Llengua anglesa a secundària. Competència digital

A scavenger hunt (also known as treasure hunt) is a web page with a number of questions and a list of web addresses where the students must find the answers to those questions. At the end there is usually “the big question”. The answer to that is not found directly in any of the suggested web pages, so the students must read, understand, process and produce their own answer.

Scavenger hunts are very useful activities for a number of reasons: students research and learn a lot about a certain topic, they read real English, they practice different abilities in relation with the use of ICT, they improve their reading comprehension and their written and / or oral production.

• Type the following address in your browser: http://www.prof2000.pt/users/estante/treasure_hunts/halloween/index.html.

• Scavenger hunts consist of four sections:
  • Introduction, where the topic is set, together with the instructions.
  • Questions,
  • Resources, the list of web pages the students must use. In this particular case, each question must be answered by reading just one web page. To make things easier, the creator has added a hint next to each link
  • The big question, which summarises all the students have read.
• The students browse the different sites until they find the desired answer. Then, they copy and paste it in the word processor or reword it (depending on the teacher’s instructions). When all the tasks are completed, they hand in the answer sheet.
• An optional activity is to present the final question orally. It can be done with visual supports, like Power Point slides, or pictures taken from the internet.
• The Egyptian scavenger hunt, which is found at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/egypt/hunt/EgyptHunt.html, offers a slight variation: instead of answers, the students must look for words to complete a crossword puzzle.
• http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/bh_hunt_quiz.html#resources

This is a more elaborate scavenger hunt, aimed at higher students (ideal for batxillerat, for instance). Students read the web sites and mark the correct answer in the interactivity. They can also write in the space provided. In the big question they are asked to write a thesis on the most important aspects of Black-American history. When they finish, they just print the screen with the answers and the one with the thesis.

• Methodology: students may work individually or in pairs. You may ask them to present the big question in written format or orally.
• Assessment: evaluate number and quality of correct answers, but also the strategies used to search the sites, to understand the texts and to answer (e.g. if they use some online dictionaries), as well as their participation in the group. A rubric might prove useful.
• Timing: most scavenger hunts may be completed in just one session in the computer room. Make sure that the students organize their time so that they can complete all the answers in the time set (they tend to prefer surfing to writing).
• Resources: Give them a print version of the scavenger hunt to write their answers on, but also the URL where it can be found. The’ll save some time if they they follow the links instead of typing them.

Internet Hunt Activities, over 200 activities offered on a number of topics and at two different levels: elementary or middle/high school.

Scavenger hunts at Education World. A collection of scavenger hunts organized by month.

Scavenger hunts generator. An easy way to create a scavenger hunt, even if you don’t know how to make a web page.

Scavenger hunt template. If you know some html, just adapt this template to your needs.

An article on scavenger hunts by Jordi Adell, Universitat Jaume I: http://edutec.rediris.es/Revelec2/revelec16/adell.htm

Scavenger hunt template http://webquest.xtec.cat/WebCaceres/planti.htm