Introduction

This webquest gives students studying Colonial America the opportunity to creatively express themselves, as well as gain  knowledge on how to organize information and compare Colonial times to modern life.  In addition , this webquest is designed to enhance students' multiples intelligences while using American history as a point of reference.  The webquest will also enhance computer research skills by allowing them to navigate through websites.    
This lesson was designed by a Pacific University MAT student, which she will use in conjunction with her worksample.    It was designed based on the premise that students will already have basic knowledge of early explorers and how colonies were formed. Students may or may not have an understanding of what events led up to the Revolutionary War before completing this webquest. An additonal lesson could be extended from this webquest, which discusses the actual events that happended prior, during and after the revolutionary war.  During this webquest students will research several categories of people that lived during colonial times.  They will complete an indepth amount ofresearch using concepts, maps and websites.  The students will present their findings in a creative manner by dressing up in colonial attire and by completing an edited journal message based on state writing standards about the similarities and differences that they found comparing colonial life and today's society.  

Learners

The grade level that will be addressed in this lesson will be 5th grade and can possibly be modified for 6-7th if needed.  The lesson is anchored in social studies, history, art, speech, technology  and some aspects of science, depending on their famous person.   The webquest is integrated with social studies and art expression.   

Learners will need to have a basic understanding of the events that led up to the American Revolution. Students are encouraged to incorporate any additional information they find from outside resources.  The class will work in groups to complete the webquest and are encouraged to support the creative process in all students.   

Curriculum Standards

Social Studies Benchmarks Addressed

Civics and government  

• Understand that there are different ways for governments to be organized.

Economics

• Recognize that nations interact through trade.

• Distinguish between “barter” and “money” and how they facilitate the exchange of goods.

Geography

• Identify physical and human characteristics of regions in the United States and the processes that have shaped them.

History

• Understand the impact of individuals through the period of the American Revolution, on ideas, ways of life.

• Understand the colonial experience and how it led to the American Revolution

• Identify and understand the causes, course, and impact of the American Revolution

• Use a variety of strategies to prepare for writing, such as brainstorming, making lists, mapping, outlining, grouping related ideas, using graphic organizers, and taking notes.

• Discuss ideas for writing with classmates, teachers, and other writers, and develop drafts alone and collaboratively.  

• Use the writing process—prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing successive versions. 

•  Focus on a central idea, excluding loosely related, extraneous, and repetitious information.

• Use a scoring guide to review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

• Revise drafts to improve the meaning and focus of writing by adding, deleting, combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

• Edit and proofread one’s own writing, as well as that of others, using the writing conventions, and, for example, an editing checklist or list of rules with specifi c examples of corrections of specifi c errors.

Process

Students will divide into groups of three.  Each group will be assigned or  allowed to chose a particular type of person that lived during the American Revolution.  Their task is to research the background of each individual person and focus on their perspective or opinions of the revolutionary war.  Prior to starting the research on their person we will discuss as a class, using a KWL, what the socioeconomic strata consisted of during that time period and how it impacted their culture.   

• If you are math oriented then bring in a represenation of how people documented trading during that time. some creative thinking. 

• Bring in recipes or dishes that we can make as a class to represent that women's role was to cook during colonial times. 

• Find or make a flag of what Loyalists used during that period.

The webquest is organized in such a way that it will take approximately 1 to 2 weeks to complete.  This will allow ample research time during class and at home.   They will need some time to process and create their 'representations.' Students will need time to revise and edit their newspaper article after presentations are completed.  The lesson is a multidisciplinary webquest that utilizes social studies, art, technology, and writing. Teachers will need to have an expert understanding of all aspects colonial life and how they are related to the Revolutionary War.  They will also need the ability to navigate through websites and be familiar with writing standards.

Websites:

This website has several different links regarding life during the 18th-Century in  Colonial Williamsburg

http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/life.cfm

This website has amazing amount of information.  It has a tremendous amount of background knowledge of both the Patriots and the Loyalists.  It also goes over the general timeline of events during that Revolutionary War.

Websites that provides several links to various categories of the Revolutionary War

http://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/Revolutionarywar.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution

Activities that may be helpful when creating your 'representation'

http://www.sinc.stonybrook.edu/Class/est572/joreste/

This website is full of information.   The site is categorized in famous people, groups of people, pivotal events, defining documents, and social and cultural contexts.  This site also has a timeline of the revolution.

• http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_subject.html

This webquest was constructed by students in Pennslyvania  studying the life and times of the Revolutionary War

• http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/ 

• http://www.history.org/

This website describes 18th Century clothing, as well as links to womens, trademen,  and slave clothing

• http://www.history.org/history/clothing/intro/index.cfm

This website discusses what the colonists ate

http://www.apva.org/exhibit/eats.html

http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/food/foodhdr.cfm

Music of the Revolution

• http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/popup_songs.html

• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/revolution/revolution_music.cfm   

General Websites:

 
Life in Colonial America - http://www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/00_01/CA/home.htm
Slavery in the Colonies - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/timeline/index.html
Colonial Education - http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson166.shtml
Colonial Life - http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/
 Colonial Resource - http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/youth/jcsscolonial.html
K-12 Colonial Website -  http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colonial.htm
 Plimoth Plantation - www.plimoth.org/olc/index_js2.html#

Loyalist Websites:

This website has a biography of King George III

http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon55.html

Basic definitions of who Loyalists are and what there role was

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/revolution/loyalty.html

Patriot Websites:

Provides  great background about who a Patriot was

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall96/sons.html

Children Websites:

All-inclusive website with a tremendous amount of information about children, games, and school during the Revolutionary War

http://www.nps.gov/archive/fofr/col_kids.htm

Discusses games and toys that children used during the war

http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/geddy/geddychi.cfm

Slave Trade Websites:

Colonial Williamsburg website that discusses colonial African Americans and has several links to slave articles
http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/african/aahdr.cfm

PBS website that discusses noteable people during that era
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/2index.html

Discusses the daily life of colonial slaves
http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/african/aaintro.cfm

Women Websites:

http://www2.lhric.org/spbattle/wohist.html

Talks about the role of women in that era

http://www.contemplator.com/history/revwomen.html

Women that fighted during the Revolutionary War

http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets.html

This website discusses recipes that women used 

http://hastings.ci.lexington.ma.us/classroom/colonial/cooking.html

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/suggest.cfm

Trades Websites:

Has links to the various trades of people during the Revolutionary War

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/forestoakms/site%20pages/Academics/Social%20Studies/Colonisl%20Times/index.html

Arts and Crafts Websites:

Talks about how soap was made during that era

http://www.alcasoft.com/soapfact/history.html

Links to various colonial arts and crafts

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colonial.htm#K5

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/1992/4/92.04.02.x.html

Books:

Schanzer, Rosalyn.  (2004).  George vs George:  The American  Revolution   as seen from Both Sides.  Washington D.C.:  National Geographic.  

Murphy, Jim.  (1996).  A Young Patriot:  The American Revolution asHh Experienced by One Boy.  New York City:  Clarion Books.

Egan, Tracie.  (2004).  George Washington:  Father of the Nation.  New York:     Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 

George, Judith. (2005).  The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of  Independence.  NewYork:  Philomel Books. 

Longfellow, Henry W.  (1999).  The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
     Washington D.C.:  National Geographic Society.  

Maestro, B. & G. Maestro.  (2005).  Liberty or Death:  The American Revolution:  1763-1783.  New York:  Harper Collins Publishing.

Santella, Andrew.  (1999).  Thomas Jefferson:  Voice of Liberty.  New York:  Children's Press.  

Gregory, Kristiana.  (1996).  Dear America, The Winter of Red Snow:  The Revolutionary War Diar of Abilgail Jane Stewart.  New York:  Scholastic, Inc.

School Text:

Materials needed for Webquest:

Students will need access to to several computers to accomplish their research. Students will also benefits from the worksheets provided in the webquest:  concept map, research questions to address, and venn diagram to help with journal article.  Teachers should have lots of arts and crafts supplies on hand to help students with their creative process.   There will modelling clay, various kinds of fabrics and construction paper on hand.  Teachers will benefit from extra volunteers that would like to come and help them when they are making their colonial attire.  

Evaluation

How will you know that this lesson was successful? Describe what student products or performances you'll be looking at and how they'll be evaluated. This, of course, should be tightly related to the standards and objectives you cited above.

You may want to just copy and paste the evaluation section of the student page into this space and add any clarifications needed for another teacher to make use of this lesson.

Conclusion

Make some kind of summary statement here about the worthiness of this lesson and the importance of what it will teach.

Credits & References

List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using. Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources or help.

List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.