Web Quest: The Revolutionary Times

YOU are the reporters!

Introduction
The Revolutionary War has just been won! The United States of America is becoming its own Nation. There is much discussion of what our new government will be like and who will lead. You and three friends decide you want the inside scoop and want to listen in on some of the planning. Together, you will act as reporters and create your own Newspaper!

Roles
In any good news team there are different roles. Someone will have to be the Secretary, and will write what they hear while listening in, compiling hard-hitting news stories. Someone will act as the Designer, coming up with a format for the newspaper, deciding where the articles will appear in terms of importance and what the newspaper will look like. The team will also need an Editor. The editor will oversee the compilation of the newspaper, paying attention to grammar and spelling, and making sure the articles are full of great info! The whole team should come together on all of these aspects, giving input and discussion so the newspaper can be published smoothly!

Tasks
The goal is to create a visually appealing newspaper that shows that students understand what was going on at the time our Nation was being founded. Students should research and discuss documents being written, important figures of the time, and include important information about the time period. The bulk of student research should be done online. I have provided links to reliable websites, such as, The White House, and provided links to my website where I have posted the informational Glogster, Prezi

The Newspaper can either be created on a poster, which includes pictures found on the web, articles typed up, etc. OR Newspaper can be created on Glogster, Word, or any of the other online tools we have covered

Links
http://libbyclyons.weebly.com

I have provided the link to our class website. Here I have posted the Glogster, Prezi, and Graphic Organizer, which we have used in class. This will be helpful tools for your research!
http://www.whitehouse.gov The White House website has great information that is reliable. You can search anything that falls under our topic and it will provide links and info for you. Here are just a few: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ourgovernment/the-constitution http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/pre sidents/georgewashington http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/pre sidents/thomasjefferson/

Proces s Together as a Working

Research Team
1. 2.

Break into Investigative Mode

5. Secretary writes articles

Assign roles, discuss ideas Decide on topics of articles (at least 3) Decide on format of newspaper Conduct research on articlesBe investigative reporters! Imagine you are looking in on the Founding Fathers making plans for our new Nation. Who is there? What is going to happen to the USA?

6. Designer works on visual Newspaper

7. Editor compiles and re-checksremember a creative title!! 8. TOGETHER- Present hardhitting news to the audience!

3.

4.

Evaluation
Description Exceeds Met Nearly Met Not Met Reporting team gives accurate info
Reporting team gives accurate info. More than 3 articles. Accurate info with extra facts students discovered through their own research. Comparisons to real life during the time period.

Newspaper is visually appealing

Newspaper is neat and organized. Shows elements of an old newspaper and there is more than one picture to accompany

3 articles. Accurate information, using what we learned in class and outside research. Newspaper is neat. Less than 3 pictures, only one to accompany each article, shows no extra elements of a newspaper.

3 articles. Accurate information, using what we learned in class and outside research. Less than 3 articles, only semiaccurate information. Using only material we learned in class.

Less than 3 articles, not accurate info. No outside research.

Less than 3 pictures, not accompanying articles, disorganized format, no elements of a newspaper.

Newspaper is sloppy. No pictures, wrong format.

Conclusion
Through this lesson we used online sources to research a historical topic. We learned how to cooperate together and work in groups, giving input and sharing ideas. We learned about our Founding Fathers and the contributions made to the start of the Unites States of America. We learned about what was happening at this time and applied it to a real life situation. Students will be asked to reflect on what they learned from being a reporter by recording their thoughts in their daily journals. This way the teacher can asses what worked, what needs work and what the students liked and disliked about the assignment.

In order to further our knowledge of history, we will be combining our talents with 2nd and 3rd grades to create a Living Museum. Students will be able to pick an important figure in history, write a report on them and then come to class dressed as their chosen person! More info to come

Opportunitie s for Future Learning

This year we have learned the importance of extending our lessons beyond the classroom. Trips to Washington DC are always great to learn about the rich history of our country! There are also many museums in the area, where we can learn about history in our own backyards!

If you are interested in seeing what it would be like to live as a kid during the start of our Nation, there is a show called Libertys Kids, where the characters act as reporters during early America, just like you did today!