Tom Sawyer WebQuest

Introduction

Life would be very different for you as a kid living in Hannibal, Missouri, in the 1850s. This is the world of Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. To explore this world, you will assume the role of one of four characters in the novel: Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Amy, Lawrence, or Becky Thatcher.

This WebQuest will take you back in time to learn about everyday life along the Mississippi River in pre-Civil War Missouri. Using what you learn from the book and from your research, you will keep a character journal. You will use this information to collaborate with several other students on a skit to be presented to the class.

The Quest

What is another adventure that Tom and his friends might have experienced in their world of Hannibal?

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of students in class. Each member of the group will choose a character from the novel and keep a character journal based on reading and research. Information from the journal will be used by each group to create an original skit. Groups will perform their skits for the class. As a member of the group you will explore Webpages from people all over the world who know about Tom Sawyer. 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 choosing roles.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the basic questions:

1. What did kids do for fun?

2. How was the school day different in Tom's day?

3. What was the importance of the river to the people of Hannibal?

4. How was life different for boys and girls during that time?

5. What part did religion play in people's daily lives?

Be creative in exploring the information so that you can incorporate this information into your journals and skits.

Tom Sawyer's Band - Read this story to learn about Tom's friends and shenanigans.

Mark Twain's America - Background material about a film version showing what life was like during Mark Twain's times.

The Little Town of Hannibal - More background on Twain's hometown.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Individuals from each WebQuest team will choose a role: either Tom, Huck, Amy, or Becky.

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 bookmark 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 use the information gathered for your skit about life in Hannibal, Missouri during the time of Tom Sawyer.

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have learned about daily life in Tom Sawyer's time. Use the information in your character journal and from the Webpages you explored to create a skit showing another adventure that Tom and his friends might have experienced. What you learned from the novel about your character's personality and habits should be reflected in your skit. Information about the daily life of this period should be reflected in costumes, props, and scenery for your skit.

Phase 4 - Final Presentation

1. Each co-operative group should meet and first determine the adventure that Tom and his friends will be involved in.

2. Write a plot summary that involves a conflict which is resolved by the end of the skit.

3. Assign roles based upon the entries in your character journals.

4. Write dialogue that will be used to perform your skit for the class.

5. Design costumes and scenery for your skit.

6. Present your group production to the class.

Conclusion

You have learned how everyday life for a child living in the Pre-Civil War period of Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri differed from life today. The information you gathered from your reading of the novel and your research allowed you to create lively skits that took us back to this period in history. Through your imaginative skits, characters created by Mark Twain long ago continue to entertain us today.

Content by K. Cortland &D.Wasilewski, kcortland@milforded.org