Italy LOTE WebQuest

Una Citta in Italia WebQuest

Introduction

Your parents have agreed to let you spend Spring vacation on a school sponsored trip to Italy. They expect you to keep a journal and bring back a variety of information about the city. They have promised to arrange a family vacation in your favorite Italian city if your materials are extensive enough to persuade them.

The Task

You will keep a journal of your week's tour of Italy and gather materials for a multimedia presentation. Your journal entries should include descriptions of your activities and places you see (i.e.hotel, restaurants, sightseeing, weather, street names. etc.) and pictures. For example, on a trip to Firenze you might see the jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio or the flea market in the Piazza dei Ciompi). Make it seem as if you're really there. For example, you might ask someone for directions to the Ufizzi Gallery. Per favore, dov'è la galeria degli Uffizi? "Tape record" a conversation for use in the multimedia presentation.

Divide your group into teams. Each member will research a different aspect of Italian culture in that city for inclusion in the journal and a PowerPoint presentation. Make sure to include the following:

  1. Choose a museum and include pictures and description of the art work.
  2. Describe the restaurants and their menus.
  3. Describe ten historical buildings - how they look, their history and significance.
  4. Describe the weather during your stay.
  5. Find out what movies, songs and radio programs are popular. Include this information.
  6. Display a daily newspaper. Comment on the top stories that occurred during your stay.
  7. Create a PowerPoint presentation to display the highlights of your trip. Write the descriptions in Italian.

Resources

Foreign Languages for Travelers Links to travel and language related sites - including translating dictionaries, world hotels, currency converter, world weather and maps.

City.Net Extensive information on world cities including restaurant guide, sightseeing, shopping, and transportation.

Ufizzi Gallery Art collection of the Ufizzi Gallery online.

Center for the Advancement of Language Learning. Links to foreign language newspapers and other authentic materials.

The Process

Document and organize your findings as follows:
  1. Open a word processing document, divide the page into three columns. Title the columns: Site Address, Name of Site and Notes.
  2. Meet as a team to analyze your findings and to decide how to present your city's information in journal form and as a PowerPoint presentation.
  3. Save all your information on a floppy disk and in your home directory.

Evaluation

  1. Information is documented in a word processing document.
  2. PowerPoint presentation is clear and interesting and displays pictures showing trip highlights.
  3. All items listed in the task are included in the journal entries

Conclusion

This project has given you the opportunity to learn in depth about an Italian city and its culture. You should now feel as if you have really been there and have a desire to return to it in reality rather than virtually.

This WebQuest created by Ronnie DeSalvo
BOCES Lower Hudson Regional Information Center
Last updated: August, 1998