Webquest

Teacher Page

I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato

Introduction:

This Webquest features I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato by Lauren Child.  

The primary purpose of using quality children's literature in the classroom is to instill a love of reading.  As with any book, I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato should be first read for pleasure before embarking on activities based on the book.  Students should be allowed opportunities to ask questions, make comments, and simply enjoy this story.  

The tasks provided for students in this Webquest facilitate reading comprehension skills.  Students in a group will be asked to explore new vocabulary by completing a Stoplight Vocabulary activity for task one.  Task two consists of an anticipation guide before reading the story.  During reading the students will complete task three which is a contrast chart.  After reading the story, the students will complete a Polar Opposites activity worksheet.  

This multidisciplinary Webquest includes the following content areas:  reading and practical living.  It is directed toward early elementary.  Kindergarten and possibly first grade will require extra assistance performing the tasks in this Webquest. 

Reading

RD-E-1.0.6 ~ Explain the meaning of a passage taken from texts appropriate for elementary school students.

RD-E-1.0.8 ~ Describe characters, plot, setting, and problem/solution of a passage.

RD-E-1.0.9 ~ Explain a character’s actions based on a passage. 

RD-E-1.0.10 ~ Connect literature to students’ lives and real world issues.

Practical Living

PL-E-1.1.1 ~ Individual behaviors (e.g., etiquette, fairness, politeness, sharing, listening) show responsibility and respect to others (e.g., families, peers, teams).

PL-E-1.1.2 ~ There are positive ways to express feelings during conflicts at home, school, and in the community.

PL-E-1.1.3 ~ Groups function more effectively when members follow certain behaviors (e.g., conflict-resolution strategies, problem identification, communication).

Students will work in groups of four (dependent upon computer access and physical classroom structure).  Students will decide on their own how to divide the various tasks required to complete the project, although teachers may find it better to assign tasks based on each child's needs to be successful.  Students will need time to collect data from web sites, respond to the data response formats, and to prepare presentations for their classmates.  This unit can be extended by examining other topics of interest to students using I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato as a springboard.

Young students (Kindergarten and first grade) will need extra support in doing this Webquest.  Teachers will need to prepare students for following the format of a Webquest and for working together cooperatively.  A nice modeling technique might be to take one of the options on the student page and do it together as a whole group activity.  

Many of the lessons include activity pages that need to be printed out.  I would recommend printing these out ahead of time, and making enough copies for your students. You will find a list of the pages in the student evaluation section.

Special Resources Needed:

• Computers with Internet access

• Multiple copies of I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato (preferred - one copy per group)

• On-Line Teacher Resources

Students will need to be able to read and write, however there are alternative materials built into this Webquest that allow for ability levels.  For very young students, an adult will need to be assigned to each group to facilitate reading and writing. 

A rubric will be used to allow students to self-assess and for the teacher assessment.  Teachers may also want to use the scoring guide specifically designed to evaluate student performance in group work associated with doing a Webquest.  The final product of this Webquest is group presentation sharing information found by each group on the selected topic.  Individual student scores will be based on participation in the group project and on independent writing samples.

Task 1: Vocabulary ~ Stoplight Vocabulary

Task 2: Pre-Reading ~ Anticipation Guide

Task 3: During Reading ~ Contrast Chart

Task 4: Post Reading ~ Polar Opposites

This unit is an interdisciplinary (reading and practical living) constructionist approach to learning.  Students participate in group work, experience navigating the web, learn to read critically and synthesize information, create presentations, and write to communicate.  This Webquest could easily be adjusted for older students and teachers can adapt the activities to students' individual needs. 

Many thanks to the following resources:

Child, L.  (2000).  I will never not ever eat a tomato.  Massachusetts:  Candlewick.

Yopp, R., & Yopp, H. (2001). Literature-based reading activities. 3rd ed. Needham, Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.google.com

http://www.jubileebooks.co.uk/jubilee/magazine/authors/lauren_child/lauren_child.asp

http://www.pampetty.com

http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html