Library >
History & Government
Westward Ho!
2009
Our website explores the Westward expansion of the United States. The major aspects will be Connecting the Country, Tall Tales, People, Expedition, and Law Enforcement. There is also an interactive quiz for students to test their knowledge.
Team
MasonNorton Middle School, MA, United States
JoeNorton Middle School, MA, United States
JoseNorton Middle School, MA, United States
GabbiNorton Middle School, MA, United States
BryanNorton Middle School, MA, United States
KaylaNorton Middle School, MA, United States
Age Range
15 & under
Coaches
Susan KileyNORTON MIDDLE, MA, United States
Category
History & Government
Audience
Ages 12 and up
Language
English
Site Features
Reading Guide / Book Guide
Quiz
Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)
Photo Gallery
Video / Sound
Team Collaboration
Our team collaborated on every aspect of this project. We started with brainstorming and created a diagram of everyone's input using graphic organizer software. Once completed, we had so many good ideas we had to eliminate some. The team was very enthusiastic about their topic and wore cowboy hats to team meetings. They split the tasks for research quickly and performed research for the pages in the website. If one team member completed work, they helped others on the team who needed it. After content was completed, the navigation bar was designed by one team member and propagated throughout the site. Debugging issues with the spry menu/colors was something two other team members assisted on. Another team member created the intro movie using Premiere Elements and Flash software. Two members of the team were responsible for proof reading and testing the site. Final testing/corrections were 'fed' to the team captain, who used WebDav to the Thinkquest server to rectify any problems.
Team Diversity
Our team was a diverse group, with one minority, one special needs student and three boys, two girls. It was an interesting mix of personalities with varied viewpoints. The team had to learn tolerance of each other's opinions and work habits. There was a special needs students who needed the assistance of his teammates at times. This was a valuable experience for the rest of the team as they learned how to mentor him through technical aspects, as well as organization of his content. All members learned from each other.
