WebQuest Teacher Page
This is the lesson plan for The Presidency of the United States WebQuest. I've written this page so that teachers will know the purpose and objectives of the Quest. The characteristics of the students participating in the quest are discussed as well.
Purpose
The purpose of this WebQuest is to teach the students about the American presidency and how it relates to the 20th century. More importantly it is designed so that students can apply a 21st century perspective to those presidencies. By allowing the students to define their presidential ideals before they know who they will be discussing, it forces them to consider the qualities they want in their own politicians. Lastly, this WebQuest introduces students to debating skills and research. By rewarding the winner of the debate, it gives each member in the group a stake in the result.
Rationale
Far too often, students are directed by the media toward the issues that the media want them to discuss. This exercise removes present day issues and forces the student to consider the qualities of presidential leadership. It follows that, by rating previous presidents, they will develop a set of standards by which they can rate the politicians of their own generation.
Learner Description
This exercise was developed for students between 16 to 18 years of age involved enrolled in some type of government or history course.
Prerequisites
Students partaking in this exercises should be familiar with the Internet and web browsers and should have access to a printer. Additionally, at least one student per group should be capable of addressing their peers in a debate environment.
Instructional Objectives
Upon completing this WebQuest the student will be able to:
Standards Addressed
The set of standards selected for this WebQuest are the Grade 11 History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools
These standards are contained within this PDF Document.
The specific standards met by this exercise are as follows:
Subject Matter Description
This activity follows a model developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March. There are six sections for the students:
Assessment
Students will produce a presidential grading matrix where they list their chosen qualities and how those presidents, to which they were assigned, performed. Additionally, each group will prepare their spokesperson to perform in the class debate. These results will be assessed using the rubric located in the evaluation section of the WebQuest.