In October, I described the idea of an internet scavenger hunt specifying that students might search a particular website for information. This week my students researched a particular identification term. I designed the assignment to explore several course competencies including acquiring information, breaking multiple sources down into parts, using library resources, recognizing secondary sources, and locating specific primary sources.
First, create a bank of terms for students to select a term that most interests them. Second, encourage students to search their course resources and the internet for the following that relates to that term (I require 10).
a. Map
b. Video Clip
c. Audio Clip
d. Photograph
e. Government document
f. Letter written by someone related to the term
g. Diary written by someone related to the term
h. Newspaper Article
i. History Journal Article
j. Web Article
k. Glossary or Wikipedia type definition of term
l. Picture of artifact
m. Artwork related to term
n. Novel or short story
o. Textbook Reference
p. Museum Exhibit
q. Memorial
r. Modern movie made about term
Then students submit a one-paragraph description of the term describing who, what, where, when, and historical significance of the term, their list of sources with a brief description of what they found at each source and how it relates to the term, and they identify the web source is a primary source or secondary source.
Another option to this assignment is to do a scavenger hunt for a larger topic like Black History Month. Create a list of what to look for and have students search in groups posting their results in discussions. How do you incorporate the concept of Primary/Secondary sources in your assignments?
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2 comments:
Karen, I really like this idea. The multiple objectives met through the single activity is both efficient and effective.
I think the idea translates to most any discipline with key words or concepts to be mastered and made meaningful to the learner(s).
Thank you for the teaching strategies and tips. Even though I work with you regularly, I still learn new things and get inspiration regularly for my practice from you!
I am curious, how do you evaluate the scavenger hunt activity described here? Is there a rubric you use? peer evaluation?
Also, I wonder how effective this might be as an ice breaker where students work in dyads? It may be good for fostering study-partnerships, community, and collaboration early in the term. Perhaps.
Lisa Marie,
Yes, I do think this would be a good icebreaker but maybe as a lower stakes assignment than what I used it for this semester.
I also use simple rubrics for all the assignments in my courses. This particular assignment is worth 100 points with 30 points dedicated to whether students identified primary and secondary sources correctly. (I have a practice quiz available on primary and secondary assignments in the same unit) I am not using peer evaluation but allow my students to share their work in a study hall discussion. My hope is that students will post their research for classmates to use in upcoming assignments. Thanks for the feedback,
Karen
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