A Child's Day in Africa

A WebQuest for 7th Grade

Designed by Doreen Plony
dplony@hotmail.com

Adapted by Sue Elliott and Tom Atwood

 

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits 

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Africa?  What would be different? What would you like better?  

Our class is going to spend a day in Africa and find out how a child your age spends the day.  You will pretend to become an African child.  You will choose an African name and describe your typical day.



The Task

Your task is to create a scrapbook/journal that will tell about you and your life in Africa.  The first two pages of your journal will be a map of Africa and of your assigned country. Your product will be from the viewpoint of an African middle school student.  The cover will have a picture that you created of your character. Pictures may be drawn or printed from the Internet (color pictures need to be printed at home). The final page of your journal will be a works cited page citing where you obtained your information and pictures.   Each page in the scrapbook will have pictures and journal entries.  Be creative on how you present your information.  Be sure to include enough about yourself that we can really believe you are a child from Africa.  We want to walk in your shoes as an African child (this is called empathy).


The Process

 

Choose an African name for yourself.

Make a map of your assigned country and one of Africa.  Find the table in the library with the master maps of the countries.  Trace your country onto a blank sheet of paper.  Label your map to include:  latitude and longitude, capital and major cities, compass rose, map key, and physical features.  On the map of Africa, label your country and the countries that border your country.  Color all maps appropriately. 

Write about your life:

1. What foods do you like to eat?

And refer to Culturegrams and Peoples of Africa

And find a book on your country from the RTMS  library.

2. What is your school day like?

Find a book on your country from the RTMS  library.

3. What activities do you like to do after school?

Find a book on your country from the RTMS  library.
 

4. What holiday do you most enjoy?

And refer to Culturegrams and Peoples of Africa

Find a book on your country from the RTMS  library.

 

5.  Create your Works Cited page.  View Creating A Works Cited Page and follow the examples exactly.  Your bibliography should look just like the example only with the information from the sources you used in the correct spot.  Use Citation Machine, choosing the MLA style, to create each entry.  You should have a minimum of four sources.  (The best will use all the resources listed on the webquest.)  Before you print your bibliography, compare yours to one completed by the librarian.



Evaluation

Your product will be evaluated using the rubric below:

 

In Progress

1

Partially Proficient

2

Proficient

                        3

Advanced

                        4

Score

               (x5)                          

The student will implement effective research strategies.

Needs lots of help and guidance. Not a self starter.

Starts out ok but still needs help along the way.

Able to do most of the research independently.

Independent researcher.

 

The student has respect for social, ethical and human issues.

No works cited page.

Attempted a works cited page but it has many errors.

Works cited page follows correct format with few errors.

Perfect works cited page.

 

The student will use maps to locate information about people, places and environments.

Map is incomplete and/or messy.

Map is mostly complete but is messy.

Map is complete but lacks visual interest.

Map is complete, neat, accurate, and colorful.

 

The student will explain how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions.

Scrapbook is a weak attempt at showing what life is like for a child in an African country.

Scrapbook is average.  No depth of information or creativity.

Scrapbook shows some creativity; information is basic.

Scrapbook shows in depth, empathetically, and creatively what life is like for a child in an African country.

 



Conclusion

The journal/scrapbook you create will be on display.  Students from other class periods may visit your country and answer questions.



Credits & References

Images: www.math.buffalo.edu/. ../africa_big.gif

Further resources:

www.unicef.org

www.africa.upenn.edu

www.royalafricansociety.org

www.outreachworld.org


Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page