illinoistest

IDEALLY ILLINOIS

A WEBQUEST ADVENTURE
FOR FOURTH GRADE WEBOLOGISTS

Created by Laura Kubitz
Inspired by "Design a Canadian Vacation" by Elaine Beaulieu and Carmen Willis

Introduction Task Points to Consider Project Outline Helpful Websites Grading Scale

Integrating Social Studies, Language Arts, and Math in a fun way...

Introduction to Project

Illinois, our great state, is a state of many interests. Your task, as a group, is to develop a vacation plan for a family of four from Chicago, lasting no more than one week. You will need to decide how to create the best possible itinerary by including activities from each family member. This family includes a mom, dad, an 8th grade boy, and a 4th grade girl.

What Your Group Needs to Do (Task)

Your group is responsible for researching the various interests of each family member. One of you will research the mom and all she wants to do, another will do the same for the dad, while one of you researches what the boy wants to do, and the other will research the girl and her wants. You will explore the whole State of Illinois during your search. You can choose sites in Chicago but only 1/3 out of the total sites in the final itinerary can be from Chicago. You will need at least three days to do your search- do not hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

After you have done your individual research, you will need to all meet as a group. At this time you will present to each other what your "person" wants to do on his or her vacation. The object of this quest on planning the ideal Illinois vacation is that every member of the family gets to do at least one thing he or she desires. You will not be able to have your "person" do all the things on your list- compromise will be necessary to make sure everyone gets to go somewhere in the amount of time (no more than one week) you have.

Points to Think About

How will you get to each place? car? train? plane? bus? walking?
What is the distance (in miles) between your house in Chicago and the destination you will visit?
What is the cost (admission) to each site?
What are the hours of operation?
Is it possible (time and distance wise) to visit more than one site in a day?
Is it wise to travel home each day? Would it be better to stay in a hotel or motel (lodging) overnight? How much would a stay there cost?
Might it be smart to return home on some trip days and stay overnight at other cities in Illinois?
What will you eat on your journey? Will you pack lunches to save money or eat out? How much do you think this will cost?

Suggested Plan for Project

Decide on the members of your four person team. On the same day, you will need to choose one of the family members below to research.

Mom (Mrs. Jones): wants to see the "Lincoln" sites, loves to picnic,
loves to visit museums to see jewelry and gems

Dad (Mr. Jones): loves to go fishing and camping, wants to see "historical"
Illilnois, interested in the Civil War

            Boy (Bob Jones, 8th grader): loves the outdoors (camping, fishing,
                                                                                    rock climbing, cave exploring, nature
                                                                                    trails), likes to see gems and rocks

            Girl (Susan Jones, 4th grader): wants to see the capitol, loves
                                                                                      dinosaurs, wants to see a farm and its
                                                                                      animals

In your group, decide which "person" to research. You will then start to design a week-long ideal trip for that person. See "creating an individual vacation plan" if you are not sure how to start.

You will be given at least three days to research your person. Stay on task (do not go into sites you know your "person" has no interest in) so you will be able to gather all the information you need.

Meet with your fellow group members on the fourth or fifth day of the project. Come with your "ideal" plan in hand to present to your group. You will now need to work together to incorporate all the plans into one final trip itinerary.

Create a week's schedule for the family's journey. Be sure to include routes, mileage, destinations, admission fees, food needed, and whether or not you will need lodging for the night.

Choose on the way you will present your information to the class. Will it be in poster form? typewritten reports? another way?

What kinds of things (visual) can you create to make this project more memorable? Can you create charts? maps? pictures from websites?

Keep in mind that each member of the group must present their "person" to the class. In other words, all members of the group must have a speaking part.

At the end of your presentation, you will hand in one chart (look at the example below) to show that each family member has been represented.

Mrs. Jones (Mom)	Mr. Jones (Dad)	Bob Jones (Son)	Susan Jones (Daughter)
list a place	list a place	list a place	list a place
list a place	list a place	list a place	list a place
list a place	list a place	list a place	list a place

Websites to Visit

Parks, Fishing, Campsites

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/ilstate.htm

http://dnr.state.il.us/fish/index.htm

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/rock/index.htm

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/watch/index.htm

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/shawnee/

http://museum.state.il.us/exhibits/

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/

http://museum.state.il.us/

General Information
(When in doubt, check these out!!)

http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/

http://www.state.il.us/kids/

http://www.rsa.lib.il.us/~ilalive/

http://www.nps.gov/liho/

http://www.state.il.us/state/tourism/

http://www.cctb.org/Go-See-Do/

http://enjoyillinois.com/

Fun Sites

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/7610/

     How will I be graded?
    Look at table below and choose the grade you want!!!!

"A"   Excellent "B"   Good "C"   Fair "D"   Poor "F"   No Effort

all family members evenly represented family members represented most family members represented some family members missing most family members missing

neatly written family schedule neatly written family schedule poorly written family schedule poorly written family schedule writing lacks focus

neat and organized presentation neat and organized presentation partially neat/organized presentation no class presentation no effort given

Creating an Individual Vacation Plan

Illinois Teaching Guide

"A" Excellent	"B" Good	"C" Fair	"D" Poor	"F" No Effort
all family members evenly represented	family members represented	most family members represented	some family members missing	most family members missing
neatly written family schedule	neatly written family schedule	poorly written family schedule	poorly written family schedule	writing lacks focus
neat and organized presentation	neat and organized presentation	partially neat/organized presentation	no class presentation	no effort given