Vermont County Quest

Introduction || The Task || The Process || Grade Expectations|| Assessment ||

Learning Advice || Resources || Conclusion

Introduction

When you were reading the paper this morning, an ad in the classified section caught your eye. It said:

My family needs a place to live! We have always wanted to move to Vermont. I am looking for as much information as possible on the 14 different counties in Vermont. I will review this information carefully with my family before we decide on a county in which we would like to settle. Help us learn more about your county.

Please contact me at 1-555-I LOVEVT

I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.

signed: "Re-QUESTing a County"

This is just what you have been looking for. You have lived in Vermont all of your life and recently you have had the desire to learn more about the county in which you live. You will "move"-electronically- to one of the 14 counties for the duration of this WebQuest. Once you have done a thorough exploration of your county you will be much more knowledgeable about the region in which you live. You will then be able to share this information with "Re-QUESTing a County" as you describe the aspects of your area within this beautiful Green Mountain State.

From this point on you will be working as a team with other classmates to learn about a particular county in the state of Vermont. The goal of this WebQuest is for you to become an expert on this county and to develop an understanding that will allow you to appreciate the role it plays in the state of Vermont.

The Task

Your task is to provide "Re-QUESTING a County" with information on a particular county in the state of Vermont. For this WebQuest you will be assigned a county. You will become a temporary member of this county for the duration of this WebQuest. As members of this county you and your teammates will present the information you find to "Re-QUESTING a County." Your presentation will be in the form of a podcast.
Your first job is to respond to the "WANTED" add in the classifieds. After a pleasant telephone conversation with "Re-QUESTING a County" you know that this family is seeking the following information:

About Vermont:

The 14 counties

Weather Conditions

State symbols

State Representatives

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

2 Senators - Senator 1 and Senator 2

US Representative

About your county:

Towns in county

School websites

Lodging/Inns

Real Estate

Restaurants

Recreation

Hospitals

Churches

Businesses/jobs

Attractions

Pictures

Historical points

Interesting fact

As you find this information you will record it in an organized way (see The Process) to help you prepare for your podcast commercial.

*Please Note* On the map you will see the county "LANOILLE." The correct spelling is LAMOILLE.

The Process

Now you're off and running!
You have been assigned a county and placed in cooperative groups. Within your group of 3-4 peers you need to decide how you will share the work.

Check out the Grade Expectations and the Rubrics. Keep a copy of them handy so that you know on what you are being assessed.

You will be given a data pad on which to record your information as you find it. This will be titled "County Qualities for "Your" County." This data pad will be considered in your final assessment. Use this data pad as a checklist when you are preparing your commercial to make sure you have included all of the necessary elements.

Begin your on-line research. Remember, if it is black, blue or purple and underlined; it's hot and could be a resource link. Another clue: when you move your mouse over it, it turns into a little hand. Check it out.

Apply the knowledge you have gained about your county to create your radio commercial. *Remember* You are really trying to "sell" your county to "Re-QUESTING a County" so put on your best show! Your commercial should be between 5-10 minutes long. You should include visual aids in your commercial.

Present your county commercial to the class. There will be a special guest in your viewing audience...."Re-QUESTING a County" will be here to watch your presentation. This will help them to decide in which county they will settle with their family.

As an individual, you will be expected to show knowledge of at least 6 of the 12 categories about your county in your commercial. You may exceed this standard by creating a travel brochure for your county that would include all 12 categories.
GOOD LUCK!
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The Grade Expectations

The following Vermont Grade Level Expectations will be assessed during this WebQuest:
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Research

IT3-4:6 Students demonstrate use of technology for research by...

Navigating to various websites by typing a URL into a browser or using a list of links identified by the teacher.

Navigating using forward, back, home, and refresh.

Using hyperlinks to navigate the world wide web.

GEOGRAPHY Geographical Knowledge

H&SS3-4:11 Students interpret geography by...

Identifying characteristics of surrounding towns and the state of Vermont.

Locating physical and political regions of Vermont (ex. six regions, towns, counties)

H&SS3-4:7 Students communicate their findings by giving oral, written, or visual presentations that summarizes their findings.

H&SS3-4:14 Students act as citizens by demonstrating positive interactions with group members.

The following Local Grade Expectation will be assessed during this WebQuest:

VERMONT SYMBOLS

Students will learn various symbols for the state of Vermont. These will include; The State: Motto, Animal, Tree, Bird, Flower, Beverage, Nickname and Rocks. This is evident when they can record all of the required symbols without assistance.

Assessment

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RUBRIC

Criteria Getting Started Almost There Got It! WOW!

IT3-4:6
Using the WebQuest

Students demonstrate use of technology for research by...

Browser

Navigating to various websites by typing a URL into a browser or using a list of links identified by the teacher

Navigating using forward, back, home, and refresh

Using hyperlinks to navigate the world wide web

I was able to locate the WebQuest. I was not able to use the links within the WebQuest to gather information. I was able to locate the WebQuest and to gather information from the links within it. I represented some of this information in our teams "County Qualities" data pad. I was not able to travel from the Internet sources back to the WebQuest. I was able to: locate the WebQuest, gather information from the links, travel from the links back to the WebQuest, and represent this information in our teams "County Qualities" data pad. I was able to use informational sources in addition to the WebQuest to gather information on our county.
Ex. contacted county agencies to receive information

GEOGRAPHY RUBRIC

Criteria Getting Started Almost There Got It! WOW!

H&SS3-4:11 Students interpret geography by...

Identifying characteristics of surrounding towns and the state of Vermont.

Locating physical and political regions of Vermont (ex. six regions, towns, counties)

I was able to describe the characteristics of our county by demonstrating knowledge of 0-20 of the 12 categories required in our commercial.
6 Regions - I was able to identify 0-2 of the 6 regions

Surrounding Towns - I was able to identify 0-2 of the towns that surround Milton.

Counties - I was able to identify 6-9 of the 14 counties.
I was able to describe the characteristics of our county by demonstrating knowledge of 3-5 of the 12 categories required in our commercial.
6 Regions - I was able to identify 3-5 of the 6 regions.

Surrounding Towns - I was able to identify 3-5 of the towns that surround Milton.

Counties - I was able to identify 10-13 of the 14 counties.

I was able to describe the characteristics of our county by demonstrating knowledge of 6 of the 12 categories required in our commercial.
6 Regions - I was able to identify all of the 6 regions.

Surrounding Towns - I was able to identify all 6 of the towns that surround Milton.

Counties - I was able to identify all of the 14 counties.
I was able to demonstrate knowledge of our county in all 12 categories. I created a travel brochure for our county to display this geographical information.
6 Regions - I was able to identify all of the 6 regions and match them to their description.

Surrounding Towns - I was able to identify all six of the towns that surround Milton and least at least 2 landmarks in each.

Counties - I was able to identify all of the 14 counties without using a wordbank.

TEAMWORK RUBRIC

Criteria

Getting Started

Almost There

Got It!

WOW!

H&SS3-4:14 Students act as citizens by demonstrating positive interactions with group members

Our group was not able to set or achieve any goals.

Our group was not able to solve problems. We had of conflicts with each other.

Our group was able to set goals but was not always successful in achieving them.

Sometimes our group solved our problems. We had some success creating solutions to our problems.

Our group set reasonable goals and was able to achieve them by working together.

All members of our group worked together to solve any problems we had.

Our group set goals by assigning roles in an effort to achieve them.

Our group was able to avoid problems at all times. We always worked without conflicts.

LOCAL STANDARDS RUBRIC

Criteria Getting Started Almost There Got It! WOW!

Students will learn 8 symbols for the sate of Vermont. I was able to identify 2-4 of the 8 required Vermont symbols. I was able to identify 5-7 of the 8 required Vermont symbols. I was able to identify all 8 of the required Vermont symbols. I was able to identify more than 8 of the Vermont symbols.
Ex. state song, state insect, etc.

Learning Advice

The most important thing I would like you to remember as you complete this WebQuest is to have fun!
The standards that you are being assessed on have been clearly defined to you. Use the rubrics to help guide you through the required tasks.

You should be able to find most of the information you are looking for by accessing links from this sight. As you use the Internet sources, here are some helpful hints to make your search easier:

Some of the sites will give you information by region rather than by county. In this case, you will need to know what region your county is in and specific towns in your county. You may want to print this list.
When you are searching for Recreation in your county through the VT Living site, use the menu bar on the left. You will find many appropriate options here.

In some categories you will find an abundance of information. In others, for example when searching for Hospitals you may find none. In this case you will need to find the closest hospital to your county.

You will notice that there is no link for the "History" category. You may be able to find this information as you search various sites. If not, remember to use other resources available to you.

As you search for schools in your county with Websites you will find more than one site with this information.

To travel from links back to this WebQuest use the on the top tool bar.

As you prepare your podcast commercial, use the following guidelines:

You should use visual aids. A Vermont map highlighting the location of your county is required.
Listen to ads on television and the radio to decide on what type of commercial you would like to present. Examples: humorous, skit

You may use scripts during your commercial.

Most importantly-REMEMBER-you are trying to get "Re-QUESTING a County" to move to your county. Make it clear in your commercial why your county is better than the other 13.

Please rehearse your ad many times before making the podcast. It will be viewed by the other county members.

Please let me know at any time if there is anything I can do to help this WebQuest go more smoooothly for you!

Resources

Most of the information that you are looking for can be found through this WebQuest. Since this WebQuest is posted on the Internet, it will be available to you wherever you have Internet access. If possible, I encourage you to share this WebQuest with your parents. However, there are many additional resources available in the classroom, our Library/Media Center. These include: books, videos, and encyclopedias (text and electronic).

Conclusion

Congratulations!
You have completed the Vermont County Quest. I hope you have enjoyed this experience. You should now be well informed on a specific county within the state of Vermont. By watching the commercials of your peers you have also gained a better understanding of the other 13 counties. I hope you have a greater appreciation for the geography of the Green Mountain State and the many beautiful attributes that give the state a unique character.

There are many opportunities for you to further explore the state of Vermont. Consider trying the following things:

Create a travel brochure for your county.

Pick a specific town or city in Vermont and create a travel brochure for it.

Write a letter to the students who presented the county that you would like to live in. Tell them what made you pick their county.

Make a "Wanted" add asking for information on another geographical location. This could be for another state or even a foreign country.

This WebQuest was designed and created by 3/4 multi-age teacher

Erica Lombard-Goodrich.

Please feel free to Email me about this WebQuest :-)

Listen to CountyQuest Student Commercials

Criteria	Getting Started	Almost There	Got It!	WOW!
H&SS3-4:14 Students act as citizens by demonstrating positive interactions with group members	Our group was not able to set or achieve any goals. Our group was not able to solve problems. We had of conflicts with each other.	Our group was able to set goals but was not always successful in achieving them. Sometimes our group solved our problems. We had some success creating solutions to our problems.	Our group set reasonable goals and was able to achieve them by working together. All members of our group worked together to solve any problems we had.	Our group set goals by assigning roles in an effort to achieve them. Our group was able to avoid problems at all times. We always worked without conflicts.