A Warwick West State School Year 6 WebQuest for the Integrated Unit "Surviving in Antarctica means . . ."

Introduction	Tasks
Process	Resources
Evaluation	Conclusion

Introduction

In 1773 Captain James Cook and his crew became the first men to cross the Antarctic circle.  He sailed his ship right around Antarctica but could not get close enough to spot land. Massive sheets of ice prevented him from getting any closer.  

Following James Cook more and more explorers ventured into the Antarctic Circle. Antarctica wasn’t going to be easy to discover, though. It took almost another 50 years before anyone actually spotted land. Fabian von Bellingshausen was probably the first person to see the continent of Antarctica. He was a captain in the Russian navy. He spotted it in January 1820; 47 years after Cook said it was there. He also sailed around the continent. Because he had larger, stronger ships than Cook, he was able to push further south. He described the land as a field of ice covered with small hills.

The four most important Antarctic explorers were probably Roald Amundsen, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, and Richard E. Byrd.

Antarctica has long been a intriguing and mystical land that many people desire to discover more about.  However its harsh landscape and climate have made it one of the last continents to be explored and fully understood.

Through this WebQuest you will learn more about the explorers who, often risking their lives, ventured to discover the land at the bottom of the Earth.  At the end of the WebQuest you will have published a biography of one of these inspiring people who have helped us to understand 'Cool Antarctica' and have an appreciation for the hardships they endured in the quest for knowledge.

Tasks

Complete these tasks and you will end up with a published biography of a famous Antarctica explorer. Remember if you need help with any of these tasks visit the Process page first.

1. Information Sources - Think, Pair, Share: Where can we as researchers locate information?

2. Web Page Review 1- locate 3 web page each about a different Antarctica explorer, then perform a SWOT Analysis for each page

3. Web Page Review 2 - What information did you gain form the web pages you visited? Record the information headings on the group's poster

*4. Biography Structure - visit the structure section to see how you will need to set out your biography of an explorer

5. The Big 6 - send an email to your teacher telling him/her what the Big 6 is and when you would use it (hint: look for the poster in the ICTs Lab)

*6. Research Plan 1 - Using the Big 6 Process develop a plan for how you will research an Antarctica explorer, remember to consider your headings carefully

*7. Research Plan 2 - Collect information for your biography on an explorer using the Resources Page and search engines

*8. Writing Process - Now use the writing process to convert your notes into a draft biography and then publish using Publisher (don't forget to edit and format)

Process

Think, Pair, Share - Print out the sheet found at the hyperlink

Think - in this section independently write down all the places you know of that you can get information from

Pair - find a partner and discuss where information can be found and write your combined answers in the second section

Share - form a group of four and discuss where information can be found and write your combined answers in the third section

SWOT Analysis - Print out the SWOT Analysis sheet found at the hyperlink and fill in for 3 different websites

Name and Address - record the title and URL for each website you are analysing

Strengths - what are the positive aspects of this website, eg. it is easy to read, good colours, latest information, interesting facts

Weaknesses - what are the negative aspects of the website, eg. wrong or old information, difficult to read

Opportunities - what could be done with this website, eg. good for younger students

Threats - what would stop people using this website, eg. takes too long to open

Design - what the page looks like

Function - the information on the page and its purpose to provide information

User Friendliness - ability to be used

Parts of a Biography - this is the structure you should be using for your biography

Title Page - title, image, name, class, date

Orientation - brief overview of this person's achievements and information about the historical context

Events - write in chronological order the main events in this person's life (largest section of biography)

Evaluation - your opinion of the person's contribution to society

Research Plan - if you are having difficulties making a plan try using this Big 6 Research Plan and Note Making Sheet

Note Making - note making is used to organise information that you find and to make work your own and not just copied information of others.  You need to make headings under which you can record your notes using keywords.

Formatting A Publisher Document - Ensure your document is formatted correctly - Print this Formatting Page to check

Resources

Use these resource hyperlinks to find information, if you can't find what you are looking for try using a search engine and typing in keywords.

Links last updated by Mrs O - 1 October 2007

Evaluation

Check you have the following in your ICTs Folder:

Conclusion

Now you have finished publishing your biography and should have an in-depth understanding of what the early explorers of Antarctica went through.

If you still have time why not try these activities:

• Write and publish an autobiography (a biography about yourself)
• Write and publish a play with the main character being an explorer in Antarctica
• Make a slideshow of the animals of Antarctica
• Make a slideshow of all explorers who have ventured into Antarctica
• Create a mindmap, using Inspiration, of all the information you can find about Antarctica

Designed by Sam Owczarek, Semester 1, 2004