Design Project

After speaking with Dr. Shutkin I have decided to do my Design Project in the form of a WebQuest. I envision presenting this WebQuest to a classroom of 20 seventh grade Social Studies students, who have 5 classroom computers available to them. THey will be researching direct and representative democracy through examining Athens, Rome and the United States, as per the Standards. I will be incorporating Wagner's survival skills into the lesson and plan to capitalize on this year's election. I'm very excited to design this project as it gives me a chance to brush up and focus on content, which is not something I have gotten a chance to do yet this semester.
Prior to my meeting with Dr. SHutkin I thought I had to do something "big" and "global", which I am not well-equipped to do. I feel much more comfortable with this decision, and as I said before, I am looking very much forward to it. As I write this, I realize that I am also very excited to explore what the web has to offer in the realm of Social Studies. I have done similar projects in the Language Arts arena and have not really gotten to know the Internet in terms of Social Studies. Although I have read the Language Arts chapter of the TPCK book, I have yet to read the Social Stdies section. I am hoping that once I do so I will have even more direction for this project.