Memorial Day WebQuest

Memorial Day is one of the most important national holidays in the U.S.A. Memorial Day gives you opportunities to learn about many things. The United States military and it's role in our country's history will be explored. The national customs and traditions utilized to remember this day are explored on this journey. On this WebQuest, you will be given the opportunity to learn more about this patriotic holiday!

Please watch this Memorial Day tribute video. The images will remind you about much of what we learned in class: http://youtu.be/NOcl17HIa7c

Please choose one of the following tasks. Visit the "Process" tab for strategies you should use to complete the task.

1. Write a song about Memorial Day, using at least 3 of the new vocabulary words. The topic of the song can be either Memorial Day traditions or history.

2. Write a thank you letter to a service member, including details that you learned about Memorial Day.

3. Create a budget of what it costs for the US to go to war in a foreign country for one month.

4. Plan a Memorial Day parade and/or festival in your town.

As you can see with these charts, many young men and women throughout our country's history have made the ultimate sacrifice. Memorial Day is the time when we remember and honor them. Wars are horrible and have lasting ramifications for our entire society, and especially for the famlies of those killed. We have discussed the holiday in class. This webquest will provide you an opportunity to explore the holiday in a deeper way.

According to your learning styles inventories, many of you in this class have strengths in different areas. You can choose the best way to show what you have learned about Memorial Day. There are four activities below. Please choose one and enjoy your webquest!

1. Write a Song Process & Resources:  You will listen to US patriotic songs throughout history and review these websites.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/168068/top-ten-memorial-day-songs

http://www.thememorialdaytribute.com/memorial-day-songs/

http://tasteofcountry.com/top-memorial-day-songs/

http://musiced.about.com/od/lessonsandtips/a/memorialday.htm   - This website allows you to read the sheet music.

Now, you will write a song of your own! You can use one of the melodies of one of the songs you heard through the links or you may create your own melody.

You will incorporate three of the new vocabulary words we learned in this unit. Please visit this list of over 240 words associated with Memorial Day to help you: http://www.myvocabulary.com/word-list/memorial-day-vocabulary/

 The song must be at least one page written and it needs to be performed to the class.    

2. Write a Letter to a Servicemember Process and Resources: Please review the websites below for addresses of where to send your letter. There are guidelines to follow when composing your letter. Please follow these rules:

In the friendly letter format, your address, date, the closing, signature, and printed name are all indented to the right half of the page (how far you indent in is up to you  as long as the heading and closing is lined up, use your own discretion and make sure it looks presentable).  Also the first line of each paragraph is indented

1 Your Address All that is needed is your street address on the first line and the city, state and zip on the second line. (Not needed if the letter is printed on paper with a letterhead already on it.)

2 Date Put the date on which the letter was written in the format Month Day Year e.g. August 30, 2003. Skip a line between the date and the salutation.

3 Salutation Usually starts out with Dear so and so, or Hi so and so.  Note: There is a comma after the end of the salutation (you can use an exclamation point also if there is a need for some emphasis).

4 Body The body is where you write the content of the letter; the paragraphs should be single spaced with a skipped line between each paragraph. Skip 2 lines between the end of the body and the closing.

5 Closing Let's the reader know that you are finished with your letter; usually ends with Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Thank you, and so on.  Note that there is a comma after the end of the closing and only the first word in the closing is capitalized.

6 Signature Your signature will go in this section, usually signed in black or blue ink with a pen. Skip a line after your signature and the P.S.

7 P.S. If you want to add anything additional to the letter you write a P.S. (post script) and the message after that.  You can also add a P.P.S after that and a P.P.P.S. after that and so on.

These websites are your resources. In this assignment, you will be expected to send your letter to a servicemember.

http://supportthetroops.wordpress.com/write-a-letter-of-support-to-a-serviceman/

http://www.operationgratitude.com/get-involved/write-letters/

http://www.operationwearehere.com/CaringInsightsMilitaryPersonnelLetters.html

3.  Create a Budget, estimating the cost of war for one month. Process and Resources: You will find the economic costs on the websites below. Please use those costs and design the budget - make columns to include your best estimates of food costs, transportation costs, soldier salaries multiplied by number of troops deployed, contractor costs, etc. and have them equal to the cost of one month of overall war cost. The budget must include a narrative of explanation (a rationale). Extra credit if you use a budget software or Excel. However, a word table format will be acceptable.

Review facts and figures of troop deployment numbers via the website www.vetfriends.com  - http://www.vetfriends.com/US-deployments-overseas/ (specifically, review this page)

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22926.pdf  - starting on page 2 of this report, you will see the costs of US wars, past and present.  

http://costsofwar.org/article/economic-cost-summary 

Please review these excellent charts of US military spending over time:

http://www.cfr.org/defense-budget/trends-us-military-spending/p28855

4. Plan a Memorial Day Parade/Festival. Process and Resources: Review the following websites to observe popular Memorial Day traditions and activities. Plan a Memorial Day parade and/or festival for your town. What would you include? What would be the schedule of the day? Also, you must write a paragraph explaining why you chose each activity.

http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/memorial-day/traditions-activities/

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history

http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/events/national-memorial-day-parade/?doing_wp_cron=1401669180 

1. The following rubric will be used to assess the song you develop:

http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?sp=yes&code=N47X82&

2. The following rubric will be used to assess the friendly letter: http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/rubricfriendlet.htm

3. The budget will be reviewed  holistically with the folllowing criteria:

             A. Correct Computation

             B. Neat Presentation

             C. Budget Rationale Clearly Stated.

4. Evaluation of Parade and Festival Plan:

             A. The paragraph accompanying each activity will need to have correct grammar and punctuation.

             B. At least three different activities must be planned. The organization of these activities will be measured. The   

                 schedule will be part of this review.

The national holiday of Memorial Day is an important opportunity to learn more about the USA's history and traditions. You have completed a task of your choosing. While completing the task, you have thought more deeply about this important day. 

Consider the completion of your task. Did it work as well as you would have liked?  If so, why did it work?  If not, what would you have done differently next time? Please submit the answers to these questions to me.

I encourage you to reflect on your projects by completing the following statement which you will submit to me.

Memorial Day is important to celebrate because......