Famous Californians

A WebQuest for 4th Grade - Social Studies

Designed by 
Nina Dixon, Blair Koyanagi, Tara Russell

NDix@cox.net, LuckeyBK@aol.com, TaraRussell@excite.com

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits 

Introduction

Let's imagine-for just a moment-that you received an email from the offices of our local newspaper asking you to conduct interviews with famous Californians (dead or alive).  Are you imagining yet?? Well guess what? That educational fantasy will soon be your (partial) reality.  That's right, you will be conducting interviews with famous Californians as part of your ongoing study of our state.

Task

Your task during this WebQuest is to create an interview with a famous Californian.  Using the Internet, you will discover interesting facts about your chosen celebrity.  Once you have completed the research you will create an interview asking and answering questions as if you were that person.

Process

1. Begin by reviewing these sites to obtain some basic information about a few different famous Californians. 

2. Once you have looked over the Internet site look over Tips for Interviewers.  Use this site as a guide to assist you in preparing for your interview.  Come up with three well thought out questions that you would like to ask your chosen Californian.
3. Answer the questions that you have created.  Keep in mind that you are responding as if you were that person.
4. When the interview and research is complete you and your partner will be required to simulate the interview in front of the class.  One person will be the interviewer while the other will be the famous Californian.  You will be required to dress as your famous Californian would.  
   

Evaluation

Your (individual) performance will be evaluated based on the following rubric:

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Knowledge Gained	You display very little knowledge about the life of your chosen Californian.	You are able to display some knowledge about your famous Californian through your questions and answers.	You are able to display sufficient knowledge about your famous Californian through your questions and answers.	You are able to display an in-depth understanding of the life of your famous Californian through your  outstanding  questions and answers.
Creativity	You need considerable adult help when executing the assignment.	You need some adult help when executing the assignment.	You work independently and are able to create reasonable questions and answers to fully execute the assignment.	You work independently and are able to create reasonable, insightful, and creative questions and answers to fully execute the assignment.
Spelling and Proofreading	There are several spelling and/or grammar errors in the published interview.	There are no more than 3 spelling and/or grammar errors in the published  interview.	There are no more than a couple of spelling and/or grammar errors in the published  interview.	There are no spelling and/or grammar errors in the published interview.
Contributions	You did not attempt to "take this on" and therefore required a lot of assistance from teachers and/or peers.	You  required  minimal assistance from teachers and/or peers.	You contributed with few reminders from teachers and/or peers.	You were self-motivated and made  outstanding contributions without  prompting from teachers and/or peers.
Internet Use	You needed assistance and/or supervision to use suggested internet links to obtain information.	You were occasionally able to use suggested internet links to obtain information without  assistance.	You were usually able to use suggested internet links to obtain information  without assistance.	You were  able to successfully use suggested internet links to obtain information  without assistance.
Oral Presentation	Your presentation showed a lack of research.	Your presentation showed minimal research.	Your presentation showed sufficient research effort.	Your presentation showed and outstanding research effort.  You also showed a willingness to dress appropriately.

Conclusion

Students will gain a greater understanding of famous Californians through their questions and answers.  This activity allows history to come alive since students are actively involved in the research and interview process.

No one wakes up being famous.  Usually a lot of hard work, dedication, and tenancity are involved in becoming well known.  If you would like to learn more about the individuals who have made a name for themselves in science, art, history, etc. please visit www.pbs.org, www.whitehouse.gov,www.jsc.nasa.gov, and www.sierraclub.org

Credits & References

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/history/honoree/temple_black.html

http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/

http://www.celebritystorm.com/celebs/pics/MarielHemingway/

http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/bio/celeb/1676726

http://www.movietreasures.com/main/Clint_Eastwood/body_clint_eastwood.html

http://www.robertfrost.org/body.html

http://www.educeth.ch/english/readinglist/steinbeckj/

http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLStory.html

http://www.win.tue.nl/%7Eengels/discovery/cabrillo.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rn37.html

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/serra/serra.htm

http://www.stanford.edu/home/stanford/history/begin.html#Leland

http://www.sfsu.edu/%7Ececipp/cesar_chavez/cesarbio5-12.htm

http://www.netstate.com/states/peop/people/ct_cph.htm

http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/sutter.html

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ride-sk.html

http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/

http://www.johnfremont.com/

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crocker.htm

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_brubeck_dave.htm

http://www.sierraclub.org/ansel_adams/about.asp

http://www.george-lucas.com/bio.htm#bio

http://fuv.hivolda.no/prosjekt/gunnargrodal/bio.htm

http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/rohotips.html

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Last updated on 12-09-02. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page