~Five Favorite WebQuests~
for Social Studies

by:

 Lauren Day-Lewis
SLM 521
Fall 2004


  1. Personal Reflections on Vietnam - Students divide up into teams of four and each student plays a different role to complete the assignment.  Each student in every team will take on one of the following roles:  An African American college student, a World World II Veteran, a peace activist, or an American news correspondent who is stationed in Vietnam.  Before students do research for their roles, they are instructed to visit a list of electronic web resources to obtain background information on the Vietnam War.  Then, they read over their character pages and visit role specific links to research their characters background.  Some activties for this WebQuest include: diary entries from their characters perspective, a list a reasons why their character would support or protest the war, and reading the their team members journal entries.
    • This WebQuest allows students to research the Vietnam war and learn about different people's perspectives and attitudes towards the war.
    • Date Accessed: 11/11/04
    • http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webquests/vietnam/
  2. Capital Punishment - Students will learn the methods used in capital punishment, types of crimes committed by people who receive the death penalty, and arguments for and against capital punishment. Activites for students to complete include: writing a letter to the governor defending their position on capital punishment, watching the movie "Dead Man Walking" and writing about the final scene, and creating a poster displaying their view on capital punishment.
    • This website is good for a high school Criminal Justice or Social Issues class.  However, some of the scenes in "Dead Man Walking" may be too graphic/violence for some students.
    • Date Accessed: 11/11/04
    • http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/ahudson/WebQuest.html
  3. Congress in the Classroom- This WebQuest allows students to act as members of Congress and develop new laws for the school.  Students participate in a variety of activities which provide them with information on the Branches of Government, the Supreme Court Justices, members of the the Cabinet, etc.  They will also learn about the law-making process and how a bill becomes a law. This WebQuest is best for high school students studying Government!
    • This WebQuest includes awesome graphics!
    • Date Accessed: 12/1/04
    • http://www.berksiu.k12.pa.us/webquest/Wilczynski/process.htm  
  4. This Land Is Our Land - This Quest takes students on a journey across the United States.  Students will receive a map of the U.S. that labels some major cities and places in America.  Students will then view a variety of pictures and determine which pictures belong to the particular city or location on the map.
    • This WebQuest would make a great addition to a geography class or lesson.  
    • Date Accessed - 12/1/04
  5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - This WebQuest will encourage students to help keep our environment clean and  provide students with ways to help improve the environment.  The activity requires students to propose a recycling program in their school or classroom.  First, students will find out the records of waste disposal volume and cost, names and numbers of recycling collectors, and other information to help them with their program.
    • This website was created for 9-12 grade Math, Science, and Social Studies classes.
    • Date Accessed: 12/1/04
    • http://www.esc2.net/TIELevel2/projects/recycle/