Introduction
by Gary Sneyd, GHS
Students read seminal texts from 17th and 18th century Thinkers then select one chapter from one Thinker and research historical facts about them and their culture in order to learn more about how and why the Thinker was not only able to influence his/her own culture but also our present day culture in the areas of political, philosophical, and religious avenues. They will present their findings in the form of a student-engaged lesson plan using a slide show presentation and an element of discussion.
Introduction
A select number of authors from the 17th and 18th centuries are collectively called Thinkers because they wrote powerful pieces that have laid the foundations for many of our current political, philosophical, and religious practices. These Rationalists put logic before emotion, and this characteristic can be seen in their writings. This webquest will enable each student to become more acquainted with all the Thinkers but become an expert on one particular Thinker and on one particular chapter of his/her piece of literature. Students who complete the quest will not only understand the Thinkers' works but als how these Thinkers are still impacting our current culture.
Task
You will present a 15-20 minute 3 person group project (stop at 21). In this group project, you will be teaching the class this lesson and will engage as many students as possible. Make lesson relevant but easy to understand. Each person in a group is responsible for a chapter of one of the chapters of the Thinkers' pieces. Each person will be answering several different questions and will then discuss with rest of class as to how each of these answers enable us to understand the Thinkers and how their teachings can still be seen in our society today.
Process
Process
All students will form groups of 3. Each group is going to be assigned one author from the 17th or 18th century who is still relevant today. After the authors have been assigned, each student will read one chapter of his/her assigned work and then analyze and research several aspects of the piece. When the research has been completed, that student will be the expert on that chapter. To show expertise, each member of the team will teach a lesson on his/her particular chapter and then as a group will put the three chapters together to show how they combine to reach the author's main purpose. This is to be presented as a lesson, so the group is responsible to engage the students both with 10-slide slide shows and also through discussion or any other method that will require students to experience the piece. Remember that a students' grade is based on how much specific information he/she shares through his/her lesson plan and on how much engagement and creativity he/she is attempting to perform with the students.
Each group will be assigned one of the following Thinkers: Thomas Hobbes, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin.
Group Members: Each group member is responsible for becoming an expert on one chapter of his/her assigned author's work. He/she will then create his/her own unique and personalized ten-slide slide show answering the following questions:
1. What is your assigned chapter?
2. What is being said?
3. Why is author saying it?
4. How does author say it?
5. To whom is author speaking?
6. In what way is it still relevant today?
7. How can something this old still be relevant?
8. Define culture from which this chapter comes.
9. Why is this author considered a Thinker?
10. What are all resources you used?
Here is a list of resources to help you answer these questions.
Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan http://www.archive.org/stream/leviathan03207gut/lvthn10.txt
Charles-Louis Montesquieu’s The Spirit of Laws http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol.htm
John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/locke/government.pdf
Jean Jacque Rousseau’s The Social Contract http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon.htm
Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman http://corematerials.homestead.com/files/Wollstonecraft_Vindication_Rights_of_Women_IV.pdf
Alexander Hamilton’s The Federalist Papers http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/hamilton.htm
Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/autobiography/index.htm
After each student selects his/her group and chapter, he/she will then be required to use the attached link to prepare a slide show. Use this slide show with fill-in-the-blank notes in order to create student engagement. Then as a group, find another method to establish student engagement such as discussion or some other interactive process like a question and answer session or game.
Evaluation
Evaluation
This is how your work will be evaluated.
| Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Qualified 3 | Exemplary 4 | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significant Components | The answer is very brief and has no specific or complete examples in explanation. | The answer is brief but has at least one specific or complete example in explanation. | The answer is partially developed and has more than one specific or complete example in explanation. | The answer is fully developed and has at least three specific or complete examples in explanation. | |
| What is the author saying? | |||||
| How is the author saying it? | |||||
| Why is the author saying it? | |||||
| To whom is the author saying it? | |||||
| How is the author's culture relected in his piece? | |||||
| Why is the author considered a Thinker? | |||||
| How is the author still influencing today's culture? | |||||
| What parts of chapter are still relevant? | |||||
| What are sources used? |
Conclusion
You have become an expert on a specific chapter of one of the seminal texts from one of the great Thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries. After having listened to the other students' presentations on their Thinkers, prove that your Thinker is more relevant to our current culture than each of the other Thinkers. We will use this line of thinking to complete our next project which is a classroom debate proving who the most relevant Thinker is today.
Credits
To implement this webquest, the teacher will need access to individual compluters for each student for three, 50 minute class periods in which they will use selected websites to read their chapter, analyze it, get background information on the authors, and prepare interactive slideshows in order to engage and educate the rest of the class on their findings.
Dean, Raymond MLIS, M.Ed. (n.d.). Create Webquest. Retrieved from http://www.createwebquest.com/node/add/webquest
Teacher Page
by Gary Sneyd, GHS
Students read seminal texts from 17th and 18th century Thinkers then select one chapter from one Thinker and research historical facts about them and their culture in order to learn more about how and why the Thinker was not only able to influence his/her own culture but also our present day culture in the areas of political, philosophical, and religious avenues. They will present their findings in the form of a student-engaged lesson plan using a slide show presentation and an element of discussion.
Teacher Introduction
This lesson guides students in analyzing seminal texts and researching the background for the Thinker who wrote the text. Students become experts on their Thinker and on his chapter and then present their knowledge in a student-engaged lesson . This form of assessment allows the students to internalize the information and then impart their information on to other students to show not only the Thinker's influence on his/her own culture but ours as well.