Introduction
You and your team members have been
elected by the student body to design a garden area for the other junior high
students. This area will provide a place for students to enjoy the beauty of nature.
Garden landscaping is an interesting hobby and can be a profitable endeavor.
Our school is in need of improving the aesthetics and atmosphere of our patio
area. It is your job to make it happen!
Task
First, you and your team members will need to decide the garden location.
Then, you and your team members will select the appropriate type of garden
and plants for this area. Once all of the factors have been considered, a
proposal will be written and presented to the School Board for approval.
Process
As a team, you will have specific
areas to research for your School Board proposal. You will assume the
following roles and discuss your views with your team members.
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Accountant
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How will the money for the project be provided?
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Will your class have a fundraiser or will your
class ask for donations by community members and/or parents?
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Compare and contrast the cost of purchasing
already grown plants and growing the plants from seeds.
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How will funds be provided to continue the
project?
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Architect
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What factors determine the best location for
the garden on campus?
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Are there any particular building and/or zoning
codes for this type of project?
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What agency has to approve/disapprove this type
of project?
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With these factors considered, how will the
location be selected?
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Conservationist
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How will this garden effect the environment?
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Compare and contrast organic gardening and
insecticide use.
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Will this project help enhance the environment of
the school as well as the environment to the school community?
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Will it disturb any other living things in the
area?
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Horticulturalist
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What type of garden would be appropriate for
your area climate?
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What types of plants would be appropriate for
your climate?
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What types of plants would meet these needs and
grow well in the area?
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Is the location appropriate for promoting the
growth of the garden?
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After these factors have been considered, discuss your
own findings with your team members. Then, compile you and your team members’
findings in a written electronic format (MS Publisher, MS PowerPoint, or MS
Word.) Your proposal will be presented to the School Board for approval.
You may utilize community members
as resources such as the City Permit Officials, County Extension Agents,
Landscape Companies, and Plant Nurseries. Additionally, here are some web
resources for the team to utilize:
¯ Better Homes & Gardens:
Gardening
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/gardening/index.jhtml
¯ Garden Web
http://www.gardenweb.com/vl/
¯ National Gardening Association
http://www.garden.org/
¯ Organic Gardening in the Backyard
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/horticulture/g548.htm
Evaluation
You and your team members will be evaluated by the following rubrics:
Team Collaboration
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Beginning
1
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Developing
2
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Accomplished
3
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Exemplary
4
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Score
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Working with Others
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Rarely listens
to, shares with, or supports other team members. Not often a good team
player.
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Often listens to,
shares with, or supports other team members. Sometimes not a good team
player.
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Usually listens
to, shares with, or supports other team members. Does not manipulate team
members.
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Almost always
listens to, shares with, or supports other team members. Tries to keep team
working together.
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Attitude
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Often critical of
other team members’ work and/or project task.
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Occasionally
critical of other team members’ work and/or project task.
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Rarely critical
of other team members’ work and/or project task.
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Never critical of
other team members’ work and/or project task.
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Time Management
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Rarely gets tasks
completed by assigned deadlines.
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Tends to procrastinate on
assigned deadlines.
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Usually has tasks
completed by assigned deadlines.
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Routinely gets
tasks completed by assigned deadlines.
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Problem-solving
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Does not find
solutions. Lets other team members do the work.
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Does not suggest
or improve on solutions, but is willing to try.
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Improves on
suggested solutions.
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Actively involved
in finding and/or making suggestions for solutions.
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Presentation
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Beginning
1
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Developing
2
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Accomplished
3
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Exemplary
4
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Score
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Organization
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Audience cannot understand
presentation because of lack of sequence.
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Audience has
difficulty following presentation because speaker jumps from point to
point.
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Audience can
follow information in a logical sequence.
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Audience can
follow information in an interesting, logical sequence.
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Delivery
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Speaker mumbles,
pronounces words incorrectly, and speaks too softly.
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Speaker
pronounces words incorrectly, and speaks too softly.
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Speaker
pronounces most words correctly and uses a clear voice.
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Speaker has precision
in pronunciation and uses a clear voice.
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Content Knowledge
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Speaker does not
have knowledge of information and cannot answer questions about the topic.
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Speaker is uncomfortable
with information and can only answer rudimentary questions.
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Speaker is at
ease with information, but fails to elaborate.
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Speaker
demonstrates full knowledge of information with explanations and
elaboration.
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Mechanics
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Presentation has
4 or more spelling and/or grammatical errors.
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Presentation has
3 spelling and/or grammatical errors.
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Presentation has
no more than spelling and/or grammatical errors.
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Presentation has
no spelling and/or grammatical errors.
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Technology-Based Visuals
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No visuals
present.
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Speaker uses
visuals that rarely support text and presentation.
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Visuals related
to text and presentation.
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Visuals used to
reinforce text and presentation.
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Conclusion
By completing this WebQuest, you and your team members have discovered a
number of avenues one garden project can entail. By working together, you
were able to pool resources from a variety of sources and create a proposal
to be considered by the School Board. You should have an increased
appreciation for the planning processes involved in such projects. Perhaps,
you may extend this activity to include our community.
Credits & References
Please visit The
WebQuest Page and the Design
Patterns to obtain the latest version of this template and to view other
examples of WebQuests.
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby
granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify
it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is
retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the
line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name)
on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new
URL.
Last updated on June 28, 2002.
Based on a template from The
WebQuest Page
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