1. 50 STATES WEBQUEST A fifth grade webquest exploring the 50 United States of America

2. INTRODUCTION HELP! American Voyager Travel Agency is in danger of going out of business! The senior executive officer is taking drastic action to save the company. You, along with your classmates, have been hired in attempt to create a series of advertisement commercials to increase business. You will first be assigned to research one of the fifty states. This research will involve exploration and thorough examination of everything the state has to offer. This tutorial will guide you through every step on your mission to help save American Voyager Travel Agency. Before proceeding to the task page, make an appointment to meet with the senior executive officer for your state assignment. Best wishes as you explore your state. The future of American Voyager Travel Agency is in your hands!

3. OVERVIEW As an employee of the American Voyager Travel Agency, you will be researching information about your assigned state and producing an advertisement that will help your company stay in business. Your research will involve discovering the state's capital, flower, song, environmental features, climate, tourist attractions, and anything else that will make your state an enjoyable place to visit. You will be provided with worksheets to help guide your in-depth research of the state. All employees will also be required to have memorized each of the 50 states' capitals (7 at a time), abbreviations, and locations on a map. Your final product, an advertisement of your state, can be presented using Powerpoint, a videotape, or another teacher-approved means of presenting. Along with the presentation, each employee must produce a travel brochure that outlines the state's important features, or a map of the state that shows geographical features and important locations. A three-dimensional representation or model of one place of interest in your state will also be needed. The next few slides will guide you through your tasks. Good luck!

4. TASK 1 Your first task will involve completing thorough research about the state that you've been assigned. Use the links below to complete your state research. Your research can include the state capital, flower, bird, flag, population, song, governor, etc. State Capitals State Flags State Songs State size and ranking More state statistics State stories

5. TASK 2: BROCHURE NOTE: YOU WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN TASKS 2 AND 3 TO COMPLETE EITHER A BROCHURE OR A MAP. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPLETE BOTH. Part of your presentation should include a travel brochure that advertises your state. You may use a piece of paper folded into thirds to display its pertinent information. You may use the template provided in class to help you get started on the brochure. When creating your brochure, be sure to include a creative design and colors that will attract customers. Keep in mind that the information that you include should be attractive in attempt to convince travelers to visit your state. The brochure should provide at least twenty pieces of information about your state. Be sure to check the brochure rubric in the evaluation section to track your own progress.

6. TASK 3: MAP NOTE: YOU WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN TASKS 2 AND 3 TO COMPLETE EITHER A BROCHURE OR A MAP. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPLETE BOTH. Create a map of your state that identifies the important cities, rivers, and locations as outlined by your state research. This will serve as a prop when you present your commercial. The map can be created using posterboard or foamboard. You may also choose to create a three-dimensional representation of your state, such as a relief map. The map should identify at least 20 landmarks. See the links below to get ideas for your map. You should also refer to information you found about your state through the links in task 1. State maps for important cities, rivers, and other locations More state maps Relief maps How to make a salt dough map Different types of maps

7. TASK 4: 3-D MODEL Choose one place of interest for your state and create a 3-D model to represent the place. The place might be somewhere that you want to encourage your audience to visit. Or it may be the most popular attraction your state has to offer. It is up to you! Materials for creating your 3-D model can include clay, paper mache, styrofoam, wood, and so much more! Remember, this will be a tool that you will use during your commercial to convince the audience to visit your state.

8. TASK 5:COMMERCIAL Begin putting together your commercial. First you must decide how you want to present your state advertisement. You may use powerpoint, videotape, a live, in- person commercial, or any other teacher approved methods to enhance your presentation. Your presentation should aim to convince the audience (customers) that your state is the best state to visit. You should highlight the state's important features, such as its climate, major cities, and attractions to visit. The presentation should be about two minutes in length in order to include all of the important features the state has to offer. You should strive to present your information in an enthusiastic manner as you try to convince your audience to visit your state. Don't forget to incorporate your brochure and/or your map as you present. See the rubric in the evaluation section to check your own progress.

9. EVALUATION 1234 Brochure The brochure has not been completed neatly and has fewer than 10 bits of state information. The brochure is completed, but with little creativity and only 10 bits of information. The brochure is neatly and colorfully completed with at least 15 bits of information about the state. The brochure is neatly and colorfully completed with at least 20 bits of information about the state. Map Your map has fewer than 10 landmarks and lacks effort or completion. Your map has at least 10 landmarks, but may have problems with neatness. Your map is neatly completed with at least 15 landmarks. Your map is neatly completed with at least 20 landmarks. 3-D Model It is apparent that you did not put much time or thought into your model. Your model needs a little bit more time and effort put into its creation. You've created an attractive model that really adds to your commercial. Your model is spectacular! you should enter it into the next art show! Presentation Your presentation lacked information and was too short. It didn't feel like a commercial due to lack of enthusiasm. To improve your presentation, don't read straight from your notecards or slides, and be sure to make eye contact with your audience. Your presentation contained some pertinent state information. Be sure to include enthusiasm and persuasive techniques to attract your audience to your state. Also, further practice ahead of time will show that you know your state's information without having to rely on your notecards or slides. Your presentation is informative and convincing. It included plenty of valuable information about your state. You showed great effort toward making eye contact with your audience, which shows that you know much about your state without having to read directly from your notes. Your presentation is informative, convincing, enthusiastic, and professional. It is comparable to a commercial that might be seen on T.V. Audience members will surely want to book their flights to your state right away!

10. MEMORIZING STATES, CAPITALS, AND LOCATIONS As you continue to practice the presentation of your commercial using your brochure and state maps as props, keep in mind another important requirement as an employee of American Voyager Travel Agency. You are to have all 50 states' capitals and state map locations memorized (7 each week). Below are links to games and flashcards that will assist your memorization of the state information. There is also a link that provides a blank map that you can print out and practice filling in the location of each state. Blank map Flashcards, concentration, and matching Learning states and capitals game Name the states

11. CONCLUSION Now you are an expert on one particular state in the United States! You learned how to use the Internet to gather information and discover more about the United States. With creativity, you made a travel brochure and/or a map. You organized your research information in a presentation format and planned a commercial to convince travelers to visit your state. Now you can travel to other states by using your classmates' information. As you continue to explore the capital and location of each state, you just might discover a place that you want to visit some day. Perhaps you can use this as the beginning of planning a family vacation!