"A Great Detective" WebQuest

Developed by Trudy Freund
Wadsworth City Schools
Email:  wadc_freund@tccsa.net

You will read the book Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.  Then, you will  DETECT  important information and organize it for easy access.

This project is to be done as a group.  Your teacher should decide how many students will be in each group (maximum 4).

REMEMBER:  This is a group effort and a group grade!

1.  Have you ever wondered how an author gets started?  Together, your group will INVESTIGATE the author of Nate the Great.  Click the hand to print an "Author Profile" before you begin your RESEARCH.  Then, click on  the web site listed below to learn about the author.  Complete the "Author Profile" with the information that you find. 

2.  Now, it's time to get "into" the book..  Your group will read Nate the Great, up to page 51.  Then,  STOP !!!  If you read any further you won't be able to show your DETECTIVE SKILLS. 

While reading, your group will CONSTRUCT a list of ten (10) interesting words that the author uses throughout the story.  Make sure you pick good ones, because they will be used in a very special way! 
 

3.  Now, it's time to see what great detectives you are!  Each person in the group  will do a "Follow the Clues" web.  (See your teacher for a copy of the web.)  You will PREDICT what happened to Annie's picture.  Write out your prediction, but make sure your prediction is supported by your OBSERVATIONS.  Draw or write how you arrived at your prediction inside the arrows.  DO NOT SHARE YOUR PREDICTION WITH YOUR GROUP.  Here are some CLUES to help you:  pp. 15-16, pp. 18-19/22-23, pp. 27-29, pp. 46-51. 

4. After making your DEDUCTION, finish reading the rest of your book with your group.

5. When your group is finished reading, someone in your group  will read off the predictions and the group will choose which ones are correct.  The reader will put a check mark in the upper right hand corner for those that were correct.

6.  Let's now have some fun with that list of ten interesting words that your group ORGANIZED !  Your group will make your very own crossword puzzle, using one of the web sites below.  You will want to use a dictionary to help make those definitions easy to understand.

7.  Do you want even more fun???  Give your crossword puzzle to another group to SOLVE.  I wonder which group will complete theirs first?

8.  With all of this hard work, you're probably starting to get hungry.  Each person in your group will SEARCH for a recipe of Nate's favorite food and print out a copy (no duplicates allowed - everyone has to have a different recipe).  Don't pick just any recipe.  We want to know WHY this recipe looked especially good to you, so don't forget to write down the reason you chose this recipe.  Go ahead and write your reason right on the printout.

9. Now that we're just about done, we want to hear some thoughts about the story you just read.  So, get your whole group back together to RECORD your thoughts on the "INQUIRY" sheet.  Your group needs to DISCUSS each area 
thoroughly before writing down answers.  COMPARE ideas - choose the best one, and make sure that your answers show a great deal of thought!  Click the magnifying class for a copy of the "Inquiry" sheet. 

 10.  Did you happen to notice the "Friendly Letter Outline" that printed out with the "Inquiry" sheet?  You can pick up the lined writing paper from your teacher.  Follow the example outline to write a letter from your group (see the bottom of the "Inquiry" sheet for directions).

11. Guess what?  You're done with the work!  Now it's time to ORGANIZE and staple the paperwork.  Go back through the steps and put your papers in order of the steps.  (You can use the Evaluation Form to help you.)  Staple them together, but make sure that all of the information includes the names of your group members.

12.  Each student will complete an Self-Evaluation Form.  Go to CONCLUSION and click on the smiley face drawing to print a copy.

Your group will be evaluated using the rubric below:
 
 

___ 1.  A completed "Author Profile" for the group	1   2   3   4
___ 2.  A completed "Follow the Clues" with a reasonable prediction for each             student	1   2   3   4
___ 3.  A crossword puzzle with 10 well-chosen words for each group	1   2   3   4
___ 4.  The crossword puzzle has been completed by another group.	1   2   3   4
___ 5.  A complete pancake recipe (with reason) copied for each group member	1   2   3   4
___ 6.  A completed "Inquiry" sheet for the group	1   2   3   4
___ 7.  A "Friendly Letter," using the sample guide, for the group	1   2   3   4
___ 8.  A completed Self-Evaluation Form for each student	1   2   3   4
___ 9.  Teamwork (How did everyone work together?)	1   2   3   4
___ 10.  Overall Project	1   2   3   4

Teacher Comments:  The best thing I liked about your project was _____
                                   _______________________________________.
                                  The part that needed the most improvement was ___
                                   _______________________________________.

Use the following rubric to evaluate yourself.  Click on the smiley face being drawn to print a copy for everyone in your group. 

Draw a smiley face for those areas you did well.  Draw a frowny face for those areas that could have used improvement. 
 
 

1.  I did my very best work on the project.	O
2.  I worked well with my group.	O
3.  I participated in discussions..	O
4.  It was easy to understand the directions.	O
5. I learned a lot from this project.	O
6.  I really liked doing a project like this.  It was fun.	O

Comments:  ____________________________________________________________

If you finish your project before other groups are done, you may do the following:

1.  Draw a picture of Nate the Great and explain why he looks the way you drew him.  What is he wearing and why?  For what purpose?

2.  Write a biography, pretending that you are Nate the Great.

3.  Read another "Nate the Great" story.

4.  Go to the kids' mystery site and solve some mysteries.

5.  Come up with your own idea and have it approved by your teacher.

6.  An idea just for fun ... make your pancake recipe for your family and let us know what you all thought about them.  Is this a good enough recipe to add to your "family's favorites"?

You will need to provide a copy of the "Follow the Clues" web on 12 x 18 construction paper for each child in the group.  Click the thumbprint icon for a copy.
 
 

You will need a copy of the Rubric for "A Great Detective" WebQuest form to evaluate each group.  Click on the flashlight to copy. 
 
 

The following PROFICIENCY OUTCOMES (Wadsworth Course of Study) were utilized:

4-R-8 (2-RMC-02)  Identify and discuss the main idea of a text
4-R-15
4-R-18

4-R-15 (2-RMC-03)  Identify the supporting details of text

            (2-RMC-07)  Identify cause/effect relationships

4-R-2 (2-RMC-10)  Predict outcomes and actions before and during reading
4-R-6 
4-R-10
4-R-12
4-R-17
4-R-20

4-R-1 (2-RMC-12)  Confirm/support thoughts, feelings, judgments, 
                                interpretations, and and attitudes toward the story or text
4-R-2 
4-R-5
4-R-6
4-R-8
4-R-11
4-R-12
4-R-16 thru
4-R-18

            (2-RMC-17)  Identify vocabulary essential to understanding meaning of 
                                  text

            (2-RMC-18)  Use graphic organizers to group, study, or interpret 
                                  vocabulary & info.

            (2-RMC-20)  Make inferences based on what is read in a text

4-R-17 (2-RNF-04)  Interpret and draw conclusions from key information located 
                                   in text

4-R-12 (2-RNF-05)  Understand and use graphic sources

4-R-14 (2-RNF-08)  Identify and classify and/or categorize key voc. words 
                                   by meaning

4-R-1  (2-RA-04)  Communicate thoughts, feelings judgments, understandings, and 
4-R-2                     attitudes about reading material
4-R-5 thru
4-R-8
4-R-11
4-R-12
4-R-16 thru
4-R-18

            (2-RM-01)  Read to and with others

4-R-1  (2-RM-03)  Respond through oral discussions, writing or illustrations to the 
                               text read or heard in large and small groups
4-R-6 thru 
4-R-8
4-R-11
4-R-15
4-R-17 & 18

4-W-7  (2-WS-09)  Write a friendly letter, a journal entry, thank you, personal 
                                  experience, fictional narrative

Below is a list of estimated times to do each step.  This might help to guide as you plan for this activity.  However, if this is the first time that your students have used a WebQuest, please allow extra time.