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How to Prepare a Web Quest for ESL Students

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Related Tags: webquest | students | class | site | questions
 

Instructions

  • Step 1:
    Decide on a WebQuest topic that is motivating for your students. You can find this information by conducting an in-class survey or simply by taking a show of hands in class. Have a second or third preference in case you cannot find enough websites.
  • Step 2:
    Conduct thorough research to see available sites that you can use for your WebQuest topic. Not every site is suitable. Check for linguistic, thematic and syntactic appropriateness, and make sure the link is active.
  • Step 3:
    Skim and scan the site. Familiarize yourself with content, how to navigate the site and the kinds of information students will learn.
  • Step 4:
    Design a series of interesting questions based on the website that direct students to the site or to various links and tabs. For differentiated instruction, include a wide variety of questions.
  • Step 5:
    Explain the purpose of the WebQuest beforehand with your students in class. Make sure they understand what is expected of them and how they are expected to behave during the WebQuest session.
  • Step 6:
    Take your students to the computer lab and distribute the WebQuest worksheet. Encourage students to answer as many questions as possible.
  • Step 7:
    Have students sit in pairs or groups of three to perform the WebQuest.
  • Step 8:
    Have students finish the WebQuest at home or in class (two sessions are sufficient).
  • Step 9:
    Decide if you will grade the WebQuest and on the criteria for grading (if relevant to subject matter).
  • Step 10:
    Ask students to reflect on their work during the WebQuest session and, particularly, if they learned something from it and how the activity could be improved.

Tips & Warnings

  • It is ideal to give your WebQuest paper to a colleague to do to tackle any troubleshooting issues before they arise.
  • Prepare an answer page and distribute it to the students if you don’t want to collect the pages.
  • Prepare a backup activity in case you run into technical problems the day you decide to conduct the WebQuest with your students.

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