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 |
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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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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 |
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Symbols used in Halloween |
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Traditional songs and food in Halloween |
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Spanish All Saints' Day versus Halloween |
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Important legends: the jack-o'-lantern |
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Trick-or-treating and other rhymes |
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Ghost stories: urban
legends? |
| Select four out of these seven aspects. |
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Decide who is going to be the expert for each section in every group of
four. |
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Talk about the main aspects of the
layout, specially the kind of
register in captions you want
it to have. |
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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.
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Gather the information and pictures that can be useful for you.
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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. |
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Use
your own words to write your
caption about
your selected aspect. |
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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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HISTORY
OF HALLOWEEN |
http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm |
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ORIGINS
OF HALLOWEEN |
http.//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/index.jsp?page=origins |
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TRICK-OR-TREATING |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Trick-or-treating |
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hTHE
JACK-O'-LANTERN LEGEND |
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/jackhistory.html |
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SYMBOLS
OF HALLOWEEN |
http://www.123christians.com/christians/halloween/symbols/index.html |
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RECIPES
IN HALLOWEEN |
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/halloweenrecipes.html |
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SONGS
IN HALLOWEEN |
http://www.jackolanterns.net/songs.htm |
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HALLOWEEN
GHOST STORIES |
http://www.halloweenghoststories.com/ |
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HALLOWEEN
IN SPAIN |
http://www.jackolanterns.net/spanishhalloween.htm |
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Your project will be evaluated in terms of:
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Participation of ALL group members in ALL
tasks |
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Grammar, spelling and expression of captions |
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Visual presentation |
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Use of web-based resources |
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Understanding of general concepts connected with
Halloween |
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Use of appropriate NEW vocabulary |
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Personal contribution and creativity |
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Completion of the different tasks by following the
order indicated |
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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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After completing your task successfully you should have learnt:
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To
use the Internet as a useful tool to search information on Halloween |
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To organise group work and share information to reach an agreement |
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To consider how important visual presentation is |
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Coincident aspects between Halloween and Spanish All Saints' Day from a
critical point of view |
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New vocabulary in connection with mystery and festivals |
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BASIC DIDACTIC GUIDE |
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It can be carried out in class in
1 or 2 sessions (50 minutes each) |
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Students will need to prepare
material beforehand: scissors, glue, card, colours... |
I WITCH YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN
October, 2005
