The Process for Teachers

  1. The class will be divided into four groups, two representing the Wampanoags and two representing the colonists.

  2. You will choose or be assigned one of the following roles:

  3. After you know your role, fill out the first two sections of a KWL chart with what you already know and what you want to know about your group.

  4. As a class, brainstorm what you know about the English colonists, the Plymouth colony, and the Wampanoag people. Fill out a big KWL chart together.

    **Large chart paper will be needed.

  5. Explore the following resources and use your journal to keep track of what you learn. Pay close attention to details about your specific role, but also record important information that will be helpful to your whole group. Make note of any areas where sources give different information or make different claims. Use this checklist as you work on your journal.

    **If students have little previous experience with analyzing a source for viewpoint or intent of the author, this would be a good opportunity to collaborate with your media specialist on a mini-lesson.

    **During this section, students will need to have a significant block of time (around five one-hour sessions) during which to explore the provided electronic resources and take notes. If you have access to a large computer lab where all students can work simultaneously, this would be ideal. (The use of headphones is recommended, since some of the websites have audio features.) You may also want to provide opportunities for follow-up work, since some students may not have access to computers outside the school.

    **The resource sections ask students to search the Grolier Online Encyclopedias available through the Monroe County Public Library's website at http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/databases/researchtools.html. A library card number is necessary for access. Use of these encyclopedias is not required, but would provide a useful comparison to the website sources, since encyclopedias are usually assumed to be "neutral" and authoritative sources of information. If one computer terminal could be logged into the Grolier Online encyclopedias using the teacher's library card, students could take turns using it. Print encyclopedias could easily be used instead if this arrangement is not feasible.

  6. Using Kidspiration or another drawing program, create a web that shows what you learned about your role. [Example web diagram]

    **If Kidspiration or a similar drawing program is not available, students could easily create a web on paper.

  7. Meet with your group to share what you have learned.

  8. For the television show, one Wampanoag group and one Colonist group will go first, while the others sit in the audience. The teacher will ask questions about what your life was like, how you felt about the other group, and how colonization affected you. Halfway through, the groups will switch places and continue with the discussion. Remember, this is television, so you will be videotaped and the show will be shared with the other fifth grades!

    **The questions from the two resource pages are intended to help guide the discussion, but are certainly not the only ones that could be used. Allow the students on the panel to pose questions to one another and involve the audience as well.

    **A videocamera will be required. If one is unavailable, other students could be invited to watch the "talk show" in person.

  9. Discussion Rules

  10. After the "talk show" is over, describe what you have learned in the L section of your personal KWL chart.

  11. As a class, revisit the large KWL chart. Will you reconsider any of what you knew at the beginning? Have you found out everything you wanted to know? Discuss what you have learned and fill in the last section of the chart.

  12. Complete a reflection questionnaire and a self-evaluation.

  13. Extensions

    Present these activities to precocious students:

    • Explore both sets of resources and create a Venn diagram showing how the two cultural groups were similar and different.

    • Consider the image on the title page of the WebQuest. Based on what you've learned, do you think this drawing is an accurate representation of either group? Why or why not?

    • Would you consider any of the major figures from this time period to be heroes? Why or why not? What makes a person a hero? Create a poster proclaiming your position.