Prehistory Web Quest
WebQuest is a research-based project on pre-history.
Students are in groups of five and each researches
one specific hominid in the evolutionary line.
They learn about lifestyles, achievements, and
development; how geography and climate contributed
to all three; and probable causes for their eventual
extinction. The project is broken into two phases.
Phase 1 involves completing a map showing the
locale(s) and migration patterns (if applicable)
of the specific hominids. Phase 2 is the actual
research on their hominid. Students read articles
listed on the WebQuest and answer questions. Once
research is completed, the students get together
in groups of like species. They share and compile
information and put together a lesson using an
overhead map showing the species location. They
use the map and information to teach the rest
of the class about their hominid. As each lesson
is taught (in species order), the students have
a large map that they fill in. The result is an
overview map that shows areas and migration patterns
of the five hominids. Next they get into their
original groups (one student per hominid species).
If you have time, they should write a paper together
on all five species and their development. If
not, have each student write their species report
and then share it with their group. Each group
member has to read, edit, and comment on their
peers’ papers. The final product is the
U-book, which comprises the five edited papers.
learn how geography and climate determine the
lives of early hominids, the characteristics of
hunter-gatherer societies, how animals affected
the lives of early hominids, and how hominids
overcame their physical environment. They learn
that the life of early hunter-gatherer societies
was most influenced by their physical environment,
and what distinguished Homo Sapiens from other
hominids, and that the evolutionary process that
produced Homo Sapiens involved not only anatomical
changes and tool-making skills, but also the emergence
of social communities that consciously shared
a life of symbols, ceremonies, and aesthetic expression.
The entire research process is completed on the
Internet. WebQuests are designed with student
safety and accurate sources in mind. Students
only use sites that have been set up by the teacher.
This ensures they are getting valid information.
The guided questions for each species give the
students specific topics within articles to look
Required materials include computers with Internet
access and scanners, Front Page, Word, Note Pad
and U-Book Software (creates E-Books from Notepad).
Students utilize historical thinking, problem-solving
and research skills to maximize their understanding
of civics, history, geography and economics. They
demonstrate knowledge of world history in order
to understand life and past events and how they
relate to the present and the future. They apply
knowledge of spatial relationships and other geographic
skills to understand human behavior in relation
to the physical and cultural environment.
Students write collaborative U-Books (e-books)
which are posted on the school website . They
create maps on their particular hominid species,
and one large map encompassing all five species.
There is a final test consisting of a partial
outline needing completion, an essay question
relating to man’s development, and a map.
CMS has an ethnically diverse population, with
an especially large Asian/Indian representation.
Classes are mixed ability- wise. There are inclusion
classes with up to nine special ed students.
The unit needs updating as sites come and go.
Each student needs access to a computer and the
Internet, though they can pair up and have collaborate
on the reading/note-taking. If you have an odd
number of students, you can double up on a species
and either have that pair work together or compare
their findings and decide how to combine them.
It is beneficial if parents come in to help srudents
read, decipher, and take notes.
This unit allows creativity and a learning experience
different from the regular classroom in that students
collect facts, but also read individual accounts
of those who live very different lives from them.
McNamara has been a teacher in New Jersey’s
West Windsor-Plainsboro School District
for 14 years. She earned a Bachelor of Music
Degree from the North Carolina School of
the Arts and a Masters in Music from Queens
College. She has completed post graduate
teaching courses at Rider University and
web design courses at Rutgers University.
For the past 7 years she has taught 6th
grade Ancient History. She has served on
the district Social Studies curriculum committee
for the past 10 years. In addition to the
Prehistory Web Quest, she has also designed
one about Alexander the Great and has a
third in progress on the facets of early
civilizations. She has written 5 curriculum
related plays which her students have performed
over the past several years.