Solar System Webquest

Dana Stemig (stemig@sonnet.com), the library media teacher at two Modesto, CA, school libraries (Tuolumne Elementary and Orville Wright Elementary), noted that her middle-grade students were becoming fascinated with outer space. To take advantage of that interest, she came up with the Solar System Webquest, which challenges third-grade students to design a mock science museum.

Build a planet: Stemig's Webquest helps groups of three or four students create exhibits on the planets they've been assigned. The site instructs one student to design a poster of the planet and play the role of a travel agent, another to design and build a model of the planet, and the others to create an interactive display. The entire group then creates a slideshow using the KidPix graphics program. The Webquest site also includes a list of books on the solar system in the library, as well as appropriate Web sites.

Online for the first time: "Our school is in an extremely low-income area, and our kids don't have computers at home. So for them to get on the Internet was very exciting," says Stemig. "They had a great time, and I don't think they even realized they were learning."

Next quests: The third-grade project was a big success with the class that tried it, and Stemig, who was selected this year to be an Intel Corporation master teacher, will use it again with two third-grade classes. Media specialists interested in creating their own Webquests should take a look at Bernie Dodgeâ?Ts Webquest site at edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html.