Snowflake Bentley:Photomicrographer

A Webquest

Paul Chandler©2013

Middle Grades Language Arts

The AssignmentO You will be visiting several websites and will

complete a quest which will consist of five pictures of snowflakes taken by Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley and in the public domain; answering 11 questions; and providing three additional websites where one could find out more information.

O All information will be put into a WORD document and printed out for a grade according to the rubric that is at the end of this presentation. Be sure your document has a proper header with your name, period, and the date. The title of the assignment

O is “Snowflake” Bentley.

Find Some FlakesO Many of Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley’s

microphotographs of snowflakes now exist in the public domain. You will need to find 5 of them to paste into a WORD document. In order to find them, you will need to use the advanced image search. Please indicate in your document the reasoning for these pictures being in the public domain.

O (Do not use any of the designs in this O Power Point).

Visit His BirthplaceO Next, you will need to visit the website

of the town where Snowflake Bentley was born—Jericho, VT. It can be found at: http://www.jerichovt.gov/ .

O Once on the main page, find the Historical tab and click on it.

O Answer the following: How many snowflakes (crystals) did Bentley photograph? What is the name of the tallest mountain in Vermont?

Visit the MuseumO From the Jericho website, find the link to the

museum via the Jericho Historical Society.O Answer the question: What color is the

microscope?O Find the link to the Snowflake Bentley

display and the virtual tour.O Answer the questions: How many

snowflakes are pictured on the wall? How many of them match? When is the museum open to the public?

Find Out About BentleyO Next, go back to the Jericho website and

find the official Snowflake Bentley website.O Click on the “biography” tab.O Answer the following questions:When did Bentley first take a photograph of a snowflake?When did he have his famous book on the subject published?How many pictures of snowflakes appeared in the book?

Buying the Microscopes

O Stocking a museum with authentic pieces is not free. Find the newsletter link and view the most recent issue. (#18). Read the article by Duncan Blanchard dated April 24, 2007.

O What was the original asking price for the microscopes used by Snowflake Bentley? How much did the Historical Society end up paying for the microscopes?

Where Else Is He?O Other than wikipedia, please identify

3 additional websites where someone can find out more about Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley.

O Copy and paste the URLs of those websites onto your WORD document.

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Points

Snowflake Pictures All 5 snowflake pictures (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. None are copied from the teacher Power Point.

3-4 of the snowflake pictures (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. None are copied from the teacher Power Point.

Less than 3 snowflake pictures (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format.

Some sources are not accurately documented.

 

Websites All 3 websites are referenced in the WORD document in their proper URL format.

2 websites are referenced in the WORD document in their proper URL format.

1 website is referenced in the WORD document in their proper URL format.

No websites are referenced in the WORD document in their proper URL format.

 

Questions 9-11 questions are answered correctly.

6-8 questions are answered correctly.

4-5 questions are answered correctly.

3 or fewer questions are answered correctly.

 

Organization Information is very organized with numbered answers. The pictures appear prior to the answers and websites.

Information is organized, but answers are not numbered and/or websites are not clearly identified..

Information is somewhat organized, but neither answers are numbered nor are websites clearly identified.

The information appears to be disorganized. 8)

 

Header Header contains all the necessary information and is a part of the document.

Header contains most of the information required and is a part of the document.

Handwritten signature. Information not complete.

No identification.  

Total Points