CivEspan WebQuest

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. It focuses on using information rather than looking for it. The model was developed at San Diego State, and their WebQuest Page has more information.

Castles in Spain

This WebQuest has not been tested. It provides enough material to get you started
If you use this activity, please send feedback to the author, Chris Clark.

Introduction

Your class has been transformed into a travel agency, and you are planning a study trip for a small group of history professors. The agency is arranging a series of one-day tours to castles in different provinces in the central part of Spain. An (imaginary) exchange program allows the professors to stay at the university for free. The university also provides them with a car, but no gas.

Task

The end result of your work will be a report that includes a PowerPoint presentation and printed material for the leader of the group of professors. The report will include information on the castles, time schedule, eating arrangements, and costs involved.

Process

The teacher will do the following ahead of time:

• Decide whether the activity will be done in Spanish
• Identify a university in Madrid to serves as home base for the daily excursions.
• Divide the class into groups of three and assign each a different province, to avoid overlap.
• Decide if you want the trip to be one big loop or return to Madrid each night.
• Create a large map of the appropriate area of Spain on a bulletin board.
• Decide whether there will be a group grade or individual grades.
• Develop a method of evaluation and a rubric that describes levels of measurable performance (see a sample).

Your teacher will play the role of coordinator for the trip. You will be working with two other people. Divide up the work so each person has primary responsibility for two or three of the following aspects of the project:

1. Select two castles to visit in your assigned province and find information about them. You may decide to have two people each research one castle. Ask yourself what the professors might find interesting about each castle. If there is a town nearby, find out what role the castle plays today in town life. Find out if the castle is still used and if there are tours, when they are given and how much they cost.
2. Map a detailed route for the trip.Identify two or three important natural features on the route (mountains, rivers, etc.). Add your castle names and town names to the class map.
3. Describe two optional tourist stops that could be made.
4. Find a restaurant at or near the destination and create a suggested menu.
5. Create a time schedule for the excursion.
6. Use a spreadsheet to create a budget. Include costs for food, gas, and admission to the castles. Show costs in euros and dollars.Try to get an idea how these compare to prices in this country.

Use PowerPoint to present the results of your research. One way to organize the information would be in the form of a time line, but the choice is up to you.

Resources

You may want to start with these useful web sites.

1. Castles in Castille
2. Mappy.com
3. Currency converter
4. Restaurant Finder

From the library, you will need the following:

1. Tourist guide book
2. Atlas with a relief map of Spain
3. Book about castles

Evaluation

Objectives - after finishing the WebQuest you will be able to:

1. Locate on a map - two provinces and four cities in the central part of Spain
2. Explain why castles were important
3. Describe two typical dishes one might find in a Spanish restaurant
4. Describe two popular tourist spots (other than castles) or natural features.

If the work is done in Spanish, there will be additional objectives, such as:

1. Use the conditional (or other) tense to give directions
2. Use vocabulary on a list supplied for use in the webques

Questions for follow-up:

1. Of all the castles on the tour, which would you like most to see? Why?
2. What places we have today that compare to castles?
3. Does Spain have more castles than any other country? If yes, why?
4. What do you suppose it was like to live in a castle?
5. About what time did people stop making castles? Why?
6. Are there any castles in this counttry? If not, why?
7. What does a castle symbolize to you?