Conclusion
This WebQuest is
designed to have students collaborate as a group to learn about the different
theories of what happened at the Lost Colony of Roanoke and to work together
to come to a conclusion on what they see as the most realistic possibility.
There are several good aspects to this project. First, the students learn a
large amount of background information about the colony at Roanoke. Second,
the students get practice using the web and other resources to research a topic
of interest. The students also get practice with their presentation skills,
and they are allowed a form of creativity in the visual that they must present
to the class. One of the best aspects of this project is that students have
the experience of debating what happened in a historical event. This gives them
the knowledge and experience of what real historians do when researching and
theorizing about a historical event. Using this WebQuest students learn about
history, and practice research methods and communication/presentation skills.
Extension of Knowledge
After implementing this project, you might want to further
students' knowledge about colonization in the New World. To do so, you may
want to have them investigate the Jamestown Colony, the Plymouth Colony, or
the explorers of the period. Other extension ideas might be to have students
use the skills they learned here to investigate other topics of interest in
history. You might set up another situation as a mystery for them and ask
them to search for the outcome. This would allow them to practice the research
and compilation skills they learned here.