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A WebQuest on Some of the Most Important Figures during the American Revolution Designed by Jenae Carpenter
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page Introduction
Congratulations! You've just received your first assignment as a war reporter for the Terra Linda Times. You must travel back to the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it, to interview some of the most influential people at that time. You and your partner will be assigned a person to investigate. Your task will be to find out as much as you can about this person including their biography, their contributions to our nation, and especially their role in the American Revolution. Remember, in order to be a great investigative reporter, you must really search for the most interesting information in order to learn as much as you can about your important figure! Don't just settle for what's on the surface. YOU MUST DIG DEEP!!!
The
Task
Your assignment as a reporter is to research an important historical figure from the period of the American Revolution and write an investigative article. You will work with a partner on the research, but you each must write your own article. Your article must include information on their background, their role in the Revolution, and their contributions to our country. Make sure you answer the following questions and include the information you find in your article: Where was he/she born? What was his/her family like? Did he/she receive an education? How much? What was his/her opinion about the Revolution? (Which side was he/she on?) What role did he/she play in the war? What happened to him/her after the war? What lasting contributions did he/she make to America? Why do we consider him/her an important historical figure during the Revolutionary War? YOU ARE NOT LIMITED TO ONLY THESE QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ARTICLE, YOU MAY FIND AS MANY OTHER INTERESTING FACTS AS YOU LIKE. Once you have finished your research and your article, you will be making a poster about your historical figure. There will be more information on everything you must include in your poster later. You will be presenting your final product to the class. The
Process
Step 1: Choose a partner and work together to choose a historical figure from this list. Choose someone you don’t know much about. No more than two groups can research the same person. Step 2: Once you’ve cleared your choice with the teacher, use the links underneath your figure’s name to find your information. Use the worksheet you were given to take notes. Make sure you dig deep to find as much information as possible. Take your time!! You won’t be able to find all the information in one day. The more you investigate, the better your article and presentation will be. General Information John Adams BiographyMore Info Samuel Adams Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson King George the Third Patrick Henry Phyllis Wheatley Thomas Paine Molly Pitcher (Mary Hays) George Washington Step 3: Once you've finished the worksheet and gathered all the information you can, you and your partner's next task is to create a poster to display what you found. I have posterboard if you need it. Your poster must include: 1) A border 2) A title3) At least 3 pictures of your historical figure with captions (One must be hand-drawn, the others can be found online and printed off) 4) A timeline of your historical figure's life with at least 5 important events (You can create the timeline on the computer, but it must be made by you, not printed from the Internet) 5) At least 3 interesting facts you discovered about your historical figure AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THESE FIVE PARTS ON YOUR POSTER, YOU CAN BE AS CREATIVE AS YOU LIKE. THIS IS A PARTNER TASK, SO BOTH OF YOU NEED TO SHARE THE WORK. TRY SPLITTING UP THE TASKS TO MAKE SURE YOU EACH DO EQUAL AMOUNTS OF WORK. MAKE IT COLORFUL AND HAVE FUN!! Step 4: Once the poster is complete, you may begin writing your investigative report. Each person must write their own article. The final draft of the article must be typed in a newspaper format. Use this template. We will work on this part of the project in class together. The rough draft will be hand-written. The article must contain: 1) An introduction that grabs the reader 2) A paragraph (or more) about the historical figure's biography 3) A paragraph (or more) about the historical figure's role in the American Revolution 4) A paragraph (or more) about the historical figure's lasting contributions to our nation 5) A conclusion including why you chose this particular historical figure and what you liked most about this project and what you would change about this project Once you have finished your rough draft, you and your partner will switch papers to help edit and revise each other's work. Use the editing checklist you have already received. After you receive your rough draft back, it is your job to type up your final copy. Make sure all of your words are spelled correctly and that your grammar and punctuation is correct. Step 5: The last task in this webquest is to present your final product to the class. You will be assigned a day to present with your partner. Your presentation should only last approximately 5 minutes, including time for your classmates to ask questions. In your presentation you must talk about: 1) Your figure's biography (1 minute) 2) Your figure's role in the American Revolution (1 minute) 3) Your figure's lasting contributions to our nation (1 minute) 4) What is on your poster (1 minute) Don't worry if your presentation doesn't take exactly 5 minutes, as long as you include all of the important information you will be great!! Both partners must talk during the presentation. BE CREATIVE. YOU CAN DRESS UP LIKE YOUR FIGURE OR SPEAK LIKE THEM WITH AN ACCENT. JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT!!! Step 6: Complete a peer review of your partner. The review will be handed out in class after the projects are completed. This is an important review. I will take this review seriously, so make sure you are honest about your partner's level of effort. This will affect their grade! Evaluation
The rubric below shows how you will be graded on each part of the project. Partners will recieve the same grade on the worksheet and poster, while your articles and presentation will be graded separately. It is important you both share the work equally because you will be completing a peer review that can affect your participation grade. All five sections will be averaged out to determine your final grade.
Incomplete 2 Developing 3 Meets 4 Exceeds 5-6 Score Worksheet has many
missing parts or is mostly incorrect. Very little information about the focus areas or historical figure. Conclusion
Wow!
Can you believe how much effort and work you put into this project?!!
You have all learned so much about important historical figures of the
American Revolution. I hope you enjoyed this project and learned a lot
in the process! I know I have really enjoyed seeing all your amazing
finished products. Good work! Credits
& References
Picture # 1: Faces Picture # 2: George Washington Picture # 3: Benjamin Franklin Picture # 4: John Adams Picture # 5: Congratulations
***Special thanks to Natausha Lusk at Kealakehe Elementary School for some inspiration from her webquest on Revolutionary Figures. Permissions |
