Prtest Sngs f the 6's WebQuest

Introduction

The 60's were a time of social unrest in the United States and the youth were not shy about expressing their views and options. We had signs of protest and demonstrations for everything including women's lib,civil rights,environmental issues and the Vietnam War. It was an extremely exciting time in history and the music of this decade awakened a lot of us to what was hip or unhip in the world around us. Who can forget the music of Bob Dylan,Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and the Beatles.

The Quest

Did the demonstrations,sit-ins,protests and music really change anything?

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of students in class. Each group will answer the Task or Quest(ion). As a member of the group you will explore Webpages from people all over the world who care about Protest Songs of the 60's. Because these are real Webpages we're tapping into, not things made just for schools, the reading level might challenge you. Feel free to use the online Webster dictionary or one in your classroom.

You'll begin with everyone in your group getting some background before dividing into roles where people on your team become experts on one part of the topic.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the basic questions of who? what? where? when? why? and how? Be creative in exploring the information so that you answer these questions as fully and insightfully as you can.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Individuals or pairs from your larger WebQuest team will explore one of the roles below.

2. Read through the files linked to your group. 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 by dragging the mouse across the passage and copying / pasting it into a word processor or other writing software.

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 to prove your point.

4. Be prepared to focus what you've learned into one main opinion that answers the Big Quest(ion) or Task based on what you have learned from the links for your role.

Student

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to role, job or perspective #1:You are an American student who witnessed some of the most important moments in the fight against segregation and the anti-war movement in the 50's and 60's.

1.What happened at Little Rock High School,Arkansas?

2.What was the purpose of the sit-ins?

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/cgi-bin/fil2.pl
http://www.atlapedia.com
 

Journalist

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to role, job or perspective #2:You are an American journalist who witnessed some of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement.

1.Who were the most important Civil Rights leaders?
2.What role did John Kennedy play in the Civil Rights movement?
http://blackhistory.eb.com
http://historychannel.com

Singer

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to role, job or perspective #3:You are an American singer who performed at many concerts and was actively involved in the fight against segregation and the anti-war movement.

http://www.rockinwoman.com/protest.html
http://www.rede-nonio.min-edu.pt/es/sebgama/webquest/singer.html

1.What role did protest songs play in the fight for Civil Rights?
2.What are some well known protest singers/groups?
3.What are some titles of protest songs?
2.What happened at Kent State University on May4,1970?

Pacifist

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to role, job or perspective #4:You are a pacifist and you are actively involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 60's.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn
http://www.us-history.com
 

1.How did the Americans get involved in the Vietnam War?
2.What happened at Kent State University on May4,1970?

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all learned about a different part of Protest Songs of the 60's. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Task / Quest(ion) as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information, pictures, movies, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the Task / Quest(ion). Your WebQuest team should write out an answer that everyone on the team can live with.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

You and your teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the time to put your learning into a letter you'll send out for real world feedback. Together you will write a letter that contains opinions, information, and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:

1. Begin your letter with a statement of who you are and why you are writing your message to this particular person or organization.

2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.

STATE THE TASK / QUEST(ION) AND YOUR GROUP'S ANSWER.

3. Each person in your group should write a paragraph that gives two good reasons supporting the group's opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the information proves your group's point).

4. Have each person on the team proofread the message. Use correct letter format and make sure you have correctly addressed the email message. Use the link below to make contact. Send your message and make sure your teacher gets a copy.

Your Contact is: Mr.Bruce C. Bednarsky - Protest Songs of the 60's,Civil Rights

Conclusion

So is an elephant smooth, rough, soft, or hard? Well, when you're blindfolded and only *looking* at one part, it's easy to come up with an answer that may not be completely right. It's the same for understanding a topic as broad or complex as Protest Songs of the 60's: when you only know part of the picture, you only know part of the picture. Now you all know a lot more. Nice work. You should be proud of yourselves! How can you use what you've learned to see beyond the black and white of a topic and into the grayer areas? What other parts of Protest Songs of the 60's could still be explored? Remember, learning never stops.

Content by BRUCE C> BEDNARSKY, b.bednarsky@milford.org  http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/webprotestb.html  Last revised Thu Jun 22 6:39:08 US/Pacific 2000