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Scavenger Hunt for Knowledge

© Bridget Slayden

Scavenger Hunt. Those two words alone are usually enough to get a student interested in what you're about to say. Scavenger hunts are simply fun. I remember searching for the seating capacity of a local Arby's during a scavenger hunt at a friend's sixteenth birthday party. We had a great time. Not only are scavenger hunts fun, they're educational. Comprised of collecting information, the game's goals hold research as a key to its basic principle. Now with the Internet, scavenger hunts can be easily integrated into virtually any class/class activity.

Using Online Scavenger Hunts will encourage the practice of problem solving, improve reading and comprehension skills, and increase Internet research skills. Students will access and use resources and information available on the Internet to formulate answers to given questions.

So how can scavenger hunts be used in the classroom? They can be used as whole class activities such as a pre-learning stage for a literature unit such as Shakespeare, an interactive learning tool, or even as review for an upcoming test. They can also be used as a team activity encouraging cooperation and team work. And they can even be used for independent review or as challenge work for advanced students. These ideas only touch on the uses available.

For an excellent article on using scavenger hunts in the classroom refer to Education World: Scavenger Hunts: Searching for Treasure on the Internet http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/cu... Additional scavenger hunt web sites accompany the information.

In addition to the web sites you'll find under this article, the following may also be helpful.

Museum Mania World Wide Web Treasure Hunt http://museummania.com/treasure.htm Offers several interactive hunts with a historical flair.

YLA Scavenger Hunt http://www.urbantech.org/scavenge.htm From questions about Michael Jordan's senior year high school basketball scoring average to the location of the nearest Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, this site is full of interesting hunting.

Internet Scavenger Hunt http://phgsc.org/ScavengerQuestions.htm Developed by a group of girl scouts, this site asks you to hunt for answers to questions like: What are the Italian and Chinese names for Mickey Mouse? Who Wrote Angela's Ashes?

These are just a few scavenger hunt sites. Remember scavenger hunts can be developed quite easily for practically any subject. If anyone finds a particularly special scavenger hunt or has some interesting ideas please feel free to start a discussion! Happy Hunting!

Bridget Slayden English Education K-12