I taught for 33 years and I have my MST in the teaching of Social Studies. In 1988, I was awarded the Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from both the New York State Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies. My shop contains mostly social studies materials including web quests, and reader's theater scripts on famous people in history, science and literature.
I taught for 33 years and I have my MST in the teaching of Social Studies. In 1988, I was awarded the Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from both the New York State Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies. My shop contains mostly social studies materials including web quests, and reader's theater scripts on famous people in history, science and literature.
Show kids that even chewing gum has a history with this fun/informative web quest. There are 11 web questions, a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions, a teacher page with directions, extension activities and the key.Great for a Friday, day before a vacation or just when you’d like to show kids that history is all around us!
Learn about the rhino with this fun and very informative webquest. There are 9 web questions and lots of extension activities and resources. There is also a comprehension activity and key. Great for a Friday activity, before a vacation or if you are studying endangered species! Grades 4 and up. One class period unless you opt to do additional extension activities.
You might be interested in web quests on additional animals:
1. The polar bear is in trouble! Warming temperatures has cause a decrease in the sea ice-something the polar bear needs to survive. The polar bear needs our help! Learn about this amazing mammal with this fun and informative webquest Additional extension activities and resources are also provided. Polar Bears, A Webquest
2. Need a webquest activity in science? Maybe, you are looking for a language arts activity for students to skim to find answers and use informational text to develop a creative writing task. Maybe, you are looking for a cooperative lesson activity.Try my Leaping Leopard’s Webquest!
The webquest has 8 webquestions and 8 extension activities(and links to more information). Leopards, A Webquest
3. Did you know that elephants can be right or left tusked, kind of like humans are with their hands? Did you know that the elephant has the largest brain of the animal world? And if you think elephants like peanuts…they really do not! I think your students would have fun learning about the elephant with this web quest! I have included extension activities, additional trivia and the key.
Elephants, A Webquest
In less than 30 years, the numbers of giraffe have drastically decreased by almost 40 percent. That makes giraffe in more danger of extinction than the elephant. In 2016, the conservation group, The International Union for Conservation of Nature, listed the giraffe on its Red List of species which are endangered. Specifically, the giraffe has been moved from “least concern” to “vulnerable”.The main cause for their dwindling population is destruction of their habitat. Additionally the group says that illegal hunting of giraffe and civil unrest in the areas where giraffes roam are also causes for their declining numbers. Learn about the giraffe with this web quest!
The resources also includes Did You Know? fun facts, a teacher page with extension activities, additional links and the key.
Check out this additional resources about animals:
1. Learn about the rhino with this fun and very informative webquest. There are 9 web questions and lots of extension activities and resources. There is also a comprehension activity and key. Great for a Friday activity, before a vacation or if you are studying endangered species! Grades 4 and up. One class period unless you opt to do additional extension activities: Rhinosaurus! A Webquest
2. Did you know that a polar bear can swim up to 100 miles non-stop? Did you know that a polar bear doesn’t hibernate like other bears do in the winter? The polar bear is in trouble! Warming temperatures has cause a decrease in the sea ice-something the polar bear needs to survive. Learn about this amazing mammal with this fun and informative webquest. Additional extension activities and resources are also provided: Polar Bears! A Webquest
3. Need a webquest activity in science? Maybe, you are looking for a language arts activity for students to skim to find answers and use informational text to develop a creative writing task. Learn about the leopard with my Leaping Leopard’s Webquest! Grades 4 and up. The webquest has 8 webquestions and 8 extension activities(and links to more information): Leopards! A Webquest
4. Learn about the elephant:
Did you know that elephants can be right or left tusked, kind of like humans are with their hands? Did you know that the elephant has the largest brain of any LAND mammal?(The sperm whale has the largest brain of all…) And if you think elephants like peanuts…they really do not! I think your students would have fun learning about the elephant with this web quest! I have included extension activities, additional trivia and the key:Elephants! A Webquest
My website for teachers/kids: Lots of geographic activities, short reads, bell ringers, news, career surveys, factoids on different topics and more: Gail Hennessey’s Website for Teachers/Kids
Learn about Astronaut John Glenn’s historic flight to become the first American to Orbit the Earth. Years later, he would also become the oldest American to go on the Space Shuttle! This biographical web quest (internet search activity) also contains several questions about the early days of space exploration. There are several extension activities and the key.
Check out this resource on Space: The Final FrontierSpace: The Final Frontier(A Webquest) There are 12 webquestions, comprehension questions and lots of extension activities.
Did you know that a polar bear can swim up to 100 miles non-stop? Did you know that a polar bear doesn’t hibernate like other bears do in the winter? The polar bear is in trouble! Warming temperatures has cause a decrease in the sea ice-something the polar bear needs to survive. The polar bear needs our help! Learn about this amazing mammal with this fun and informative webquest Additional extension activities and resources are also provided.
Perhaps, you might be interested in other animal web quests.
Need a webquest activity in science? Maybe, you are looking for a language arts activity for students to skim to find answers and use informational text to develop a creative writing task. Maybe, you are looking for a cooperative lesson activity.Try my Leaping Leopard’s Webquest! Grades 4 and up.
The webquest has 8 webquestions and 8 extension activities(and links to more information). Leopards, A Webquest
2… Only SIX northern white rhinos are left(2014)Only about 5,000 rhinos are left in the wild.Use this informative web quest to learn about this endangered species. 9 web questions,lots of extension activities,comprehension questions/links. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Rhinos, A Webquest
Did you know that elephants can be right or left tusked, kind of like humans are with their hands? Did you know that the elephant has the largest brain of the animal world? And if you think elephants like peanuts…they really do not! I think your students would have fun learning about the elephant with this web quest! I have included extension activities, additional trivia and the key.
Elephants, A Webquest
Check out my webquest on Giraffes!
Did someone say pumpkin pie? Learn about the pumpkin with this 8 web question web quest. There are several comprehension questions and lots of extension activities. Great for a fall activity. Updated for 2023.
My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities.Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Check out ICELAND!
Also have Switzerland, India, Greece, China and Russia in this series…
Yes…that’s me and a “friend” I met while visiting Iceland!
If you ask students to list a couple of famous women in history, I would think Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart and Rosa Parks may be mentioned. As a teacher of world history, too often there is a giant VOID when it comes to famous WOMEN in ancient History. My new series, Let’s Meet… people from the Ancient World includes several women who have made contributions in history. This particular reading is on Sophie Brahe, an astronomy and horticulturist. The short reading shares(in the first person) a recounting of the person’s life(in this case Sophie). There are several Did You Know? fun facts, comprehension questions, a map skill activity for the area of the world the person lived, a teacher’s section with extension activities, the key and additional links.
Others in the series currently include: Alexander the Great, Hammurabi, Hannibal, Hatshepsut, Ramses, Aglaonike , Enheduanna, Agnodice and Aesop. More are being added.
Country in Focus: Switzerland! Did you know that the first chocolate bar was made in Switzerland? Learn more about this mountainous country with this informative webquest on Switzerland! Lots of extension activities, too.
Other resources in my Countries in Focus:
Studying China. This web quest would be a positive addition to a unit of study! Want to introduce your students to the country of China during Chinese New Year? This web quest gives students an overview to the country including map skill questions, learning about the panda bears, the Great Wall of China, The Terra Cotta Solders and lots more. Extension activities and links as well as the key are also included. The 12 page resource has 10 informational web questions.China, Country in Focus, A Webquest
Russia: This webquest of 10 questions will enable young people to learn lots of information on the country of Russia! Extension activities, resources, fun facts,key. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Russia, Country in Focus, A Webquest
Australia: Want to introduce your students to different countries of the world? My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities. There is also a mapskill activity. Try Australia. I also have a Country in Focus on Switzerland,India and Iceland. It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation, for an enrichment activity or for a substitute.
Iceland. Want to introduce your students to different countries of the world? My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities. The first in the series is Iceland. It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation or for an enrichment activity. Iceland, Country in Focus, A Webquest
India:Country in Focus,is a web quest, with additional fun facts and extension activities. Did you know that it was ancient India which gave the world the idea of the zero? The game Chutes and Ladders comes from an Indian board game. More people speak English in India than in the United States? Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. India, Country in Focus-A Webquest
Greece: Use this informative web quest as an introduction to the country of Greece. Greece, A Country in Focus-A Webquest
Brazil: Learn about the country of Brazil with this informational web quest. There is also a map skill activity and fun facts. Additionally, there is a teacher page with extension activities and additional links.
Although the map skill/webquest can be completed in one session, if you opt to do the extension activity, additional days could be used.
Learn about U.S. Landmarks with this fun/informative web quest. There are 12 web questions, several extension activities. There is also a key.
Additional resources that may be of interest:
1. Learn about the White House with 10 informative web questions, comprehension and discussion questions and several extension activities. Learn about the White House, A Webquest
2. Use this informative webquest with your students to learn about the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous landmarks in the United States.Grades 4 and up. There are 9 web questions, extension activities,comprehension questions. The answer key is also included. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Statue of Liberty, A Webquest
Try my WORLD Landmark Webquest, too:
Learn about some of the famous landmarks around the world. This web quest includes: Uluru Rock, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Mt. Everest, Dead Sea, Rock of Gibraltar, Great Pyramid, Suez Canal. Stonehenge, Sahara Desert,Abu Simbel, Easter Island and Angkor Wat. There are comprehension questions and several extension activities.World Landmarks, A Webquest.
Have students learn about Ramses the Great, pharaoh of ancient Egypt with this reading passage. Additional, there are several Did You Know? facts and comprehension questions. The teacher page gives additional links and the key. This could be used as a homework assignment, enrichment or as a bell ringer activity during a study on the area of Ancient Egypt.
This is part of my new series(LET’S MEET…) of short biographies in ancient History. I am currently adding more titles including Hammurabi and Hatshepsut.
Check out these resources:
1. Covering ancient Egypt? I taught ancient Egypt for 32 years and would love to share some my notes, activities and resources I used with my students. There is also a 9 question webquest: Egypt: Unit of Study
2. Play on King Tut(Lots of information on mummies and the most famous mummy of all!) King Tut: A Reader’s Theater Script
3. Review activity: Mystery Message solved using key vocabulary words about Egypt: Egyptian Secret Message
4. Mummies aren’t just found in ancient Egyptian culture. Mummies have been found all over the world! In fact, the oldest man-made mummies are found in the country of Chile! Mummies can be naturally created or man-made. This web quest includes the different types of mummies and has 12 web questions including information on Bog Mummies such as Tollund Man, the Inca Mummies,the Taklamakan Desert Mummies of China, Otzi, the frozen mummy, the Chinchorro Mummies of Chile, the Egyptian mummies… and more. There are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section, a teacher section with extension activities, additional links and the key. Great for a Friday activity, at Halloween time, or if you are studying ancient Egypt.
MUMMIES: A Webquest
5. Let’ Meet…Hatshepsut, A Reading Passage.With this biographical reading passage, students will learn about the first female Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. There is a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extensions and links.Hatshepsut: A Reading Passage
Students have always asked me…“Why do we have to learn this stuff about ancient Greeks or Middle Ages?” My answer-much of what we have today was because of things developed by people that lived long ago including, musical notation, counting based on 60, 7 day week,pencils, soap, toilet paper and more)
This reading activity shares with kids how the pencil they are using, the writing system they are using, the eyeglasses they are wearing are just some of the many things we have today thanks to previous cultures of the past. I’ve included several comprehension questions and two extension activities.
Great for a beginning of the year reading activity.
Introduce students to the country of Japan with this reading passage. It also includes several comprehension questions, a map activity and a Teacher page with extension activities and additional links.
Try this informative web quest on Martin Luther King! One of Martin Luther King’s quotes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Comprehension questions and additional links/extension activities,too. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills.
Need a geography activity? Try my geographic secret messages. Students find the answers to geographic questions and then use the first letter of the answer to arrive at a secret message. When the questions are answered, the "secret" term(a geography term) will be revealed!
There are 5 geographic messages to solve. If you find this of value, there is also a second set of geographic messages available for purchase. Grades 5 and up.
You may find these resources of interest:
1. Want to introduce your students to the region of the world called the Middle East? This webquest will work great. Additionally, I have included several extension activities that I think will be of value.It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation or for an enrichment activity or for a unit of study on this part of the world.
Exploring the Middle East, A Webquest
2. SECOND geographic secret message activity: Students find the answers to geographic questions and then use the first letter of the answer to arrive at a secret message. When the questions are answered, the "secret" term(a geography term) will be revealed!
There are 5 geographic messages to solve. Geography Secret Message 2
3. Geographical web quest which introduces kids to the continent of Antarctica. There are 10 web quests(with lots of information in the questions), 14 Did You Know? facts, comprehension questions(including several "thought question"), a teacher page with a number of extension activities, additional links and key. Antarctica, A Webquest
4. In 1923, English mountaineer George Mallory was asked,”Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?” HIs response, “Because it’s there.” Thousands has been trying to summit the world’s highest mountain peak since this time. Learn about Mt. Everest, Nepal and the Yeti with this webquest! May 29th,2013(60th anniversary of the first successful climb)Lots of extension activities,interesting facts and comprehension questions are included. Addresses several common core standards in social studies and language arts. Grades 5 and up. Mt. Everest, A Webquest
Need a geography activity? Try more of my geographic secret messages. Students find the answers to geographic questions and then use the first letter of the answer to arrive at a secret message. When the questions are answered, the "secret" term(a geography term) will be revealed!
There are 5 geographic messages to solve. If you find this of value, there is also a second set of geographic messages available for purchase. Grades 5 and up.
You may find these resources of interest:
1. Want to introduce your students to the region of the world called the Middle East? This webquest will work great. Additionally, I have included several extension activities that I think will be of value.It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation or for an enrichment activity or for a unit of study on this part of the world.
Exploring the Middle East, A Webquest
2. SECOND geographic secret message activity: Students find the answers to geographic questions and then use the first letter of the answer to arrive at a secret message. When the questions are answered, the "secret" term(a geography term) will be revealed!
There are 5 geographic messages to solve. Geography Secret Message 2
3. Geographical web quest which introduces kids to the continent of Antarctica. There are 10 web quests(with lots of information in the questions), 14 Did You Know? facts, comprehension questions(including several "thought question"), a teacher page with a number of extension activities, additional links and key. Antarctica, A Webquest
4. In 1923, English mountaineer George Mallory was asked,”Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?” HIs response, “Because it’s there.” Thousands has been trying to summit the world’s highest mountain peak since this time. Learn about Mt. Everest, Nepal and the Yeti with this webquest! May 29th,2013(60th anniversary of the first successful climb)Lots of extension activities,interesting facts and comprehension questions are included. Addresses several common core standards in social studies and language arts. Grades 5 and up. Mt. Everest, A Webquest
Go on the Expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the rest of the group. The informative webquestions will give students lots of information about the famous expedition.Several extension activites/resources are also included. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills.
Studying ancient Mesopotamia? Looking to share with students contributions women have made in history. Enheduanna is the FIRST known poet, some say of men and women! Enheduanna’s name is also thought to be the oldest name! Edneduanna’s poetry was done in the FIRST person, something not done prior to her poetry. She also did something different, she SIGNED her work! Some nickname her “The Shakespeare of Sumerian literature” ! The reading passage also includes a Did You Know? fun fact section, a map activity, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extension activities, vocabulary words, links and keys.