Introduction
Introduction:
This WebQuest is intended to help teach important events and concepts from the American Revolution. Fifth grade students will travel back in time and become reporters, historians, or editors working to cover major events and important people of the American Revolution for their own newspaper. The research they gather will be kept in the form of a journal and after they finish their role’s responsibility, students will work as a team to produce a final edited newspaper which reflects all of the roles.
Welcome to the Time Travel Press! You and your group will be traveling back in time to cover the American Revolution from the beginning to the end. When you have completed your research you will publish an outstanding looking newspaper using PowerPoint Software in the Computer Lab. Get ready for one of most important events in United States History. Let's get started....
Task
Task
You will travel in time to research and report on many important aspects of the American Revolution. The goal is for each of you to take on different roles and create a newpaper article detailing the major events leading up to and during the American Revolution. Depending on your role you will either create a timeline of major events, report on battles, events and people, or report on the business and political events that involved the Americans and British before and during the war.
The British are coming... do not retreat! Click Process to continue!
Process
Roles:
Battlefield Reporter
Identify and report about three major battles of the American Revolution in addition to Yorktown and Lexington. Compare advantages and disadvantages of the British and Americans with regards to fighting the battles.
You will write a summary of the battles and include important information including the number of troops involved, the leaders of each army, and where each battle was fought. Also use this link: http://bit.ly/1sUp20N to find out how many soldiers were wounded, killed, and captured in every major battle of the war. Include illustrations iin your reporting if possible!
Historian
Create a timeline conatining 15-20 important events during the war. The events should include major battles, turning points, and incidents that shaped the American Revolution. Each event should have a description of important information and pictures. Create a graph comparing war costs and casualties. You will create a timeline Page that incorporates all of the important events, including battles, treaties, and turning points.
Use this link to help in the creation of you graph: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
Business or Political Reporter
This task is crucial because we need someone to report on the political and financial events that led to the American Revolution. It is your task to find out about these documented events and write a newspaper article that docuemts the who, what, where, when and why of the story. Foucs on one major event, for example the Coercive Acts or the First Continental Congress, or the Boston Tea Party and document the story as a reporter would.
Pick an event and use theses links to get started:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/writing-your-article
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/paperassignments/a/How-To-Write-A-News-Article.htm
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/05/
Editor
Write a short report on the causes of the war and identify and inform the class about two important women and two important African Americans during the American Revolution and inform the class about the outcome of the War. Your report will include short biographies of the key people you chose and informationa about how they impacted the American Revolution.
Writing the NewspaperAfter all the research that is needed is gathered, each student will write and design their newspaper page using the information collected in their journal. Be sure to make sure you use proper mechanics and use colorful language to get the reader's attention. Also be sure to include graphics or illustrations on the newspaper page.
Resources:
American Revolution - The Struggle for Independence:Your guide to some of the most informative and useful Web sites that cover the American Revolution
Account of a Declaration: Over thirty historical documents, sixty-seven biographical sketches, and some twenty-five essays about the causes and circumstances of the American Revolution
The American Revolution: A Timeline of the Period of Revolution: An EXTENSIVE timeline of events; the most important events include a text explanation
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: The Revolutionary War: For more than 225 years the principle of freedom and our understanding of its implications have evolved dramatically. The selections from this exhibition invite you to read the words and see the images of the men and women who forged this nation. Their words and images provide insights into the complexity of the past. This module on the American Revolution contains a succinct historical overview, learning tools, recommended documents, films, and historic images.
Jump Back in Time: American Revolution: Facts and information about the American Revolution
Liberty: Chronicle of the American Revolution: Headlines, timelines, resource material and related topics---a potpourri of information on the American Revolution. Picture this: Daily Life in the Colonies, the Global Village, and a Military point-of-view
Major Events of the American Revolution
Outline of American History: THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE: A New Colonial System -- Stamp Act -- Taxation Without Representation - Townshend Acts-- Samuel Adams -- Boston "Tea Party" -- The Coercive Acts -The Revolution Begins -- Common Sense and Independence -- Defeats and Victories- Franco-American Alliance -- The British Move South -- Victory and Independence Loyalists During the American Revolution
The Patriot Resource: Information about the entire Revolutionary War, although most information is regarding the events in the South's role in the war
RevWar 75: Facts about the Continental Army; Orderly Books of the Crown Forces in America; Revolutionary War Articles
The Road to Independence: Facts and information about what lead to the American Revolutionary War and the war itself
Spy Letters of the American Revolution: A fascinating Web site about the American Revolution. The site offers a set of primary source letters written by spies on both sides of the conflict, plus the stories surrounding them. Learn about the methods that secret agents used to encode and hide their information
Time Line, America During the Age of Revolution, 1764-1775: Dates and facts
Tour of the American Revolutionary War: Causes, battles, and biographies, writings, links
Causes of the Revolution
Causes of the AmericanRevolutionary War
Reasons for the Revolution on the Colonial Williamsburg's Web Site
Opening Causes and Events Leading to the American Revolution Causes of the American
Revolutionary War Causes and Early Troubles
Taxes Imposed by the British Government Against the American Colonists
Stamp Act Riots and Tarring and Feathering
Evaluation
Evaluation
|
Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Information collected during research
|
Minimal research, no details | Good research, mostly accurate, but few details | Thorough research, mostly accurate, many details | Thorough research, completely accurate, many details | |
|
Reaction and Opinion about the event that took place |
No opinion or reaction | Minimal opinion, or gives opinion from wrong point of view | Gives reaction and opinion from the correct perspective, but it is too general or vague | Gives complete, detailed reaction & opinion from correct point of view, includes thoughts and feelings | |
|
Overall design and appearance of Page. |
No consideration for what page looks like. | Some consideration for what a newspaper should like | Looks like good newspaper page but there are still some issues | Excellent page design. Tidy, with everything where is should be. | |
|
Mechanics of writing
|
More than 5 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors | 4-5 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. | 2-3 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors | 0-1 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors |
Students must also hand in their Journals
Responsibility for doing your fair share of the assignment
| Does not share in work, does not participate in assignment. | Participates occasionally, does less than half of the assignment | Participates often, does most of the assignment | Shares equally in all the work, is an active participant |
Conclusion
Conclusion:
Click this link and sahre your thoughts about this WebQuest!
http://questgarden.com/feedback/index.php?l=63991-080415075239&lang=en
Credits
Kid Info - American Revolution
Author Biography
Bryan Howell
Hello, I am a Master's Student at Pepperdine University.
Permissions
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons Attribution • Non-Commercial• Share-Alike license for details.
Teacher Page
by Bryan Howell, Pepperdine University
This WebQuest is intended to help teach important events and concepts from the American Revolution. Fifth grade students will travel back in time and become reporters, historians, or editors working to cover major events and important people of the American Revolution in their own Newspaper. The research they gather will be kept in the form of a journal. They will work as a team to produce a final edited newspaper which reflects all of the roles.
Teacher Introduction
This is a fun and exciting WebQuest geared for learning about the American Revolution and using technology as an awesome way to present what children have learned.
This WebQuest is geared for upper elementary students. This WebQuest is designed to take between 1-2 weeks depending on internet and computer availability.
Each student can each be assigned a role from above, or groups of 3-4 can be assigned to each role.
Upon studying this WebQuest, students should already be familiar with many events and topics of the American Revolution.