Scavenger Hunts

Search Engines      Scavenger Hunt Overview     Meeting State Standards     Brainstorming     Samples      Designing Scavenger Hunts     WebQuests vs. Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger Hunts are only one example of how to motivate students using the resources of the Internet.  Check out some other examples by visiting the Internet Integration Activities page.

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2. Scavenger Hunt Overview A scavenger hunt usually involves either students visiting web sites selected by the teacher or having students look for web sites using search strategies. Sometimes a  scavenger hunt is specifically designed to introduce students to search engines to become more proficient with finding information on the web. They also can be specifically set up to integrate Internet information with certain content areas. Characteristics of Scavenger Hunts: Educational and fun Often designed around a curricular theme Made up of questions - students use Internet to find answers Some hunts provide the links to help students find answers Other hunts depend on students using search engines to fin answers Can be played in teams, as a class, or individually Can be played during a certain time frame or used in contest form Can be used to review for tests Many students find these hunts motivational Can use already created hunts  Teacher can design his/her own hunt so that it specifically addresses your own curricular topic (and that will meet objectives on state standards) References  http://www.oswego.org/staff/cchamber/webdesign/scavenger.htm Go to Education World's Scavenger Hunts: Searching for Treasure on the Internet!  Explore some of the sample scavenger hunts under the "Survey Some Scavenger Hunts" section.   Animals of the World Questions with URLs  Theme related Answer key  Printable student page Filamentality has a template available for creating your own treasure hunts.

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3. Meeting State Standards  Idaho Content Standards Montana Content and Performance Standards Education in Wyoming Portal MCREL Content Standards Links to National Standards K-12   How can we use scavenger hunts to meet state standards? It is all in your design. Begin with a standard and build your hunt around it....you can tie in specific learning goals in your design process. You can use the hunt itself to create higher level thinking or as a knowledge-based activity that will lead to more synthesis and evaluation later on in the lesson. EXAMPLES  Math (Middle School) Stock Market Expedition Fun With Math?  Historical Treasure Chest A social studies and language arts activity that uses higher-level questioning techniques to encourage students to investigate authentic documents from the past. This goes beyond the realm of a scavenger hunt but may give you ideas for extension activities to incorporate into classroom lessons. (http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/treasure/index.html)

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4. Scavenger Hunts - Brainstorming Spend just a few minutes brainstorming ways in which you might use Scavenger Hunts in your own classrooms. Think about the following questions: A. How would you manage your classroom to support this type of activity (i.e. small groups, centers, research, lab, etc.). B. What might be a good way of planning/designing your own scavenger hunts. C. How can you design your hunts in integration with state standards? I gave a couple of ideas....try to come up with some more.

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5. Scavenger Hunts - Samples Explore some of the following samples of scavenger hunts. Time will not allow you to investigate all of these links...choose topics that interest you. Think about how you could incorporate this type of project in your own classroom. Critique these examples and jot down the positive and negative components to their format. Is there evidence of standards being met? Becoming more aware of varying designs should help you design scavenger hunts that are more conducive to your own teaching style.  Internet Scavenger Hunt An example of a 'general' (not a specific topic) hunt that requires students to use search skills to find answers. (http://www.hud.gov/kids/scavhunt.html) Egyptian Scavenger Hunt Uses a crossword puzzle format to answer questions on Egypt. (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/egypt/hunt/EgyptHunt.html) Yellowstone National Park Here is an example of designing a scavenger hunt around one particular website. (http://www.nps.gov/yell/kidstuff/scavhunt/) The Wisconsin's Veteran Museum An example of a hunt designed around exhibits displayed on this museum's web site. Click on Scavenger Hunts Grades 4-6 to download (only accessible if Adobe Acrobat is installed in your computer) an Adobe PDF file of the hunt. (http://museum.dva.state.wi.us/Edu_scavengerhunt.asp) California Gold Rush This hunt gives URL's for questions and a place to input answers. Completed hunt can be submitted and a URL with the correct answers will be sent. (http://www.museummania.com/treasure4.htm) Tropical Treasure Hunt Answer questions with given URLs. Also included is an opportunity for discussion and an activity that helps with the synthesis of information. (http://home.att.net/~candlers/tropical.htm) Treasure Hunts Explore this site to view scavenger hunts on some general content areas. Some of these hunts have students visit sites that are more interactive. (http://www.cyberbee.com/hunts.html) AT&T Education http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/wired.html What do you feel are some of the key components to effective scavenger hunt design?

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6. Designing Scavenger Hunts  Using some of the above resources should help you as a teacher devise scavenger hunts as a concept learning or review for most any topical area in your curriculum. Scavenger hunts can help your students become actively involved in searching out information. Let's take a look at a couple of sites that may help you plan and design scavenger hunts. Pair up, each take a site, and then share your findings. Designing Scavenger Hunts (k-6educators.about.com/library/weekly/aa061400a.htm?once=true&) Practice designing a scavenger hunt of your own.  Begin with a state standard (if appropriate) that would be conducive to this type of activity.   MCREL Content Standards Links to National Standards K-12 Brainstorm ways in which you can incorporate good questioning skills to maximize the development of the concept. Begin searching for URLs that support your questions.  Open Word and begin writing your questions and URLs. Do you also want to provide an answer key as you are developing this?

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7. Scavenger Hunts vs. WebQuests Scavenger Hunts Knowledge-based (but can be developed more fully to incorporate higher-level thinking. Can work individually, in pairs, or in teams No end product No formal format (ask a question - provide URLs or use search engines) Usually follows a theme or content area WebQuests  Higher-order thinking Almost always cooperative (in teams) End product is produced that shows synthesis of content Follows a theme or content area Follows a formal format (6 specific steps) If you're interested in learning more about WebQuests, visit our WebQuest tutorial or some of the WebQuest links we've provided for you. This Scavenger Hunt Tutorial  was adapted from the workshop created by Elizabeth Zylstra,  Department of Educational Technology, Boise State University

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