Introduction
Welcome to: American, British, and World Literature Webquest
Discription: this web quest will introduce the following areas of literature:
- American
- British
- World
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum: English / Language Arts
Keywords: Ensures that this the web quest allows students to do the following:
- Explore a wide variety of genres in each area.
- Explore diverse literature such as multicultural literature, young adult literature, and literature authored by women.
- Compile a list of fiction and nonfiction literature students want to read.
Devlopment: The web page should do the following:
- Introduce the web quest to your students.
- Provide sufficient detail for your students to begin the web quest.
- Contain all the required materials and resources necessary for students to complete the web quest.
Author(s): Ghazala Amjad
Task
Big idea behind creating a web quest is incorporating technology into lesson planning and brings new ideas that match students’ need and curriculum. In addition, teachers may use effective strategies to motivate and increase student’s learning. Subsequently, it is considered a useful tool for cooperative learning and develops critical thinking skills. Thus, it’s an inquiry-oriented process/activity that students interact with various resources on the internet.
Educators should encourage students to use and explore new ideas and use recourses to develop thinking skills.
There are six basic elements to create a simple web quest:
Introduction
Task
Process
Resources/link
Evaluation
Conclusion
By the end of this webquest, you will have compiled a reading list of books from American, British, and World Literature that interest you. The list will need to include:
- Explore a wide variety of genres in each area.
- Explore diverse literature such as multicultural literature, young adult literature, and literature authored by women.
Compile a list of fiction and nonfiction literature to read.
Process
First, students may start by visiting the websites to explore the three areas of literature: American, British, and World.
Then, they may create a table or any data recording sheet, list fifteen books, five from each area, that seem interesting to you and that you would like to read in the future as well. Students make sure to fill in the table completely for full credit.
The columns should be: Title, Author, Area of Literature, and genre.
Now, students will choose at least two out of the fifteen books are by women, two of British, and American each and three take place within cultures not like your own.
It is recommended that you may need to Google titles of books to read a short summary if the webpage does not provide a link with that information.
It is not a compulsion, but is encouraged that you include some autobiographies.
Evaluation
you will be evaluated on the requirements of the table which is to include the following:
- twelve books you are interested in reading
- List the title, author, area of literature and genre of the book.
- Include at least five two by women.
- Include at least twoselection from each British and American literature.
- Include at least three books from cultures (multi-culture) other than your own.
You will be graded using the rubric below.
Rubrics
|
Did Not Meet Most of the Expectations |
Met Some of the Expectations |
Met Most of the Expectations |
Met All of the Expectations
|
Score |
|
Create a list of fifteen books for future reading. |
Less than seven books. |
Less than ten books |
Less than twelve books. |
Fifteen books or more on the list. /15 |
|
Include two authors who are women. |
No women authors included. |
Two or less women authors included. |
Three or less women authors included. |
All five women authors included. /5 |
|
Include two books of British/American writers in the list. |
No books of British/American are evident in the list. |
N/A |
N/A |
Two books of British/American are evident on the list. /2 |
|
Three books should be from cultures different from your own. |
No books on the list from other cultures. |
One book on the list is from another culture. |
Two books on the list are from another culture. |
Three books on the list are from another culture. /3 |
total points: 25
Conclusion
Sag Harbor
By Colson Whitehead. A humorous but touching coming-of-age novel set in the 1980s
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Feathers
By Jacqueline Woodson. "Narrator Frannie is fascinated with Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul," and grapples with its meaning,
The Skin I’m In
By Sharon Flake. Grade 6-8. At school, seventh-grader Maleeka endures mean-spirited teasing about the darkness of her skin and her unstylish clothing.
Sarah Phillips
By Andrea Lee.
It is finely written short stories focusing on the experiences of Sarah Phillips, an African-American preppy, searching for a way to find her own identity in a world that seems to want to pin an identity on her.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf
By Ntozake Shange. This unique choral poem is a truthful, biting, funny presentation of what it means to come of age as an African-American woman.
Tituba of Salem Village
By Ann Petry.
A classic historical novel for middle scholars based upon the true experiences of Tituba, a young slave from Barbados who is accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials, Old-fashioned but gripping and unforgettable.
ASIAN
Lensey Namioka. Yang the Youngest and his Terrible Ear
Pegi Deitz Shea. Tangled Threads (Hmong family in Rhode Island)
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
By Lisa Yee.
Single-minded pursuit of the sport he loves. His growth as a person as the summer unfolds is warmly satisfying. The conclusion has Stanford's workaholic father undergo an unexpected and unsubstantiated change of heart, but kids won't mind the surprise happy ending
Cynthia Kadohata. Weedflower (Japanese-American internment)
Greg Leitich Smith. Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Asian kids and science fair)
Linda Sue Park. Project Mulberry (Korean kids and science fair)
Amy Tan. The Joy Luck Club*
IRANIAN
Funny in Farsi
By Firoozeh Dumas. "This lighthearted memoir chronicles the author's move from Iran to America in 1971 at age seven,
Persepolis. Graphic novel set during the Iranian Revolution.
JEWISH
Daniella Carmi. Samir and Yonatan. (Palestinian/Israeli)
Naomi Shihab Nye. Habibi. Palestinian family moves back from St. Louis.
Anna Levine. Running on Eggs. (Jewish/Arab)
JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUST
Katheryn Lasky. The Night Journey (escaping pogroms of Czarist Russia)
Uri Orlev. Run, Boy, Run (Jewish boy escaping Warsaw ghetto)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
PUERTO RICO
When We Were Puerto Rican
By Sarah McCoy. The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico: a novel. An 11 year old growing up female in Puerto Rico in the early 1960s.
MEXICAN
Esperanza Rising
By Pam Munoz Ryan. "It's a girl growing up in Mexico in a wealthy family, and then something awful happens and she goes from a life of wealth into the life of migrant workers."
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child
By Francisco Jimenez.
Crossing the Wire
By Will Hobbs. Character is no longer able to grow corn profitably in his Mexican village, 15-year-old Victor, who has supported his family since his father's death.
NATIVE AMERICAN
Marlene Carvell. Who Will Tell My Brother?
Rachna Gilmore. A Group of One (American Indian)
Sherman Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time
You now have a list of literature books that you can read over the next few years. Your list is diverse and has a wide variety of genres as well as exposes you to different time periods and cultures. Also you can review the similarities and difference of elements of literarture among several writers.
Credits
A Study of British and American Literature Education Goals Based on Humanistic Quality. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/279169442_A_Study_of_British_an…;
(n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from http://www.cumbavac.org/Authors&Literature.htm
Teacher Page
This webquest is created for students in grades 6-8. The books on the list that students will compile by the end of the webquest will be useful in meeting the following standard:
Reading: American, British, and World literature
10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and eras.
a) Identify main and supporting ideas.
b) Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension.
c) Explain similarities and differences of techniques and literary forms represented in the literature of different cultures and eras.
d) Analyze the cultural or social function of literature. e) Identify universal themes prevalent in the literature of different cultures.
f) Examine a literary selection from several critical perspectives.
g) Explain the influence of historical context on the form and style.
Sites
Here are some useful link to explore recourcces:
createwebquest.com