Introduction
Summer 1922
You are a newspaper reporter for a small paper in New York City. As you sit in your office on a hot and steamy August afternoon, your thoughts wander as you listen to the slow hum of the fan and click clack of keys on the typewriter. Suddenly you hear a quick, loud knock.
“Come in,” you shout through the closed door of your office. Your boss, Jim, enters the room looking terribly troubled. “What’s the matter Jim?”
“The reporters responsible for the Sunday edition of the paper were suddenly called on special report, and are now unable to finish the big story that we have planned. I don't know what I'm going to do! We had four different stories lined up, and I need you and three other reporters to pick up the slack to put this paper together. Do you think you can handle it?”
“Don’t worry. We have it covered."
Task
The next book that we are reading in class is entitled The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As you may already know from our introduction, The Great Gatsby is set in the summer of 1922 in New York. According to Gross & Gross (1998), "The Great Gatsby is a book about disillusionment with the American dream of success as that dream is misunderstood by Jay Gatsby, who sees no difference between his success as a criminal and legitimate forms of achievement."
During this WebQuest, you will get the opportunity to explore different areas of study related to this time period through the exploration of various web sites, sources, and discussion with your peers. All of the information that you gather will give you a better understanding of the historical context in which this novel is set.
Your mission is to ultimately develop a newspaper that includes four factual yet creative articles detailing different areas of historical importance in the 1920s in America, a political cartoon, and a crossword puzzle. You will also be responsible for organizing your data collected in preparation to discuss with other members of the class.
Process
In order to complete the newspaper on time, you and your colleagues must follow the steps listed below:
Day 1 with Group Members
1. Form groups of four. Your group members are now your colleagues and fellow reporters for your assignment.
2. Read the entire "process" and all the steps before moving on with the assignment.
3. There are four different topics that need to be covered for the newspaper. Decide amongst yourselves who will cover the following areas:
- Prohibition
- The Jazz Age
- The Harding Administration: Corruption and Scandals
- Mobsters, Gangsters, and Crime in the 1920's
You will be exploring various websites relating to your chosen topic to gain more information (see links at the top of the blog on the right side). Before you begin, decide whether you would like to use an outline or a graphic organizer to compile the information that you find on your topic. Below are links to two different resources, one for an outline creator and the other for graphic organizers. These will help you quickly, neatly, and easily organize and collect the information about your topic. You may also simply use a Microsoft Word document if you prefer.
- If you want to use an outline to organize your information, click here.
- If you want to use a graphic organizer to organize your information, click here.
Compile and organize the information you find interesting and relevant. Organize your information in your outline / graphic organizer.
Day 2 with Group Members
4. Once you have gathered and organized all your information about your topic, find the members of the other groups in the class with the same topic as yourself. This is called the Jigsaw method, and helps you better comprehend the information that you read, clear up any confusion that you have, as well as provide the opportunity to obtain other people's opinions on the same information that you read. Time will be provided for you to meet and discuss your information of the particular topic on which you have chosen to report.
On your own...
5. Now that you have had a chance to gather information on your topic as well as discuss your findings with others who are reporting on the same topic, it is time to write your article for the newspaper.
- Compile a list of five vocabulary words that relate to your topic (this is for your crossword puzzle later on). Type the words and define them in a Microsoft Word document. In addition to your list of words, use the facts and information you have gathered in your research to write a creative newspaper article. It is your choice to determine what type of article it is you wish to write.
- For your article, you may write an investigative report type article, an interview article, a "letter to the editor" type article, or any other article that appear in real newspapers. Be creative! Come up with a catchy title, include some pictures quotes, and have fun. The article should be written in 12 size font, double spaced, and should be two to three pages in length. Do not worry about making it look like a real newspaper article yet. Just type it out and this will be taken care of when you meet back with your group.
Day 3 with Group Members
6. Meet back with your team of reporters after completing your article. Discuss your factual findings and share what you learned about your topic. Now, combine the factual articles from each member of your group to form your newspaper. You have the option of either using the "Printing Press Tool" or Microsoft Word to format your newspaper to look like a real one. Be creative and have fun!
Here is the link to the "Printing Press Tool"
7. No newspaper is complete without a political cartoon. You now have a greater knowledge of what the time period during which The Great Gatsby took place was like. As a group, create a political cartoon addressing any facet of the 1920's that you would like to address.
Click here to see some examples of prohibition cartoons.
8. Another crucial part of the newspaper is none other than the crossword puzzle! Now you will get the chance to use that list of five vocabulary words that you collected in your research of your particular topic. As a group use the following link to create a crossword puzzle for your newspaper. Combine your lists of words to include most or all of them in the puzzle.
Make your crossword puzzle here.
Day 4 with Group Members (On Due Date)
9. Complete a self-evaluation. Print out the rubric and score yourself. How do you think you did in meeting all of the requirements? As a group, print and fill out the "Group Assessment" rubric.
10. Hand in hard copies of notes, articles, final newspaper, political cartoon, and crossword puzzle. Make copies of the newspaper for each group member so that you have this information available as we read the novel.
Evaluation
You will each receive two grades for this WebQuest assignment. The first grade will be based on how well you meet the requirements of the rubric entitled "Individual Assessment." This is your personal grade for the work that you contribute to the group. The second grade that you will receive on this WebQuest assignment is a group grade. The group grade will be based on how well you meet the requirements of the rubric entitled "Group Assessment." Your individual grade counts as 60 percent of your final grade, and your group grade accounts for the other 40 percent.
