Introduction: Virginia has been divided into 5 geographical regions to better understand the importance of the state

A Web Quest for Virginia Regions

Introduction

This unit has been created to help students take control of their learning. They will research a given region and then teach the information to other students. Students will know that Virginia is divided into five geographical regions. That each region has different products and industries and these thing effect their economy. Students will understand that regions are determined by their physical features and can change.

Content Areas and Grades

This unit is written for fourth grade Social Studies and Language Arts. The unit can easily be extended to any grade as well as to a variety of subjects.

SOL’s Covered:

VS.1 The student will develop skills for historical and geographical analysis including the ability to

a) identify and interpret artifacts and primary and secondary source documents to understand

events in history;

b) determine cause and effect relationships;

c) compare and contrast historical events;

d) draw conclusions and make generalizations;

e) make connections between past and present;

f) sequence events in Virginia history;

g) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;

h) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;

i) analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water features, climatic

characteristics, and historical events.

VS.2 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the geography and early inhabitants of Virginia by

a) locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;

b) locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge

Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;

c) locating and identifying water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic

Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, and Rappahannock River);

VS.10 The student will demonstrate knowledge of government, geography, and economics by

a) identifying the three branches of Virginia government and the function of each;

b) describing the major products and industries of Virginia’s five geographic regions;

Oral Language

4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings.

a) Present accurate directions to individuals and small groups.

b) Contribute to group discussions.

c) Seek ideas and opinions of others.

d) Use evidence to support opinions.

e) Use grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.

4.2 The student will make and listen to oral presentations and reports.

a) Use subject-related information and vocabulary.

b) Listen to and record information.

c) Organize information for clarity.

4.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction.

a) Use text organizers, such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information.

i) Identify new information gained from reading.

4.6 The student will demonstrate comprehension of information resources to research a topic.

a) Construct questions about a topic.

b) Collect information, using the resources of the media center, including online, print, and

media resources.

c) Evaluate and synthesize information.

Organizing Theme and Guiding Questions

This unit is tied together with the underlying theme of interdependence. Each region has different physical features, product and industries and together they affect the economy of the state of Virginia. What are the products, industries, activities, large cities and bodied of water in your region? How do these things affect the economy of the region and the state of Virginia

· What are the bodies of water found in your region, and are they important to its economy?

· What is the population of your region? How many cities have over _____ people?

· What makes up your regions borders?

· What geographical features are found in your region and do they help or hurt its economy? Do they effect its population?

· Keep a record of the industries found in your region. Which brings in the most money?

· Products are important to any region; what are the important products in your region?

· The tourist industry is very important to Virginia. What type of activity or area does your region have that will bring in tourist?

Objectives, Goals, and Curriculum Standards

As a result of the unit students will understand concepts that include Cultural Awareness, Economic Interconnectedness, Geographic Awareness, and the Relationships among various regions.

This unit also teaches independent and higher order thinking skills. These thinking skills include inference, critical thinking, creative production, problem-solving, and teamwork.

Objectives: As a result of this lesson students will be able to:

List and locate the major rivers of Virginia
List and locate the large bodies of water that border Virginia
List the major industries in Virginia and locate where they are found on a map.
List the major products in Virginia and locate where they are found on a map
List the major cities in Virginia and locate where they are found on a map
Student will associate products industries ,cities and bodies of water with regions.
In small groups student will generate lists of Virginia’s rivers, product, industries, large bodies of water and major cities
Students will defend their choice by giving supporting evidence
Students will demonstrate proper voice and eye contact while presenting their analysis.
Students will uses technology to do research.

As a result of this lesson students will know:

The Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge

and the Appalachian Plateau are the five regions of Virginia

The Coastal Plain is flat, is located near the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. It is made up of peninsulas, and has the mouths of the Potomac River, Rappahannock River, York and James River, and is East of the Fall Line. Major product is seafood, and industries found in the Coastal Plain are shipbuilding, tourism, and federal military installations.
The Piedmont Region is to the west of the Fall Line, has rolling hills and it mean “land at the foot of the mountains”. Its products are tobacco and information technology.
Industries of the Piedmont are technology, federal and state government, farming, and textiles.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are old rounded mountains and are part of the Appalachian Mountain system and is located between the Piedmont and Valley and Ridge Regions. Apples are its major product and recreation is its major industry.
The Valley and Ridge Region is located to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is also in the Appalachian Mountain system and includes the Great Valley and other valleys separated by ridges. Its products are apples and poultry, its industry is farming.
The Appalachian Plateau is located in Southwest Virginia and only a small part of the plateau is located in Virginia. A plateau is an area of elevated land that is flat on the top. The product of this region is coal and the industry is coal mining.
The Fall Line is a natural border between The Coastal Plain (Tidewater) and the Piedmont regions where waterfalls prevent further travel on the river.

Students will understand:

· Commerce is the exchange of goods and services

· Commerce varies within locations and due to relationships

· Point of view changes with location

· Location of physical features cause boundaries

Implementation Overview

This unit will be implemented over several weeks within the classroom setting. During the initial part of the unit forty-five minute blocks of time will be needed for research. Later longer periods of time may be needed for conferencing, discussion, writing, and putting presentations together. The entire unit should take approximately 3 weeks in duration. This unit is interdisciplinary, encompassing Social Studies and Language Arts.

Week

Students will determine their topic of research and surf the internet to find information relevant to their area of study, bookmarking or saving information as it is found.

Week 2

This week is spent reading, discussing, assigning topics, finding or drawing graphics, contacting local officials, and writing articles to be used in their respective presentations.

Week 3

The final week is used to prepare their presentation for publication and then publishing and presenting it to other class members.

Material Resources Needed

Materials needed for this unit include:

Class sets of books - Social Studies, atlas
Microsoft Word software
Computers with internet access
Additional Library reference materials
Videos about Virginia

Entry Level Skills and Knowledge

Students participating in this unit are expected to come with grade level skills in reading and writing. A general knowledge of computer operations and word processing skills would be helpful.

Teachers need to have experience using internet and Word and power point to complete the unit as written, and be able to effectively teach computer skills to the students involved with the unit.

Outline of Activities for Students

Choose a group of four students to form a team. Each team has four members (editor, graphic designer, computer operator, and group leader).
Choose a region of Virginia to study.
Conduct an internet search.
Use a computer generated map to show geographic location of your selected region.
Identify the bodies of water, products, industries, tourist activities, and major cities as well as physical features of a region.
Determine what effect physical features have on the economy of the region
Contact officials via Internet, video conferencing, or written letter to gather information on a region.
Create a presentation that tells of your findings and highlights or sells the region.
Present your findings to the class for videotaping.

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated by each member of their working group as well as on the final outcome of their presentation to the class. Student evaluation will lend itself to evaluation of work accomplished by each member. Students know who contributed to the project and who did not. Teacher evaluation will include student behavior, presentation outcome, Language Arts, and Social Studies grade.

Conclusion

This unit is worthy of consideration for use by all teachers with internet access. Students not only gain information in curriculum areas of Language Arts and Social Studies, but also will gain additional knowledge from computer based research, computer usage, and group dynamics all within the scope of interdependency revolving around our oceans.

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Student

Introduction and Tasks Week One:

Virginia has been divided into 5 geographical regions to better understand the importance of the state. Each region has different physical features, industries and products. All of these things have an effect on our states economy.

The Task:

You have been chosen by the governor of Virginia to be part of a group of investigators. You are to investigate one of the 5 geographical regions of Virginia and create a presentation that will sell your region to a special panel of judges. The judges are looking for “The Best Region of Virginia”. The winning group’s region will receive one million dollars to uses improvements to their region. The judges are looking for the answers to some of the following questions

· What are the bodies of water found in your region, and are they important to its economy?

· What is the population of your region? How many cities have over _____ people?

· What makes up your regions borders?

· What geographical features are found in your region and do they help or hurt its economy? Do they effect its population?

· Keep a record of the industries found in your region. Which brings in the most money?

· Products are important to any region; what are the important products in your region?

· The tourist industry is very important to Virginia. What type of activity or area does your region have that will bring in tourist?

Resources:

· encyclopedia

· internet

· social studies books

· videos

Group Members

Editor

The editor will attend periodic meetings with the editors of the other groups. During these meetings the "editor-in-chief" (classroom teacher) will offer guidance and direction for accomplishing goals. It is the responsibility of the editor to report back and relay this information to the rest of the group. They will also write down important information as it is gathered by the group. Other members of the group may also keep records, but it is the primary responsibility of the editor to keep detailed notes concerning the key questions.

Graphic Designer

The graphic designer will gather graphics from the internet, other media or draw what is required to enhance the presentation. They may get help from other members and it will be their responsibility to guide the computer operator to the proper site and be aware of the copyright concerns.

Computer Operator

The computer operator's job is to handle the keyboard and mouse during internet searching. Others in the group should communicate to the computer operator their desires to maneuver about the internet. They also have the primary responsibility of keeping track of internet sites as they are visited by the group. This can be done by making a bookmark of the location or by writing down the URL.

Group Leader

It is the job of the group leader to head the presentation. They are to make sure the graphic designer has done a proper job, enough information as been acquired and come up with a creative way to present their groups finding. They are to keep order in the group and keep them focused on the key questions. They may assign parts of the presentation to other members of the group. Another responsibility is to gather all supplies when required, and keep track of all notes.

The Process:

1. Choose a group of four student to form a team. Each team has four members who all have different jobs.

2. Decide the roles each member will have in your group.

3. Go to the teacher and secure the region you are to research.

4. Conduct an internet search

5. If search get you adequate information go to step #7. If search does not get you adequate information go to step #6.

6. Modify your search

7. Conduct and in depth internet search

8. Print out and complete the answer sheet.

9. Use a map to show your geographical region

10. Bookmark any sites that have been useful.

Learning Advice

Help everyone to remember their group roles. Keep a good record of the sites you have visited and gained good information. Having them bookmarked will save time when you want to revisit these sites. Keep focused on the key questions and write down their answers completely. This will be important when you are creating your presentation to the judges.

Evaluation

At the end of this week your group's editor will be attending an editor's meeting. At that time s/he will be sharing the information that you have gathered. It will be determined whether or not your group has been successful in answering the key questions and what areas are in need of further investigation. Suggestions will be offered from fellow editors and the "editor-in-chief" (classroom teacher) on ways to expand ideas.

Conclusion

By the end of this week your group should have a clear idea of the major cities, product and industries of your region. Eventually, you will be putting this information into a presentation. Included in this presentation will be the thoughts your group has developed on how they effect the regions economy and why it should be titled the “Best Region In Virginia”

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Introduction & The Task; Week Two

Last week your group conducted general research to obtain information about one of the regions of Virginia. It is now time for each group member to select a more narrow topic to investigate in depth. The results of this will provide the information to be contained in your presentation.

Resources

encyclopedia
internet
local officials
videos

The Process

1. Review the role of each group member.

2. Have the editor share what occurred at last week's editor's meeting.

3. Choose a suitable name for your group's presentation.

4. Decide how to pursue key questions which are in need of further research.

5. Assign topics for each group member to begin drafting presentation.

6. Complete a rough draft of presentation for review by the editor-in-chief.

Learning Advice

Be sure to include information from all of the key questions . At the same time keep in mind that it may be difficult to locate enough information on a topic which is too narrow. As you conduct your research think of ways to use illustrations to enhance your article. Original artwork can be created after the rough draft of the article is complete.

Evaluation

At the end of this week each group member will hand in at least one rough draft of information on a topic to be covered in the presentation. The editor-in-chief will evaluate and return the rough drafts for revisions necessary for final publishing. In addition to individual assessment, all of the articles from each group will be reviewed to see that, in combination, they cover all of the key questions.

Conclusion

By the end of this week your group should have completed rough drafts for all of the topics you intend to publish in your presentation. In addition, each group member should be attempting to contact local officials and utilizing sources of information other than the internet. Next week each group will produce their presentations so keep illustrations and artwork in mind.

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Week Three

Introduction & The Task

Over the past two weeks you have researched and written about a geographical region in Virginia. This week your group will give a presentation summarizing this information. The debut of your group's presentation will be videotaped while you present to the rest of your classmates.

Resources

encyclopedia
internet
local officials
videos

The Process

Review the role of each group member.
Have the editor share what occurred at last week's editor's meeting.
If necessary, decide how to pursue key questions which are in need of further research.
Revise rough drafts of articles and complete final drafts.
Select clipart and/or original artwork for illustrating newsletter.
Rehearse presentation to entire class and judges for videotaping.

Learning Advice

Complete your final drafts of the topics as soon as possible so that you can spend the latter half of the week preparing the presentation itself. It can take time to place articles and graphics in a pleasing fashion. Plus, you need to take some time to rehearse for your class presentation.

Evaluation

Your presentation is considered a team effort and will be evaluated in a number of areas by your teacher and classmates. You will be helping to evaluate the presentations of other groups. Print one copy of the evaluation page for each newsletter that you review.

Completeness
Do the articles, in combination, cover all the key questions?
Thoroughness
Were several sources used? Was there an adequate attempt to contact local officials?
Participation
Are all group members represented?
Appearance
Is the presentation pleasing to look at?
Grammar/Spelling
Are all words spelled correctly? Is proper grammar and punctuation used?

Conclusion

The production of a group presentation culminates weeks of work to learn about the five regions of Virginia. Through investigation, teamwork and reporting you become an active participant in the attempt to decide “The Best Region of Virginia

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Key Questions

Print out this page and answer the following questions.

What bodies of water are found in your region? Are they important to its economy?

What is the population of your region? What is its largest city?

What makes up your regions borders?

What geographical features are found in your region? Do they help of hurt its economy? Do they effect the population of the region?

What are the industries found in your region? Which brings in the most money?

What are the important products in your region?

What type of tourist activity is in your region?

Are there colleges or technical schools in your region?

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Evaluation Page

Print a copy of this evaluation to use while you review your presentation. Write down your comments in the space provided.

Completeness
Do the articles, in combination, cover all the key questions?
Thoroughness
Were several sources used? Was there an adequate attempt to contact local officials?
Participation
Are all group members represented?
Appearance
Is the presentation pleasing to look at?
Grammar/Spelling
Are all words spelled correctly? Is proper grammar and punctuation used?
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