WebQuest

An American Revolution WebQuest

For Fifth Grade (Social Studies)

swyatt@merrimack.k12.nh.us

Introduction

To fight or not to fight…that is the question!

Hear ye! Hear ye! It’s 1775 in Lexington, Massachusetts. Your family is in a dilemma and has a very big decision to make. Your father, Mr. Williams, has two sons that are on opposing sides of the American Revolution. One son, Toby, is a Patriot and the other, John, is a Loyalist. Mrs. Williams believes that this is okay. Mr. Williams wants to hold a family meeting to decide what side the family should take. Each member of the family will have a chance to present information to help make that decision.

The Task

Prepare for your family meeting.

Remember there is no right or wrong answer. Choosing a side during the American Revolution was a difficult decision. Your task is to become a family member and conduct research about that member. Remember you are living during the American Revolution so life is very different than yours is today. Through this research you will be able contribute to the family meeting and help in making a decision that you feel is the best one for you and your family.

You will be assessed on your work habits, your note taking, how you present your information effectively and how you collaborated with your peers. Your final activity will be a PowerPoint presentation that will illustrate each of your roles. (see Rubric)

The Process

Getting Ready:

You will be assigned to a team and given a team name.
Get together with your team and decide which role each person will have.

Conduct your research. As you are gathering information, make sure to take detailed notes. You will be assessed on the accuracy of the answers to your specific questions. Each question should be the written as the title of your note page and any notes you take should be written on that page. Include examples and any reflections you may have that will help you with your final project. Please refer to the rubric below.
After completing your notes you will then get together with your team to compile your research for your final project. Remember you are all vital resources for each other – your final project will need all of your members’ input. Your goal is to present a final project that reflects all of your members’ hard work.
Each member will be responsible for completing 2 - 4 PowerPoint slides. These slides should include information from your notes. See rubric below.
Present your project to an audience of your peers. You will need to practice your presentation individually and with your team. Refer to the rubric below.
Complete a self-assessment. This will be done in a paragraph or two and will follow the guidelines found in the rubric. Some questions to consider are:

Ø What one area did you feel you did the best in?

Ø What one area did you feel you did the worst in?

Ø What was the hardest part of this webquest for you to complete and why?

Ø What do you think you should get for individual work? For group work? Why?

Ø If you were to write in one sentence the most important thing you learned from this webquest what would it be?

Evaluation Rubric

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Attractiveness	Use of font, color, graphics, etc., but these often distract from the presentation content.	Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally theses detract from the presentation content.	Makes good use of font color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance presentation.	Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation.
Content	Does not meet expectations.	Answers all 4 questions, does not go beyond expectations. There are 1 – 2 factual errors.	Answers all 4 questions but does not go beyond expectations. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Answers all 4 questions in-depth with details and examples. Clearly goes beyond expectations. Subject knowledge is excellent. Does not meet expectations.
Organization	There is no clear or logical organizational structure of your sentences. Just a list of facts. Many spelling and grammatical errors.	Sentences are clear and logically organized for the most part. Some editing done, but there are a few spelling and grammatical errors.	Sentences are clear and logically organized. Editing was done. Just 1 or 2 errors found in spelling and grammar.	Sentences are written clearly and logically. Editing was clearly done. No errors found in spelling and grammar.
Presentation	Presentation not smooth and audience’s attention was lost. Shows clearly that little or no rehearsing was done.	Presentation not smooth, but audience’s attention was maintained most of the time. More rehearsing was needed.	Presentation fairly smooth and audience’s attention was maintained most of the time. Rehearsing was done but not perfected.	Presentation smooth, and audience’s attention maintained throughout. Rehearsing was done and perfected.
Working with others	Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Often is not a good team player.	Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others, but sometimes is not a good tem member.	Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Does not cause “waves” in the group.	Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Tries to keep people working well together.
Individual work habits	Rarely focuses on task. Notes are unorganized and incomplete. No evidence shown of learning from this experience.	Focuses on task and what needs to be done most of the time. Notes are somewhat organized, but are missing important information. Some evidence of learning from this experience.	Focuses on the task and what needs to be done most of the time. Notes are organized, but did not go beyond expectations. Evidence of learning from this experience.	Consistently stays on task and what needs to be done. Notes are organized, meet and go beyond expectations. Much evidence of learning from this experience.
Self – Reflection	Self-reflection paragraph completed with no demonstrated effort and does not assess the learning experience.	Self-refection paragraph needs more detail, effort and does not do a good job of assessing the learning experience.	Self-reflection paragraph shows some detail, effort but does not honestly assess the learning experience.	Self-reflection paragraph shows great attention to detail, effort and honesty in completing. Clearly shows an enthusiasm for the learning experience.

Conclusion

Now that you have gained a better understanding of the opposing viewpoints of the Revolution, you can see why it is important to understand all sides of an issue before making an important decision such as this. Keep this in mind when you see headlines in the news and are faced with decisions today!

Credits & References

In building this site, graphic images used from Google Images search engine. Fife & Drum sound clip free. Microsoft Clip Art gallery animated flag graphic.

Teacher Page

New Hampshire Social Studies curriculum standards:

Students will be able to:

Explain that, in the United States, constitutional democracy is founded on the conviction that Americans are united as a nation by the ideals and principles they share rather than the race, religion, or country of origin of the nation’s people.
Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of and appreciate for the heritage of our nation, including its ideals, principles, institutions, and collective experiences.
Students will be able to read and examine narratives, documents, and other evidence of the past to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate their understanding of history.

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students:

Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, preparing publications, and producing other creative works.

Teaching Objectives for this project:

This WebQuest is designed to enhance the study of the American Revolution unit. I also use the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James & Christopher Collier to introduce the ideas.

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page