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:

  1. Understand the powers of the presidency as spelled out by the Constitution of the United States.
  2. Describe the serious issues that confronted the United States in the 20th century and the presidential response to those issues.
  3. Explain how the United States evolved into a global superpower in the 20th century.
  4. Describe the changes in the demographics of the population during the 20th century
  5. Cogently express ideas of presidential leadership before an audience of their peers.

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:

  • 11.2 Students analyze the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
  • 11.4 Students trace the rise of the United States to its role as a world power in the twentieth century.
  • 11.5 Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.
  • 11.6 Students analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government.
  • 11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
  • 11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.

Subject Matter Description

This activity follows a model developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March. There are six sections for the students:

  1. Introduction: This section introduces the students to the concept of presidential greatness and some of the challenges which confronted presidents of the 20th century.
  2. Task: This section lays out the work ahead for the students and gives them a set of instructions to follow as their learning evolves. It also provides a goal for the entire group participating and doing well.
  3. Process: The Process section first provides the students with rudimentary knowledge about the presidency as a whole. They are then required to define the qualities of presidential greatness without knowing which presidents they will represent. This allows them to synthesize their knowledge of the presidency in the most generic terms which will prove more lasting than simply reviewing presidential performance. Once they have established their frame of reference, students will apply their yardstick to the presidents of the 20th century and grade them.
  4. Evaluation: A rubric is included to allow for self-evaluation as well as teacher evaluation. It is vital that the students use specifics to bolster their arguments.
  5. Conclusion: Now that the students have defined what presidential greatness is, this section asks them to remember the qualities they've listed and apply them, in the future, when they visit the polls.

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.