Canada is our neighbor to the north, yet we know so little about her history, geography and culture. When asked to locate a particular province on the map, we are often at a loss to even correctly identify the general region in which it is located. Could you successfully place Manitoba on the map below? Or could you name the three Atlantic provinces that are indistinguishable on this map because they are all hot pink?

Some Americans lack a curiosity about Canada. Do you keep abreast of current events in Canada? Could you correctly name the territory that is not marked on the map above which became an official territory on April 1,1999?

Many of the vast recreational and cultural opportunities which lie to our north, sadly, remain unexplored. You would think with the current exchange rate (use quick rate once in the link), that Americans would be scrambling across the border to vacation in Canada. Yet, Canada is often left off the list of popular tourist destinations for Americans.

As Vermonters, many of our ancestors are from Canada. Names like St. Hilaire, Corbiere and Dubuque are direct links to Canadian history and heritage. Do you know if you have relatives or ancestors in Canada and where they are/ were from?

We need to take some time to become more knowledgeable about our northern neighbor and that's what this WebQuest is all about. From this point on, you are part of a team of experts from the Canadian Board of Travel and Tourism.

Your team of experts will represent a particular province at the North American Symposium of Travel and Tourism which will be held in your nation's capital (which of course you know is Ottawa) later this month. As an event with international exposure, this is your opportunity to boast of Canada's offerings, to educate others and to entice the curious to visit your nation.

The goals of this WebQuest are for you to expand your knowledge of Canadian geography, to become an expert on a particular province and to build a foundation of knowledge that will allow you to appreciate and more thoroughly understand the nation to our north.

Follow the Quest to prepare for the symposium and to learn fun and interesting facts about Canada.

Your ultimate tasks are to become an expert on a particular province and to create a presentation display for the North American Symposium of Travel and Tourism. Your display needs to arouse the curiosity of symposium attendants, entice them to travel to Canada and entertain them in the process. You will be called upon at the symposium to present your expertise in a creative, yet informative manner.

Your display must include:

• a map of your province
• a provincial flag (Once in the site, click on the Canada flag and then scroll to the map of Canada. Locate your province and click; flags and a map will appear.)
• four artifacts or creative presentations which represent your province from historical, cultural, geographical and recreational perspectives
• an essay which introduces attendants to your province or territory (please see Learning Advice before exploring this link) and entices them to visit based on your expertise and persuasive writing style
• a quote from a provincial expert at the middle school level
• a bibliography of online and text resources

Additionally, your team will complete a series of assignments which will enhance your general knowledge of Canadian geography and culture.

These assignments include:

• participating in an on-line scavenger hunt
• making a map of Canada
• recording your progress with digital camera photography

For those who are interested in going beyond the required expectations, the assignments listed below are for you.

• Research your ancestral link (or that of a teammate) to Canada
• Create a brief report detailing your family's Canadian connection
• Design a component of provincial studies to be added to this site

Let's get started!

• Compose a team of four students with whom you would like to complete this WebQuest. Please keep in mind that your team will be assessed on its ability to perform effectively. Each member of the team is responsible for your team's success.
• Decide on a province or territory that you would like to study and sign up for it with your teacher. Please have a second and third choice in mind, as each province and territory will only be represented once at the symposium.
• Check out the rubrics and keep a copy handy so that you are knowledgeable of all requirements. Ask questions and clarify any misunderstandings.
• Begin your on-line provincial research and completion of Canadian geography assignments.
• Remember, if it's blue or purple; it's hot and could be a resource link. Check it out.
• Be ready to attend mini-lessons on related topics such as "How to Write a Persuasive Essay", "French Language and Culture", "A Sampling of French Cuisine", "Using the Digital Camera", and "How to Compose an A+ Bibliography."

The following Vermont Standards will be assessed during this WebQuest:

1.5 Writing Dimensions: Students draft, revise, edit and critique written products so that final drafts are appropriate in terms of purpose, organization, details and voice/tone.

1.6 Writing Conventions: Student's independent writing demonstrates command of appropriate English conventions, including grammar, usage and mechanics.

1.11 Persuasive Writing: In persuasive writing, students judge, propose and persuade.

1.19 Informational Sources: Students use organizational systems to obtain information from various sources (including libraries and the Internet).

3.10 Teamwork: Students perform effectively on teams that set and achieve goals, conduct investigations, solve problems and create solutions (e.g. by using consensus building and cooperation to work toward group decisions).

3.10 Teamwork	Lots of Work to Do	Close	Meets the Standard	Exceeds the Standard
	Lacking substantially in one or more areas of working effectively on a team.	Lacking in one standard area of performing effectively on a team.	Performed effectively* on a team to conduct provincial investigation and produce symposium presentation.	Consistently acted as an effective group leader and/or was able to significantly assist other teams, in addition to meeting the standard.

*Performing effectively includes cooperating with group members, working toward consensus to make group decisions, maintaining on task behavior to support group work and completing a fair share of the work load.

 

1.19 Informational Sources	Lots of Work to Do	Close	Meets the Standard	Exceeds the Standard
	Bibliography contains less than 4 sources and /or bibliography is not formatted.	Formatted bibliography only contains 4 sources or 5 source bibliography contains formatting errors.	Correctly formatted bibliography completed. 5 sources, including text and technology cited.	Formatted bibliography cites 7 or more sources,including text and technology.

Standards 1.5, 1.6 and 1.11 will be assessed using the Vermont New Standards Rubrics for Writing Conventions and Persuasive Writing.

Symposium Presentation: Local Standards	Lots of Work to Do	Close	Meets the Standard	Exceeds the Standard
Provincial Flag	Work is not original, is sloppy and/ or containing many inaccuracies.	Inaccuracies in reproduction. Too small or lacking neatness.	Accurate reproduction of flag. Minimum size 8.5" x 11". Neat and colorful.	Creative reproduction of flag, using more than one artistic medium.
Provincial Map	Missing 3 or more standard requirements, including size, neatness and color.	Missing 1 or 2 standard requirements, including size, neatness and color.	Accurate reproduction of map. Minimum size 8.5" x 11". Contains bordering provinces and /or states, capital and 3 other major cities, 3 sites of interest, major land forms and bodies of water, a compass rose and a key. Neat and colorful.	In addition to meeting the standard, map is reproduced using more than one artistic medium and/or multiple maps (illustrating different facets of provincial information) are included.
Artifacts or Creative Presentations	Less than 3 artifacts created or presentations included. Artifacts or presentations have no meaningful connection to province.	Only 3 artifacts/ presentations included or 4 included but not representative of 4 categories. Lacking neatness or authentic connection to province.	4 provincial artifacts or presentations created and included (1 cultural, 1 historical, 1 recreational and 1 geographical). Provincial connection is evident. Presentations clearly convey information.	More than 4 artifacts included or presentations created, representing more than 4 categories. Artifacts or presentations created using multiple intelligences.
Quotes	You were not able to connect with a middle school student from your province.	You connected to a middle school student from your province, but your inclusion of their opinions is not connected to your display in a logical or thoughtful manner.	You connected to a middle school student from your province and have thoughtfully included his/her reasons for visiting his/her province in your display.	Wow!! You connected to more than 1 middle school student from your province and have thoughtfully included their reasons for visiting their province in your display.
Display Board	Sloppy display with little or no organization.	Lacking organization or neatness in some areas.	Organized (information is presented in a logical order) and neat.	Display is enhanced by artistic or other other elements.
Level of Provincial Expertise	You are lacking expertise in more than one required element of your team's provincial study.	You are lacking expertise in one required element of your team's provincial study.	You are an expert on all required elements of your team's provincial study and can accurately answer questions related to these topics.	You have gone beyond the required elements of study for your province. You are knowledgeable about these areas and can accurately answer questions related to these topics.

 Although you are encouraged to seek a variety of resources in your quest for provincial expertise, the majority of on- line resources that you will need are available within this WebQuest. As this WebQuest is posted on the Internet, it will be available to you wherever you have Internet access (classroom, library, home). We encourage you to explore this WebQuest at home and to share it with your parents.

Additional resources will be available in the classroom and in the library. These include: books, encyclopedias (text and electronic), informational cd-roms, maps, tourist brochures, guide books and local experts. Please help us to add to our list of resources. A bibliography is a component that will be added to this WebQuest in the future.

As you complete your study, please remember to record the resources that you use. You are required to submit a formatted bibliography with your symposium display.

Our advice to you as you complete this quest is to be patient and have fun. The project, paper and teamwork expectations are clearly defined in the assessment section. Use your rubrics as a checklist for locating and completing the required assignments. The following pieces of advice are linked to different components of the quest.

If you are having trouble with the provincial flag link, try this back-up flag site. It will also give you the derivation (meaning) of your province's name.

The province and territory link will take you to Yahooligans. Once there, use their directory to go to Around the World, then Countries, then Canada, then Provinces and Territories. Unfortunately, there is not a direct link to this last location but Yahooligans does make it relatively easy to find.

There are two bibliography sites that you can check out to help with formatting. I had trouble consistently getting into the first one so I'm providing you with a back up, just in case: bibliography format and bibliography back up.

If you are having trouble finding information on New Brunswick, check out these search categories in Yahoo Canada- New Brunswick.

You are not limited to what you can compose for your artifacts/ creative presentations. Remember, you want to entice, inform and entertain. Attend the symposium in native dress, provide provincial cuisine or create a travel video, song or poem. These are only a few suggestions. Just remember that each person on your team is responsible for one artifact or presentation and that the four perspectives must be represented.

As this is the creator's first attempt at a WebQuest, you will be able to provide valuable feedback as you navigate your way through this learning adventure. Upon completion, we will want advice from you as to what can be updated and/or changed. You may even want to design a component for this study to be included on this site!

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your first WebQuest. I hope that it has been a fun and informational experience. You should now be particularly knowledgeable about one Canadian province or territory and have learned some intriguing facts about the others. You should be ready to compete successfully in a Canadian geography bee and have peaked a curiosity to explore the provinces and territories to our north. I hope that you have developed a greater appreciation for this nation and have built a foundation of knowledge that will allow you to further develop your understanding of its culture, geography and current events.

Hi! My name is Amy Truchon and I am a teacher at Milton Elementary School in Milton, Vermont. I team teach on a multiage 5/6 team called the Quest Team. I am married and have a two year old chocolate lab named Nusa. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, skiing, running, gardening and visiting art museums.

I hope you enjoyed my WebQuest. I designed this during a course, Creating WebQuests (GED 608, St. Michael's College). My husband is Canadian and over the past few years I have enjoyed exploring and learning about Canada. As my teammate and I teach a Canadian geography unit, this course has provided a great opportunity to rework the study through the auspices of technology.