The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Welcoming Committee Webquest

Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Teachers

Introduction
Elizabethan England and Caesar’s Rome were expanding empires. Both sought new lands, more people, and of course, more money. Your job is to insure peace and prosperity in these newly acquired lands by welcoming their people to the empire. The “new arrivals” (we wouldn’t dare call them “conquered”) need to know basic survival skills in this foreign culture.
 

The Task
Each group will be assigned a particular topic on either England or Rome to research. You will prepare materials for an oral presentation, a brochure, and lastly, a quiz (with an answer key) that can be distributed later.
 

The Process

Each group will be provided with an official government directive specific to its assignment.  The directive will supply you with several questions that must be answered and topics that must be covered, as well as three approved sources to get you started. 

Each group is responsible for dividing the work equally among its members.   For instance, one or two people may be responsible for the oral presentation, one may write the brochure, one may write the quiz, and one may write the answer key.  However, you may choose to divide the work in another way that is agreeable to your group.  You will be asked to report the names of each group member and the tasks he or she completed. 

Time Limits
As a class, we will spend two days using a computer lab where you may do research and meet as a group. Although you may be surprised with a little extra time to work in the classroom, expect that any further work must be done outside of class. In other words, don’t ask to leave class in order to meet with your group.

All materials must be turned in together on the due date. Groups will be expected to perform their oral presentations on time. Any group that does not perform when they are called will automatically be dropped to a grade no higher than a 34 D+ for the oral presentation portion of the project grade.

Evaluation

Oral Presentation - 50 points  Your group is responsible for making a presentation to a large audience that knows nothing about your culture and assigned topic (i.e. your class).   You should have a 3-5 minute presentation that adequately covers all the topics provided on your government directive.  You may choose to have any number of group members on stage, but it will probably be most successful with at least two presenters.  All presenters must take an active role on stage.  You may choose to spice up your presentation by wearing costumes and bringing in props.  Also, you must have at least one visual aid, either a poster or a PowerPoint presentation.  Both must be colorful, interesting, informative, and easy to see and understand from the back of the room.  PowerPoint presentations must be run from a single 3.5 diskette that is virus-free, or from a single CD.   Keep in mind that since the classroom computer has no speakers, any sounds in your presentation will not be heard.   Please be sure that you test your presentation on a computer other than the one on which it was created before you bring it to class.

Visual Aid Hints:

Quiz and Answer Key - 20 pointsAfter you have completed your research, write a 10 question quiz which could be included as part of a citizenship test for new citizens. All of the information in your quiz should be found easily in your brochure. Include an answer key along with your quiz. Remember that the questions should not be tricky or obscure, but should cover the most important points.

Brochure - 30 points  Not everyone will be able to attend your presentation, and the government would like to use this material for any future new arrivals. So, prepare a three-fold paper brochure which adequately covers the information you will be providing in your oral presentation. Your paper, when unfolded, should be the standard 8 ½ x 11 size, and should not be lined notebook paper. You may handwrite your brochure or create it on the computer. Be sure to use a mixture of text and graphics. After your brochure is folded correctly, you will have six panels to work with, and all should be filled. The brochure should be positive, uplifting, attractive, informative, and free of grammatical errors. Also, be sure to summarize your research; do not plagiarize the original sources.

The entire project will be graded with this rubric.

Resources

Click on your group number to go to your official government directive.

Teachers

This webquest was created by Ms. M. Coppenbarger in 2005 for use by students enrolled in English IIAA and English IIBB at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.  Most students in these classes are sophomores.  The lesson presumes that students will soon begin or have recently begun to read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.  The project takes approximately seven class periods to implement, including one partial day of introducing the project and assigning groups, two days of in-class research, one or two days allowance for out of class research and preparation, and one or two days of oral presentations. 

This webquest was designed to meet the following elements of the Illinois Learning Standards for English Language Arts:

STATE GOAL 4: Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.

B. Speak effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.

4.B.4a Deliver planned informative and persuasive oral presentations using visual aids and contemporary technology as individuals and members of a group; demonstrate organization, clarity, vocabulary, credible and accurate supporting evidence.

4.B.4b Use group discussion skills to assume leadership and participant roles within an assigned project or to reach a group goal.

4.B.4d Use verbal and nonverbal strategies to maintain communication and to resolve individual and group conflict.

STATE GOAL 5: Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.

A. Locate, organize, and use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems and communicate ideas.

5.A.4b Design and present a project (e.g., research report, scientific study, career/higher education opportunities) using various formats from multiple sources.

C. Apply acquired information, concepts and ideas to communicate in a variety of formats.

5.C.4a Plan, compose, edit and revise information (e.g., brochures, formal reports, proposals, research summaries, analyses, editorials, articles, overheads, multimedia displays) for presentation to an audience.

5.C.4b Produce oral presentations and written documents using supportive research and incorporating contemporary technology.