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A WebQuest for 9-12 Grade U.S.

Designed by

Colin Lesyinskicslesyin@simla.colostate.edu

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

The Revolutionary War

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American colonists lived under the rule of the King of England, but gradually became fed up with the taxes issued by the British Government. The Revolution began with the drafting and acceptance of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. You and your partner will be on either side, one being an American and one being an Englishman, speaking to the Continental Congress. You are trying to persuade the Americans that a war is or is not necessary. Good Luck!

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TitleYour task will be to use internet resources to find sources from both the British and the U.S. sides. You and a partner will produce a list of grievances against each other. The student that represents the American Government will present a persuasive speech to the Continental Congress (the class) that explains why the war should be fought. The student that represents the British side will try to persuade the Americans why the British have been a good governing body, why they should remain under British rule, and why the war should not be fought. Both sides should include and focus on their grievances against each other.Hint: It may be to your benefit to use as much detail of events as possible, including (but not limited to) names of key historical figures and their roles, the names of important colonial and imperial legislation, and statistics.

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1. You will be assigned a partner.2. You will determine who will err on the side of the British, and who will err

on the side of the United States.3. Use the following sources to develop lists of grievances against each

other, as well as to obtain information about the timeline of the Revolutionary War, as well as how it began. Any other sources you choose to use will need to be cleared by your teacher beforehand.

4. You will write down your list of grievances, and take notes on any information you want to use in persuading the American Continental Congress to go to war, or to arrange a peace.

5. You will give a persuasive speech to your classmates, telling them why your point of view is the right one, and why the war should or should not be fought. If you choose to research some of the battles of the war, you can choose a solution to ending the war, or why it should continue being fought.

6. After your speech, you will reconvene with your partner to talk about the possibility of an agreement that will save both nations from going to war. You will then draft a paper together, explaining how there could be peace between both sides, or why there must be war.

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Evaluation

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Posture and Eye Contact

Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.

Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.

Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.

Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.

Preparedness Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.

Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Comprehension Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Content Shows a full understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.

Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.

Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.

Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.

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By doing this assignment, you will more deeply understand the causes of the Revolutionary War, steps that could have been taken to prevent it, and the reasons why it had to be fought. You will also develop more skills in persuasive speaking, as you will be trying to convince the class that your beliefs are the correct beliefs.

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Thanks to rubistar for the evaluation sheet

Thanks to Danny Hernandez for the example.

Also thanks to Webquest and The WebQuest Slideshare Group for helping with the format for this project.

Resources

Declaration of Independence, Timeline Boston Tea PartyCauses, battles, documents Boston MassacreBattle of Lexington Boston Massacre #2Locke Continental CongressDivine Right of Kings Continental Congress #2Navigation ActsMercantilismProclamation of 1763Proclamation of 1763 #2Sugar ActQuartering ActCurrency ActStamp ActTownshend Act of 1767Townshend Act of 1767 #2Tea Act of 1773Tea Act of 1773 #2Intolerable Acts

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Title

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A WebQuest for 9-12 Grade U.S. HistoryDesigned by

Colin Lesyinskicslesyin@simla.colostate.edu

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

Evaluation

Teacher Script

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The Revolutionary War Persuasive Speech Project

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This lesson was developed in an Educational Technologies class by a senior Social Studies Education major at Colorado State University.

This lesson is designed to challenge students to think beyond the events of the Revolutionary War, and more towards the events that led up to it.

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This lesson is designed for high school (9-12th grade) Social Studies (mainly U.S. History) students and helps build skills in English in the areas of speech and persuasive writing.

The students will need to be able to do some research and find valid sources, even though many are provided. Students will also need to be proficient in presenting persuasive arguments in writing.

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1.1 Students know the general chronological order of events and people in history. 1.2 Students use chronology to organize historical events and people.1.3 Students use chronology to examine and explain historical relationships.2.1 Students know how to formulate questions and hypotheses regarding what happened in the past and to obtain and analyze historical data to answer questions and test hypotheses.2.2 Students know how to interpret and evaluate primary and secondary sources of historical information. 3.2 Students understand the history of social organization in various societies. 4.2 Students understand how economic factors have influenced historical events. 4.3 Students understand the historical development and know the characteristics of various economic systems. 5.1 Students understand how democratic ideas and institutions in the United States have developed, changed, and/or been maintained. 5.2 Students know how various systems of government have developed and functioned throughout history. 5.3 Students know how political power has been acquired, maintained, used, and/or lost throughout history. 5.4 Students know the history of relationships among different political powers and the development of international relations.

Colorado Department of Education History Standards

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1. You will be assigned a partner.2. You will determine who will err on the side of the British, and who will err on

the side of the United States.3. Use the following sources to develop lists of grievances against each other, as

well as to obtain information about the timeline of the Revolutionary War, as well as how it began. Any other sources you choose to use will need to be cleared by your teacher beforehand.

4. You will write down your list of grievances, and take notes on any information you want to use in persuading the American Continental Congress to go to war, or to arrange a peace.

5. You will give a persuasive speech to your classmates, telling them why your point of view is the right one, and why the war should or should not be fought. If you choose to research some of the battles of the war, you can choose a solution to ending the war, or why it should continue being fought.

6. After your speech, you will reconvene with your partner to talk about the possibility of an agreement that will save both nations from going to war. You will then draft a paper together, explaining how there could be peace between both sides, or why there must be war.

This process will definitely take more than one class period, but the exact amount oftime it will take is on a case by case basis. Allow the students a significant amount of time to research, as the quality of their speeches will be dependent upon the quality of research they gather. Help them along the way, and encourage creativity and even a dress-up day if you feel ambitious.

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Many online resources are provided for you, but if you find some appropriate material, the following would help:

•The class textbook•Any historical videos on the Revolutionary War•Any other internet sites you feel might be helpful

Many links for quality websites are given on the students’ credit page.

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CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Posture and Eye Contact

Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.

Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.

Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.

Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.

Preparedness Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.

Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Comprehension

Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Content Shows a full understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.

Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

Speaks Clearly

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.

Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.

Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.

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There is really no set script for this assignment, as I would encourage you to mold it to fit your and your class’ teaching and learning styles. The process is clearly defined, so just be intentional about helping students research, and give tools and hints for a persuasive essay.

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I really hope this assignment helped your students really process the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, and I hope they were able to get creative with it. They should now have a better understanding of why the war took place, and how the British and American governments were effected and defined by the events leading up to the war, and the war itself.

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Thanks to flickr.com for the pictures!

The WebQuest Page The WebQuest Slideshare Group

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