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Winter Olympics WebQuest

Introduction The Task The Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion

Introduction

The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah will be held February 8-24. They promise to be as exciting as all Olympic competitions of the past. You have been assigned by Melrose School News to cover the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, and prepare a news article for the class. In this assignment, you will research one winter sport, competing athletes and track medal results by country.

Olympic Trivia


The Task

The group assignment is to write and illustrate an article using Hyperstudio. After medal totals have been tallied, the second part of the assignment will be to record medal results by country, and compile results as a class to create a graph (using Graph Club) comparing the top five countries receiving medals. The graph will be placed on the class stack.

The Process

Your class will be divided into groups of 4. You will divide the work among your group equally. Each member will be responsible for contributing to the article. Your first step should be to decide as a group which winter sport your team will cover. (Each group will cover a different sport.)

The news stories on each winter sport will be written to include: one news story (factual and informative), one feature story (human interest), one advertisement (for a product or an event related to the sport), one article on the history of the sport (factual and informative).

  1. With your team, decide which winter sport you will cover.
  2. Each team member should decide which type of article they will write.
  3. Each team member should write 5 questions on their topic and use the answers as a guide to writing their article.
  4. Each team member will use the links below to research their sport, taking notes to help write the article.
  5. After all team members have completed their research, the team will need to decide how to design the Hyperstudio stack using a storyboard. A title card should be designed to introduce the sport. Each member article should be one card in the stack, and include a graphic. (*minimum 5 cards)
  6. Each team will track medal results of their sport by country, and create a graph using Graph Club. The graph will be included in the team stack by choosing edit/copy in Graph Club, and then choosing edit/paste while in Hyperstudio.
  7. The sport stack will be linked to the class 2002 Winter Olympics Stack.
  8. The final class stack will be presented to the group. Each member will present their article and medal results to the class.

Resources

Research information for your article using the web links provided below. Read the information on the sites and take notes on the sport using your word processing application (Appleworks) and the Internet at the same time (*handwritten notes are also an option). Move back and forth between products by toggling between product icons in the upper right corner of the workstation monitor. Don't forget to copy URL's onto your document to create a bibliography. After typing your article, be sure to use spell check before copying and pasting the article into Hyperstudio.

**You can also get information by reading newspapers, magazines, watching the nightly news & watching the events live.**

Internet Resource Links

Time For Kids Olympics
Use the online version to research your winter sport.

Ask Jeeves for Kids
You may find answers to your questions using this Winter Game page from Jeeves.

Yahooligans - Winter Olympics
Additional resource links from the search page.

Olympics Coverage by Scholastic
Special Online Edition on this event.

Team USA Profiles
USA Today offers information on Athletes from the USA. *Requires Flash*

Sports Illustrated/CNN Interactive The online version-covering Olympics 2002.

NBC Olympic Coverage
Information about the winter games with results.

Olympic History
Enchanted Learning provides information about Salt Lake City, Olympic history, and activities

Journal E
A great resource for finding information on Olympic history.

Olympic Online Museum
History and pictures from past games are available here.

Winter Olympics Through the Years
This site provides a variety of links to information about Olympic Games of the past.

Additional Olympic links and Activities

Here are some additional websites that might be helpful in finding information on Olympic Winter Sports.

Olympic Activities for Kids

Brainpop Olympic Animation
Access this site for an animated movie and quiz about the olympics. *Requires Shockwave*

**The following are official Web sites of winter sport associations:

U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation

U.S. Curling Association

U.S. Figure Skating Association

U.S. Hockey

U.S. Luge Association

U.S. Skiing

U.S. Speedskating

Evaluation

Your article will be graded using the following rubric. Credit will be given based on accuracy of information, spelling, grammar and creative design.

Advanced:

  1. Includes at least 5 graphics on the sport covered (one per card).
  2. Stack includes a Title Card introducing topic and team members.
  3. Navigation buttons link 5 cards in the stack.
  4. Includes 4 text objects (one per card) on each type of article.
  5. Article is informative, clear and concise in presentation.
  6. Spelling is 100% correct.
  7. Graph included on medal results by country. (gold, siver, bronze)
An Advanced rating will result in a grade of 4

Proficient:

  1. Includes at least 4 graphics on the sport covered (one per card).
  2. Stack includes a Title Card introducing topic and team members.
  3. Navigation buttons link 5 cards in the stack.
  4. Includes 4 text objects (one per card) on each type of article.
  5. Article is informative, clear and concise in presentation.
  6. No more than 4 words spelled incorrectly.
  7. Graph included on medal results by country.
A Proficient rating will result in a grade of 3

Novice:

  1. Include at least 5 graphics on the sport covered (one per card).
  2. Stack includes a Title Card introducing topic.
  3. Navigation buttons included
  4. Include 4 text objects (one per card) on each type of article.
  5. Article is partially informative and concise in presentation.
  6. No more than 8 words spelled incorrectly.
An Accepted rating will result in a grade of 2

Unsatisfactory:

  1. Does not include graphics on the sport covered (one per card).
  2. Stack includes a Title Card introducing topic.
  3. Includes 4 text objects (one per card) on each type of article.
  4. Article needs improvement in order to be informative, clear and concise in presentation.
  5. More than 10 spelling errors.
An Unsatisfactory rating will result in a grade of 1

*Everyone in your group will receive the same grade.*

Conclusion

Through this Webquest you have researched the Olympic winter sports, participating athletes, and tracked the results. You have worked collaboratively as a team to present information to the class. Compare the results of countries receiving medals during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. What have you learned about the various winter sports as a result of this activity? What did you learn about working with a team and decision-making?

***************************************************************************

Teacher Resources

The Education Site for the 2002 Olympics
Additional activities to integrate into the classroom.

Winter Olympic Worksheets
Worksheeets for printing and adding to classroom activities.

Winter Olympics Adjectives Worksheet
Describe the opening ceremony writing adjectives and then sentences.

KWL Winter Olympics Worksheet

Reach:An Educators Guide to the Olympics
Find lesson plans, fact sheets, activities etc.

Winter Olympics for Kids
A 4th grade class from Pocantico Hills School, Sleepy Hollow, NY put this presentation together. There are also additional activity suggestions available. Nice site.

As a result of participating in this activity, students will:

  1. Write narrative with the basic elements of beginning, middle, and end; character; setting; and plot.
  2. Write informational text using main ideas, supporting details, and sequence.
  3. Sequence information using signal words and phrases (e.g., for example, consequently, since).
  4. When medal data has been collected, students will enter it into Graph Club. Students will create a bar, line, or circle graph. The students will need to decide which type of graph tells the story of the data best.
  5. The final activity will be to create a presentation using Hyperstudio to share with the class.

MA Frameworks Covered in this activity:

Language Arts

Language Strand
Standard 1 - Discussion
Standard 2 - Questioning, Listening & Contributing
Standard 3 - Oral Presentation

Reading & Literature Strand
Standard 8 - Understanding text

Composition Strand
Standard 19 - Writing
Standard 20 - Consideration of Audience & Purpose
Standard 21 - Revising
Standard 22 - Standard English Conventions
Standard 23 - Organizing Ideas in Writing
Standard 24 - Research

Media Strand
Standard 27 - Media Production

Math

Patterns, Relations & Algebra (3-4)(5-6)
4.P.4 - Use pictures, models, tables, charts, graphs, words, number sentences, and mathematical notations to intrepret mathematical relationships.

6.P.4 - Represent real situations and mathematical relationships with concrete models, tables, graphs, and rules in words and symbols.

6.P.6 - Produce and interpret graphs that represent the relationship between two variables in everyday situations.

Instructional Technology

Standard 1 - Demonstrate proficiency in the use of computers and applications as well as an understanding of concepts underlying hardware, software, and connectivity.
1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 1.10 (PreK-4)
1.14, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.25, 1.26, 1.27, 1.28, 1.32, 1.33 (Grades 5-8)

Standard 2 - Demonstrate responsible use of technology and an understanding of ethics and safety issues in using electronic media.
2.1, 2.2, 2.4 (PreK-4)
2.6, 2.7, 2.14 (Grades 5-8)

Standard 3 - Demonstrate ability to use technology for research, problem-solving, and communication. Students locate, evaluate, collect, and process information from a variety of electronic sources. Students use telecommunications and other media to interact or collaborate with peers, experts, and other audiences.
3.1, 3.2, 3.4 (PreK-4)
3.6, 3.8, 3.9 (Grades 5-8)

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This resource developed by:
Susan Herook, Instructional Technology Specialist
Melrose Public Schools (Last Updated Jan 2002)