American Democracy

Introduction

A person's contributions to society make a person more important than anything else. People like Albert Einstien or Thomas Edison could be called important for their contributions to society. Their inventions and theories helped to promote the world. This is what made them important men. Knowledge and experience also make a person important.

But, what about important historical figures in American history.  Who would you consider to be a person who most exemplified the values and principles of American democracy?  As we have read, there are many events and people who have shaped our history. These people made contributions to our way of life and the laws we have today.  Many people debate on just which figures in our history could be considered the most important. 

 

Task

For this WebQuest, it will be your job to persuade your classmates and your teacher that your historical figure exemplified the values and principles of American democracy.

Prepare a 5 paragraph essay with an introduction, conclusion and body that discusses the biography and contributions of your figure. To turn in your paper, you will need to put this paper on a Google Doc and share it with your teacher.

You will then need to create a power point presentation of your information and prepare a short speech encouraging others to agree with you about your figure.

In the end, there will be a secret ballot to award extra credit points to the top five presentations that received the most points.

Process

For this WebQuest you must:

  1. Review the list of names below.  Chose a name from the list or select one you feel has made an important contribution to American democracy.  Share the name with Ms. Krieg to make sure that person is available.
  2. On a sheet of paper, discuss the types of information you will probably need in order to prepare your paper and presentation.
  3. Prepare a 5 paragraph essay that persuades your classmates and teacher on how person you chose most exemplifies the values and principles of American democracy. Remember to use https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/persuasive-essay-outline/ if you need help with your persuasive essay.
  4. Your essay will need an introduction, a conclusion and 3 paragraphs with your supporting evidence.
  5. Visit resources, taking detailed notes on your findings. Make sure to indicate on your notes where you found the information since you will need to cite your sources in your paper.  In addition to the items you decided are important, also consider the following:
    • A biography of your figure.
    • How did your figures policies affect democracy in America?
    • What contributions did your figure make and why were they important.

Once you have finished researching, you must discuss your stance on the key question of this WebQuest: The person who most exemplified the values and principles of American democracy is ___________________ because _________________________.  Decide on the best 3-5 arguments that support your position, then write a paper using the facts you learned. You will also need to provide visuals. Then prepare a Power Point Presentation. You can use http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-PowerPoint-Presentation if you need help with your power point. Finally, create a short speech that persuades your classmates and Miss Krieg to believe in your historical figure's importance. Help for your speech can be found at http://sourcesofinsight.com/framing-compelling-arguments/

Some resources to start your search are:

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/historicalfigures/

http://www.biographyonline.net/people/famous-100.html

List of possible names.

John Locke

William Penn

Baron de Montesquieu

Jean Jacque Rousseau

Thomas Paine

Thomas Jefferson

J.S. Mill

Susan B. Anthony

Emmeline Pankhurst

Millicent Fawcett

Martin Luther King

John Winthrop

John Adams

Alexander Hamilton

James Madison

Abraham Lincoln

George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

John F. Kennedy

Rosa Parks

Eleanor Roosevelt

Margaret Fuller

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Elizabeth Cady stanton

Samuel Adams

Patrick Henry

George Mason

Evaluation

Criteria 5 4 3 2
Research
  • Takes detailed notes from all provided sources.
  • Notes are clearly organized and cited.
  • Takes detailed notes from most of the provided sources.
  • Notes are organized and cited.
  • Takes notes from some of the sources provided.
  • Notes are not clearly organized and/or no citations.
  • Few notes are taken.
  • Notes lack detail.
  • No organization of the notes.
  • No citations included.
Argument Organization
  • Presents argument in a creative way.
  • Uses clear and appropriate language.
  • Employs relevant visuals that will help with his or her argument.
  • Presents argument in a creative way.
  • Presents sources in a clear manner.
  • Employs some visuals to help with his or her argument.
  • Presents argument in an uncreative way.
  • Argument is relatively clear.
  • Employs few visuals.
  • Argument presentation is not creative.
  • Argument is not clear.
  • Does not employ visuals.
Argument Effectiveness
  • Provides a concise and detailed background about the historical figure
  • Makes an effective argument that draws heavily from the provided resources about why they feel the figure they have chosen exemplifies the values and principles of American democracry.
  • Provides a detailed background about the historical figure
  • Makes an effective argument that draws heavily from the provided resources about why they feel the figure they have chosen exemplifies the values and principles of American democracry.
  • Background provided is brieg about the historical figure
  • Argument is too general and lacks specifics.
  • Provides limited background
  • information is completely irrelevant.
  • Argument is unclear or off topic.

Conclusion

History is the study of the past but it is capable of shaping the present. History helps you know where you come from and how the past has shaped our country. History also shows you how you can shape the future. Since we make history every day, the study of it helps us in knowing what our forefathers did in the past and whether or not it was right.

By reading about influencial people in American democracy, you can start to think about what kind of things you can do in the future to help shape America's future and what types of contributions you can make to exemplify th evalues and principles of American Democracy.

Credits

This webquest was created by Deanna Krieg for ED 583

Teacher Page

History

P1 Reading and Communication – read and communicate effectively.

P1.4 Present an argument supported with evidence?

P2 Inquiry, Research, and Analysis

P2.3 Know how to find, organize, interpret information from a variety of sources.

P2.4 Use resources in multiple forms and from multiple perspectives to analyze issues.

Writing

W.GN.04.04 use the writing process to produce and present a research project using a teacher-approved topic; find and narrow research questions; use a variety of resources; take notes; and organize relevant information to draw conclusions.

 

W.GN.05.04 use the writing process to produce and present a research project; use a variety of resources to gather and organize relevant information into central ideas and supporting details for a teacher-approved narrowed focus question and hypothesis.

W.GN.06.02 write a personal, persuasive, or comparative essay that includes organizational patterns supporting key ideas.

 

W.GN.03-05.04 use the writing process to produce and present a research project;

3 – initiate research questions from content area text from a teacher-selected topic; and use a variety of resources to gather and organize information.

4 – using a teacher-approved topic; find and narrow research questions; use a variety of resources; take notes; and organize relevant information to draw conclusions.

5 – use a variety of resources to gather and organize relevant information into central ideas and supporting details for a teacher-approved narrowed focus question and hypothesis.