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Hello Teachers! The following WebQuest was produced in response an assignment given to Graduate Students of the Masters in Education - K - 12 Teaching English as a Second Language program, by the professor of the Literacy II course, Dr. Judith Orth, at Jones International University. The aformentioned WebQuest is centralized around one of the texts assigned as required reading in one the high school courses in which I am currently conducted the field experience component of Literacy II, The Great Gatsby.
The Lesson is about primarily about dividing the students into groups of four and leading them through research of the text, The Great Gatsby, as an introductory activity to reading the novel. Student groups will be required to research an assigned aspect of the 1920’s and compare/ contrast with the current issues of our generations today.
The tasks that are to be completed by the students are as follows. The students will be dividing into groups of four (or less, at the Teacher’s discretion) and learn all that they can regarding the group’s assigned topic and the 1920’s in America, specifically New York. Each member of the group will need to work in cooperation with each other in order to compile research on their topic and produce a presentation at a minimum of five minutes in length and a maximum of fifteen minutes. In addition, each group will be required to produce a minimum of two double-spaced typed pages discussing the findings of their research and any connections (comparisons/ contrasts) that can be made with modern America. Students should be prepared to field questions from the class during an open-forum class discussion following each presentation, in tandem with this, Teacher’s should have prepared questions for each group in order to initiate some discussion in preparation for reading of the novel.
The ways studnets' learn are as different as the colors of the rainbow. Multiple intelligences can be used to navigate through observation, so teachers and parents can learn what kind of learners the children are and can then develop activities that make the most of their abilities. The Multiple Intelligences addressed in this section are Linguistic, Logical, Spatial, and Interpersonal.
Linguistic Intelligence is covered in this WebQuest through the fun and creative storytelling involved in the task. It presents itself as a task the students must complete by researching what the world was like in 1920’s America and make connections to modern America as well as imagining a feel for the world in which F. Scott Fitzgerald has set The Great Gatsby. The students are also required to produce a creative manner of presenting the findings of their groups research and ought to be encouraged to use props, costumes, and imagination. Logical Intelligence is addressed when students are asked to analyze the information collected and use deductive reasoning to make connections with life in America for their generation, as well as representing information to the rest of the class. The next intelligence addressed is Spatial, which consists of visual learners. In order to facilitate this, I added some fun pictures, and a colorful rubric to the WebQuest page. I have also recommended encouragement of the use of PowerPoint by the students. Of course, student groups will also be presenting the products of their research to the class through the use of their own visual aids, including props, costumes, skits, posters, and other visual stimulation. The last intelligence addressed in this WebQuest is Interpersonal. This is the Extrovert Learner where social gatherings, like group work, is important in keeping them engaged and excited about learning through the required work. This also provides leadership and teaches good cooperative skills. To meet the needs of the Interpersonal Intelligence the WebQuest includes an abundance of group cooperation and concludes each group’s presentation with an opportunity for class discussion.
There are several of the six levels of Cognitive Levels addressed in the WebQuest Lesson I have designed. The first of which, is the Cognitive Level of Knowledge, in the “Roarin’ Twenties” WebQuest students will be required to recall class lectures as well as applicable knowledge covered from the U.S History course textbook. The second Cognitive Level addressed is Comprehension. Students will be required to summarize information presented in the supplied references, (as well as sources found on their own) presenting the information again in the form of a written report and a audio/ visual class presentation. Students will also meet this through the class discussion in which they will be encouraged to equate observations on previous eras to the current state of our generations in America. Application, another of the Cognitive Levels, is addressed in the representation of what the students will have learned in the class discussion of comparisons and contrasts made between the 1920’s and modern America. The fourth Cognitive Level, Analysis, is covered by the WebQuest asking students to break down the 1920’s era into an analysis of various aspects of the culture and times as separate entities, evaluate each of the cultural aspects through comparison/ contrast with modern America, and research the components of the 1920’s that set up the era and establish the context of The Great Gatsby. The fifth of the Cognitive Levels, the last of those covered in the WebQuest, is Synthesis, addressed by the WebQuest requiring students to reformat the information covered in their research in the form of a presentation to be made before the class and writing a paper detailing the findings of each group’s research and any connections made between the 1920’s and America in the new millennium.
Concurrently, It is important to address information literacy in today’s classrooms because without the most basic composite skills in information literacy a student might encounter information which would remain difficult to decode or present itself as entirely impossible to approach. Without being taught the basic information literacy skills, students would not be able to conduct research through the electronic medium necessary for the completion of digital literacy directives. Digital Literacy is a new-age term coined to define the intermingling of content knowledge as it meets modern technological advancements and tools which may be employed in the classroom. Digital Literacy is also used to describe an individual’s comfort level with utilizing technology to complete literacy-based tasks/ assignments. Educators use technology as a means to assist students in content-area learning, to accommodate learning disabilities, or to generally just make lesson/ curriculum content more easily accessible to all students, equally. The use of technology in the classroom, to some extent, facilitates the student in taking ownership of their education, or being held accountable for the learning taking place in the educational setting. Of course, half the battle in the employ of technology in the classroom is in the student’s familiarity with it and their comfort level in manipulating the technology towards a specific goal or end.
To this end, Web Quests are essentially virtual Scavenger Hunts, or Projects which allow Teachers to provide students with either a short or long-term goal aimed at the acquisition, integration, and/or refining of specific knowledge. A WebQuest requires students to locate information on their own, interact with and/or manipulate the information, synthesize what they have learned or are learning, and demonstrate their understanding of the material by creating a product in a medium which others can respond or react to.
This lesson is anchored in an Eleventh Grade English (Literature) class and involves a working knowledge of U.S History in the 1920’s. It is geared for a Basic class though with little modification it could be used for an Advanced Tenth or Eleventh grade class. The students should have a basic knowledge of current events in America today and what the Roaring Twenties were about prior to beginning this WebQuest. Students will also have to know how to critically analyze topics and be able to construct informative and creative presentations and reports upon the content.
Students will be able to analyze Internet resources provided for important/ usefull information.
Students will be able to produce a audio/visual/oral presentation re-interpreting information about the 1920's.
Students will be able to relate historical and social aspects of the 1920's to our generation in Modern America.
Students will be able to actively participate in discussion of research completed regarding the 1920's in America.
Students will be able to relate historical and social aspects of the 1920's to the F. Scott Fitzgerald text, The Great Gatsby .
Printed Materials: A U.S History course Textbook would be a valuable reference, though not altogether required for this WebQuest. As referred to in the Audio and Visual Materials section, the Teacher may desire to ask the students to bring in Newspaper clippings or Internet articles about the current economic state of America in the modern era in order to link modern concepts to the cultural identity of the 1920’s.
Specific Reference Material in the Classroom or School Library: None
Supplies: Obviously, Students will benefit from having paper and pencils at their disposal to take notes on the website references provided.
Audio and Visual Materials: The Teacher may deem it of interest to watch segments of National News in class before discussing the aspects of culture and economy that define our country at this time.
Teacher Created Material: Teachers should be prepared to guide discussions regarding each of the aspects of 1920’s society/ culture, making connections to modern America as necessary.
Email Accounts for All Students: Certainly handy if the WebQuest will be completed over the course of more than one class period, though no required.
Internet Resources: As stated previously, any supplementary materials are at the Teacher’s discretion.
Specific Software Needed: A word processor program and an accessible Internet Browser; at least one copy of each per group of four students.
Specific Hardware Needed: At least one computer per group of four students (Complete with mouse, monitor, keyboard, speaker, and access to a printer). There may also, possibly be a need for a projection screen linked to a Teacher’s computer or Laptop, or a Television complete with VCR or DVD player (should students require a media player to present recorded portions of their presentations).
This WebQuest Lesson ought to be handled easily enough with one Teacher, however, if there are aides in the classroom it may certainly prove beneficial to have another pair of eyes to put towards making certain that all students are working on task and contributing equally. In the event that the History Teacher involved should like to make it an interdisciplinary lesson something might be worked out with the English/ Language Arts Teacher, that they may have time to work on and revise the writing emphasis portions of the WebQuest or work on a equal investment of in-class material for a greater cross curricular impact.
Students will be evaluated in groups, primarily based upon the criteria provided in the attached rubrics for grading presentation and research papers. Therein, students will be expected to produce well written and informative research papers and presentation material, as well as make use of creativity and imagination to produce an interesting and engaging product using research conducted by the group on each aspect of the 1920’s. Of course, students will also be evaluated on their ability to read the provided materials, integrate them with prior knowledge of the subject matter, and articulate the synthesized information thoughtfully in a written form, expressing an understanding of the content. Lastly, in the conclusion of the WebQuest, it is stated that the students are to be prepared to ask and field questions regarding the content of their presentations and participate in discussion regarding what they ought to have learned from class lectures, notes, and the content of this WebQuest about “The Roaring Twenties” and The Great Gatsby.
Overall, I like the design of my lesson/ WebQuest; I think it has a lot of potential to engage the students using a more modern and technologically rich approach to an important aspect of both American History and American Literature. The primary focus of the lesson is preparing to fully immerse students into F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and acclimate them to the era in which the text was written in preparation for reading and contributing to thoughtfull discussion about the text in later class periods. Because I designed this particular WebQuest to commence before students had begun reading the novel, I felt it was more acceptable to step away from pure literary devices and stylistic choices of the author to cover aspects of "older" texts that may still prove to add perspective upon historic events in our modern time. I feel that this lesson plan and the reading of The Great Gatsby to follow also offers the opportunity of a cross curriculum integration unit with a U.S History class.
I have some concerns about this particular lesson. Of course, it would be better worked in as a portion of a larger unit plan simply due to the amount of time that I feel ought to be allowed students in order to facilitate group collaboration and allow students to produce imaginitive and inventive presentations of their research. I realize that this particular lesson/ WebQuest does not require students to do very much writing (In fact, the only requirements are note-taking and a minimum of two typed double-spaced pages of a research report from each group). However, I believe this provides students with enough freedom to present what they have learned to the rest of the class, while at the same time, offering just enough rope to hang a group should they attempt to get by without doing the research. The WebQuest also offers students an alternative to simply spitting out another paper, instead, allowing students to command the attention of the class and teach one another.
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