For the Teacher:
This page is for the teacher of this webquest activity. It includes: purpose, rationale, learner description, prerequisites, instructional objectives, standards met, subject matter description, and assessment.
Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to familiarize students with major events in ancient Roman history. Also, to require students to analyze the causal relationships between events, and the downfall of Rome.
Rationale:
It is important for social studies students to understand the relationships among events, including the effects of major events on the course of history. To know the name and date of an event requires only recall, which is in the lowest domain of Bloom's Taxonomy. If students to create something with the events, as they will in this lesson, students will have to access their higher-order thinking skills such as, application, analysis, and synthesis.
Learner Description:
This WebQuest was designed for middle school students studying ancient civilizations, including Rome.
Prerequisites:
Students should be familiar with Web 2.0 tools such as Google Docs, and proficiency in web browsing, and Windows applications. The task in this WebQuest may be easily altered to meet the needs of all students.
Instructional Objectives:
- The students will be able to identify important events in Roman history
- The students will be able to illustrate one major event in depth, in a variety of ways
- The students will be able to create an accurate timeline of events
- The students will be able to compose an answer to the big question, supporting their response with relevant detail
- The students will be able to evaluate their own work, and the work of their peers
Standards:
6th Grade Social Studies-Hawaii State Standards-addressed with this WebQuest
- Understand change and/or continuity and cause and/or effect in history
- Use the tools and methods of inquiry, perspective, and empathy to explain historical events with multiple interpretations and judge the past on its own terms
- Understand important historical events from ancient times through the Renaissance
Subject Matter Description:
The studens will:
- Read an introduction to the topic
- Read the task page to understand what you will be doing and where you will be going
- Complete each step in the process
- Evaluate yourself and your peers
- Read and reflect in the colclusion
In each section listed above, students will:
- Conduct research on main events in Roman history
- List at least 10 events you feel were most influential to the course of Rome's history
- Choose one event to illutsrate using a comic book template
- Create a timeline of your events
- Explain which event you think most contributed to Rome's downfall and why
- Submit and evaluate your explanation, and evaluate two of your classmate's explanations.
Assessment
Students will be assesed on the task elements of the WebQuest using the rubric under the evaluation section.
