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A webquest for Spanish students in Bachillerato with English as a foreign language

Designed by Javier Martín Álvarez, mareivaj@hotmail.com

INTRODUCTION TASK PROCESS RESOURCES EVALUATION CONCLUSION

 

INTRODUCTION

Are you afraid of spooky stories? Do you believe in ghosts, witches or vampires? Every October 31st, millions of children put on fancy dresses and get sweets by going door-to-door. It is Halloween or the All Hallow's Eve, celebrated in much of the Western World.  In Spain, and in other Christian countries, you may find a similar festival on November 1st as the All Saints' Day.

But where did the rituals come from? Why do people carve jack-o-lanterns? Why do children dress in costumes? Why when children approach a stranger's door do they enthusiastically exclaim, "trick or treat?" How did the custom of orange and black as the colours of Halloween get started?

Let us get to know all these facts... don't be frightened!

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TASK

You will have to make a collage as a final task.

In that collage you should write at least 60-word captions about each main aspect of Halloween and use a picture that goes with every explanation, e.g. pumpkins.

Each student is responsible for one aspect. So, because you work in groups of four members, you will need four aspects to deal with.

When everyone has finished and has seen all other collages you will all prepare a quiz to see what you know about them.

Special aspects are:

The origins of Halloween
Symbols used in Halloween
Traditional songs and food in Halloween
Spanish All  Saints' Day versus Halloween
  Important legends: the jack-o'-lantern
Trick-or-treating and other rhymes
Ghost stories: urban legends?
 

Select four out of these seven aspects.

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PROCESS

 

Decide who is going to be the expert for each section in every group of four.
Talk about the main aspects of the layout, specially the kind of register in captions you want it to have.
Go to Resources in order to find the information you need for each section. Try to find all the information in the selected web pages.
Gather the information and pictures that can be useful for you.
  Examine and analyse the information that you  have found. Discuss with your group what you have got and explain for what it could be useful. Propose your choices and the reasons for them. 
Use your own words to write your caption about your selected aspect.
To create the collage use the word processor spell checker or a dictionary if necessary. You must include some pictures from the Web.

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RESOURCES

 

HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm
ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN http.//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/index.jsp?page=origins
TRICK-OR-TREATING http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Trick-or-treating
hTHE JACK-O'-LANTERN LEGEND http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/jackhistory.html
SYMBOLS OF HALLOWEEN http://www.123christians.com/christians/halloween/symbols/index.html
RECIPES IN HALLOWEEN http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/halloweenrecipes.html
SONGS IN HALLOWEEN http://www.jackolanterns.net/songs.htm
HALLOWEEN GHOST STORIES http://www.halloweenghoststories.com/
HALLOWEEN IN SPAIN http://www.jackolanterns.net/spanishhalloween.htm

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EVALUATION

Your project will be evaluated in terms of:

Participation of ALL group members in ALL tasks
Grammar, spelling and expression of captions
Visual presentation
Use of web-based resources
Understanding of general concepts connected with Halloween
Use of appropriate NEW vocabulary
Personal contribution and creativity
Completion of the different tasks by following the order indicated
Compliance with the deadline

Your final performance will be evaluated by your teacher and the rest of your classmates.

Clik here to see the Evaluation Sheet.

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CONCLUSION

After completing your task successfully you should have learnt:

To use the Internet as a useful tool to search information on Halloween
To organise group work and share information to reach an agreement
To consider how important visual presentation is
Coincident aspects between Halloween and Spanish All Saints' Day from a critical point of view
New vocabulary in connection with mystery and festivals

 

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 BASIC DIDACTIC GUIDE

This webquest has been designed for students in the first cycle of Secondary Education with English as a foreign language:

The required level is B1 (or B2) according to the Common European Framework for Languages. It is supposed to work better with students who have not dealt before with this topic.

The objectives are to make students read about the selected topics (they have to analyze and compile the information) and to make them learn some facts on Halloween which are common to Western countries .

It can be carried out in class in 1 or 2 sessions (50 minutes each)
Students will need to prepare material beforehand: scissors, glue, card, colours...

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I WITCH YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 

October, 2005