Teacher's Page
Based on Anton Chekhov's short story, "A Problem," I created this WebQuest by applying the question of whether or not the main character from the story ,Sasha, should be punished for forging the false promissory note and cashing it. Sasha's family in the story all have different opinions regarding if Sasha should be punished for his actions. Some believe that he should be given a second chance due to him having a difficult past, while other family members believe that he should be punished for forging the promissory note and cashing it. Due to the family members having a difficult time deciding what should happen to Sasha, I let the students provide evidence for whether or not Sasha should be punished. The evidence that the students provide must be direct quotations from the story. The students would then use that evidence for a paper and PowerPoint presentation. I chose to have two people defending Sasha and two people prosecuting Sasha be in the same group for the reason that they can learn from each other and see things from a different perspective.
Students need to read "A Problem" before attempting to complete this WebQuest. Students will also need to go back and skim through the story to find direct quotes to support their reasons regarding the accusations facing Sasha. For example, the following passage is a quote from Sasha's Uncle Ivan that would benefit the defense for Sasha: "If Sasha's error bordered upon crime, they must remember that Sasha had received practically no education; he had been expelled from high school in the fifth class; he had lost his parents in early childhood, and so had been left at the tenderest age without guidance and good, benevolent influences." Contrary to the preceding direct quote, the following passage is a quote from Sasha's other uncle that would benefit the prosecution of Sasha: "That's what I say: whatever may be the motives for screening a scoundrel, whoever he may be, and helping him to escape punishment, it is contrary to law and unworthy of a gentleman." There are other passages from the story that serve the intended purpose of defending or prosecuting Sasha. Students need to have a minimum of three direct quotations in the PowerPoint presentation, followed by their own interpretation of the quote. The resources provided in the WebQuest help give assistance to students who need to be more informed about the story, as well as, give assistance regarding direct quotes and thesis statements. If students have read the story, viewed the resources, and have asked their fellow group members for help, the WebQuest should not be difficult to complete.
Since this WebQuest is a group project, members may be assigned different roles regarding their skills for certain tasks. For example, if a student has a difficult time writing a paper, the partner of that student can write the paper and have that other student give ideas from the story. The student having difficulties writing papers may then get help from the student who wrote the paper and create the PowerPoint presentation. This is a group project for a reason. It helps balance out the strengths and weaknesses of the students involved.
Below are some questions that I ask students upon completion of the WebQuest:
1) What is the importance of demonstrating that there are two sides to every story?
2) Is it absolutely necessary to look at a situation from a different point of view before determining your take on it?
3) What other situations could you apply the techniques that you used to complete this WebQuest?
4) After completing the WebQuest and not being assigned to a specific role in the project, do you believe Sasha should have been punished for forging the false promissory note and cashing it?
Thank you for taking the time to view my WebQuest!
To learn more about WebQuests, click here.
Students need to read "A Problem" before attempting to complete this WebQuest. Students will also need to go back and skim through the story to find direct quotes to support their reasons regarding the accusations facing Sasha. For example, the following passage is a quote from Sasha's Uncle Ivan that would benefit the defense for Sasha: "If Sasha's error bordered upon crime, they must remember that Sasha had received practically no education; he had been expelled from high school in the fifth class; he had lost his parents in early childhood, and so had been left at the tenderest age without guidance and good, benevolent influences." Contrary to the preceding direct quote, the following passage is a quote from Sasha's other uncle that would benefit the prosecution of Sasha: "That's what I say: whatever may be the motives for screening a scoundrel, whoever he may be, and helping him to escape punishment, it is contrary to law and unworthy of a gentleman." There are other passages from the story that serve the intended purpose of defending or prosecuting Sasha. Students need to have a minimum of three direct quotations in the PowerPoint presentation, followed by their own interpretation of the quote. The resources provided in the WebQuest help give assistance to students who need to be more informed about the story, as well as, give assistance regarding direct quotes and thesis statements. If students have read the story, viewed the resources, and have asked their fellow group members for help, the WebQuest should not be difficult to complete.
Since this WebQuest is a group project, members may be assigned different roles regarding their skills for certain tasks. For example, if a student has a difficult time writing a paper, the partner of that student can write the paper and have that other student give ideas from the story. The student having difficulties writing papers may then get help from the student who wrote the paper and create the PowerPoint presentation. This is a group project for a reason. It helps balance out the strengths and weaknesses of the students involved.
Below are some questions that I ask students upon completion of the WebQuest:
1) What is the importance of demonstrating that there are two sides to every story?
2) Is it absolutely necessary to look at a situation from a different point of view before determining your take on it?
3) What other situations could you apply the techniques that you used to complete this WebQuest?
4) After completing the WebQuest and not being assigned to a specific role in the project, do you believe Sasha should have been punished for forging the false promissory note and cashing it?
Thank you for taking the time to view my WebQuest!
To learn more about WebQuests, click here.
NETS for Students
1. Creativity and Innovation Students: a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. b. create original works as means of personal or group expression 3. Research and Information Fluency Students: d. process data and report results. 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Students: a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation. b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions. d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. |
NETS for Teachers
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity Teachers: a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments Teachers: a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching. 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning Teachers: d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility Teachers: b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources. |
English Language Arts Content Standards for Michigan
STRAND 1 Writing, Speaking, and Expressing
STANDARD 1.1 Understand and practice writing as a recursive process.
CE 1.1.4 Compose drafts that convey an impression, express an opinion, raise a question, argue a position, tell a story, or serve another purpose, while simultaneously considering the constraints and possibilities (e.g., structure, language, use of conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics) of the selected form or genre.
STANDARD 1.3 Communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style appropriate to the audience and purpose (e.g., to reflect, persuade, inform, analyze, entertain, inspire).
CE 1.3.1 Compose written, spoken, and/or multimedia compositions in a range of genres (e.g., personal narrative, biography, poem, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, summary, literary analysis essay, research report, or work-related text): pieces that serve a variety of purposes (e.g., expressive, informative, creative, and persuasive) and that use a variety of organizational patterns (e.g., autobiography, free verse, dialogue, comparison/contrast, definition, or cause and effect).
CE 1.3.4 Develop and extend a thesis, argument, or exploration of a topic by analyzing differing perspectives and employing a structure that effectively conveys the ideas in writing (e.g., resolve inconsistencies in logic; use a range of strategies to persuade, clarify, and defend a position with precise and relevant evidence; anticipate and address concerns and counterclaims; provide a clear and effective conclusion).
STANDARD 1.4 Develop and use the tools and practices of inquiry and research--generating, exploring, and refining important questions; creating a hypothesis or thesis; gathering and studying evidence; drawing conclusions; and composing a report.
CE 1.4.2 Develop a system for gathering, organizing, paraphrasing, and summarizing information; select, evaluate, synthesize, and use multiple primary and secondary (print and electronic) resources.
CE 1.4.3 Develop and refine a position, claim, thesis, or hypothesis that will be explored and supported by analyzing different perspectives, resolving inconsistencies, and writing about those differences in a structure appropriate for the audience (e.g., argumentative essay that avoids inconsistencies in logic and develops a single thesis; exploratory essay that explains differences and similarities and raises additional questions).
STANDARD 1.5 Produce a variety of written, spoken, multigenre, and multimedia works, making conscious choices about language, form, style, and/or visual representation for each work (e.g., poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction stories, academic and literary essays, proposals, memos, manifestos, business letters, advertisements, prepared speeches, group and dramatic performances, poetry slams, and digital stories).
CE 1.5.1 Use writing, speaking, and visual expression to develop powerful, creative, and critical messages.
CE 1.5.3 Select format and tone based on the desired effect and audience, using effective written and spoken language, sound, and/or visual representations (e.g., focus, transitions, facts, detail and evidence to support judgments, skillful use of rhetorical devices, and a coherent conclusion).
CE 1.5.4 Use technology tools (e.g., word processing, presentation and multimedia software) to produce polished written and multimedia work (e.g., literary and expository works, proposals, business presentations, advertisements).
STRAND 2 Reading, Listening, and Viewing
STANDARD 2.1 Develop critical reading, listening, and viewing strategies
CE 2.1.5 Analyze and evaluate the components of multiple organizational patterns (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, fact/opinion, theory/evidence).
CE 2.1.7 Demonstrate understanding of written, spoken, or visual information by restating, paraphrasing, summarizing, critiquing, or composing a personal response; distinguish between a summary and a critique.
STANDARD 2.2 Use a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies to construct meaning beyond the literal level (e.g., drawing inferences; confirming and correcting; making comparisons; connections, and generalizations; and drawing conclusions).
CE 2.2.3 Interpret the meaning of written, spoken, and visual texts by drawing on different cultural, theoretical, and critical perspectives.
STANDARD 3 Literature and Culture
STRAND 3.1 Develop the skills of close and contextual literary reading.
CE 3.1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of literary characterization, character development, the function of main and minor characters, motives and causes for action, and moral dilemmas that characters encounter by describing their function in specific works.
STANDARD 3.2 Read and respond to classic and contemporary fiction, literary nonfiction, and expository text, from a variety of literary genres representing many time periods and authors (e.g., myth, epic, folklore, drama, poetry, autobiography, novels, short stories, philosophical pieces, science fiction, fantasy, young adult literature, creative non-fiction, hypertext fiction).
CE 3.2.5 Respond to literature in a variety of ways (e.g., dramatic interpretation, reader's theater, literature circles, illustration, writing in a character's voice, engaging in social action, writing an analytic essay) providing examples of how texts affect their lives, connect with them with the contemporary world, and communicate across time.
STANDARD 3.3 Use knowledge of literary history, traditions, and theory to respond to and analyze the meanings of texts.
CE 3.3.5 Demonstrate familiarity with world literature, including authors beyond American and British literary traditions.
STRAND 4
STANDARD 4.1. Understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings.
CE 4.1.5 Demonstrate and use conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics in written texts, including parts of speech, sentence structure and variety, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
STRAND 1 Writing, Speaking, and Expressing
STANDARD 1.1 Understand and practice writing as a recursive process.
CE 1.1.4 Compose drafts that convey an impression, express an opinion, raise a question, argue a position, tell a story, or serve another purpose, while simultaneously considering the constraints and possibilities (e.g., structure, language, use of conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics) of the selected form or genre.
STANDARD 1.3 Communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style appropriate to the audience and purpose (e.g., to reflect, persuade, inform, analyze, entertain, inspire).
CE 1.3.1 Compose written, spoken, and/or multimedia compositions in a range of genres (e.g., personal narrative, biography, poem, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, summary, literary analysis essay, research report, or work-related text): pieces that serve a variety of purposes (e.g., expressive, informative, creative, and persuasive) and that use a variety of organizational patterns (e.g., autobiography, free verse, dialogue, comparison/contrast, definition, or cause and effect).
CE 1.3.4 Develop and extend a thesis, argument, or exploration of a topic by analyzing differing perspectives and employing a structure that effectively conveys the ideas in writing (e.g., resolve inconsistencies in logic; use a range of strategies to persuade, clarify, and defend a position with precise and relevant evidence; anticipate and address concerns and counterclaims; provide a clear and effective conclusion).
STANDARD 1.4 Develop and use the tools and practices of inquiry and research--generating, exploring, and refining important questions; creating a hypothesis or thesis; gathering and studying evidence; drawing conclusions; and composing a report.
CE 1.4.2 Develop a system for gathering, organizing, paraphrasing, and summarizing information; select, evaluate, synthesize, and use multiple primary and secondary (print and electronic) resources.
CE 1.4.3 Develop and refine a position, claim, thesis, or hypothesis that will be explored and supported by analyzing different perspectives, resolving inconsistencies, and writing about those differences in a structure appropriate for the audience (e.g., argumentative essay that avoids inconsistencies in logic and develops a single thesis; exploratory essay that explains differences and similarities and raises additional questions).
STANDARD 1.5 Produce a variety of written, spoken, multigenre, and multimedia works, making conscious choices about language, form, style, and/or visual representation for each work (e.g., poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction stories, academic and literary essays, proposals, memos, manifestos, business letters, advertisements, prepared speeches, group and dramatic performances, poetry slams, and digital stories).
CE 1.5.1 Use writing, speaking, and visual expression to develop powerful, creative, and critical messages.
CE 1.5.3 Select format and tone based on the desired effect and audience, using effective written and spoken language, sound, and/or visual representations (e.g., focus, transitions, facts, detail and evidence to support judgments, skillful use of rhetorical devices, and a coherent conclusion).
CE 1.5.4 Use technology tools (e.g., word processing, presentation and multimedia software) to produce polished written and multimedia work (e.g., literary and expository works, proposals, business presentations, advertisements).
STRAND 2 Reading, Listening, and Viewing
STANDARD 2.1 Develop critical reading, listening, and viewing strategies
CE 2.1.5 Analyze and evaluate the components of multiple organizational patterns (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, fact/opinion, theory/evidence).
CE 2.1.7 Demonstrate understanding of written, spoken, or visual information by restating, paraphrasing, summarizing, critiquing, or composing a personal response; distinguish between a summary and a critique.
STANDARD 2.2 Use a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies to construct meaning beyond the literal level (e.g., drawing inferences; confirming and correcting; making comparisons; connections, and generalizations; and drawing conclusions).
CE 2.2.3 Interpret the meaning of written, spoken, and visual texts by drawing on different cultural, theoretical, and critical perspectives.
STANDARD 3 Literature and Culture
STRAND 3.1 Develop the skills of close and contextual literary reading.
CE 3.1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of literary characterization, character development, the function of main and minor characters, motives and causes for action, and moral dilemmas that characters encounter by describing their function in specific works.
STANDARD 3.2 Read and respond to classic and contemporary fiction, literary nonfiction, and expository text, from a variety of literary genres representing many time periods and authors (e.g., myth, epic, folklore, drama, poetry, autobiography, novels, short stories, philosophical pieces, science fiction, fantasy, young adult literature, creative non-fiction, hypertext fiction).
CE 3.2.5 Respond to literature in a variety of ways (e.g., dramatic interpretation, reader's theater, literature circles, illustration, writing in a character's voice, engaging in social action, writing an analytic essay) providing examples of how texts affect their lives, connect with them with the contemporary world, and communicate across time.
STANDARD 3.3 Use knowledge of literary history, traditions, and theory to respond to and analyze the meanings of texts.
CE 3.3.5 Demonstrate familiarity with world literature, including authors beyond American and British literary traditions.
STRAND 4
STANDARD 4.1. Understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings.
CE 4.1.5 Demonstrate and use conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics in written texts, including parts of speech, sentence structure and variety, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.