What's in a WebQuest?!

While learning about the Direct Instruction method of teaching, we were assigned to make our own webquests. At first, this task seemed very intimidating. I thought,
"how on Earth am I going to create a complete, interactive, on-line activity that will keep students engaged and thinking creatively?"

I was relieved when we went over the process of creating a webquest in class. It didn't seem that hard after all. So then I began brainstorming and thinking about an interesting and fun topic that children would enjoy learning about. I came up with: the life cycle of a butterfly.

I first presented the students with background information about butterflies and their life cycle. I included a bunch of pictures throughout the webquest to keep the students engaged. The ultimate goal of this webquest is for the student to find out as much information as he can about the life cycle of a butterfly, and then create a detailed poster of this cycle. Throughout the webquest, the student is asked to print out worksheets and complete different activities in which they will learn more and more information. To assess the students' work when they are finished, I have included a rubric at the end of the activity. Click here to check out my web quest!

More Method's Adventures! Wrapping up Direct Instruction

The last month has flown by and we have wrapped up our behavioral model: direct instruction lesson plans and now we are on to the next method of teaching which is the information processing model.

To recap direct instruction...

I thought the idea of a completely teacher-centered lesson was going to be hard to create. I also thought that this type of lesson would not be beneficial to students' learning because they are not actively involved in the lesson. It is NOT a hands-on approach to teaching. Direct instruction is almost completely a lecture based approach to teaching. The main goal of direct instruction is AUTOMATICITY.

>>This refers to working or practicing a task or skill until it is learned completely and can be performed automatically.<<

The process of creating my direct instruction lesson plan was a long one. Many revisions and corrections were made throughout the process before the final product was done. The Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Frame served as my guide throughout this process. I referred back to the frame quite frequently and it helped me a lot. I am very pleased with the final product and how my direct instruction lesson plan turned out.