The places I have been, and the places I am going.

Have you ever wondered where your life is going to take you? Who are you going to be, what you are going to do, or who you are going to meet? In this Web quest you are going to get the chance to explore and write about your future. You might be asking yourself, “How am I possibly supposed to know what my future holds?” In response to that question I would say, “It is your future, so you can do anything with it that you would like.” In this Web Quest you will get a chance to write about your future goals, dreams, and hopes.

The Task

You will be engaged in gathering information on the places you have been, and the places that you want to go. As your final product you will write a short book which will share your thoughts, feelings, and ideas with other readers. After you have completed this book your entire class will present these books in a play scenario to an audience of your choice. 

For teacher use: Click here to view the Nebraska State Standards which I used when writing this WebQuest.

Resources

There are books in the classroom that will help you to remember the places you have been, and they will also help you to choose places that you would like to go in the future. Click here to see pictures that will help you in determining the places you have been and the places that you would like to go.

The Process

1. Read with your teacher the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss.

2. Begin to think of some of the places you have already been, people you have met, or things that you have seen or done. Click here to look at a map of the United States. This link will be a reference that will help you remember some of the places you have been, it also gives pictures that you can use as other references. For example, you might be looking at the map and see Florida. Then you will think to yourself “Oh yes, I remember going to Florida, we visited Disney World there." There are books in the classroom that you will also be able to use as references.

3. Write an introduction for your story. Click here for an example of an introduction.

4. Click here for some questions that will help you think of some of the places that you might have been, people you might have met, and things you might have seen or done. The places can be as dramatic as another country or as simple as going to Lincoln to visit the state capital.

5. Now that you have a good idea of some of the places you have been, people you have met, or things you have seen or done, you will begin to write your story. The first couple of pages will deal with the places you have been. You need to write one paragraph for each place that you have been. You should only have one paragraph per page. The paragraph must include where you have been, what you did there, whom you went with, and you can finish the  paragraph by writing your feeling about the place you visited. Click here to see an example of a paragraph. When writing your paragraph make sure that you leave enough room for a picture. You will be able to either draw a picture of the place your paragraph is describing, or you may look on the Internet for pictures that you can copy, paste, and print out. You  may also choose to use clip art to represent the places you have been. Click here if you want a  good place to look for photographs on the Internet.

6. Next begin to think of places that you want to go, people you want to meet, and things that you would like to see or do. What do you want to do in your future? Click here for ideas that will help you think of some places you might want to go.

7. Now that you have a good idea of some of the places you want to go, people you want to meet, and things that you would like to see or do you will finish writing your story. You will write a paragraph for each place you want to go, just like above. Don’t forget to leave room for a picture that will represent your paragraph.

8. Write a conclusion to your story. Click here for an example of a conclusion.

9. Begin to draw your book cover.  Be creative! The book cover can include anything that you choose to use. Just keep in mind the subject of your story.

10. In this step you are able (if you choose to) to dedicate your book to someone. For example:

         This book is dedicated to my sister Elicia.

11. Read over you book to make sure that everything looks good. Make sure to go back through and check your spelling.

12. Bind all of the pages of your book together. Your teacher will provide you with these materials.

13. Your last step is to decide, as a class, whom you want to share your stories with. You can vote to share them with your parents, your school, another classroom, a nursing home, or any other group that you can think of.

Learning Advice

Make sure to use your best handwriting when writing your stories. Remember that you are going to share these stories with others, so readers must be able to read your handwriting. The same rule goes when drawing your pictures; make sure that you are doing your best work. Take your time when you are writing your story. This is not a race and you want your final product to be something that you are proud of.

Conclusion

Evaluation

When evaluating your work I will be using a rubric to make sure you have accomplished everything that I have requested of you. Click here to see a copy of the rubric.