Embassy Quest - Teacher's Page

Embassy Quest...
Destination Unknown

Gail Gilland and Kimberly Roberts

Teacher Resources

Intended Learners | English SOL's | Computer/Technology SOL's
History/Social Science SOL's | Country Data Sheet
Student Assessment Tools | Teacher Assessment Tools

Intended Learner:This unit of instruction is designed for 8th grade students enrolled in a World Geography course. This class is a challenge class available to students by teacher recommendation, reading level as indicated by the STAR reading program, and standardized test scores on the Stanford National Test. The class is homogeneously grouped in an open classroom environment. Although various learning styles are present, the majority of students are high achievers and college bound students. The students taking this class have scored on grade or above grade level and have maintained an A average in their prior Social Studies class. This will be a singular 8th grade advanced placement class responsible for taking the World Geography SOL test. A typical class period entails fifty minutes. For this project, students will be placed in a cooperative group of three and assigned individual group roles.

The WebQuest addresses the Virginia Standards of Learning in the following areas:

English:
5.8 The student will synthesize information from a variety of resources.

	Skim materials to develop a general overview of content or to locate specific information.
	Develop notes that include important concepts, paraphrases, summaries, and identification of information sources.
	Organize and record information on charts, maps, and graphs.
	Use available electronic databases to access information.
	Credit secondary reference sources.

6.9 The student will select the best sources for a given purpose, including atlases, dictionaries, globes ,interviews, telephone directories, encyclopedias, and electronic databases.
7.10 The student will apply knowledge of resources in preparing written and oral presentations.

	Use graphic organizers.
	Credit secondary reference sources.

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Computer/Technology:
8.1 The student will communicate through application software.

	Communicate spreadsheets by entering data and setting up formulas, analyzing data, and creating graphs or charts to visually represent data.
	Communicate with databases by defining fields and entering data, sorting, and producing reports in various forms.
	Use advance publishing software, graphics programs, and scanners to produce page layouts.

8.2 The student will communicate through networks and telecommunication.

Use local and worldwide network communication systems.

8.3 The student will process, store, retrieve, and transmit electronic information.

	Use electronic encyclopedias, almanacs, indexes, and catalogs to retrieve and select relevant information.
	Use local and wide-area networks and modem-delievered services to access and retrieve information from electronic databases.
	Use databases to perform research.

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Social Science:
10.7 The student will locate and identify by name the major countries in each region and the world's major rivers, mountain ranges, and surrounding bodies of water.

Region	Countries	Rivers/Bodies of Water	Mountains/Physical Features
North America	United States Canada	Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Arctic Ocean Caribbean Sea Gulf of Mexico Great Lakes Mississippi River St. Lawrence River Colorado River Rio Grande River	Appalachian Mountains Rocky Mountains Sierra Nevada Mountains Cascade Mountains
Latin/South America	Central America: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama	Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea Amazon River Basin	Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico Central Plateau of Mexico Andes Mountains
Latin/South America	South America: Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile	Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea Amazon River Basin	Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico Central Plateau of Mexico Andes Mountains
Latin/South America	Caribbean Nations: Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, archipelagoes	Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea Amazon River Basin	Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico Central Plateau of Mexico Andes Mountains
Western Europe	Switzerland, Luxembourg, Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy	Atlantic Ocean North Sea Mediterranean Sea Aegean Sea Adriatic Sea Strait of Gibraltar Rhine River Seine River Danube River	The Alps Pyrenees Apennines
Middle East/ North Africa	Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Turkey, Egypt Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel	Mediterranean Sea Arabian/Persian Gulf Red Sea Black Sea Nile River Starit of Hormuz Tigris River Euphrates River	Atlas Mountains Taurus Mountains Zagros Mountains
Northern Eurasia	Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine	Pacific Ocean Arctic Ocean Black Sea Caspian Sea Bering Strait Lena River Ob River Amur River Volga River	Ural Mountains Caucasus Mountains
Sub-Saharan Africa	South Africa, Gabon, Botswana, Zaire, Sudan, Chad, Mozambique, Madagascar, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya	Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Nile River Zambezi River Congo River Lake Victoria	Ethiopian Plateau Great Rift Valley
South Asia	Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka	Arabian Sea Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal Ganges River Indus River	Himalayas, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats
East Asia/ Pacific World	Mongolia, China, Japan, Taiwan, Phillippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea	Indian River Bay of Bengal Pacific Ocean South China Sea East China Sea Sea of Japan Yellow River Yangtze River Mekong River	Tien Shan Mountains Tibetan Plateau
Australia	Australia New Zealand	Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Coral Sea Tasman Sea	Great Dividing Range Great Barrier Reef

10.11 The student will analyze the development of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, in terms of physical, economic, cultural characteristics and historical evolution from 1000 A.D. to the present.

Region	Economic Characterictics	Cultural Characteristics	Physical Characteristics	Historical Evolution
Caribbean	Subsistence Farming Tourism Great disparity in wealth	African and Indian tradition European influences Political instability	Tropical climate Volcanoes and earthquakes Island and coastal nations	Legacy of colonialism Multinationalism
Latin America	Subsistence farming Slash and burn agriculture Cash crops High inflation Deforestation	Indian civilization Influence of European colonization Roman Catholic religion Megacities	Rainforests Coastal deserts Reverse seasons Amazon River Basin Pampas	Colonial legacies Slave trade Political instability
Middle East	Importance of trade Importance of oil-GNP Importance of water for irrigation, crop development Aswan Dam Suez Canal	Monothestic religions Jerusalem, Mecca- sacred places Veiling of women Trading of goods at bazaars Large % of population under 15 Non-Arab countries - Turkey, Iran, Israel	Arid climates Scarce water sources Oil reserves a major resource Location at the crossroads of 3 continents- Europe, Asia, Africa River valleys site of early civilizations	Ottoman Empire Nationalism Refugees
Africa	Agriculture major economic source Reliance on cash crops Major exporters of raw materials Unstable governments	Many ethnic groups Large refugee population- Ethiopia, Chad,Sudan Few cities with populations over 1 million Knowledge of history through oral tradition	River transportation impeded by waterfalls Similar climate patterns in regions north and south of the equator Lack of sustainable agriculture Large number of landlocked countries Vast potential for hydroelectric power Extensive range of climates-deserts to rainforests	African empires East and west coast slave trade European colonialism Apartheid
Asia	Varied economies Increased participation in the global markets Newly industrialized countries	Densely populated areas Religiously diverse Respect for ancestors History of isolationism	Impact of mountains- populations settlements Diverse land for rice and tropical fruit Varied climate regions Natural hazards- monsooms, typhoons, volcanoes, earthquakes Influence of water on trade Natural resources- oil, coal, forests, minerals	Dynasties - China, Japan Communism - China, Indochina Conflict of territory and resources

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Country Data Sheet:
The following abbreviated data sheet will address the stated SOL's; however, if time constraints require you to limit the time available for this project this information can be located for each country:

Name of the country	Continent
World Region	Population
Land Size	Major economic sources (s)
Type of government	Major religion (s)
Major bodies of water	Major mountain ranges
Other major physical features	Latitude belt
Country designation

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Student Assessment Tools

Student Interim Evaluation:

This survey instrument will be distributed at the mid point of the "Embassy Quest" unit. These surveys will be filed as teacher resources for evaluation upon completion of data analysis.
Please complete the following survey by indicating your response to each question.

Were the directions clear?	Yes	No
Have you ever created a database before?	Yes	No
Have you ever created a spreadsheet before?	Yes	No
Have you ever created a PowerPoint presentation before?	Yes	No
Did you require help? If so, from whom?	Another student	Teacher

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Student Exit Interview Questions:

This portion of the assessment process would involve an interview screening upon the completion of the unit to determine the instructional success based upon student response. The questions are in the open-ended format to illicit critical thinking and individual elaboration.

	The best thing about this unit was ....
	I would participate in "Embassy Quest" again......
	I would recommend "Embassy Quest" to other students....
	If I had to teach this unit to others, I would......

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Evaluation Rubrics

Teacher Assessment Tools

We would like to request that teachers of World Geography, English or Computers complete the on-line survey based upon the WebQuest "Embassy Quest...Destination Unknown", and its support of the Standards of Learning in World Geography, English and Computer Technology.

We would also like to request feedback through the on-line survey for media specialists as to how this WebQuest supports the Standards of Learning in the areas of English research and Computer Technology.