Chapter Five: Choosing Learning Activities

Resources for Chapter Five:

Potentially Engaging Web-Based Activities for Teaching and Learning (Table 5.3)


Potentially Engaging Web-Based Activities for Teaching and Learning (Table 5.3)

  1. Write a biography of a famous living person, using the web as a resource.
  2. Compile a list of 100 lists of seven related things (seven seas, etc.), using the Web as a resource
  3. Compile a list of all the names for colors (red, burnt sienna, etc.) that students can find on the Web.
  4. Research the development of park land in your community, state, or nation. Create a chronology of major events, with specific attention to controversies that have emerged about the parks.
  5. Use the Web to find out the process for making cheese. Create a web site that shows the differences among different kinds of cheeses.
  6. Make a list of the 100 most common place names on Earth. Categorize the names according to whether they are named after geographical features, people, or indigenous names.
  7. List the 100 most important inventions of the 20th century. Rank them in terms of their importance.
  8. Describe the Sun relative to all the other stars of the Milky Way, in terms acceptable to professional astronomers.
  9. Collect as much evidence as you can that shows that global warming results from burning hydrocarbon fuels.
  10. Compare the Bible to another major religious text or social document, in terms of the moral rules it contains.
  11. Research a country that you know little about. Create a web site or presentation that describes the country to your classmates or to the students in another grade in your school, or plan the itinerary of a trip there.
  12. Find out how many languages there are in the world, and what percentage of the Earth’s population speaks each language.
  13. Compare the major causes of death in the United States, Sweden, Russia, China, India, Angola, and Nigeria.
  14. Chart the world’s governments in terms of whether they are democracies, oligarchies, totalitarian dictatorships, or other forms of government.
  15. Estimate the total mass of all the life forms on Earth. Compare this to the mass of the Earth. Estimate the total mass of all the life forms that have ever lived on Earth.
  16. Construct a timeline showing the development of major forms of entertainment and sport.
  17. Read the constitutions of at least 10 different countries. Select the best ideas from each and construct an ideal constitution for a country you would like to live in.
  18. Choose a recreational activity or hobby that you either enjoy or wish to enjoy. Create a web site containing useful information for other people who want to engage in the activity in your community.
  19. Visit the web sites of 60 major world museums. List the six you would most like to visit. Explain why.
  20. For each century period since the year 3000 B.C., select the person or persons who was most influential on the daily lives of the people in the world. Create a web site that provides a justification for your selections.
  21. Explain the relationship between the political philosophies and scientific explorations of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Marie Curie (or another group of three multidisciplinary thinkers).
  22. Look at the web sites of the government of 40 different countries. Construct a definition of propaganda and find examples of propaganda on each web site. Make a list of the countries most likely to use propaganda on their web sites. Make a list of the countries most likely to use propganda on their web sites. Is there a relationship between this likelihood and the form of government?
  23. Make a chart showing in rank order the proportion of public park land to total area in the 50 states in the US. Explain what you find.
  24. Write a paper on the changes that have occurred in your state constitution since the state was founded. What changes would you undo if it were up to you? Why?
  25. Graph the world’s population since 3000 B.C. Make an estimate of what the population will be in 100 years, 500 years, 1000 years, and 3000 years. Justify your estimates and list the assumptions you have made.
  26. Research the causes of diabetes (or another disease that has reached epidemic proportions worldwide in recent years). Write a report on how individuals, communitities, nations, and the world could work together to reduce the disease's impact.
  27. Choose a favorite folk tale. (if you don't have one, read some examples and choose one.) Research the folk tale in terms of its standard "tale type," historical roots, similarities to tales found in other cultures, and moral or ethical implications. Create a presentation or web site about your folk tale.
  28. Create a “family history” web site, complete with genealogy, transcripts of interviews with family members, pictures, and maps.
  29. Create a web site describing the trends in fashion that are influencing the way the students at your school dress.
  30. As a class project, construct a web site that teaches the world about your community.
  31. Come up with a product that can substantially improve the quality of life for a large portion of the world’s population. Then develop a web site for the company that will market the product.
  32. Create a web site in memory of the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001. Include information about victims and repercussions for daily life.
  33. Study the history of terrorism and create a list of suggestions for the United Nations that might reduce its occurrence.
  34. Make a list of the reasons that nations go to war. For each reason, list two or three examples. Conduct a web-based survey of the students in your school as to whether the reasons are legitimate. Create a web site based on the results.