WebQuest Template from The WebQuest Page by Bernie Dodge: 
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html

The Penguins of Antarctica

This is a WebQuest for 1st grade students.

Designed by Kara Turner
kturner@sd71.bc.ca

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Introduction:

Penguins are fascinating birds that swim rather than fly and they live in one of the coldest places on Earth. Children love to study them, draw them and look at pictures of them. This WebQuest is designed to guide teachers through a unit on penguins.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

The Task:

To introduce this unit, you can read the following passage to your class: (first tell them that this is just pretend so they don't get upset)

Penguins are amazing birds that can swim in extremely cold water and live in one of the coldest areas in the world. It is the year 2030 (this year is 2001) and studies have shown that penguins are in danger of becoming extinct. A group of scientists got together and decided that because it is so cold in Antarctica and no one can really see the penguins, that they don't matter and they don't want to help the penguins.

In order to save the penguins, you need to create a Kid Pix slide show for the scientists to show them that penguins are very special birds and they deserve to live in Antarctica. You will need to learn all about penguins to find out why they are different from other birds and how they survive in such cold conditions.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

The Process:

In order to complete the Slide Show students can undergo the following process. Feel free to adapt the lesson to suit your needs.

1. In the classroom find out what students know about penguins and what they would like to learn. Use large chart paper to record their answers.

2. These tasks can be done as whole class activities, as stations or centers (if you have adults to help), with buddies or independently:

1. Read one or more books about penguins (see the resources section) and have students write some short sentences in their science books or journals.
2. Read one or more books about Antarctica and have students write one or more sentences about what it is like there (see resources for a list of books).
3. Have students visit web sites about penguins and look at the pictures and practice drawing their own pictures of penguins in Kid Pix or on paper. You may wish to stop students throughout this task and read some of the information presented at the sights and create sentences for them to later write in their science notebooks or journals.
4. Follow the instructions at this web site: octopus.gma.org/surfing/Antarctica/penguin.html to teach your class about how penguins are adapted for swimming and living in Antarctica.
5. You could create a Venn Diagram comparing two of the different species of penguins.
6. Have students create penguins in class as an art project and add turning wings and feet by using the gold clasps that fasten.
7. Before you go into the computer lab to begin the side show, talk about the things that they should include in their side show and make sure that they know the requirements for each page: a hand drawn penguin, a sentence about penguins, picture must take up whole page and be colourful... You can have students come up with the requirements or guide them using the evaluation rubric in the evaluation section.
8. In the computer lab have students create their slide shows. If you need more instructions for side shows please click here.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Resources:

These are good books to use in your study of penguins:

These are some good books for researching Antarctica:

These are some good web sites for students to visit and view pictures of the birds and gather more information:

• Penguins - The Penguins of Antarctica: This site has great pictures of the penguins for students to practice drawing them. You can also use this information to help them understand the behaviors of penguins and learn about the different species.
  
  
• Penguins (AWI) - This in another site with good pictures and lots of information that you can share with your class.
  
  
• Penguins of Antarctica - Lots of pictures and information.
  
  
• Zoom School Penguins - There is lots of information about penguins here and printouts you can use with your class.

This site has a lesson for teaching students about the adaptations penguins have made to their environment:

• Penguin Adaptation

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Evaluation:

Click here to view and print a rubric that can be used for evaluation.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Conclusion:

By completing this unit about penguins, students will have learned more than just information about the remarkable birds: students have learned to process the information that they learned and to present it in an interesting way. Perhaps the class will decide that they would like to learn more about endangered species. There is an actual species of penguin that is an endangered species now. The Galapagos Penguin, which lives on the Galapagos Islands is in danger of extinction.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Teachers: 

This entire unit is designed for teachers to read and use to guide their class. If you have a class with a high reading level you may decide to allow students to read through this WebQuest and do it independently or you may choose to take a different route and use their buddies to complete the unit.

Provincial IRP Learning Outcomes Covered:

Science:

It is expected that students will:

• describe the appearance and behaviour of a variety of animals
• determine the requirements of healthy plants and healthy animals
• identify similarities and differences among animal species
• identify the stages in the life cycle of a plant and of a pet or other animal

Language Arts:

It is expected that students will:

• demonstrate an understanding that print conveys meaning
• recount what books, stories, or articles are generally about
• identify the main information provided in illustrations
• demonstrate abilities to follow simple oral instructions
• identify familiar words and images in charts, lists, signs, informational texts, and storybooks
• create simple charts, webs, or illustrations as a way of organizing information
• use recognizable letters when writing familiar words
• use conventional spelling for some of the words they use in their writing
• demonstrate an awareness of upper- and lower-case letters and of punctuation in written work
• demonstrate an awareness that information can be obtained from a variety of sources
• sort information, including ideas, details, and events obtained from a variety of sources
• demonstrate a willingness to experiment with written, visual, kinesthetic, dramatic, oral, and electronic forms of
• demonstrate an awareness of themselves as communicators - users of language and various media

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home