Texas Regions 

Your Task 

major cities

popular attractions

museums

state parks

historical landmarks and landforms

sports teams and attractions

information about the area such as      weather, climate, etc.

              Process

You will be working with a team of people to complete your tasks. 

 

Step 1 

Decide within your team who will be responsible for which job.  Because you are working as a team, everyone is responsible for the final outcome.  You may help each other and lean on each others' strengths to create the best product from your team. 

The team will include:

 

Photographer - This expert will be      primarily responsible for finding pictures     to include in your team products.
Researcher - This expert will be primarily     responsible for  researching each category     and writing articles that will appear in your     project.
Editor - This expert will be primarily     responsible for taking what the other two     have created and putting it into its     final form.

Step 2 Your team will be assigned a region of Texas to research and promote.  After you have received your assignment brainstorm together about what you already know about that region.  Look at the region on a map.  What things do you see immediately from the map that might be of interest?

 

 

 

Step 3 Your team will create an advertising product for one region of Texas that will encourage tourism in the area.  You will need to create a slogan that you will use through out your project.  (You might want to go to several of the tourism sites in the resources section to get some ideas.  Remember, you need to create your own, but they might give you some examples.)  It should have a section that will be exciting for adults, as well as a section for children.  Be sure to include important information about your region that would cause people to want to come to that region for a vacation.

 

 

 

Step 4 Be sure to site where you found your information.  You may use Landmarks' Citation Machine http://citationmachine.net/ or another system for documenting where you found the information.  If you need assistance, be sure to ask your teacher or librarian.

 

 

Step 5 You will submit your product to the judging team upon completion.  Work together, help each other, and see your project win the Blue Ribbon of Advertising.  Rubrics are included for several types of products.  You are not required to only create those type of products, but the rubrics will give you an idea of the judging.  The are found in the evaluation section of this web quest.

 

Resources

 

Print Resources - available at most libraries

Texas Highways magazines

Texas Almanac

Texas Park and Wildlife Magazine

A variety of books about Texas and Texas cities

 

 

Internet Resources

Texas Advertising

http://www.travel.state.tx.us/

You might want to look through this site to get some ideas.  Also, most cities in Texas have some type of tourism bureau that might also be helpful.

 

Pictures

You may use AP Multimedia Archives, Google.com - images, and Mamma.com - images.

http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPhotography/TexasPhotoImages.htm

http://www.oldcardboard.com/lsj/images/images.htm

http://images.google.com/

http://www.texaswildflowerpictures.com/

http://travel.state.tx.us/asp/teximages.asp

http://www.photovault.com/Link/Cities/Texas/x/CTXVolume01.html

 

Texas clipart

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/9477/clipart.html  Thank you to this site as we used some of their free graphics in the creation of this web quest.

  

Festivals of Texas

http://gotexas.about.com/od/festivals/index.htm?iam=momma_100_SKD&terms=%22Texas%22

 

Vacation Planning

http://www.texashighways.com/

http://www.ttia.org/links.html

http://gotexas.about.com/od/texasvacations/index.htm?iam=momma_100_SKD&terms=%22Texas%22

http://travel.state.tx.us/travelresearch.aspx

http://www.traveltex.com/

http://www.tourtexas.com/

http://www.texasfun.com/

http://www.state.tx.us/category.jsp?language=eng&categoryId=1

http://www.state.tx.us/category.jsp?language=eng&categoryId=12

 

These are just to get you started.  You will surely find more as you search your databases and the Internet.

 

 

 

Evaluation

Below you will find rubrics that you can use to guide you.  There will not be a rubric for every item that you might create.  However, these should give you an idea of what the Blue Ribbon panel will be looking for in terms of creativity, neatness, content, etc.  Finally, look at the rubric for the entire web quest.  This shows how you will receive your total grade from your teacher.  It looks at your entire effort for this complete process.  Be sure that you are thinking about that throughout this quest.

 

Texas Regions - PowerPoint

 

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Background	Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card and is appropriate for the topic.	Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card.	Background does not detract from text or other graphics.	Background makes it difficult to see text or competes with other graphics on the page.
Originality	Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way.	Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an interesting way.	Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness on 1-2 cards.	Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at original thought.
Text - Font Choice & Formatting	Font formats (e.g., color, bold, italic) have been carefully planned to enhance readability and content.	Font formats have been carefully planned to enhance readability.	Font formatting has been carefully planned to complement the content. It may be a little hard to read.	Font formatting makes it very difficult to read the material.
Content - Accuracy	All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.	Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.	The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.	Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.
Spelling and Grammar	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings.	Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Use of Graphics	All graphics are attractive (size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation.	A few graphics are not attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation.	All graphics are attractive but a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation.	Several graphics are unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation.
Effectiveness	Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic. It is a highly effective study guide.	Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is an adequate study guide.	Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an incomplete study guide.	Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies that make it a poor study guide.

 

Making A Brochure : Texas Regions

 

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Writing - Organization	Each section in the brochure has a clear beginning, middle, and end.	Almost all sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Most sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Less than half of the sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Writing - Grammar	There are no grammatical mistakes in the brochure.	There are no grammatical mistakes in the brochure after feedback from an adult.	There are 1-2 grammatical mistakes in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.	There are several grammatical mistakes in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.
Spelling & Proofreading	No spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	No more than 1 spelling error remains after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	No more than 3 spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	Several spelling errors in the brochure.
Writing - Mechanics	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure.	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure after feedback from an adult.	There are 1-2 capitalization and/or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.	There are several capitalization or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.
Content - Accuracy	All facts in the brochure are accurate.	99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Attractiveness & Organization	The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has well-organized information.	The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Sources	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 95-100% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 94-85% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 84-75% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Sources are not documented accurately or are not kept on many facts and graphics.
Knowledge Gained	All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.
Graphics/Pictures	Graphics go well with the text and there is a good mix of text and graphics.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are so many that they distract from the text.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are too few and the brochure seems "text-heavy".	Graphics do not go with the accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen.

 Rubric for the team.  Really take a look at all of these parts.  Your teacher may ask for your input about how you worked together.

Criteria Points   4 3 2 1   Introduction All questions were answered completely and rationales for the answers were clearly stated. All questions were answered completely, but rationales for the all the answers were not clearly stated. Not all questions were answered completely, or greater than 2 rationales for the all answers were not clearly stated. All questions were not answered completely. ____ Task All areas of the task were addressed and handled with a high degree of sophistication. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought. At least one area of the task was not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought. At least two areas of the task were not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a moderate level of thought. The task is incomplete and/or it is apparent that little effort went into the development of the task. ____ Process: Teamwork It is evident that a mutual effort and cohesive unit created the final product. The team worked well together, but could have utilized each other's skills to a better degree. The team had problems working together. Little collaboration occurred. The final product is not the result of a collaborative effort. The group showed no evidence of collaboration. ____ Process: Originality The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of originality. The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly original. The group may have improved upon a previous idea. The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a low degree of originality. There were no original ideas expressed in this project.   Grammar, Format , and Spelling The final body of work was free of grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. The final body of work had 1 error related to either grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. The final body of work had 3-5 grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. The final body of work had major grammar, spelling, and formatting errors.           Total----> ____

Teacher Comments:

 

  

 

Conclusion

 

Through this web quest, you have learned about the people, places, history, and geography of your region.  You have had a great overview and have become an expert of this region.  You have also gained an understanding of the importance of this region to the State of Texas as a whole.

 

After the Blue Ribbon judging, share your product with your classmates.  After everyone has had a chance to share their products, talk as a class about the process of completing the web quest.  Then write an individual reflection of what you did, how you felt, and whether you would like to do another web quest.  Include in your reflection ideas about what other regions you would like to learn more about.  Be sure to give your reflection to your teacher as your reflection of the final step in this web quest.

 

 

Teacher Page

 

Standards:

We used the Texas Fourth Grade TEKS for this web quest.  They are:

 

Social Studies

4.7.A, 4.7.B, 4.7.C, 4.8.C, 4.8.D, 4.13.A, 4.13.B, 4.18.D, 4.20.B, 4.20.C, 4.22.A, 4.24.A, and 4.24.B

 

Technology

2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3B, 4A, 5A, 6C, 7B, 7C, 8A, 8B, 9B,10A, 10B, 10C, 11A, 11B, and 12B

 

Writing

4.15.A, 4.15.B, 4.15C, 4.15.F, 4.16B, 4.17D, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22.A, 4.23.B, 4.24.A, and 4.25

 

This web quest is best used in conjunction with a unit of study on the Regions of Texas.

 

We used http://rubistar.4teachers.org  and http://teach-nology.com for the evaluation rubrics.

We also used http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/9477/clipart.html for the clipart.