Using an Inventors Web Quest for Student-led Learning!
Turn of the Century is one of my favorite standards to teach in fifth grade. I love talking about the cattle trails, inventors and how crazy new ideas back then still effect our lives today. Personally, I love history, but teaching social studies sometimes requires a little more razzle-dazzle (like an inventors web quest) to get kids engaged.
I sparked interested in the entire standard (which covers cattle trails, inventors, and immigration) by using a Mystery Box! Inside the box was a cow’s tooth, barbed wire, an old passport, a lightbulb and a model airplane.
We spent about two weeks learning about the cattle trails, then it was on to inventors! But how do I teach each inventor, their creation and the impact it made on life then and now in just two weeks? By using a Web Quest!
What is a Web Quest
A web quest is a student-lead learning approach that allows kids to research topics or questions online. I love this method for several reasons.
-One, it puts learning in the students’ hands because they have to hunt down the answers. This helps them actually learn the information.
-Two, it supports research skills in a scaffolded way since I’m providing the search links but they have to read and process the information.
-Three, it makes differentiation techniques a snap because it is student-led and there are several possibilities for support and enrichment for all students.
Speaking of enrichment, scroll to the bottom of the page to see a list of enrichment ideas to use with the Turn of the Century Inventors Web Quest. Differentiated instruction made easy!
Click below for my Turn of the Century
Inventors Web Quest and Printables
Enrichment & Differentiation Ideas:
- Create a 3D model of invention
- Redesign a Turn of the Century invention
- Compare/contrast Turn of the Century inventions to similar ones today
- Develop a world that might exist if one of the Turn of the Century inventions hadn’t been created
- Write a list of questions and possible answers for each Turn of the Century inventor
- Research the original plans for the Turn of the Century inventions and try to recreate it
