mywebquest

My Favorite
Author Introduction The Task The Process ResourcesEvaluation Conclusion

Introduction

You are the Press Agent for a very successful author. Because your author's work is so well received, he/she receives hundreds of messages a day from fans asking all kinds of questions and requesting information about the many books that he/she has published. If the author answered all the fan mail received in one day, there would be no time left to write the next best selling novel. So the author has asked you to design a web site that his/her fans can access which will give them the answers to the many questions that they have been asking.

The Task

To satisfy his/her many readers, you design a web page which contains everything that anyone would ever want to know about the author and his/her works. You will write an introduction for visitors to the site explaining the purpose of the site. You will tell your readers' about the author's background and create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list of the most common questions asked about the author and his or her work. You may list the novels published by your author, or link to a site containing a list of the author's works. You will write at least one review of the author's novels. You include a picture of the author on the site and, a poster that you create advertising one of the author's books.

The Process

   1.Choose your favorite author. This author is someone whose books you have read and really enjoyed. Using the resources listed below, research your author to find out the details of his/her life that would interest you and other fans. Some of the information that you are looking for should include:
     - his/her early background such as where the author is from and how he/she grew up.
     - information about his/her works.
     - how his/her work has been received and any awards that the author has won.
     - any other area of the author's life that readers would be interested in.
   2.Write a welcoming introduction which will be displayed at the top of your web page. Greet the readers, thank them for coming to your site, and explain what he/she can find on your site. Try to generate interest so that your reader will explore the rest of your site and not move on immediately to another one.
   3.Create a FAQ list about your author and his/her books. Try to think of all the questions that a reader might want to ask of the author. Supply accurate answers to the questions.
   4.Write at least one review of the author's work with the aim of creating interest without giving away the ending of the story. Take a look at a sample book review at A Good Read to get an idea of how a book review should be written.
   5.Create a book poster about one of the authors books. If possible, scan the poster and include it on your site.

Resources

Evaluation

Students will be graded on the quality of their writing as well as the content of their web site. Haveyou revised your writing so that your finished product is reflective of your best effort? Is the welcome message informative and does it create, in the reader, a curiosity to further explore the site. Does your book review generate interest in the novel without giving away too many details of the plot which would destroy the story? Is the FAQ list interesting and accurate? Is your book poster visually appealing?

A Student Self Evaluation Assessment is a good way to have students become responsible for their own learning.

While some students may choose to work in groups of two or more on this webquest, keep in mind that the content of the finished product must demonstrate the efforts of two students.

Conclusion

After completing this project, you will have learned a lot more about an author and his/her work than you knew at the beginning. In addition, your web site will create interest in the author's work and encourage others to read his/her works.