By Marina Andrade & Sue Chen This web quest is designed for 2nd to 3rd grade students to expand their knowledge on a specific country while practising their computer research skills.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Introduction Have you ever wondered what life is like in other countries and cultures? In the next few weeks, you will be paired up with a pen pal from a country of your choice, but before you write your first letter, you must learn more about your pen pal’s home country. So, pack your journal and enjoy your virtual trip!

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Tasks – Part 1 You will create My Pen Pal Portfolio that includes this information: Table of Contents Name of the country and continent Pictures of the map, flag, traditional clothes, and a landmark National Anthem, government, language, population, currency, climate, typical food, and national sport Describe one of the national holidays or tradition. See Next Page

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Tasks – Part 2 You will take photos that you would like to share with your pen pal. Your photo images will describe you and help your new friend to get to know you better! They can be about your: Family School Country and community Hobbies Anything interesting about you! See Next Page

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Tasks – Part 3 You will write a letter to your pen pal. Some writing topics that are appropriate include: Your age Where you go to school Where you live (city, state, country) and what there is to do Things you enjoy doing Your family Ask questions about your pen pal’s life! To see an example and guideline, click here.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Process Choose a country from the next page that you are interested in and would like your pen pal to come from. Click on the country. The teacher will provide you with a pen pal portfolio booklet which you will complete. Unleash your creativity! You can use pictures, drawings, and descriptions to describe the information you find.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Process

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Evaluation – Part 1 Grade 3 - My Pen Pal Portfolio Category Excellent (10 pts) Good (7 pts) Fair (4 pts) Poor (1 pt) Task Completion All 15 required topics are included in the report 10 - 14 of the required topics are included in the report 5 to 9 of the required topics are included in the report Less than 5 of the required topics are included in the report Organization Report is very well organized and tidy.  Report is well organized and mostly tidy.  Report needs some organizational improvement and could be tidied up.  Report layout is unorganized and messy.  Originality Pictures and/or illustrations are used to represent all of the country's symbols Pictures and/or illustrations are used to represent most of the country's symbols Pictures and/or illustrations are used to represent a few of the country's symbols There are no pictures in the report. Mechanics No grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Almost no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Evaluation – Part 3 Grade 3 - Letter to my Pen Pal Category Excellent (10 pts.) Good (7 pts.) Fair (4 pts.) Poor (1 pt.) Sentences & Paragraphs Sentences and paragraphs are complete, well-constructed, and of varied structure. All sentences are complete and well-constructed (no fragments, no run-ons). Paragraphing is generally done well. Most sentences are complete and well-constructed. Paragraphing needs some work. Many sentence fragments or run-on sentences OR paragraphing needs lots of work. Grammar & spelling (conventions) Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling. Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling. Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling. Neatness Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride. Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care. Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care. Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly. Ideas Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to grasp the point of the letter. Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better. Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took repeated reading to figure out the point of the letter. The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out the point of the letter. Length The letter is 10 or more sentences. The letter is 8-9 sentences. The letter is 5-7 sentences. The letter is less than 5 sentences. Capitalization and Punctuation Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation. Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation. Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation. Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Conclusion Wow! Congratulations! You have learned so much about your pen pal’s home country. I am sure he/she will be very happy to see how interested you are in knowing more about his/her background. Now, make sure to share your findings with your family as I am sure they will learn a thing or two as well.

Web Quest: My Pen Pal Portfolio! Credit We would like to thank Mr. Matthew Rydelek, our instructor, for his coaching and ideas. Big thanks to our families and friends for proof readings and suggestions. To my dear friend, Maria, for being a big IT support. We would like to give credit to some of the resource sites that we repeatedly used in this project such as Google, CIA and Maps of World which made this type of project so easy to put together.

Mexico Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://www.facts-about-mexico.com/mexican-clothing.html Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-mexico Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_peso Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food  http://diet.yukozimo.com/what-do-mexicans-eat/ Task 11 National Sport http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379167/Mexico/259837/Sports-and-recreation Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/mexico.htm Task 13 Holiday http://www.mexicocity.com/v/festivals/ Fun Facts   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/mexico.html Back to Map

Brazil Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://cosmeticsea.blogspot.ca/2013/06/traditional-brazilian-clothing-trend-of.html Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-brazil/ Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_real Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brazilian_dishes Task 11 National Sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/brazil.htm Task 13 Holiday http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/brazil/index.php Fun Facts   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/brazil.html Back to Map

France Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://www.fredericback.com/cultures-du-monde/france/bretagne/les-costumes.00029.en.shtml#medias Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/France/Things_To_Do-France-TG-C-1.html Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_euro Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food  http://www.buzzle.com/articles/famous-french-food.html Task 11 National Sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_France Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/france.htm Task 13 Holiday http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/france/ Fun Facts   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/france.html Back to Map

Japan Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/cultural/experience/q.html Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Japan/Things_To_Do-Japan-TG-C-1.html Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_yen Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2035.html Task 11 National Sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/japan.htm Task 13 Holiday http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/japan/index.php Fun Facts   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/japan.html Back to Map

Australia Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_traditional_Australian_clothes_look_like Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian-tourist-attractions.html Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_dollar Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/eat/40-foods-australians-call-their-own-651613 Task 11 National Sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Australia Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/austral.htm Task 13 Holiday http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/australia/index.php Back to Map

Morocco Back to Map Task # Information Website Task 1 Map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html Task 2 Flag Task 3 Traditional Clothes (1) http://www.thelovelyplanet.net/traditional-dress-of-morocco/ Task 4 Landmarks (1) http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/morocco-mar.htm Task 5 National Anthem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems Task 6 Language http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-viewer.html Task 7 Population Task 8 Currency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan_dirham Task 9 Climate Task 10 Typical Food http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/moroccanfood101/tp/Moroccan-Comfort-Food.htm Task 11 National Sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport Task 12 Government http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/morocco.htm Task 13 Holiday http://heymorocco.com/morocco-public-holidays.aspx Fun Facts   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/morocco.html Back to Map

See Next Page Back to Task – Part 3

Back to Task – Part 3