WebQuest+Inquiry_Sandra+Jones

The Great Gatsby and You (Stephanie Gage) [|www.educationstephanie.webs.com] Task Open-Endedness 3:

Overall, I think this was a really good webquest; I did not give this product fullmarks (a four) in the criteria of Task Open Endedness because the overall task of creating prefaces and afterwords was not a robust assignment that challenged the students to do more than display the lower order learning objective of knowledge. The directions (process) was too directive and didn’t give the students enough wiggle room to self direct their learning. In general, I would allow students to choose their own vehicles to display what their understanding of the text.

= Original Introduction: = Today, Scribner Publishing House sent a national memo to classrooms around the country! They fear readership of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby will drop among youth if something isn't done to make it more accessible. That's where you, the students of Miss Gage's 11th grade English class, come in! They are desperately seeking the assistance of America's youth to create a new preface and afterword for a 2010 publication. Why is this so important, you might ask? Because The Great Gatsby was originally published in 1925 but the universal themes must be drawn out to make it more relatable to the modern reader. Since you have just concluded your classwide reading of The Great Gatsby, you and your classmates are the perfect candidates for the job! Help Scribner demonstrate to other young readers the timeless tradition of settings and their effect on characterization. Don’t let a classic like this fall by the wayside! = Proposed Revision: to Introduction = Scribner Publishing House is in trouble! Readership of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has fallen to record lows. As a result, Scribner has issued a challenge to high schools across the United States: Develop a campaign to encourage your peers to purchase AND READ this literary treasure!

= Original Task = Your task is to create a new preface and afterword for a 2010 publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The book's publisher fears a decrease in readership among high school aged readers but this can be reversed if the material is made more accesible to young readers. You will work in groups of two - one of you will handle the preface and the other will handle the afterword. Your combined writing will address the essential question of how setting affects characterization both in the novel and your own lives. The preface will focus on contexual information gathered from the Web regarding America in the 1920s and how these cultural, political, and social happenings affected the actions and attitudes of a character in Fitzgerald's writing. By doing so, future readers will be afforded a deeper, more critical reading via the background knowledge of the time during which Fitzgerald wrote as well as through the subsequent character analysis. The afterword will address contemporary issues as they pertain to you - an American teenager in today's 2009 society. These issues will also be research using the Web. Like the preface, this piece will address the timeless effect of setting on characterization - except this portion of the assignment will look at its influence in the real world. Each piece will be written individually but, upon completion, you and your partner will submit your individual work to a wiki for peer review, feedback, and editing. This will allow for a cohesive voice for the final product.

= Proposed Revision to Task = Your task is to create a multi-media marketing campaign that will whet the literary appetite of your peers. Each marketing campaign must have at least three components that has been planned and developed by the team.. The possibilities are endless! Plan your trailers, movies, murals, brochures, newsletters, blogs, flashmobs, webreviews, etc., Make sure that everyone in your collaborative group can relate the products to themes found in our text. Your final products must include copies of drafts and revisions, meeting notes, sketches, and anyother byproducts developed. Additionally, each team member must submit closing reflections that detail their activities and their role in developing the group’s final product.

= Original Process: = Below are the steps necessary to complete your task. Please read them carefully! 1. First, you will be divided into pre-determined groups of two made by your teacher. 2. Once you've found your partner, your teacher will come to each group for a coin toss to determine which of you will assume what part of the assignment (heads will be preface, tails will be afterword). Each part is neither better or worse nor more or less work; you've both read The Great Gatsby and are alive in America in 2009, so you have equal footing regardless of the topic assigned to you. 3. When your assignment is determined, it is time to begin your research. This will vary depending on whether you're assigned to the preface or the afterword so be sure to take note of what applies to you! You will have three class periods to use the internet for your research. 4. If you've been assigned to the preface, you will be researching America in the 1920s (a.k.a. The Roaring Twenties or The Jazz Age) because this was when Fitzgerald was writing. The following links will get you started on some of the significant issues and developments of the 1920s. Feel free to explore some of the external links provided by these sites. Please note that these links do not require the use of headphones. • Flappers <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">• Prohibition <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">• Speakeasies <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">• Jazz Music <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">• The “Lost Generation” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">• Harlem Renaissance

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">5. Once you've gathered information on the 1920s, decide which character (Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, or Daisy Buchanan) you'd like to focus on for your writing. You will be applying what you've learned about the 1920s to a character analysis of one of these three characters. How was this character affected by his or her setting? Click on this Word document for questions to guide you during the next step, which is where you will begin writing your preface. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">6. If you've been assigned to the afterword, you will be exploring some of the issues in present day America. Check out some of the following links that highlight some of the significant happenings in today's society. Please note that many of these sites have links to more information - don't overlook them! Also, some of the links provide video clips so be sure to use headphones during your viewing so as not to disturb your neighbors!

= Proposed Revision to Process: = <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. Individually jot down your ideas for the portfolio. Where do your strengths lie? Perhaps you can use that to generate ideas for the marketing campaign. <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. As a group, discuss the possibilities. All submissions have merit but you will need to make a decision as to which products your team will develop. You will need to consider resources and time (we have four class periods to plan and execute this assignment). Document why the products you chose were the best one’s for your team. What themes will you build your product around? Are these themes genre specific or transcendant? How can you make the 1920s relatable to your peers? (We will continue using the links supplied by Ms. Gage: Flappers, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Prohibition, Speakeasies, Jazz Music, The “Lost Generation”, and Harlem Renaissance). <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. Prepare a five minute presentation to share your team’s work with the rest of the class.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Antiklia's Feedback on Sandra's Revisions: **
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As for the The Introduction, I would have left that the way it was. I think your task is creative but it does not focus on "The Great Gatsby" reading, it focuses on multi-media and you do not make it clear as to what exactly needs to be done. I feel like your task and process do not tie in together. You did not include the entire original process on this page so I had to go back to the original WebQuest. That is why I was confused with your revisions. ==== ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I believe to make this task and process more motivating, I would make the students transform back to the 1920's so they can have a sense of how people lived and what life was like back then and compare to how people live now. I will have students work individually and each would have to pick a famous person from the 1920's and/or a setting from that time that they would have to "morphe" into and place them in a setting where they will be attending a party at F. Scott Fitzgerald's house on the North Shore of Long Island. For example you can choose a famous flapper, Josephine Baker, Coco Chanel, Charlie Chaplin, Al Capone, etc. What was it like in the Prohibition times as oppose to now? What was the fashion and the culture back then and now? How were people entertained? etc. ====

I enjoyed your WebQuest revision. I actually thought that the original introduction was not all that bad but I did like the twist you put on it. I also enjoyed the enthusiasm you used in your revised introduction. I feel that enthusiasm is important in this part of the WebQuest to draw the students in and motivate.
 * Brian Jacovina's Feedback**

In your task, I enjoyed the idea of a marketing campaign. I think that making trailers, movies, etc. is a pretty cool idea that is not done often so I believe that would be a good change for students. I like the open-endedness but I believe that there could be some guidance to help the studetns alittle. Maybe just an example or two of what could be included in these movies and trailers. Again, that is just an idea.

In your process I like how you have both individual and group work. I believe it is important to keep both aspects in a WebQuest. My only question is: What is supposed togo in the portfolio? I do not know if maybe I missed where you say that, I definately could have. But, it seems like it is unclear about exactly what goes in the students individual student.