Introduction
*The murder of Emmett Till is said to be the spark that started the Civil Rights Movement. The death of the 14-year-old African American enraged the nation. In this web quest, students will research the racial climate of the 1950s, the circumstances surrounding the murder, and will analyze the trial and pronounced verdict.
Task
As you adventure through this Web Quest:
First, you will watch a YouTube video that tells the story of Emmett Till.
Second, you will collect pictures of the important factors of Emmett Till's story.
Third, you will explore the Emmett Till website to enhance your intellectual horizon about the story of Emmett Till and its influence of Civil Rights.
Fourth, connect this tragedy to today and reflect on it.
Lastly, you will collect your information and share it on a digital platform of your choice.
Process
1.) Watch the video, Emmett Till-1955, that gives an overview of Emmett Till's story.
** Click above to watch the video DISCLAIMER: this video does show some graphic images. If you are uncomfortable with that notion feel free to skip watching the video.
(There are other great videos about this topic out there. Feel free to explore them as well.)
2.) After watching the video, Emmett Till-1955, answer the following questions.
- How old was Emmett Till?
- Where was Emmett Till from?
- Where did the murder of Emmett Till take place?
- What did Emmett Till do that the Jim Crow Laws prohibited?
- What was the name of the store, and who owned it?
- Who is Caroline Bryant?
- Who is responsible for kidnapping and violently murdering Emmett Till?
- Where and how was Emmett Till's body found?
- Were Emmett Till's murderer(s) found guilty or innocent?
3.) Click on the "All About Emmett Till" website link below. Navigate through this website and take detailed notes. You will use this as a resource for completing your work on the story of Emmett Till.
** Follow the link above. You should also investigate several other sources on your own.
4.) Investigate and collect key images of the people, places, events, etc. important to the story of Emmett Till. Include at least 4 images in your work.
5.) Apply it Today - do you see any evidence of this today? How does this apply to your life and the world around you?
6.) Arrange your findings and information onto a digital media of your choice. You may choose to complete your work on any type of digital media (GOOGLE Docs, Pic Collage, Canva, GOOGLE Slides, etc).
** Your findings should answer the important information surrounding this great American tragedy.
Evaluation
You be graded on the information you collect and the detail you provide. Your findings should be comprehensive, include the main facts (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and provide an overall understanding of the topic.
Conclusion
The story of Emmett Till is a hard story. It is a piece of American History that forces us to face very difficult questions about ourselves as a society. It is also something that we need to face to improve the society and culture of our country as well.
The final piece of your research should include the following:
I want you to write at least one paragraph describing your feelings about the story of Emmett Till. You can talk about anything related to the story (e.g. Jim Crow Laws, Trial of Emmett Till's killers, Emmett Till's action, the primary documents, etc.). Also, does the story of Emmett Till still resonate today?
Although this is the end of the lesson, your learning about Emmett Till does not have to stop here!! There are so many resources out on the web about his story. Explore them, question them, research them.
Credits
This webquest is written by Angela Smith for middle school students studying the novel Mississippi Trial 1955 by Chris Crowe. This web quest was inspired by a web quest written for college students and created by Walter Hirsch of Arizona State University entitled "Murder of Emmett Till". I have slightly altered the web quest to help my students explore this topic while reading the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Permissions
As stated by Walter Hirsch, "We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons Attribution • Non-Commercial • Share-Alike license for details."
This webquest was created in CreateWebquest.