Teacher's guide to Settlers or Exploiters of the 'New World'? WebQuest

by Lori Krane

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Introduction

Use this WebQuest to help Fourth Grade Social Studies students learn whether or not the Settlers of the 'New World' were in fact Exploiters. The goal is to get students to engage in critical thinking.

Overview

Main Topic:	Settlers or Exploiters of the 'New World'?
Subtopics:	Who were the first European settlers of the 'New World'? What kinds of people were they? Why did those settlers come to the 'New World'? What were the different reasons that different groups of settlers had for coming to the 'New World'? Where were the first European settlements in the 'New World'? Who and what was already there? What were the effects of those European settlements on the indigenous population of the 'New World'?
Grade Level:	Fourth
Subject(s):	Social Studies
Learning Goals:	Learn how to do in depth research using selected web sites. Engage in critical thinking. Synthesize various pieces of information in order to come to an understanding of the topic and to be able to answer (or at least have an educated opinion on) the question posed by the main topic.

Vision and Reality

If the learning goal were achieved in the most ideal of perfect worlds it would look something like:

My students will be highly engaged in this activity and eager to find out the truth about the European colonization of America and its impact on America's indigenous population. This Quest will cause them to embark on deep research bearing factual conclusions.

However, I anticipate that:

Based on the vision set for this activity, it is likely that my students will be highly engaged and eager to answer the question posed as the main topic.  However, they will probably not research well enough to get a deep understanding of the topic.  They may find it too difficult and time consuming to do the work that will allow them to come to a factual conclusion as to whether the Europeans were settlers or exploiters of the 'New World'.

The What - If Inventory

To give the activity its best chance at helping students learn, I assembled this list of possible resources:

The Internet
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word

Context for our topic
A wealth of information for our research

Exchange of questions and information with various American Indian students, either via email or web-based activities. Possibly to create a collaborative project -- web pages on the truth about the European colonization of America.

Students could visit an American Indian museum or exhibit.
My students' final project could be presented to the public via the web, by inviting parents and community members to a school exhibit of the finished projects, etc.

Conclusion

This activity will provide students with an authentic task giving them the opportunity to do real research and come to their own conclusions on a most controversial subject.

created by Lori Krane
email: [email protected]