Webquest - The Scarlet letter

The ScArlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn

This webquest is a very handy way of getting to know more about the book by Nathaniel Hawthorn and the time period it was written in.

Grade Level: 4/5 Havo
Curriculum: English / Language Arts 

"The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The nameless narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In the customhouse’s attic, he discovered a number of documents, among them a manuscript that was bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A.” The manuscript, the work of a past surveyor, detailed events that occurred some two hundred years before the narrator’s time. When the narrator lost his customs post, he decided to write a fictional account of the events recorded in the manuscript. The Scarlet Letter is the final product." - Sparknotes

"Did you read the book?" one of your classmates asks the kid sitting across the table. "Dude, of course not," he replies. "Neither did I," replies your classmate. Oops. It looks like no one has read the book. How are you all going to survive Miss Snoek's class? Noticing the increasing frenzy, the class clown tries to calm everyone down: "Relax. All we have to know is that the book is about a lady who had an affair with a priest, like, thousands of years ago. It's juicier than a soap opera. We can make it up as we go."

"Good morning, class. I hope you're all prepared for a lively discussion about the role Mistress Hibbins plays in developing our understanding of Hester Prynne. You there, Mr. Shmoop. Why don't you start us off?"

Uh-oh. You can either 1) run out of class immediately, 2) pretend to have read the book and say something about two characters you've never even heard of, or 3) tell the truth.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I wasn't able to read the book."
You are so noble.

"What!" Miss Snoek roars. "You've had a whole week to read this classic tale, and you HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK?!" She stares around the room in scholarly horror. "Who else has neglected to read this work of sheer genius? Who?!"

No one says a thing. Your classmates thumb through their glossy copies, unwilling to fess up.

"Good," Miss Snoek says. "I am glad there are still some scholars left in the world. As for you, Mr. Shmoop: please write a 20-page paper by Friday about Mistress Hibbins's role in the novel, taking into account the historical personage on which the character is based. You may go now."

Blushing and mortified, you leave class. Your classmates stare at you as you go, smirking. How does it feel to be Hester Prynne? How does it feel to tell the truth and feel the pang of injustice? Whether it has to do with class, friendships, parents or the law, we bet that, on some level, you and Hester have a lot in common.

What do you have to do?

Write a 300-600-word essay about the Renaissance and what the Renaissance has to do with this particular book.
You can do this in pairs, but I want seperate essays. I want you to first explaing what the book is about and then explain what the renaissance is, after all this I want you to explain what the renaissance has to do with this book.

You can also choose to write a diary entry or a letter to a friend, pretending you live in the renaissance while the story from the book is happening. Write about how the book makes you feel while you see all of this happen and what it's like to live in the renaissance. 

Or you can choose to write a script and make a movie, make sure lots of elements from this time (the renaissance) are in the movie. Make sure you research this time period as real directors and script writers would do. (this assignment can be handed in as a group) (no more than 6 students per group.)

Good luck!

The process of writing the essay

1. The students will look up information about the Renaissance and they read the Scarlet Letter.
2. Four weeks in advance the teacher tells the pupils to read the Scaret Letter.
3. Writing the essay or any other assignment will be done at home and send in by email.

Evaluation process

Essay

1. Grammar and spelling

2. Did you use 300-600 words? 

3. the contents of your essay 

4. creativity

Diary entry or letter

1. Grammar and spelling

2. Amount of words

3. Creativity

4. Does your contents line up with the renaissance?

Movie and script

1. Grammar and spelling (spoken and written)

2. Creativity

3. Does your contents line up with the renaissance?

PLAGARISM will be punished with an -F

At the end of this webquest I'd like you to answer some of my questions.

First of all, was the assignment clear?
Did you understand the book and did you learn more now that we worked
with a webquest? Or do you prefer working with paper/ a book in class?