A WebQuest for 4th-7th Grade on Volcanoes

Yvonne Baltazar, Maria Gomez, Kevin Semet
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Introduction

With the untimely death of famous volcanologists Marice and Katia Kraft when they were hit by a lava flow in Japan, you have been selected to join the members of the Kraft team to continue to study volcanoes. Greatly honored you accept the invitation and tomorrow you fly out from Raleigh, North Carolina to meet them on your first leg of this incredible journey. Good luck and see you in Mexico!

The Task

Your task is to travel to various regions of the world and collect data on specific volcanoes. You will be responsible for creating a final product that is an accurate description of these destructive yet beautiful landforms.

The final product includes a booklet with factual information on the volcanoes, a newspaper article and the creation of 3-D model of an erupting volcano. So let’s get a move on-you wouldn’t want to get caught in an eruption!

Your itinerary is as follows:

1. Mexico- Paricutin Volcano

2. Nicaragua- Masaya Volcano

3. Italy-Mt. Vesuvius

4. Philippines- Pinatubo

5. Hawaii- Kilauea

6. Washington State- Mt. St. Helens

The Process

1. Track your travels on a world map. Label each country that you visit and use a dotted line to show your travel route.

2. Download the chart for each volcano that you study and write the factual information asked about each volcano. You are to include a picture of the volcano at the bottom of the chart.

3. Choose a volcano and write a newspaper article as if you were present at the time of an eruption. The article should be one page in length. Be creative!

4. Create a decorative cover, glue each chart sheet on separate sheet of construction paper and bind all papers into a booklet. You should have a cover, world map, six informational charts and the newspaper article. Be sure to include a back cover with your name and date. This makes a total of ten pages.

5. As a team project, you and three other members of the class will create a 3-D model of a volcano.

Evaluation

Fell into the Crater: Failing Grade

Booklet Incomplete

Team grade: 3-D model of volcano not completed

Volcanic Bomb: Grade of D

Five or fewer pages of the booklet are completed

Team grade: 3-D model of volcano not completed

Work is careless and more than six spelling errors

Covered by Ash: Grade of C

Seven pages of the booklet completed

Team Grade: 3-D model of volcano partially completed

Work is careless and more than four spelling errors

Near the Rim of the Crater: Grade of B

Nine pages of the booklet completed

Team grade: 3-D model of a non-erupting volcano

Work is neat and free of spelling errors

Birdseye View of the Crater: Grade of A

Ten pages of the booklet completed

3-D model of volcano erupting and completed

Work is neat and free of spelling errors

Conclusion

As you complete your studies of these magnificent wonders of the world, hopefully you have learned the awesome destruction that volcanoes can create in a moments’ time. Through volcanologists research perhaps some day they can predict volcanic eruptions so that lives can be saved. Maybe that volcanologist will be you!

Resources

Use the following link to download the world map:

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/world_country.pdf

Review parts and kinds of volcanoes:

http://fccp.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/%7EBerni_Wensley/PartsofaVolcano.html

http://fccp.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/%7EBerni_Wensley/KindsofVolcanoes.html

Informational Chart on Volcanoes:

http://www.netpath.net/bss/WebQuest/hothothot/volcanochart.htm

Information on the volcanoes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paricutin_Volcano

http://www.paricutin.com/paricutin_story_facts.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaya_Volcano http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/south_america/masaya.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vesuvius

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pinatubo

http://park.org/Philippines/pinatubo/

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilauea_Volcano

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/kilauea.html

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/kilauea/kilauea.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._St._Helens

http://www.creationism.org/sthelens/USGS1250/index.htm

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/vnarrative1.html

http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/StHelens.html

Information for creating volcano models. This website is helpful but you can create your own volcano-it can even be an edible volcano! If using this website choose only from #’s 1, 2, or 9.

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_models/models.html

Book References

Agents of Chaos: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Other Natural Disasters; 1990;
By Stephen L. Harris; Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, Montana;
260p.

Chains of Fire: The Story of Volcanoes, Kent H. Wilcoxson, Chilton Book Co., New York, 1966.

Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes; 1963; W. D. Westervelt; Charles Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont

Pompeii and Herculaneum; 1966; by Sir Mortimer Wheeler; Published by Spring Books; London, England

Volcanic Ash, Grant Heiken & Kenneth Wohletz, Univ. of Calif. Press,
Berkeley, CA, 94720. 1985.

Volcanoes: Earth's Inner Fire,1994 by Sally Walker. Published by Carolrhoda Books Minneapolis, MN

Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada, by Wood, C.A. and Kienle, J., 1990, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY

Credits & References

Special thanks to Yvonne Baltazar and Kevin Semet for their input in constructing this webquest. A special thanks to Karen Gavigan, Director of the UNC-G Teacher Education Resource Center, Sandra Bates, Instructional Technology Specialist for Rockingham County Schools for showing us step-by-step, how to develop a WebQuest, Mr. Tyll, Blessed Sacrament's computer teacher and Amy Steffen, Blessed Sacrament School Webmaster.

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