Curriculum Web

My Curriculum Web is about early colonization within the United States. This web was designed specifically for fifth grade students in Michigan, but it may be used with younger or older students in any location. There are five main pages, the index, the Curriculum Plan, the Activity Pages, Rubric Page, and Feedback Form. The main pages may link to subpages within the Curriculum Web. This Curriculum Web was designed to support various learning styles and communication methods. The web offers opportunities for students to have collaborative and self-directed learning experiences.


The Curriculum Plan outlines the basic structure of the Colonial Curriculum Web. The goals, learners, and subject matter are described. The learning objectives are listed as prescribed by the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE). The prerequisites, aims, and rationales are also described. This would be a good page for a teacher or student to peruse before choosing or using my Curriculum Web.

The first Activity Page is the Treasure Hunt. The Treasure Hunt is an activity which allows students to investigate different colonies, regions, and people from the Colonial Era. Students download a Treasure Hunt Map, and use this to guide their learning. In cooperative learning groups, the students use the Internet resources provided to solve the puzzles. After they have completed the group hunt, students will individually take the online assessment. Requirements are outlined in the Treasure Hunt Rubric.

The Topics Hotlist page gives students an opportunity to investigate a mystery in history. In cooperative learning groups, students will investigate the events leading up to the disappearance of Roanoke, The Lost Colony. After the exploration, groups will take an online assessment which requires ordering a timeline. After this, students will break away from their groups to individually review Internet resources which investigate and provide possible theories for the disappearance of Roanoke. Students will reflect on the different theories, select or create a theory, write a historical article about this theory, and post the article to their class blog. Students are to read one another’s blogs, compare and contrast the entries to their own, and comment on one similar and one dissimilar blog. Students may view the activity requirements in the Topics Hotlist Rubric.


The final activity page is the Multimedia Scrapbook. This activity allows students to explore some colonial traditions and create an original presentation based on their investigations. Again, students will have the opportunity to work in collaborative learning groups. The groups will use the Internet sources provided to research and plan an authentic Colonial meal. Groups will present their meals to the class in whichever multimedia format which they choose. The Multimedia Scrapbook Rubric outlines the expectations for this assignment. After students view the group presentations, they will post an entry on their class blog noting one of the presented dishes they think they would like and one they would dislike, giving a reason for each.


The last page from my Curriculum Web I would like to discuss is the Feedback Page. This page presented an especial challenge, since I built several feedback pages within Dreamweaver but could not program them to submit to my e-mail address. With some help, I was pointed in the direction of several websites. I chose to use http://www.response-o-matic.com/ to build my feedback form. I created the feedback questions to which I particularly want answers as well as a general comment/suggestion section. Other than the name and e-mail section, none of the questions are required. After completing my form, I simple cut and pasted the HTML to my Dreamweaver page. It was very simple, and the submitted form quickly arrives in my e-mail inbox.

Thank you for viewing my presentation. I invite you to use my feedback form , or this blog, to provide any suggestions, questions, or comments you might have. I will be the first to admit that my first go with Dreamweaver presented more challenges than I could have possibly imagined.