Fellow Educators,
    I teach at an urban middle school in North Las Vegas where the majority of my students are English Language Learners.  They struggle with English and motivation to work hard.  This WebQuest was created with them in mind.  I prefer to pair my students up according to strengths and weaknesses rather than construct larger groups. This is a simple task, but you will find that the students are fascinated with using the microsocpe to see creatures that they have never seen before.
    The assignment can easily be adapted for stronger readers and writers or higher grade levels.  Instead of just identifying the organism and writing a descriptive paragraph about it, the students can study adaptations of movement, food intake, or behavior and interactions.  There are many advantages to studying microorganisms in science rather than larger, macroscopic creatures.  The obvious advantage is that they take up less room; in addition, they broaden students' understanding of the natural world, and increase their skills with scientific equipment. If you are interested in using more protists in your labs, I would recommend the book Explore The World Using Protozoa put out by the National Science Teachers Association Press.  
    I would propose that you allot eight to ten 50-minute class periods to this WebQuest.  You will need one day for preparation and assignment explanation, one or two days for microscope use, two days for identification using the internet, two days to create the presentation, and one or two days for presentations.  If you have the resources for students to create a multimedia presentation, please send me a link so that I can add it to my site.  I created my microscopic zoo by using a Flex-Cam connected to a digital video camera to record the images, then I imported and edited the images using Pinnacle Studio.  There are many other products to use.  
   Considering the plethera of microscopic organisms out there, correct identification may be quite difficult for some organisms.  Not all protists are as easy to identify as a Stentor or a Volvox.  By watching My Microscopic Zoo at the end, you'll see that even I (the teacher) am having difficulty identifying some organisms.  I would give the students credit if their identification of organisms is logical.  If there are any organisms in the Microscopic Zoo's incorrectly identified, I encourage those who are "in the know'" to e-mail me and inform me of the mistake.
    Thank you for visiting the site.
    I hope you enjoy.
Ms. Carter