Winter Traditions

A Third Grade Web quest Project

Introduction:

At this time of year, many cultures around the world are having special events. Many of the people in the U.S.A. have roots in other countries and include some of their traditions in their Winter celebrations.

As you do this web quest you will learn about the Winter Traditions for the country you choose. What event is celebrated? What are the special foods, songs or activities? What special religious meanings or magical events are connected to the activity?

Task:

Your job is to research and learn about winter tradition for your chosen country. You are also going to learn about how to write a paragraph with supporting details.

Process:

1. Choose a country. You can choose a winter tradition that does not have a country for it, with teacher's permission.

2. Print the Note-taking Form.

3. Read and research about the holiday. Use the internet resources that are provided. Write down some notes to help you remember what you learn.

4. Read the information page on "Writing Your Paragraph."

5. Write a paragraph, using the topic sentence that is provided. You write all the supporting details and finish with the conclusion.

6. Want to improve your paragraph's WORD CHOICE? Extra credit will be given if you write a topic sentence and/or conclusion that tells the main idea of your paragraph in your own words

Evaluation:

Rubric for Winter Celebrations

	1	2	3	4
Note-taking	Few notes, hard to understand	Few notes but were understandable	Some basic notes that are easy to understand	More than enough very clear notes
Content and Mechanics of Written Paragraph	Many errors in writing. Incomplete sentences and unorganized information.	Some errors in writing. Some complete sentences. Information looks to be somewhat organized.	Mostly has complete sentences with proper capitalization, spelling and punctuation. Indented paragraph.	The entire paragraph is error free---with regards to conventions.
Neatness	Very hard to read.	Sloppy but can be read..	Mostly neat and shows best effort.	Very neatly written.
Six Traits	Little regard for word choice, organization, or fluency.	Some effort to make the paragraph interesting. Some overused words. Some organization.	Paragraph is interesting with evidence of using interesting words and ideas. Organized well.	Very well written with paraphrased, interesting topic sentence and conclusion. Varied sentences. Good organization.
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