WebQuest

The Patriotic Press: A Revolutionary Newspaper
Teacher Page

A WebQuest for 5th Grade Social Studies

Suzy Chapman, Pacific University
schap18@yahoo.com

Paul Revere

Introduction

This lesson was developed as part of an assignment for my Technology class at Pacific University. I plan to use this in my MAT Work Sample. This lesson will be taught in Spring of 2007.

This WebQuest is designed to be taught in conjunction with an already established unit on the American Revolution. This WebQuest provides further opportunities for students to research this period in history while creating a classroom newspaper at the same time.

Learners

This lesson is anchored in 5th grade social studies and involves language arts as well.

Prior to beginning this WebQuest, the students should be actively involved in a unit on the American Revolution. The teacher will choose which events and persons the students will research; however, it is important that the students have some background as to the cause of the American Revolution before beginning this WebQuest. This lesson is meant as an extension to an already developed unit. It is not meant to be the only lesson students will receive on the chosen topics.

Curriculum Standards

Social Studies Standards:

Interpret data and chronological relationships presented in timeliness and narratives
Understand the impact of individuals through the period of the American Revolution, on ideas, ways of life, or the course of events in U.S. history
Examine an event, issue, or problem through inquiry and research
Identify and study two or more points of view of an event, issue, or problem

Writing Standards:

Pre-write, draft, revise, edit, and publish across the subject areas
Organize information in clear sequence, making connections and transitions among ideas, sentences, and paragraphs; and use precise words and fluent sentence structures that support meaning
Write narrative, expository, and persuasive texts, using a variety of written forms-...-to express ideas appropriate to audience and purpose across subject areas
Demonstrate knowledge of spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and penmanship across the subject areas

Technology Standards:

Demonstrate proficiency in the use of technological tools and devices

This lesson will also include research organization and critical thinking. Students will develop their note-taking and research skills. They will be asked to take their research and organize it to form their own news story which answers the questions who, what where, when, why, and how. They will be asked to think critically during the research process, picking out elements that are relevant to their topic. Finally, communication and writing skills will be developed as they apply their new knowledge to create a news story for The Patriotic Press.

Process

To sucessfully complete this WebQuest:

Accept the job assigned to you by your teacher as a staff member of The Patriotic Press.
Conduct a staff meeting with your editor (Miss Chapman) to brainstorm ideas for your assignment.
Set a deadline with your editor (Miss Chapman) for when when the assignment will be due.
Research your assignment using the suggested websites as resources.
As you reseach, take notes on the Graphic Organizer to aid you in writing your rough draft of your news story.
Type the final draft of your story to be turned in.
The final news stories will be compiled into a completed print copy of The Patriotic Press.

Here are some websites to help you find information on your event.

American Revolution: Timeline http://www.kidport.com/REFLIB/UsaHistory/AmericanRevolution/AmerRevolution.htm#Timeline
The American Revolutionary War: A timeline of major events http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/revolutionarywartimeline.htm
Timeline of the American Revolution http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/tline.asp
Kid Info: The American Revolution http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/American_Revolution.html
Spy Letters of the American Revolution http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/
The American Revolution http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events.html
Timeline of the American Revolution http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events.html
Wars and World History: The Multnomah County Library http://www.multcolib.org/homework/warwldhc.html

Here are some websites to help you find information on important people.

History: King George III http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_iii_king.shtml
George Washington: Biography http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html
Imporant People of the American Revolution http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html
Figures of the American Revolution http://www.picadome.fayette.k12.ky.us/lab/currl/amer_rev/figures.htm
Experience the Revolution http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events.html
From Revolution to Reconstruction http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/index.htm
Biographies http://www.historycentral.com/bio/RevoltBIOS/INDEX.html

Teacher Notes:

This project should take about two weeks to complete. The first week should be spent on researching, while the second week should be spent or writing their stories. Begin with an introductory lesson that should last about 45 minutes. This is when you will hand out student assignments. During this time explain the overall project. Then show students how to access the WebQuest and go over the parts of the WebQuest and the Graphic Organizer.

Over the next four days allow students about 45 minutes to work on their research. Each student should take notes on their graphic organizer. One way of using this time is to have students focus on one part of the organizer each day. Check their organizers often to see how students are progressing through the WebQuest.

After students have finished researching, come together as a class and talk about the structure of a news story. Review some articles from a newspaper in class. Have students thinks about how their topic could be turned into a news story. You may want to model writing a news story in class. You could either use one of the student's assignment as an example, or choose a topic that was not handed out. Only one day should be spent on this in class, but students should have the rest of the week to finish it themselves. Remind students that they need to first write a rough draft before completing a final draft.

After students have turned in their final drafts, take the papers to a print shop to be published. If a print shop is not available to you, programs such as PageMaker are available to layout the paper yourself. You could either make one class copy, or enough copies for each student to take home.

Resources Needed

Computer Lab (each student needs access to a computer with Interent)
Access to websites
Graphic Organizer and pencil to take notes during research
One teacher is sufficient to complete this lesson. Volunteers or aids are helpful when working on this assignment as they can help students that may need more individual attention.

Evaluation

Each student will be evaluated individually. The evaluation will be based on your overall effort for the research of your event or person, completed and accurate notes taken from the research, your final draft completed by deadline, and your participation in class discussions. The following rubric will help guide you through the assignment.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Completion of Assignment	Student does not complete the assignment. Student does not meet deadline.	Student does not complete graphic organizer. Student's news story shows little or no effort. The story is incomplete. Student does not meet deadline.	Student completes graphic organizer and news story. Student's work shows effort. Student meets deadline.	Student completes grahic organizer and their news story shows outstanding effort. Student meets deadline.
Effort	Student made no contribution to The Patriotic Press.	Student made little contribution to The Patriotic Press.	Student made a good amount of contribution to The Patriotic Press.	Student went above and beyond contribution requirements to The Patriotic Press.
Completion of Research	Student does not gather information relevant to their topic.	Student gathers very little relevant information.	The majority of information the student gathers is relevant to their topic.	All of the information the student gathers is relevant to their topic.
Accuracy of News Story	Historical facts are not correct.	There are very few correct historical facts.	Most of the information is historically accurate.	All of the information is historically accurate.
Ability to Stay on Task During Assignment	Student was off task and had to be constantly reminded to stay on task.	Student was rarely on task and had to be reminded often to stay on task.	Student was on task most of the time, and only rarely had to be reminded to stay on task.	Student was always on task and did not have to be reminded to stay on task.

Conclusion

The purpose of this webquest was to provide students an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the American Revolution. Students are asked to research important people and events that helped shape the American Revolution. Using the Interent, students participate in a project that requires students to research, take notes and organize their information into a news story that explains the who, what, where, when, why, and how of their topic. The stories will be gathered together into a period newspaper, The Patriotic Press.

Credits & References

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