British Literature

Introduction

Welcome 11th graders! There is so much amazing litearture out in the world today that we should never be limited by what is on our shelves. This WebQuest will help you to explore one of the core aspects of our understanding of British Literature. This WebQuest will help you to visit a new era, explore the poems of one of three authors mentioned, and will help you to present your understanding of the meanings of the poems. Let our adventure begin!

Task

For this assignment you will choose one poet and one of the poems associated with that poet. You will then do reserach on the time period and what the author was writing about. Secondly, you will read the poems and analyze the structure and the use of literary devices. Lastly, you will partner up with one other person and present your findings to the class. 

Let's begin!

Process

1. Choose one of the poets and their time periods below. Copy and Paste the links in your reserach bar  to help you do reserach on that Era and Poet.

2.  Next, you will do research on the poem of your choice and define: 

  • The meaning of the poem (What was the author writing about? What theme can you see in the structure?)
  • Word Usage. (What kind of words are being used in the poem to explain the theme?)
  • Literary Devices (What kind of literary devices is the author using?)

3. Annotate the poem. Use your research to discover the meaning of the poem you chose.

4. Partner up with someone who has the same poem as you. Compare your annotations to your parnters. Are they similar? What's different? Can you compare and contrast the poem to one another?

5. You and your partner will present what you believe the meaning of the poem is, how the words contribute to your understanding and how specific literary devices are used in the poem. (How does this all add to the meaning of the poem?)

Evaluation
4 3 2 1/0
Understanding of the structure Students excel in understanding the structure of the poem; Excels grade level standards. Students somewhat excel understanding of the structure of the poem. Meets grade level standards. Students show little understanding of the structure of the poem. Below grade level standards.  Students show no understanding of the structure of the poem. Does not meet grade level standards. 
Understanding of  word usage Students exemplify a great understanding of the writing style of the authors; they are able to explain the words used in the poem, and show understanding of the context in which the words are used. They are able to annotate the work correctly and precisely. Excels grade level expectations. Students exemplify an understanding of the writing style of the authors; they are able to explain the words used in the poem, and show understanding of the context in which the words are used. They are able to somewhat annotate the work correctly and precisely. Meets grade level expectations Students exemplify little understanding of the writing style of the authors;they are  unable to explain the words used in the poem, and show little understanding of the context in which the words are used.  They are unable to annotate the work correctly. Below grade level expectations Students exemplify no understanding of the writing style of the authors; they do not explain the words used in the poem, and show no understanding of the context in which the words are used.  They show no annotation of the poem. Does not meet grade level expectations. 
Explaination and Comprehension of Poem Students choice of poetry expresses the true meaning and depth of the poets writing style; they were able to express the underlying meaning of poem. Used specific literary devices to explain the poem in deeper meaning.  Students choice of poetry somewhat expresses the true meaning and depth of the poets writing style; they were able to somewhat express the underlying meaning of poem. Unclearly presented literary devices to explain the poem in deeper meaning.  Students choice of poetry does not express the true meaning and depth of the poets writing style; they showed little expression of the underlying meaning of poem. Uses very little literary devices to explain the poem in deeper meaning. Presentation was unclear and unorganized.  Students choice of poetry expresses no true meaning and depth of the poets writing style; they do not show  the underlying meaning of poem. They do not use any  literary devices to explain the poem in deeper meaning. No presentation.

Use of literary terms

 Students correctly idenifty the liteary terms and poetic devices that were empolyed in the poem.  Students somewhat correctly idenifty the liteary terms and poetic devices that were empolyed in the poem. Students do not correctly idenifty the liteary terms and poetic devices that were empolyed in the poem. Students do not idenifty any of the liteary terms and poetic devices that were empolyed in the poem.

Overall Presentation

 Students presented a clear and coherent presentation. All spelling, grammar and punctuation were correctly used. The presentation flowed, and was easy to comprehend. Excelled grade level expectations.  Students presented a somewhat clear and coherent presentation. Most spelling, grammar and punctuation was correctly used. The presentation somewhat  flowed, and was easy to comprehend. Meets grade level expectations. Students presented an ambigous presentation. The spelling, grammar and punctuation were not used correctly. The presentation flowed very little, and was not easy to comprehend. Below grade level expectations. Students did not present a clear and coherent presentation. All spelling, grammar and punctuation was incorrectly used. The presentation did not flow and was not easy to comprehend. Did Not meet grade level expectations.
Conclusion

I hope the poets, and the different eras of Brititsh litearture helped you learn something new. Most times, we see the great things about poetry, but as William Blake shows us, every good comes with a bad. What is most important to me is that you gained new information from this WebQuest, and that you are able to apply this knowledge in different areas of your academic career.

If you're interested in learning more about Romanticism, the Victorian Era, or World War I and the poetry invovled there, be sure to check out the following websites. They show not only the poetry and writings, but the paintings and words of other authors that felt the pain, joy, happiness and anguish of their era. 

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roma/hd_roma.htm

https://faculty.unlv.edu/kirschen/handouts/victorian.html

http://www.firstworldwar.com/

However, if you're interested in just the poetry, essay writing, or other litearture, check out these authors:

Romanticism-John Keats, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Mary Shelly

Victorian Literature-Florence Nightengale, Lord Alfred Tennyson, John Dryden,  and John Stuart Miller

World War I-Rupert Brooke, Phillip Larkin, and Sigfred Sasson

Credits

Websites used for this WebQuest: 

Teacher Page

The Common Core Standards Reflected in this WebQuest are as follows:

CCSS  RL11-12.1- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determing where the text leaves matters uncertain. 

CCSS RL 11-12. 4-Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) (See grade 11–12 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.) CA

CCSS RL 11-12.5- Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

CCSS W 11.-12.7-Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden theinquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS SL 11-12.1A-Engage effectively in a range of collaborativediscussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to

CCSS SL 11-12.4- Present claims and findings (e.g., argument,narrative, response to literature presentations),emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherentmanner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; useappropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

CCSS SL 11-12.5- Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

CCSS L 11-12.1-Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar andusage when writing or speaking.

CCSS L 11-12.2-Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,punctuation, and spelling when writing.

a.Observe hyphenation conventions.
b.Spell correctly.