A WebQuest is a way of learning about a subject primarily via the Internet. Other materials,
such as lecture notes, textbooks, magazine articles, photographs and pictures can be used to
help you learn about your Unit I WebQuest paper topic. However, your main source of material
needed to complete your paper is available below on the WebQuest Sites page.
Unit I WebQuest Requirements:
1. You are to write a first person narrative - such as a letter or diary entry - that focuses
upon one subject listed within the Unit I WebQuest Sites, but you should incorporate several
historical events into your paper from other subjects listed. As a result you will bring
issues relating to politics, culture and society into your paper.
For example, if your main subject is the labor movement, you can mention how immigration, the
Great Migration or women have affected jobs. You can discuss the last Presidential election and
which candidate you preferred for work-related reasons. You can mention the Depression and/or
New Deal if your paper is based in the 1930s.
2. Your paper must be 3-4 pages in length, typed, double spaced, and with 12 point font. It must
have a cover page and citation page. The cover page needs the following information:
- name
- section
- subject heading
- title
- date
The citation page needs the following information:
- title of two of three websites based on your subject from WebQuest list
- page numbers of information used from On the Edge: The U.S. in the 20th Century
Citation is important because it shows where you found information. It shows where you looked and
what you thought was most important. Citation helps to avoid plagiarism because the graduate
assistants are familiar with the websites and textbook. You need to read through parts of at least
two of your subject websites and cite them at the end. You must also list the pages used for
background information from the course textbook. Again, this will be in the citation page at the end
of your paper.
3. You must incorporate the three main areas of study (politics, culture and society) into your work.
Also, add information about several specific historical events to add weight to your paper and make it
sound more realistic as a first person narrative. Therefore, look briefly through a variety of the
sites listed, lecture notes, and the textbook before you write your paper. Choose a particular year
as the basis of your work, then look for events that happened around that time for the "historical"
part of your work.
4. Remember that this is a creative paper, so have fun writing it. Think about some recent historical
films such as Titanic, Amistad, and Braveheat. They are all based around history, but not all parts
of the films were based on historical fact. Some parts were added for creativity to make the films
more enjoyable. This is one part of your paper. Be creative in the personal aspects of your paper.
But also remember that this is a historical paper, so it needs to have some historical background
to support the creative side of your work.
5. Suggested Topics:
- Immigration
- Labor
- Progressives and Social Reform
- The Red Scare
- African Americans
- Women
- Illinois
- Prohibition
- 1920s Society
- 1920s Culture
- Stock Market Crash
- Great Depression
- New Deal
