WebQuest Lesson Plan

Description: This WebQuest is designed to teach students the process of predicting a science
experiment. Students will cut open a pumpkin and the teacher will hide it somewhere and leave it
outside for three whole days. The point of this lesson is to show students the idea of predicting
things and comparing what they think will happen to the pumpkin vs. what really happened to it
while it was left outside. This is an individual assignment, but the students will have time during
the three days to talk with their classmates and compare predictions.

Grade Level: 2nd Grade

Subject: Science
Task: Oh no! We have an injured pumpkin who has ran (rolled) away from the classroom,
somewhere outside! The pumpkin has a big cut on its head and its brain may ooze out! What do
you think the pumpkin will look like in a few days, once it is found? What will it smell like?
What color will it be? Will its seeds still be inside? What do you think will happen to its texture?!
In your composition notebook, you will write down some predictions each day about what you
think is happening to the pumpkin. A prediction is just an educated guess based on what you
think. There is no right or wrong answers when it comes to a prediction. Once the pumpkin is
found! We will share and compare our predictions with the class.

Process: This will show students that things can happen outside when they are exposed to
sunlight, darkness, rain, dirt, bugs, etc. Predicting what will happen is just a fun way to relate
your own personal thoughts with the class and the pumpkin after 3 days.
Resources: This assignment will be based on their own opinions and then using comparison
skills when the pumpkin has been found after three days.
Evaluation: I will evaluate my students by how they format their predictions. Although there is
no right or wrong answer here, their guesses need to be thought out with a reasoning as to why
they think what they think. For example, I think the pumpkin will turn black because of the heat
from the sun in the sky.
Common Core Standards: SC.2.N.1.2 - Compare the observations made by different groups
using the same tools. SC.2.N.1.1 - Raise questions about the natural world, investigate them in
teams through free exploration and systematic observations, and generate appropriate
explanations based on those explorations. SC.2.N.1.5 Distinguish between empirical
observation (what you see, hear, feel, smell, or taste) and ideas or inferences (what you think).
21st Century Skills: My students will not need any required 21st century skills. They will just
need to know what it means to make an educated guess and not just a guess. They will learn how
to make an educated guess.
Conclusion: At the end of this lesson, my students will be great at predicting things. They will
learn that you can predict many things, not just science experiments. They will understand that
there is value in an educated guess and even if they are wrong on their predictions that that is
okay and they are not wrong for predicting something incorrectly.