Folktale Frenzy: WebQuest Writing.

Managing Editor, ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Rd., P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139. E-mail: [email protected]. For full text: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons.

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12

Practitioners; Students; Teachers

Folk Culture; Internet; Lesson Plans; Middle Schools; Story Grammar; Tales

This folktale unit supports 6th- through 8th-grade students exploration of the many subgenres of folktales: trickster tales, fairy tales, fables, tall tales, and legends. The unit focuses heavily on the use of technology as a learning tool as students work together to create WebQuests for their peers to explore. During the 10 one-hour sessions, students will: discover the elements of fiction as they apply to folktales, including plot, setting, character, length, purpose, and audience; research existing WebQuests in order to understand the format as well as the style in which they are written; take ownership in their project by writing an essential question around which their WebQuest will be built; offer differentiated culminating activities; design rubrics on which the culminating activities will be graded; write the Task, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion of their activities; research links that will help WebQuest participants reach the desired outcomes; analyze their website links based on quality, content, usability, and appearance; and design, publish, and implement their own WebQuests that center around essential questions. The instructional plan, lists of resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. An Internet documentation form and a rubric for WebQuest building groups are attached. (RS)

2004

ED480223