Lauren Day-Lewis
SLM 521
9/23/04

Article Critique #1:
“Reading , Technology, and Inquiry-based Learning Through Literature-Rich Webquests”


    This article explains that classrooms with access to technology are able to enhance the reading experience of all students.  Teachers who use literature-based Webquests are likely to address the needs of their students, while helping students meet challenging standards at the same time.  Webquests designed for reading classes allow children to read different books, and then participate in similar activities.  Activities include exploring the themes, characters, settings, and plots, and answering and developing questions about the books.  Usually, students work in small or large groups on the Webquests.  The rest of the article explains to instructors how to find Webquests online and use Webquests that have already been developed.  It also discusses how to create a Webquest from scratch, using several components: an introduction, task, process resources, learning advice, and conclusion.
    This article presents the idea that Webquests can facilitate the learning process for any subject, especially reading.  For students who do not benefit from reading a text, Webquests can help the students visualize what they are reading through pictures, videos, and sounds on the internet.  The internet can also provide facts and information to the student’s questions.  Therefore, it sounds like literature-based Webquests, and Webquests for all content areas, can do no harm in a classroom.  They are obviously more interactive then textbooks, and it seems like students (and teachers) would be less likely to become bored with them.  For reading instructors, the article gives many examples of Webquest activities for different books, such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, and others.  I really like how this article explains to instructors how to search for, use, create, and assess Webquests.  It also pointed out that you do not always have to create a Webquests from scratch.  Instead, you can use can use resources previously created by other instructors that share the same basic elements.  Of course, if you choose to create your own Webquest, the article list and describes the parts of a Webquest.  So, this article does a nice job of explaining how the various parts and purposes of a Webquest can enhance reading and learning in any subject area.

Teclehaimanot, B., & Lamb, A. (2004, March/April).  “Reading, Technology, and         
Inquiry-based Learning Through Literature-Rich WebQuests.  Reading Online, 7(4). http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=teclehaimot/index.html