Year 4 Biology - Life Cycle WebQuest

Introduction

Hello Year 4s! You are research scientists that have been recognised for your great work and efforts in understanding different creatures. The Biological Society has given you a very exciting opportunity to do some important biological science research!

All living things have life cycles, you will research and describe some patterns and relationships involving animals and their life cycles. You will present and communicate your ideas and findings to the class through a blog and a quiz!

Blogspot(2013, April 19) <http://zimmyswords.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/picture-perfect-mommy-and-ba…;

Task

Task

Your research will be presented in two parts. first on a blog, then you will create a quiz that will be presented on your blogs and completed by your fellow scientists. This way, you will all learn about all four life cycles.

Step 1
Individually, you will have a look at at least two links from each creature, briefly, wether it be a game, video or website.

Step 2
Individually, do the life cycle quiz provided by the teacher. Do your best, don't expect to get it all right, this is a learning experience:)

Here is a link for the quiz:

Step 3
Once you have feedback from the results of the quiz, you will decide on a creature from the below choices and be assigned by the teacher into groups of 2 or 3.

Your teacher will provide resources, you and your group will need to do explore them and find important information about the life cycle you are researching, how it works, the scientific terms for each stage, what happens in each stage and what it leads to. You will present your research on a blog, with a minimum of 100 words. Remember, all good scientists jot down lots of information as they learn, keep that in mind! Use these questions to kickstart your blogging:

Some you should answer in your blog:

Where does it live? what habitat?

what does your creature eat when it is very young? Is it different to what it eats as an adult?

what is the name of each stage in the life cycle of your creature?

what happens during each of these stages? What are the characteristics(defining features) of each stage?

There are many more questions to answer, but you can come up with them in your group:)

Here is a link to blog instructions:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/2812/blog-instructions-docx-4k?da=y

Step 4
In your group, create a quiz using all the information you and your group have gathered!
 
Here is a link to quiz-making instructions:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/2813/makequiz-instructions-docx-4k?da…

After you have finished the quiz, post it at the end of your blog.

Now have a go at some of your classmates quizzes! Read their blogs first, then do the quiz!

Process

Here are some animal life cycles that the Biological Society needs to learn more about:

HDR Photography by Captain Kimo(n.d.)
<http://captainkimo.com/common-tiger-butterfly-on-yellow-flower-in-phuke…;
Butterfly
http://www.thebutterflysite.com/life-cycle.shtml - website
http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/life-cycle - website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AUeM8MbaIk - video
http://www.turtlediary.com/kindergarten-games/science-games/butterfly-l… - game

Wisegeek(n.d.)<http://images.wisegeek.com/ladybug-crawling-on-a-blade-of-grass.jpg&gt;
Ladybug
http://kidsgrowingstrong.org/ladybug_life - website
http://www.ladybug-life-cycle.com/ - website
http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-a-ladybug-life-cycle - website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvHWxDjfFB8 - video

Australian Museum(n.d.) <http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Images/11950/frog%20caerulea_big…;
Frog
http://www.tooter4kids.com/Frogs/life_cycle_of_frogs.htm - website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkyv_msRS6w - video
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/life_cycle/games.htm - game
http://www.turtlediary.com/grade-1-games/science-games/frog-life-cycle… - video and game (just play up to the life cycle games, not the stone jumping game)

Tapuz.co.il(n.d.)<http://62.90.138.233/blogim/kolhaam/images/1014334_24.jpg&gt;
Bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHuAn5rz06k - video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhjhKibjgt8 - video
http://www.vtaide.com/png/chicken.htm - website (hover over images(don't click) with your mouse for information)
http://www.bird-friends.com/Life.htm - website (click images for info)
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/life_cycle/games.htm - game

Life Cycle Quiz:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/view.php?id=2814&da=y

Blog Instructions:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/2812/blog-instructions-docx-4k?da=y

or

http://kvisit.com/Qg/_BU

Quiz-making Instructions:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/2813/makequiz-instructions-docx-4k?da=y

Evaluation

Your learning objectives:

Research, record and present life cycle on a blog describing stages and other information(ACSSU072)

Work in groups and communicate clearly with group members, investigating questions together and trying to equal the load of work(ACSIS065), (ACSHE061)

Represent your ideas on a blog and through a quiz, both designed for your classmates(ACSIS071)

Rubric:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/view.php?id=2811&da=y

Conclusion

Congratulations and thank you for your passionate and extensive research! The Biological Society thanks you for your hard work, they hope you enjoyed it too! ! You are now successful biologists!

There is always more to investigate! You can always go back and research another life cycle, just for fun!

Teacher Page

This WebQuest, designed for year 4 biology students over the course of 2-3 weeks, was designed to get students to analyse the science questions they are asked, and to think about science questions from two perspectives. Students first participate in a quiz designed by the teacher. They then research a life cycle, recording their observations and describing the stages(ACSSU072) and presenting their information on a blog with a comments section so that they can investigate and communicate with their group at home(ACSIS065). They are asked to pose questions in a multiple choice quiz, with their classmates it in mind. This puts their knowledge in a real-world perspective, it also gives them a chance to communicate their ideas in a variety of ways(ACSIS071) exploring different ways of gathering evidence and developing ideas(ACSHE061).
They want their friends to learn from their blog and do well in their quiz. By getting students to design the quiz specifically for their classmates, they are thinking critically and creatively about the material.
When they participate in their classmates quizzes, they will need to read their blog first, then participate in the quizzes. This is friendly competition, as they won't be graded on their results of the quizzes, only on the usability and content of the quizzes they create and the information they have provided.

The website I used to receive feedback of the students quiz taking is: http://quizstar.4teachers.org/
It is easy to sign up and anyone can do it and create a class and quizzes. I think it is great because you can get students results to your email through the site.