Great Gatsby Webquest – for American Literature Students only

Good morning guys!  We will be in the computer lab today, Monday, April 10 and will use the research you gather in class on Tuesday.  You will be issued your Great Gatsby books in class on Monday.  The first chapter needs to be read by the time you come to class on Wed. April 11.

Here’s your Great Gatsby webquest with instructitons: 

If you need to, print one out for your group.

Introduction: On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess.Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. But how empty was their pursuit?  

 The Quest 

ü       To research an aspect of the 1920s, gather research, and answer the essential question verbally and on paper.

ü       This quest will take one day in class researching and answering questions; however, you will need to bring your research printed out and responses to your question in class on Tuesday, April 10 so that you can discuss with your group and write a group response to your question. 

Grade:  .50 of a paper grade.

Phase 1 – Background: Something for EveryoneUse the Internet links below to get a strong background on the book and the time period. Work as a group going through the different sites, and begin to develop a real understanding of the topics as they relate to the task.

 1.       The Roaring 20′s: Art and Culture – www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties

2.       New York City in the 1920′s – Gives a history of
New York City in the 1920′s, particularly the new role of women in society. http://www.livingcityarchive.org/htm/decades/1920.htm 

3.   The Harlem Renaissance –  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_renaissance

4.       The American Dream – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream

Phase 2 – Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives INSTRUCTIONS:

GROUP: 1. Assign a topic below to each member of your group.  Note: you have more topics than you do group members.  I did this so you would have more choices.

INDIVIDUAL: 2. Begin reading through the Internet sites linked to your topic.  If you print out the files, underline the passages that you feel are the most important. If you look at the files on the computer, copy sections you feel are important into a Word document. Save all your research to your file on the school’s network and email it to yourself as well.

GROUP: 3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to prove your point.

INDIVIDUAL: 4.Be prepared to focus what you’ve learned into one main opinion that answers the Essential Question or Task based on what you have learned from the links for your role.

Questions for each person:  Roaring 20′s Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Roaring 20′s:1. What made the 1920′s ‘roaring’?

2. How was the decade a period of transformation in all aspects of culture?

3. What were some literary works that deal with satirizing wealth and status in society? What did they discuss and what points did they make? 
 

New York City Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to New York City:

1. How was New York City an important area of change in the 1920′s?  

2. What groups experienced the greatest change?

3. Was this change reflective of a decline of the American Dream?
 

Harlem Renaissance

1. What was the Harlem Renaissance and why was it significant?

2.   What were some of the topics that writers dealt with during the Harlem Renaissance?

3. Choose one author and explain his/her influence on the Harlem Renaissance?

The American Dream

 1. What is the American Dream?

2. What was the ‘American Dream’ in the 1920s?

3. How could the American Dream be seen as on the decline?

Phase 3 – Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus  - Tuesday, April 10.You have all learned about a different part of The Great Gatsby. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Big Question as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information and any medias found from your research through the provided websites to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team’s answer to the Question. Your WebQuest team should write out an answer that everyone on the team can live with.   Essential Question:  How did the 1920’s change and influence American Culture in ways that exist today?**Write a page response that covers all your groups’ research equally.  Your first sentence should be your thesis and your answer should then intertwine your individual group members’ research in a cohesive essay response.   Do not use quotations from your research.  You need to put everything in your own words.  Everyone should read the finished product – I would suggest writing it in pencil, so that you can make changes – and edit/revise it accordingly. This is due at the end of the period on Tuesday.  Your rubric will be given at the beginning of class on Tuesday.