A Journey to Brazil

A Day in the Life of a Brazilian Child

A WebQuest for 3^rd Grade Social Studies and Language Arts

Christy Knauff (christy_knauff@yahoo.com)

Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page

Have you ever visited Brazil? What would be the same? What would be different? What would your life be like? What types of food would you eat? What kinds of holidays and events would you participate in? Have you ever wondered how children from Brazil say “food” or “holiday” in Portuguese?

We are going to take a trip to Brazil to find out how Brazilian children live their everyday lives. You will pick a Portuguese name for yourself. You will be a Brazilian child that will describe life in Brazil and translate English into Portuguese.

Task

Your task is to create a book about the daily life of a Brazilian child. The main character of the book should be you, but you will be telling the story from a Brazilian viewpoint. The book will need to be written in English and also translated into Portuguese.

The cover of the book should contain the title, your Portuguese and English name, and a picture of something that has to do with Brazil. Your book will answer questions chosen by the teacher that relates to Brazil. You may also add other information that you might find interesting. Each page should contain a picture that you either draw or take from the computer.

Process

You should first pick a Brazilian name (boy or girl) for yourself.

Secondly, you will read the interviews with Brazilian children. Then you will answer the following questions with the information you find on the Internet web pages and in books about Brazil:

1) What types of food would you eat?

2) What is your school like?

3) What is your favorite story and what is it about?

4) What types of holidays or events do you celebrate?

5) What types of sports do you play? Or what activities do you participate in?

Use this worksheet to help you record and organize your answers to the above questions.

You will make your book using Microsoft Word to type and print each page, which will be put together with yarn. Each question should be talked about on its own page with a picture to go with the question. The page should also contain at least two sentences, in English, answering the question. Then the sentences should be translated into Portuguese using the online translator. Remember that when you answer each question, you should talk as if you are a child living in Brazil.

Resources

1) Interviews with children from Brazil.

Meet Brazilian Kids!

2) What types of food would you eat?

Food and Eating Habits

Brazilian Recipes

Brazilian Feijoada

3) What is your school like?

Schools in Brazil

St. Nicholas School in Brazil

Photos of Brazilian Schools

4) What is your favorite story and what is it about?

The Dreaming Tree

Miss Bug’s Wedding

The Creation of Night!!

How the Toad Got its Skin

Tara: A Legend from the Amazon

Or you could read other stories in these books from the library:

ü The Dancing Turtle: A Folktale from Brazil by Pleasant DeSpain

ü How Night Came to Be: A Story from Brazil by Janet Palazzo-Craig

5) What types of holidays or events do you celebrate?

Festa de Iemanjá

Festa do Divino

Christmas in Brazil

6) What types of sports do you play? Or what activities do you participate in?

7) English to Portuguese

Translator (You must change the translation to “English to Portuguese” in the first drop down box)

8) Optional Reading Material

Body Language of Brazil

Races of Brazil

Environment of Brazil

Culture of Brazil

Evaluation

Story Writing: WebQuest story

Teacher name: Ms. Knauff, Ms. Shreffler

Student Name ___________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Focus on Assigned Topic	The entire story is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic.	Most of the story is related to the assigned topic. The story wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic.	Some of the story is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic.	No attempt has been made to relate the story to the assigned topic.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.
Neatness	The final draft of the story is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It is free of erasures and crossed-out words. It looks like the author took great pride in it.	The final draft of the story is readable, neat and attractive. It may have one or two erasures, but they are not distracting. It looks like the author took some pride in it.	The final draft of the story is readable and some of the pages are attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.	The final draft is not neat or attractive. It looks like the student just wanted to get it done and didn't care what it looked like.
Translation	The final draft of the story contains sentences written in both English and also translated into Portuguese.	The final draft of the story contains sentences written in English, but sometimes lacks the Portuguese translation.	The final draft of the story contains sentences written in English, but frequently lacks the Portuguese translation.	The final draft of the story contains only sentences in English and no attempts to translate into Portuguese.

Conclusion

The book you create about your Brazilian child will be displayed on tables in the hallway for all students to read. Also, you will have an opportunity to present your book to the class at the end of the week celebrating Brazil.

Teacher Page

Before completing this project, the students should have general knowledge about using Microsoft Word, the Internet, and all basic functions of the computer, which includes printing pages, adding pictures, typing sentences, changing font size, using a mouse, etc.

This project should be completed in a computer lab so that each child would have a computer to work from. The teacher and a teacher aide should be present to answer any questions that arise.

This project will require an hour each day for a week. This will allow the students plenty of time to read the material and create their books.

Social Studies

People in Societies

Cultures

1. Compare some of the cultural practices and products of various groups of people who have lived in the local community including:

a. Artistic expression;

b. Religion;

c. Language;

d. Food.

2. Compare the cultural practices and products of the local community with those of other communities in Ohio, the United States and countries of the world.

Interaction

3. Describe settlement patterns of various cultural groups within the local community.

Language Arts

Reading Processes: Concepts of Print, Comprehension

Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies

Comprehension

Strategies

Self-Monitoring

Strategies

Independent

Reading

1. Establish a purpose for reading (e.g., to be informed, to follow directions or to be entertained).

2. Predict content, events and outcomes by using chapter titles, section headers, illustrations and story topics, and support those predictions with examples from the text.

3. Compare and contrast information between texts and across subject areas.

4. Summarize texts, sequencing information accurately and include main ideas and details as appropriate.

5. Make inferences regarding events and possible outcomes from information in text.

6. Create and use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and webs, to demonstrate comprehension.

7. Answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.

8. Monitor own comprehension by adjusting speed to fit the purpose, or by skimming, scanning, reading on or looking back.

9. Use criteria to choose independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors and genres or recommendations from others).

10. Independently read books for various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain information or to perform a task).

Writing Processes

Prewriting

Drafting, Revising and Editing

1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material.

2. Develop a clear main idea for writing.

3. Develop a purpose and audience for writing.

4. Use organizational strategies (e.g., brainstorming, lists, webs and Venn diagrams) to plan writing.

5. Organize writing by providing a simple introduction, body and a clear sense of closure.

6. Use a wide range of simple, compound and complex sentences.

7. Create paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting sentences that are marked by indentation and are linked by transitional words and phrases.

8. Use language for writing that is different from oral language, mimicking writing style of books when appropriate.

9. Use available technology to compose text.

10. Reread and assess writing for clarity, using a variety of methods (e.g., writer’s circle or author’s chair).

11. Add descriptive words and details and delete extraneous information.

12. Rearrange words, sentences and paragraphs to clarify meaning.

13. Use resources and reference materials, including dictionaries, to select more effective vocabulary.

Publishing

14. writing and edit to improve conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization) and identify and correct fragments and run-ons.

15. Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.

16. Rewrite and illustrate writing samples for display and for sharing with others.

Writing Conventions

Handwriting

Spelling

1. Write legibly in cursive, spacing letters, words and sentences appropriately.

2. Spell multi-syllabic words correctly.

3. Spell all familiar high-frequency words, words with short vowels and common endings correctly.

4. Spell contractions, compounds and homonyms (e.g., hair and hare) correctly.

5. Use correct spelling of words with common suffixes such as –ion, -ment and -ly.

6. Follow common spelling generalizations (e.g., consonant doubling, dropping e and changing y to i).

7. Use resources to check spelling (e.g., a dictionary, spell check).

Punctuation and Capitalization

Grammar and Usage

8. Use end punctuation marks correctly.

9. Use quotation marks around dialogue, commas in a series and apostrophes in contractions and possessives.

10. Use correct capitalization.

11. Use nouns, verbs and adjectives correctly.

12. Use subjects and verbs that are in agreement.

13. Use irregular plural nouns.

14. Use nouns and pronouns that are in agreement.

15. Use past, present and future verb tenses.

16. Use possessive nouns and pronouns.

17. Use conjunctions.

Research

1. Choose a topic for research from a list of questions, assigned topic or personal area of interest.

2. Utilize appropriate searching techniques to gather information from a variety of locations (e.g., classroom, school library, public library or community resources).

3. Acquire information from multiple sources (e.g., books, magazines, videotapes, CD-ROMs, Web sites) and collect data (e.g., interviews, experiments, observations or surveys) about the topic.

4. Identify important information found in the sources and summarize the important findings.

5. Sort relevant information into categories about the topic.

6. Understand the importance of citing sources.

7. Use a variety of communication techniques, including oral, visual, written or multimedia reports, to present information gathered.

Communication: Oral and Visual

Listening and Viewing

1. Ask questions for clarification and explanation, and respond to others’ ideas.

2. Identify the main idea, supporting details and purpose of oral presentations and visual media.

3. Identify the difference between facts and opinions in presentations and visual media.

Speaking Skills and Strategies

Speaking

Applications

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language.

5. Select language appropriate to purpose and audience.

6. Use clear diction and tone, and adjust volume and tempo to stress important ideas.

7. Adjust speaking content according to the needs of the audience.

8. Deliver informational presentations that:

a. present events or ideas in logical sequence and maintain a clear focus;

b. demonstrate an understanding of the topic;

c. include relevant facts and details from multiple sources to develop topic;

d. organize information, including a clear introduction, body and conclusion;

e. use appropriate visual materials (e.g., diagrams, charts, illustrations) and available technology; and

f. identify sources.

9. Deliver formal and informal descriptive presentations recalling an event or personal experience that convey relevant information and descriptive details.

Credits

Brazilian names

http://www.kabalarians.com/male/brazil-m.htm

http://www.kabalarians.com/female/brazil-f.htm

Interviews

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/goplaces/0,12405,104343,00.html

Food

http://www.maria-brazil.org/brazilian_eating_habits.htm

http://www.maria-brazil.org/fdind.htm

http://www.brazilbrazil.com/feijoada.html

Schools

http://www.brazilbrazil.com/schools.html