Civil Rights WebQuest
Introduction
Task
Process
Evaluation
Conclusion

Teacher's Page

Instruction:

This lesson will take approximately two weeks to implement and is perfect for Black History Month.  It should be done in collaboration between an ELA and/or social studies teacher, and a school library media specialist.  The lesson is divided into two separate parts; however, either part can be used independently.

Part one is the WebQuest, where the students will use a variety of text/web/multimedia resources provided by the SLMS to expand their knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement, and write a personal narrative.  The second part is the Wiki, where students post their narratives for their classmates to read, and engage in meaningful discussion through the commenting feature.  Another option with the Wiki is to have students revise and/or edit each other’s work. The lesson is designed to implement Web 2.0 technology into the curriculum to foster 21st century learning skills.

  • Step 1 (one or two days): Instructor uses this time to go over the WebQuest. Task, Process, and Evaluation should be discussed in depth.  Show the students how easy it is to access the resources, encourage note taking, make sure the students understand how they will be evaluated, review the structure of personal narratives, and go over proper citation techniques.  Assign students a topic.
  • Step 2 (three days to a week): During this time students will be in the school library media center researching.  Each individual needs access to a computer with the Internet and headphones.  Because the students need both online and text resources, they can alternate days on the computers if necessary.  One group could be utilizing text resources while another works on the computers.  Students need to take notes and write down the source from which they got the information.
  • Step 3 (this can be done as an in or out of class assignment): Students write their personal narratives.  They will need to be typed.  A hard copy should be handed in to the teacher for grading.
  • Step 4 (one or two days): Instructor introduces students to Wiki.  Give the students user name and password.  Show them how to create a new page where they will copy and paste their narratives.  Show them how to comment on each other’s work. Have them post their narratives to the Wiki.
  • Optional Step: Students could be assigned to edit and revise another student’s work.  To implement this step the instructor would have to first review the aspects of editing and revision and write up some assignment guidelines.
  • Step 5 (this can be done as an in or out of class assignment): Students are required to comment on each other’s narratives to initiate discussion.  Have the students tell their classmates what they liked, what interested them, and what they learned.  They should be required to make a connection and ask a question as well.  To ensure that the commenting is spread out, students should be required to comment on the three classmates’ narratives posted below theirs.  Furthermore, students should be required to respond to comments, and ideally engage in discussion.
  • Have fun with this and happy teaching.

Learning Objectives:

  • Appreciate the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
  • Empathize with African American heritage of racism, prejudice, and segregation
  • Explain significant events of the Civil Rights Movement
  • Recognize prominent people who helped to advance the cause of Civil Rights for African Americans
  • Recognize the time frame and geography of the Civil Rights Movement
  • Use vocabulary related to the time period
  • Recognize the Jim Crow Laws and understand their impact
  • Recognize how individual sacrifice can lead to collective benefit
  • Write a personal narrative and share it with the class
  • Maintain a single point of view in a piece of writing
  • Create a product to which others can respond
  • Create a bibliography that cites a variety of sources
  • Use a WebQuest to research the Civil Rights Movement
  • Use text, web, and multimedia sources to complete assignment
  • Use a Wiki to post assignment
  • Engage in discussion through commenting feature in Wiki 

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner:

  • Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge
    • Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding
    • Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions
    • Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, and appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context
    • Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format in order to make inferences and gather meaning
    • Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry
    • Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding
    • Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the selection of resources and information
    • Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats
    • Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and producers
    • Seek divergent perspectives during information gathering and assessment
    • Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community
    • Use information technology responsibly
  • Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge
    • Organize knowledge that is useful
    • Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information
    • Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems
    • Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings
    • Demonstrate flexibility in the use of resources by adapting information strategies to each specific resource and by seeking additional resources when clear conclusions cannot be drawn
    • Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning
  • Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
    • Conclude an inquiry based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the learning
    • Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners
    • Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understandings in ways that others can view, use, and access
    • Use information technology ethically and responsibly
    • Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions
    • Seeking a variety of viewpoints
  • Pursue personal and aesthetic growth
    • Use information tools to gather and share information
    • Display curiosity pursuing interests through multiple resources
    • Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person
    • Recognize that resources are created for a variety of purposes

ELA Learning Standards:

  • Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding
    • Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
  • Standard 2: Language for Literacy Response and Expression
    • Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.
  • Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
    •  Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
  • Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
    • Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

Social Studies Learning Standards:

  • Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
    • Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students:

    • Technology Productivity Tools
    • Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
    • Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
    • Technology Communications Tools
    • Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
    • Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
    • Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.
    • Technology Research Tools
    • Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
    • Students use technology tools to process data and report results.