A WebQuest is a technology based learning activity used by educators wherein students read, analyze, and synthesize information using the internet.  WebQuests were invented in 1995 by Bernie Dodge and Tom March at San Diego State University as "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet."  An effective WebQuest incorporates cooperative learning, consideration of multiple perspectives, analysis and synthesis of information, and creation of original products that demonstrate the knowledge learned by the student.  

A Science WebQuest - The Water Cycle by Noah Martin

 The Water Cycle Web Quest created by Noah Martin can [no longer] be found at:{%http:Mr.Martin'sWebquest%}.  I found it & wrote about it in 2008 for my GCU Tech Ed class.  However, I have recently found a newer and slightly more advanced water cycle webquest created by Nathan Burman.  See http://questgarden.com/139/10/4/120210152223/index.htm . 

The text of this tab is regarding my original post about Noah Martin's Webquest.

Mr. Martin's wonderful WebQuest is designed for sixth graders to investigate and learn about the water cycle process and its effect upon the Earth.  It addresses the New Jersey Core Content Curriculum Standard for 6th graders, 5.8.B.2 which states [SWBAT] Describe and illustrate the water cycle.  The WebQuest was designed to teach Arizona’s Anderson Elementary 6^th grade students about the water cycle and specifically address State Educational Standard for Grade 6, Strand 6:  Earth and Space Science, Concept 2, Earth and its Processes  and Systems PO1 through PO5.  Please click on the standards triangle below for additional details. 

The WebQuest is extraordinarily entertaining, thorough, and detailed and inspires truly meaningful learning to all students who complete the quest.  The graphics and text are clear, crisp, and concise.  The WebQuest is to be completed by sixth graders in teams of five which include the following roles:  Research Director (team leader), Summarizer (secretary), Illustrator (the artsy one), Word Worm (word looker upper), and Connector (keeping it real/real-life applications).  All members have specific roles and tasks that need to be completed.  This kind of cooperative environment ensures conversation and collaboration amongst team members which leads to authentic and meaningful learning.

This WebQuest includes 4 research experiments to teach the concepts of evaporation, condensation (including creating a cloud in a bottle), precipitation, soil moisture and runoff, an online website activity on precipitation and water storage, and culminates with the team creating a terrarium and model of the water cycle.  This kind of active and intentional, goal oriented investigation provides students with research, hands on manipulation and experimentation that leads to authentic, meaningful learning.

At each step of the WebQuest, during and after each experiment and activity the teams are required to keep hypotheses, notes, observations, questions and answers in their lab journals.  All of these details lend themselves to providing meaningful learning to students through constructive, articulative and reflective experiences.

            One of my favorite features of this WebQuest is the detailed notes and instructions for teachers.  It included details on every module of the WebQuest and sample questions for introducing the concepts as well as practical notes and tips for teachers in conducting the experiments.  In addition, for Arizona educators, all of the individual curriculum standards it met are noted.  I could see many grades of elementary school teachers in all states will be able to use various parts of this WebQuest as a resource for teaching the specific science content they need and to adapt it to their individual plans.  Additionally, there are links to numerous websites that further explain the water cycle and concepts.  For all of these reasons, the Water Cycle WebQuest created by Noah Martin for Arizona’s 6^th graders is a wonderful resource for any elementary school teacher to provide students with unique, creative, and enriching experiences while learning about the Earth’s water cycle in a truly authentic and meaningful way.