A journey through English speaking countries

Introduction

Did you know?

English is an official language in 83 countries and is widely spoken in 55 other countries!

Let's imagine that our class is taking a journey through the English speaking countries we've studied so far: The USA, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and Jamaica.

You will be assigned to one of the English-speaking countries. You must find basic information about your country and its main attractions in order to convince the rest of the class that your destination is the most interesting and unique to visit!

By means of this web quest, you are going to learn more about the different English-speaking countries.

Your job will be to give a brief, accurate, yet lively presentation, including the country's most outstanding characteristics, traditions, and fun facts.

What essential information will you have to provide?

What kind of unusual or surprising facts would you like to include in your presentation?

At the end of your presentation, the class will vote their favourite presentation and their favourite country!

Task

Visit the sites provided to find out relevant information about your country.
Fill out the form provided with appropriate information.
Plan your oral presentation.
Prepare the visual or audio aids necessary to enhance and illustrate your presentation (namely a google presentation model).
Facts

        National name:

        Continent:

Geography (main facts)

        Population:

        Capital city:

        Largest cities:

History

        Independence Day:

        Flag (brief description and history):

Fun Facts

        Holidays / Celebrations:

        Celebrities:

        Typical food:

        Others:

Process

1. Pick up an English speaking country.

America: The U.S.A., Jamaica

Europe: Ireland.

Africa: South Africa

Oceania: Australia

2. Read the following instructions to fulfil the mentioned tasks.

You will find information about your English-speaking country and fill out the form provided in the task section.

3. RESOURCES

General Facts:

https://opinionfront.com/complete-list-of-english-speaking-countries

Geography and History

http://www.factmonster.com Info about countries

http://www.geographic.org More info about countries

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/outlinemaps/ Printable Outline Maps

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/label/geography.shtml Printable Label-Me Maps

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Schoolarchives.html Info about Countries and flags with printable pictures

Fun Facts

http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/home.htm Holiday Traditions

https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/ Christmas around the world All Countries

http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php

www.biography.com

www.factmonster.com/people.html

www.nationalanthems.info

Process 2

Feel free to use any kind of visual (maps, posters, pictures, brochures, etc.) and audio (songs, typical music) aids in your presentation.

Practice the oral presentation.

Review the evaluation criteria for your grade.

Evaluation:

Task fulfilment: Did you include all the required information?

Language use: Did you use English accurately and fluently?

Originality and creativity: Do you think your work was original and creative?

Oral presentation: What do you think about your oral presentation?

Evaluation

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Presentation	Presenter's voice too low or soft; making it very difficult to understand.	Presenter's voice too low or soft; making it difficult to understand.	Presenter's voice clear. Audience members able to hear and understand information.	Presenter's clear voice was at the proper volume. All audience members able to hear and understand the information.
Organization	Very poor organization. Presenter seemed somewhat lost. No evidence of enough time spent preparing.	Poor organization. The presenter seemed somewhat lost. Little to no evidence of enough time spent preparing.	Some organization. Presenters had knowledge of information being presented. Evidence of time spent preparing.	Well organized project. A lot of evidence of time spent preparing. Organized display of information.
Written Skills	Has difficulty with spelling, accents, and simple sentences; limited vocabulary; difficulty with grammatical skills.	Able to write simple sentences; understands basic grammatical concepts, vocabulary is developing; has some difficulty with spelling.	Able to write complex sentences, understands intermediate grammatical concepts, enhanced vocabulary.	Advanced vocabulary and grammatical skills enhance the composition of clear, focused, creative paragraphs.
Project	Unorganized and meets less than half the requirements; displays little to no creative thought, does not display a basic understanding of the language.	The project meets half of the requirements; well-organized; some originality and creative thought; displays a basic understanding of the language.	The project is well- organized and meets most requirements; understanding of the language is displayed through creative thought and use of materials.	The project is well-organized and meets all requirements; exceptional understanding of the language is displayed through creativity and varied use of materials.
Grammatical Skills	Has little command of basic grammatical concepts.	Makes frequent errors when attempting to use new grammatical concepts; has difficulty retaining old concepts.	Makes some errors when using new grammatical concepts; able to retain old concepts.	Uses old grammatical concepts as a natural foundation for the layering of new concepts; experiments with new knowledge/skills.
Verbal Skills	Monotone, mispronunciation; lacks confidence with language, little effort.	Some mispronunciation expressive with familiar material, occasionally makes the noticeable effort.	Clear articulation of familiar words; some mispronunciation of new vocabulary; displays the ability to hold a basic conversation, makes a solid effort.	Exceptional confidence in vocabulary and pronunciation displayed through poise, clear articulation, and enthusiasm; ability to engage in complex dialogue.

Conclusion

Throughout this project, you've researched about different English speaking countries and enlarged your knowledge about their cultures.

What have you learned from this process?

Any interesting or amusing facts?

How did you like "web questing"?

What other topics would you like to work on in the future?

After doing this WebQuest, you will have learnt a lot about English- speaking countries and the importance of learning English at school.

You will also have learnt how to find information on the Internet and put it into a presentation, so you will have improved your digital and writing skills. Finally, you will have prepared an oral presentation, so you will have improved your speaking competence!

Credits

Ask fulfilment: Did you include all the required information?

Language use: Did you use English accurately and fluently?

Originality and creativity: Do you think your work was original and creative?

Oral presentation: What do you think about your oral presentation?