Quilting – Piecing Together a
Nation
A WebQuest for 10th Grade (Resource)
Designed by
Patty Gilbert
gilberpb@pickens.k12.sc.us
Introduction | Learners’ | Process | Standards
Evaluation
| Conclusion
| Credits
| Student Page
This WebQuest was developed as part of the
Adventures in the American Mind,
a project of the American Memory Collection
of the Library of Congress.
This WebQuest was designed to introduce the students to a period in history when our nation was young and western expansion was taking place. It was designed to be a lesson in reading, writing, speaking, and research.
This lesson
is anchored in language arts and includes reading, writing, speaking and
research and social studies standards. It is designed to help tenth grade
resource students become familiar with various aspects of US History, before
they are required to take the course during the eleventh grade. This WebQuest
is a part of a larger unit and follows the class reading a chapter book from
the American Memory Collection, Between the Iron and the Pine, which
introduced the time period to the students.
Language Arts Standards Addressed
·
The student will read and use strategies to understand
information from varied sources.
Summarize and paraphrase what is read
Organize and synthesize information
for use in written and oral presentations
Compare and contrast information from
different selections
·
The student will expand a rich vocabulary through reading
experiences with varied meaningful texts.
·
The student will assimilate and synthesize information from
various sources and convey it clearly to others.
Speaking:
·
The student will plan and deliver
oral presentations.
Writing:
·
The student will develop narrative, expository, persuasive,
and technical writings.
Elaborate the central idea in an
organized manner.
Choose vocabulary and information that
will cause a reader to perceive images and tone.
Edit final copies to ensure correct
use of elements, such as homonyms, pronouns-antecedent agreement, subject-verb agreement, and verb tense consistency.
Edit final copies to ensure correct
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and format.
Use available technology.
·
The student will assimilate and synthesize information from
various sources and convey it clearly to others.
Research:
·
The student will apply knowledge of resources and conduct
research in preparing written and oral presentations.
Use print and electronic sources to
locate books and articles
·
The student will assimilate and synthesize information from
various sources and convey it clearly to others.
Social Studies:
·
Recognize the relationships among the various parts of a
nation's cultural life.
·
Learn about the values and beliefs of a people.
Besides the content information this WebQuest is designed to teach higher thinking skills. Students were required to make inferences through their reading. Critical thinking skills were needed as they chose information to put into their newspapers. Creative energies were needed to write the articles and put the product into its final form. Creative problem-solving skills were used to select only the articles that would fit into the newspaper. Teamwork, compromise and cooperation were needed to work together in groups of diverse students.
The Process
This WebQuest
is assigned as a two-week project. During this period the students will work on
the project for several classes each week and independently outside of class.
After the two-week period, oral presentations will be made during the next
class.
To accomplish this assignment, the
students will first be divided into groups of four. The group will review the
Evaluation section, so that everyone in the group understands what is expected
of this WebQuest. Each will choose a role: (1) the editor, (2) the news reporter,
(3) the economic/ business reporter, and (4) the community reporter.
Students
will be divided into groups according to their learning abilities. Each group
will have range of abilities, and each group will have a strong writer.
The students will divide the articles
among themselves so that each one is not researching the same articles. They
will read the articles, poems, sketches and plays listed below, along with
others also found in the American Memory
Collection of the Library of Congress for interesting nuggets of
information.
The students should read the information
to find relevant pieces of information they wish to pursue for the articles.
Then they come together as a group and discuss the information and the types of
articles they wish to write. The group should decide which articles are to be
included. If students know where to find additional information for another
reporter, they should be sure to share that with him/her.
In a newspaper there are many different
types of information; there are articles, pictures, graphics, maps, graphs and
tables. Students will use a variety of these to increase the appeal of the
newspaper to the readers.
If there are any disagreements about what
will go into the newspaper, they are to remember that it is up to the editor to
make the final decision. It will also be the editor’s job to present the
newspaper to the class.
Once the
students are familiar with the concept of the WebQuest, this lesson would be
suitable even for the novice teacher. The students are able to work
independently if they are well-motivated. The teacher should be aware of the
progress of students that procrastinate.
Variations
The basic idea
of having the students write an extra edition could be used with any reading
matter. Having students read material
and synthesize the information into interesting articles could be carried over
to different subject matter and time periods.
Resources Needed
To implement
this lesson, students need access to the internet and computers with Microsoft
Word or another word processing program and Microsoft Publisher or similar
software. Students could be allowed to use other resources available in their
library, although there is ample information available in the American Memory
Collections.
The following is a list of the internet
links that I used for the students to research.
A sketch,
a short play about life:
http://memory.loc.gov/rbc/varsep/s30539/s3053901.gif
A
picture, Harmony in the Household:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?ngp:65:./temp/~ammem_AZyo::@@@mdb=manz,eaa
A
picture, bedroom with quilt:
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/thc/5a49000/5a49500/5a49522r.jpg
A
picture, the quilting room:
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/det/4a20000/4a21000/4a21200/4a21210r.jpg
A short
story, Abraham Lincoln and a Gift of
Quilt Squares:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/370/3709500/malpage.db
A poem,
Aunt Jemima’s Quilt:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?ncpsbib:167:./temp/~ammem_AZyo::@@@mdb=manz
A
picture, state fair quilt booth:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hawp:188:./temp/~ammem_AZyo::@@@mdb=manz,
A poem, Long Island Farmer on Seeing a Beautiful Quilt, Made by Miss Ella
Foster of
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpe:@field(DOCID+@lit(rbpe1290240b
A short reading:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?wpa:29:./temp/~ammem_sjRq::@@@mdb=manz,eaa
Evaluation
This is a two-week project, so it will be
worth 300 points. Students will receive 125 points for the completed product,
75 points for the writing of your articles and 60 points from the group’s evaluation
of each student’s participation, and 40 points from the oral presentation.
|
Product |
Newspaper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
|
Final Product Appearance 25 Points |
Little thought
given to overall appearance. Few graphics, and pictures, but no theme
apparent. |
Typical newspaper
appearance. Some graphics, or pictures some theme apparent. |
Good layout,
newspaper appearance. Graphics and pictures with good connected theme. |
Newspaper
appearance excellent. Graphics and pictures chosen with theme present. |
|
|
Connection
to Timeline and Theme |
Articles loosely
related to time period, theme is not defined. |
Articles related to
time period, and theme is partially defined. |
Articles related
to time period, and theme is defined. |
Articles related
to time period, and theme is clearly defined. |
|
|
Discussion
of Historical, Cultural and Geographical Elements |
Articles do not
relate to historical, cultural or geographical elements. |
Articles show some
relationship to historical, cultural, or geographical elements. |
Articles show good
relationship to historical, cultural and geographical elements. |
Articles show
close relationship to historical, cultural and geographical elements. |
|
|
Personal |
Writing |
|
|
|
|
|
Grammar |
Articles contain
many grammatical errors. |
Articles contain some
grammatical errors, but they do not detract from reading. |
Articles contain
some grammatical errors. |
Articles contain
no grammatical errors. |
|
|
Paragraphs |
Paragraphs do not
show cohesiveness. Few good topic sentences. |
Paragraphs show
some cohesiveness. Some good topic sentences. |
Paragraphs show
good cohesiveness. Many good topic sentences. |
Paragraphs show
excellent cohesiveness. Excellent paragraph construction. |
|
|
Articles |
Articles have no logical
organization, either no beginning, middle and/or ending. |
Articles have
logical organization; have a beginning, middle and ending with little detail. |
Articles have good
organization; have good beginning, middle and ending with some detail. |
Articles have
excellent organization; have a beginning, middle and ending with outstanding
detail. |
|
|
Group’s
|
Evaluation of Your |
Participation |
|
|
|
|
Participation |
Participation
limited |
Participated with
little enthusiasm |
Good
participation, good production |
Excellent
participation, helpful to others. |
|
|
Oral |
Presentation |
|
|
|
|
|
Oral Presentation |
Not all members of group present. Limited eye contact. Presenter read
notes. |
All members of group
present. Some eye contact. Presenter relies on notes some. |
All members of
group present. Good eye contact. Presenter relies on notes minimally and
addresses audience. |
All group members
present. Good eye contact. Presents without use of notes and addresses
audience. |
|
Conclusion
This
WebQuest allows students the opportunity to use the internet for a creditable
learning experience. Students enjoy the internet and want to be able to use it.
This lesson provides that opportunity, while they are becoming familiar with
the information that they need to learn.
Credits & References
All original images and
articles are from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress.
Last
updated on
