Historical Journal Webquest

1. Historical Journal Webquest By Jeremy Czyz

2. Webquest: This webquest is designed to guide each student through a historical writing piece. Historical writing involves researching a topic, and writing as if you were there in the setting. You write a personal narrative about something from the time period. The setting, characters, and sub plot are all outlined for you from history. So knowing what was happening in history is very important to completing this journal exercise. What you write will be fiction, since you were not actually there in the setting. Our historical journals will be written around the Revolutionary War.

3. Introduction: The Revolutionary War was fought in 1775 between the Colonists and England. There were many different "characters" from this time period. There were soldiers (both Patriot and Loyalists), generals, servants, wives, sisters, brothers, newspaper journalists (like the London Chronicle), field doctors, prisoners, spies, guards, night watchman, and famous future American's. There are many different settings as well. New York State had many battles fought in the Revolutionary War. Places like Ticonderoga, Oriskany, Montgomery, West Point, Saratoga, and New York City were all locations for important battles during the war. Places outside New York are very important as well, like Boston, Philadelphia, Concord, Lexington, Trenton, Princeton, Charlestown, and Yorktown. The war was hard, long, and nearly lost. The soldiers had to endure many hardships and had few supplies. While researching the war, look for topics, people, settings, and stories that interest you and write about it.

4. Tasks There are four tasks you must complete for this assignment. First, you must research a topic about the Revolutionary War. Second, you must write 5 different journal entries. Each entry must represent a different day during the Revolutionary War. Third, you must read and comment on 2 different weblogs by students in your class. Comments like "nice job" or "shoot the red coats" are NOT acceptable. Fourth, you must write a 1 page nonfiction summary about your Revolutionary topic.

5. Process • 1. You must use the resource page to locate a topic about the War. Research a setting, topic, character, or battle and use that information to write your journal. • 2. You must use your weblog journal to record all journal entries. • 3. Your historical journal is just like a daily diary, except that you are writing it as if you were in your chosen setting/character/topic. You must have at least 5 entries that contain at least 3 paragraphs each. Make sure you include the fictional date and setting, and also make sure you sign your fictional name. • 4. Read at least 2 different weblogs from the other students in your class for each entry you make to your historical journal. Also write 2 comments, 1 for each blog you read. • 5. Once you have written your five journal entries, open Microsoft word and write a nonfiction summary about the topic you researched about the Revolutionary War. Your summary must be 1 page long double spaced. • 6. Turn in your summary for evaluation.

6. Resources Here are links to website with information about the Revolutionary War. http://www.kathimitchell.com/revolt.htm http://www.revolutionary-war.net/index.html http://boston1775.blogspot.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/American_Revolution.html http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/revolutionarywar.htm You may also use your textbook.

7. Evaluation • There are a total of 50 points for this project. • The rubric is below: • 2 points for each written entry, 1 point if completed incorrectly, 0 points for no entry (10 total) • 2 points for reading and commenting on other students weblogs, 1 point for incorrect comments, 0 points for no comments (10 total) • 2 points for historical information included in journal entry, 1 point for incorrect information, 0 points for no information (10 total) • 10 points for written summary with correct structure, capitalization and punctuation, spelling, and details • 10 points for self evaluation grade given for details, research, time spent, and comments given by other students

8. Conclusion The Revolutionary War was finally finished in 1783. It was a long war and the Patriots defeated a superpower. It forever changed our Nation from a group of colonies ruled by England, to a nation with more than 330 million people living in a democracy. Knowing the details and information you have researched, please be ready to share with the class, in discussion format, what you learned about the war that was not in your textbook. You may also share your journal entries by reading them aloud (if you choose).

9. Teacher Page • STUDENTS: This webquest is designed for a fourth grade social studies class. The students must have access to computers, and the teacher needs to allow for 30 minutes each day for the tasks to be completed. • NYS Social Studies Standards: NYS:SS:S1 Key Idea: 1-4 NYS:SS:S2 Key Idea: 1 NYS:SS:S3 Key Idea: 1-2 • NYS ELA Standards: NYS:ELA:S1 NYS:ELA:S2 NYS:ELA:S3 NYS:ELA:S4 • TEACHER NOTES: There are several historical fiction books available for reading aloud to the class. I would suggest reading a historical fiction chapter book before starting this webquest. Also, listed below are a few websites that are teacher focused. They give lesson plan ideas, great information, and many resource links. • http://teachhistory.com/tag/american-revolutionary-war/ • http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/crossroads-of-revolution.html • http://blog.teachingamericanhistory.org/2012/06/06/revolutionary-war-animated/