Implementation of “WebQuest: Every Carnival Has a Story” (SOI-HR-459)
Introduction
The learning scenario “WebQuest: Every Carnival has a Story” deals with various carnival customs and cultural diversity around Europe, which students attending the hotel and tourism programme in a vocational secondary school should be familiar with as part of their future profession.
Discussions with students revealed that they tend to know more about foreign carnival customs than carnival customs in their own country, especially in their own surroundings. It also showed that students did not participate in carnival events when they were younger, mostly due to the pandemic. For example, they did not take part in the custom of going around their neighbourhoods, from one house to another, singing or reciting poems and “earning” candies, which was a common thing to do during the carnival season in Slavonia, Croatia. Students’ lack of knowledge about this tradition indicates that some older customs are being forgotten. Therefore, this learning scenario was an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about their own cultural heritage and to present what they have learned, keeping their traditions alive.
As this particular group of students has 3 lessons of English per week, one lesson is mostly reserved for various kinds of project work (eTwinning, for example). The learning scenario was implemented at the time when carnival riding, the regional carnival event, was taking place, so students had a chance to experience it first-hand and summarize what they had learned. Also, as the original learning scenario was intended for younger students, an additional project task was added, in line with my students’ age and future profession, but keeping to the topic of carnival customs and festivals.
The students who participated in the implementation of this learning scenario are in their first grade of secondary school, in the hotel and tourism department. They are 14-15 years old. This was also their first encounter with Europeana, so it took them some time to manage it.
During the implementation process, various skills and methods were developed and used: reading comprehension activities, jigsaw reading activity with a digital quiz that I had created, video watching, glossary creation, discussions, project learning, collaborative project task and presentations. Students presented the carnival riding custom from different perspectives – gastronomy, handiwork, traditional music and dancing, and what it can offer to families who take part in it.
Stages of Implementation
The original learning scenario was adapted, but its main section about carnivals in Europe was used as an important introductory part into the topic. As students involved in this activity are older than the group with whom the LS was originally implemented, it took them less time to complete the activities. The main part of the task was assigned as project-based and inquiry-based learning to be done as homework over the carnival period in Slavonia, eastern Croatia.
The learning scenario was divided into two main lessons completed during 2 English lessons, while the rest was done during field work.
LESSON 1
Introduction
Students were asked to think about all the things they associate with carnivals (both in Croatia and abroad) and write them in the word cloud (AnswerGarden). These were their responses:
Discussion about their ideas followed, and they talked about which of the things mentioned in the word cloud they have experienced or would like to experience and why.
Students were instructed to take a look at the Europeana Gallery “Carnival Celebrations” (https://www.europeana.eu/en/galleries/9110-carnival-celebrations), as was suggested in the original learning scenario. They were asked the following:
- Are there any other interesting things that we have not mentioned during our discussion?
- Do the images show some similarities and differences in comparison with Croatian carnivals?
Reading stage and follow-up discussion
During this phase, students collected information about famous carnivals in Europe, using the part of the original LS. They worked in groups of 4. This was the task:
In your group, read a collection of texts about famous carnivals in Europe. Each member of the group will choose 2 texts about carnivals and read them. As a group, while you read, complete the quiz about these carnivals and send the answers to the teacher. (This was a jigsaw reading activity.)
As you read, make a list of additional words associated with carnivals.
Texts about carnivals: Webquest: Every carnival has a story (padlet.com)
Quiz link: Carnivals in Europe of QR code below:
QR code for quiz
Questions for discussion:
- Which of these carnivals is the most interesting one for you?
- Which Croatian carnivals do you know?
- Where do they take place?
- What makes them special?
Students searching for information on Europeana
Students searching for information on Europeana
Creating a short glossary
Students used the www.wordsmyth.net and created a glossary using the words associated with carnivals:
Part of carnival glossary created by students
Interview with the principal – an additional activity
As the school principal, Mr. Mato Čaklovac, has a degree in history and ethnology, we decided to ask him to join us in this project. Students organized an interview with him and found out a lot about the historical background of the carnival riding custom.
LESSON 2 – Project task
Introduction
What can you say about carnival traditions in your city/village (Slavonski Brod/Brod-Posavina county) in terms of people’s activities, food, and entertainment for children?
What do you know about carnival riding, an old custom (an example of cultural heritage) in Slavonian villages?
Who participates?
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What can you eat?
What can visitors do?
(The majority of students did not know much about it, but those who live in the nearby villages did, so they answered the questions.)
Students watched a video about carnival riding, created by students from our school in a previous Erasmus+ project S.T.E.P.+:
https://express.adobe.com/video/oE029YqggRobX
- What have you seen that we have mentioned, and which new things could you see?
- Can you list any examples of our rich cultural heritage, in any form?
- Do this memory game to test your knowledge about some items of our cultural heritage:
https://learningapps.org/watch?v=p67wqeh0v22
Do some independent research online about carnival riding (it can be found in Croatian language) and the information our principal provided in the interview.
Why do you think it should be included in Europeana records?
Project task and inquiry-based learning
The final task for students was a combination of the original LS and some adaptations. Students continued working in groups of 4 in this project-based learning activity. Each member of the group had a different role in investigating the carnival riding festival:
– a tourist agent (will present the location of the festival, and maybe famous sights to visit nearby)
– a historian (will explore the roots and history of the carnival festival)
– a culture reporter (will be responsible for finding out about the topic-related items)
– a photographer (will take photos/select the photos from the map shared with other students).
The final product was a collaborative presentation of different aspects of the carnival riding festival.
This was the adaptation: each group had a different task, aimed at creating a presentation for a particular group/interests of tourists:
Group 1 – concentrated on gastronomy
Group 2 – concentrated on handiwork
Group 3 – concentrated on traditional music and folklore dancing
Group 4 – concentrated on what carnival riding can offer to families for a family outing.
To do the task successfully, students had to:
– visit a carnival riding festival in a village nearby
– take their own photos, interview people, do research on site
– share the pictures for other students to use in their presentations
All their photos and videos were shared in the folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ATAkb3k7254Y9shpW5e0z9oP7iuw-IXw?usp=sharing
– collaborate in a joint presentation using Canva or any other collaborative tool in which you can create presentations and turn them into videos.
In case you use someone else’s pictures, please, read the section below*** (they have already covered this for an eTwinning project)
***Read about the rights statements and copyright issues related to the resources you will be using for your project. Give properly credit for any images, text, or other content that is not their own original work, and demonstrate the different types of Creative Commons licensing and what they mean. You can watch a video and refer to CC Search Portal where you can find Creative Commons content.
Students’ productions
Group 1 – Gastronomy
Group 2 – Handiwork
Group 3 – Traditional music and folklore dancing
Group 4 – Carnival riding for families
Self-assessment
Students watched the presentations in the class and commented on what was done well and what could have been improved.
Outcomes
Outcomes for students:
Various outcomes set in the national English as a Foreign Language Curriculum were met. The learning scenario and its adaptations primarily helped students develop the basic skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing. They were asked to read various texts and watch a video and identify the key information in them. They were able to self-check their understanding by doing a Bookwidgets quiz. They wrote the gist of the materials they had read and used it in the final presentations. They were speaking English within their group while preparing presentations. Students also covered the topic of special dates and ways in which they are marked. Collaboration was also achieved in the jigsaw activity and Canva presentation design. Digital skills were also developed, as for most students it was the first encounter with Canva. They self-assessed their own presentations and those of their colleagues and pointed out the good points, as well as those that could have been done better. They also explored and learned more about their own and foreign cultural heritage and became more appreciative of it. Regarding their future profession, they learned how to present the local customs to tourists. They developed team spirit, as they visited some carnival riding festivals in groups.
I created a short Google survey to get their feedback on the implemented activities. 61.5% of students thought the activities were great, while 38.5% found them OK, which is 100% positive feedback. Students said that now they know that carnival riding is much more popular than they at first thought, that there is so much to see and eat, and that they also learned a lot about carnival customs in other countries.
Outcomes for the teacher:
As students are in the first grade of secondary school, it was important that they learn how to work together, share the tasks, collaborate while creating a joint presentation and use English. The topic fits the EFL curriculum and their vocational curriculum (promoting tourist attractions/events; learning about and presenting cultural heritage). Also, they learned how to use Canva, although there was some resistance at first. Being used to making PowerPoint presentations, students did not see at first all the benefits of learning about this new digital tool. Later on, they grasped its benefits. One of the most important things to mention is the support for this activity from the school principal, parents and other teachers. In a discussion about why carnival riding should also be included in Europeana records, students said they found it very interesting and specific – a custom that can be found nowhere else.
Link to the learning scenario implemented: WebQuest: Every Carnival Has a Story (EN-CUR-768) – Teaching With Europeana (eun.org)
Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.
CC0 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Foundation of Hiiumaa Museum.