The Investigative Reporter
HCA 5th and 6th Grade
E-mail theorrs93@yahoo.com
Introduction Task Resources Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits Teacher Page
You have just been just hired as an investigative reporter. Your new boss has just given you your first assignment. He has told you, along with two other people, that you are to investigate and report on a person in black history. Since it is your first assignment, he wants you to present it to the other reporters first. After that, you will go on the air and do a panel discussion and discuss your findings with two other reporters. If you choose not to accept this assignment this message will self-destruct in 10 seconds.
By the end of this assignment, you and your group will do the following things:
Here are the sites you will be utilyzing:
Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History
Martin Luther King Jr. Web Site
1. First, you will be assigned to a team of three students. Together you will pick out a person in Black history your group would like to study
2. Once your group has picked out a person, you and your group will divide research responsibilities to each member. (We will devote two days, one hour each day, to accomplish this.)
3. Each person will need to complete a poster presentation of the chosen topic. Remember, this part of the project will be done individually.
4. You will be given another hour of class time to collaborate on your project and share with each other your research findings.
5. You will share your poster project presentations with the class.
6. The next day you will do the panel discussion as a group in front of the class.
The posters will be displayed and judged according to the following criteria: content, appearance, and creativity. (40 points)
The presentation of the poster project will be counted as well. Criteria for this project will consist of: creativity, expression, and knowledge about the subject. (20 Points)
The panel discussion will be evaluated by how well informed the members are about their subjects and their responses to the questions that are asked. (40 points).
You should now have a better understanding of Black History and the difficulties and successes of the African American community.
Martin Luther King Jr. Seattle Times – http://www.seattletimes.com/mlk
Slave Voices – http://odyssey.lib.duke.edu/slavery
The WebQuest is designed to incorporate Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning focuses on the root notions of a discipline under discussion and has students engage in problem-solving investigations. This allows for the students to engage in self-directed learning. The idea is to give real life questions that students are concerned about so they will be enthused about the learning process. For instance, a teacher might assign a project that allows the students to act as investigators. Here the students act as private investigators and pursue further knowledge in Black history. Since students have chosen which aspect of the topic to study, they hardly realize they are "working". This type of learning is very different from the typical memorizing at testing format that has been used in the past. It is up to the individual student to pick out with whom they are going to study. Here the students take an active role in their own learning.