopaedias).
In English, students will:
-read, interpret and respond to a wide range of literary, everyday and media texts in print and in multimodal formats. They analyse these texts and support interpretations with evidence drawn from the text by being critical of places where they get information from, looking for in different places for the same information and forming ideas or interpretations shown in group work and planning.
-produce, in print and electronic forms, a variety of texts for different purposes using structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing by producing something creative and informative for each task which takes different forms and follows the given instructions.
-begin to use simple figurative language and visual images by incorporating important messages of sustainability in inspiring ways on each task.
-plan, rehearse and make presentations for different purposes by participating in every task and being prepared for presentations.
-adjust their speaking to take account of context, purpose and audience, and vary tone, volume and pace of speech to create or emphasise meaning by trying to be as engaging and informative as possible when presenting and taking account of tone, volume and pace.
In Information and Communication Technology, students will:
-use ICT tools and techniques that support the organisation and analysis of concepts, issues and ideas and that allow relationships to be identified and inferences drawn from them by creating a mind map that visually represents and links concepts relating to an Earth cycle.
-safely and independently use a range of skills, procedures, equipment and functions to process different data types and produce accurate and suitably formatted products to suit different purposes and audiences by successfully producing several pieces of work that use different ICT skills and equipment to show information and ideas.
-select relevant techniques for minimising the time taken to process data, and apply conventions and techniques that improve the appearance of the finished product by using Word or Notepad to take notes in a group or using Paint to 'beautify' work or pieces of work.
In Interpersonal Development, students will:
-accept and display empathy for the points of view and feelings of their peers and others by listening to other group members and understanding their point of view without being critical.
-identify and use a variety of strategies to manage and resolve conflict by developing ways to work in a group and successfully and efficiently completing each task.
-work effectively in different teams and take on a variety of roles to complete tasks of varying length and complexity by fulfilling each role to the best of their ability and assisting others in their roles for each task.
-provide feedback to others and evaluate their own and the team’s performance by thinking deeply about the answers they give when doing peer and self assessments.
In Personal Learning, students will:
-develop and implement plans to complete short-term and long-term tasks within timeframes set by the teacher, utilising appropriate resources by understanding and following instructions for each task and working as part of a group to plan ways to complete the task.
-describe task progress and achievements, suggesting how outcomes may have been improved by being the Reporter and monitoring the progress of each task and giving suggestions as well as informing the teacher of progress.
-seek and use learning support when needed from peers, teachers and other adults by talking and sharing with other group members during tasks, other class members during Discovery Day and the teacher whenever necessary.
-demonstrate a positive attitude to learning within and outside the classroom by showing enthusiasm and engagement while doing the WebQuest.
In Science, students will:
-explain change in terms of cause and effect by investigating the nature of their cycle by defining key concepts and participating in the experiment.
-identify the characteristics of physical and chemical changes by coming to understand the way their cycle works within the Earth's environment through extensive research and rephrasing of information for tasks.
-use everyday examples to illustrate the transforming and transferring of energy by seeing firsthand how their cycle works in the experiment, in an everyday environment.
-explain how sustainable practices have been developed and/or are applied in their local environment by becoming more aware of sustainable practices and the reasons for these actions by forming their own opinions on what actions would benefit the environment.
In Thinking Process, students will:
-collect relevant information from a range of sources and make judgments about its worth by gathering information from different places and deciding what should be used (for instance in a boardgame or in an interview).
-use the information they collect to develop concepts, solve problems or inform decision making by being able to explain their cycle during presentations and make decisions based on this information to develop actions to promote sustainability.
-use creative thinking strategies to generate imaginative solutions when solving problems by taking the open-ended instruction for the final task and developing an inspiring and educational campaign.
-demonstrate creativity in their thinking in a range of contexts by applying their learning to each task in innovative ways.
How to use Man vs Earth in your classroom
Once you have the children in their groups, they will all have access to the Man vs. Earth wiki and begin at the same time. You may need to make space for the one hour a day sessions needed for this wiki in your daily timetable, you will also need access to computers (preferrably laptops for freedom of movement while working). In terms of timetabling, you might alternately allocate only one session a week to the wiki, perhaps making it 2 hours long. This will make the challenge longer of course, but may serve your purposes better. It may also give students some more time to reflect and 'rest' on their tasks/roles/products than the schedule recommended here:
Studnets have two months to complete the whole class. Each of the exploratory activities will take the groups 1 week (some activities may take longer, such as the board game or interview). The students will be given 1 hour a day to work on resreaching and completing the tasks. Monday to Thursday are purely research and groupwork times, Friday is Discovery Day. Discovery Day is an essential part of this challenge as it gives students a definite goal and deadline for a task, it also allows students to think critically about what they are presenting and how to present it. Students will also be able to see where others are at and share ideas with other groups, the evaluative possibilities of this are also extensive for a teacher as well as self and peer assessment opportunities as detailed on the Evaluation page.
Each group's allocated area of the classroom is also very important place in terms of this WebQuest. It should be a place in your classroom where each group can easily access computers, books, magazines, materials for writing, drawing, planning, room for rehearsing and spaces to keep and display important information.
Tasks such as the Board Game and the Experiment will require access to safety equipment, science materials and ingredients, as well as lots of Arts materials. For these tasks you might want to include an arts or science specialist teacher to help the students. You might also like to work in close conjunction with a ICT specialist to help you use a SmartBoard on Discovery Day and while the students work on their final assignment in particular which will most likely include some difficult aspects of ICT.
Here are some useful resources you could incorporate into your class for extension activities or to change some parts of this WebQuest to suit your classroom.
Teacher's Page
What is Man vs Earth?
Man vs Earth is a webquest developed so children can educate themselves with information on the Earth's cycles. They will concentrate on how the Earth cycles are beneficial to them and how what we are doing is effecting them in negative ways. After collecting the information they will have to be creative and create a promotion or campaign to educate other people outside their classroom and all around the world. The children will learn that even though they may feel small in this world their one step can make a big impact!
Who is this for?
This web quest was designed for a class of 20 children in Year 6 at VELS level 4 to be completed over a two month period. The students will be broken into 4 groups of 5. Each group will have their own cycle to follow, and each member of each group will have a particular role depending on the task. The cycles for each group will be chosen based on the children's ability level. Unknown to the children, some of the cycles are more involved then others. This allows the children to work at their level and have an important role in each task. It also allows all groups to participate in this WebQuest to the best of their ability and be engaged (not held back or confused) in every task.
VELS Level 4
Intended Learning Outcomes for Man Vs Earth challenge:
(Black font are VELS standards for Level 4 and tealfont is how these standards will be met in this WebQuest)
In Arts , students will:
-learn about ways to design, improvise, represent, interpret, make and present arts works that communicate feelings and their interests and understanding of themselves, their relationships and other people by creating mind maps, board games and comics strips in which they must design ways to communicate interests and ideas.
-role-play situations and events, sustaining role/character throughout their group or solo performance. Students research, improvise, practise and rehearse skills, techniques and processes, using a range of media, materials, equipment and technologies by participating in, planning and practising their Interview with a Scientist task using different materials and techniques.
-independently and collaboratively explore and experiment with different ways of presenting arts works and consider appropriateness of presentation for intended audience by creating visual representations of ideas with reference to their audience using different methods.
In Civics and Citizenship, students will:
-present a point of view on a significant current issue or issues and include recommendations about the actions that individuals and governments can take to resolve issues by completing the WebQuest and forming and presenting an opinion about what actions individuals can take to be sustainable.
-demonstrate understanding that there are different viewpoints on an issue, and contribute to group and class decision making by listening and taking account of other group member's ideas and opinions and working with their group to complete each task.
-understand that protecting the environment requires that people work together as citizens and consumers and participate in appropriate actions as environmental stewards or in other civic action to effect positive change by becoming more informed about a particpar aspect of our environment and sustainability and taking positive action with this information to reach people anywhere.
In Communication, students will:
-use their understanding of communication conventions to communicate effectively with peers and to respond appropriately when they are part of an audience by participating and being a respectful audience member on Discovery Day and communicating clearly and appropriately with other class members.
-develop their skills in organising ideas and information logically and clearly to suit their purpose and the needs of their audience, for formal presentations they begin to select appropriate forms for sharing knowledge and influencing others by planning and scripting their interview, drafting their comic strip and brainstorming their board game and presenting these in inspiring and informative ways.
-experiment with ways to improve their communication; for example, projecting their voice to be heard clearly and making sure that the audience can see any visual aids by listening to and taking on board peer assessments as well as teacher suggestions for presenting and making successful attempts at presenting well every Discovery Day.
-use provided criteria to evaluate and reflect on the effectiveness of their communication and to provide feedback on the communication of others by reading the instructions for each task carefully, as reflected in their presentations, and participating in peer and self assessments throughout the WebQuest.
In Design, Creativity and Technology, students will:
-develop possible solutions in response to design briefs, using simple mind maps, sketches, plans and annotated drawings, labelled diagrams models and flow charts by creating a mind map, brainstorming, using storyboards and planning tasks in accordance with instructions for a task.
-increasingly use information and communications technology tools and techniques to research, develop and communicate ideas by using many different sources to find information or fulfill a role/task (such as NASA webites, Google, Encyclopaedias).
In English, students will:
-read, interpret and respond to a wide range of literary, everyday and media texts in print and in multimodal formats. They analyse these texts and support interpretations with evidence drawn from the text by being critical of places where they get information from, looking for in different places for the same information and forming ideas or interpretations shown in group work and planning.
-produce, in print and electronic forms, a variety of texts for different purposes using structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing by producing something creative and informative for each task which takes different forms and follows the given instructions.
-begin to use simple figurative language and visual images by incorporating important messages of sustainability in inspiring ways on each task.
-plan, rehearse and make presentations for different purposes by participating in every task and being prepared for presentations.
-adjust their speaking to take account of context, purpose and audience, and vary tone, volume and pace of speech to create or emphasise meaning by trying to be as engaging and informative as possible when presenting and taking account of tone, volume and pace.
In Information and Communication Technology, students will:
-use ICT tools and techniques that support the organisation and analysis of concepts, issues and ideas and that allow relationships to be identified and inferences drawn from them by creating a mind map that visually represents and links concepts relating to an Earth cycle.
-safely and independently use a range of skills, procedures, equipment and functions to process different data types and produce accurate and suitably formatted products to suit different purposes and audiences by successfully producing several pieces of work that use different ICT skills and equipment to show information and ideas.
-select relevant techniques for minimising the time taken to process data, and apply conventions and techniques that improve the appearance of the finished product by using Word or Notepad to take notes in a group or using Paint to 'beautify' work or pieces of work.
In Interpersonal Development, students will:
-accept and display empathy for the points of view and feelings of their peers and others by listening to other group members and understanding their point of view without being critical.
-identify and use a variety of strategies to manage and resolve conflict by developing ways to work in a group and successfully and efficiently completing each task.
-work effectively in different teams and take on a variety of roles to complete tasks of varying length and complexity by fulfilling each role to the best of their ability and assisting others in their roles for each task.
-provide feedback to others and evaluate their own and the team’s performance by thinking deeply about the answers they give when doing peer and self assessments.
In Personal Learning, students will:
-develop and implement plans to complete short-term and long-term tasks within timeframes set by the teacher, utilising appropriate resources by understanding and following instructions for each task and working as part of a group to plan ways to complete the task.
-describe task progress and achievements, suggesting how outcomes may have been improved by being the Reporter and monitoring the progress of each task and giving suggestions as well as informing the teacher of progress.
-seek and use learning support when needed from peers, teachers and other adults by talking and sharing with other group members during tasks, other class members during Discovery Day and the teacher whenever necessary.
-demonstrate a positive attitude to learning within and outside the classroom by showing enthusiasm and engagement while doing the WebQuest.
In Science, students will:
-explain change in terms of cause and effect by investigating the nature of their cycle by defining key concepts and participating in the experiment.
-identify the characteristics of physical and chemical changes by coming to understand the way their cycle works within the Earth's environment through extensive research and rephrasing of information for tasks.
-use everyday examples to illustrate the transforming and transferring of energy by seeing firsthand how their cycle works in the experiment, in an everyday environment.
-explain how sustainable practices have been developed and/or are applied in their local environment by becoming more aware of sustainable practices and the reasons for these actions by forming their own opinions on what actions would benefit the environment.
In Thinking Process, students will:
-collect relevant information from a range of sources and make judgments about its worth by gathering information from different places and deciding what should be used (for instance in a boardgame or in an interview).
-use the information they collect to develop concepts, solve problems or inform decision making by being able to explain their cycle during presentations and make decisions based on this information to develop actions to promote sustainability.
-use creative thinking strategies to generate imaginative solutions when solving problems by taking the open-ended instruction for the final task and developing an inspiring and educational campaign.
-demonstrate creativity in their thinking in a range of contexts by applying their learning to each task in innovative ways.
How to use Man vs Earth in your classroom
Once you have the children in their groups, they will all have access to the Man vs. Earth wiki and begin at the same time. You may need to make space for the one hour a day sessions needed for this wiki in your daily timetable, you will also need access to computers (preferrably laptops for freedom of movement while working). In terms of timetabling, you might alternately allocate only one session a week to the wiki, perhaps making it 2 hours long. This will make the challenge longer of course, but may serve your purposes better. It may also give students some more time to reflect and 'rest' on their tasks/roles/products than the schedule recommended here:
Studnets have two months to complete the whole class. Each of the exploratory activities will take the groups 1 week (some activities may take longer, such as the board game or interview). The students will be given 1 hour a day to work on resreaching and completing the tasks. Monday to Thursday are purely research and groupwork times, Friday is Discovery Day. Discovery Day is an essential part of this challenge as it gives students a definite goal and deadline for a task, it also allows students to think critically about what they are presenting and how to present it. Students will also be able to see where others are at and share ideas with other groups, the evaluative possibilities of this are also extensive for a teacher as well as self and peer assessment opportunities as detailed on the Evaluation page.
Each group's allocated area of the classroom is also very important place in terms of this WebQuest. It should be a place in your classroom where each group can easily access computers, books, magazines, materials for writing, drawing, planning, room for rehearsing and spaces to keep and display important information.
Tasks such as the Board Game and the Experiment will require access to safety equipment, science materials and ingredients, as well as lots of Arts materials. For these tasks you might want to include an arts or science specialist teacher to help the students. You might also like to work in close conjunction with a ICT specialist to help you use a SmartBoard on Discovery Day and while the students work on their final assignment in particular which will most likely include some difficult aspects of ICT.
Here are some useful resources you could incorporate into your class for extension activities or to change some parts of this WebQuest to suit your classroom.
Carbon cycle
Cardon Cycle gameThe Carbon Cycle
Carbon video
Water Cycle
website water
The Water Cycle
puzzle
Water Cycle Movie
Water cycle game
Water Cycle test
Water Experiment
Water Cycle Song
Energy Cycle
Kids & Energy
Rock cycle
Rock Crayon Activity
Brain Pop
Rock Cycle Dice Game
Sustainability