The evil that men do...

A WebQuest for 10th Grade (English II)

Designed by
Barbra Kwan, English Department
Tom C. Clark High School

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page


Introduction: 

Throughout history, feelings of frustration and restlessness have often lead to scenes of violence and civil disobedience. Research a time in history when citizens have protested, violently or peacefully, against perceived injustices such as the assassination of Julius Caesar, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rodney King verdict, The Zoot Suit Riots, and the Watts Riots of 1965.  Did violent actions, despite the intentions of the people involved, produce the desired results?  How does violence change a society?

At the end of your web quest, you will need to answer and evaulate the following themes and ideas:

1. Chaos results when laws are broken.
2. The best intentions of good, noble people can lead to tragedy.
3. Violence and bloodshed can never have morally good results.
 


The Task
 
  • Choose a group of four to work on the WebQuest together.  Each member is responsible for knowing all of the research material.
  • Take notes when you find information relating to your investigation.  Ignore other information at this time. 
  • Be sure to write down the URL of the site where information is accessed. 
  • Use an Inspiration map to organize information you have found. 
  • When you have finished accessing information, organize your presentation, assigning specific tasks to each participant so that all members of the group take part.As a group, present your findings to the class using the PowerPoint program. 

The Process
 
1. The play:  Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper.
According to Shakespeare, what happened in Rome on the day Caesar was assassinated.  How did the people respond to the news of Caesar's death?  Despite his noble intentions, Marcus Brutus makes several errors in judgement, most importantly by allowing Mark Antony to speak on Caesar's behalf.
  • For the complete text of the play, see http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/
    • 2. Research: Choose one or research your own idea.
    Shakespeare's violent and chaotic scenes in Act III are not isolated incidents.  Research a time in history when noble intentions and peaceful demonstrations have turned violent.  Some possibilities include but are not limited to...
    3. Compare Contrast: 
    Using Inspiration, create a web comparing and contrasting the ideas found in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and current or historical events.  How are these events and their results similar? 

    4. Power Point Presentation: 
    When you have finished accessing information, organize your presentation, assigning specific tasks to each participant so that all members of the group take part.  As a group, present your findings to the class using the PowerPoint program. 
    Be sure that your presentation evaulates the original issues:
    1. Chaos results when laws are broken.
    2. The best intentions of good, noble people can lead to tragedy.
    3. Violence and bloodshed can never have morally good results.


    Evaluation

    Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.
     
    Developing

    (20 points)

    		 Accomplished

    (30 points)

    		 Exemplary

    (50 points)

    		 Score

    100 points
    The Play: 
     Study Guide Questions
    Ideas are organized in a paragraph form with complete sentences and correct grammar and punctuation.
    Accurate details in my report give the reader important information. 
    Accurate evaulation of Mark Antony's and Marcus Brutus's speeches in Act III, 
    scene 1. 
     
    Daily grade
     
    Research: Inspiration Web Cluster







     
    I made an outline or storyboard to organize my thoughts and ideas in a meaningful and logical way.
    I decided on a topic and several subtopics that fully extend my ideas.
    My web cluster makes accurate connections between the play and historical events.
     Daily grade
    Power Point Presentation

     
    The words on my slides are easy to read and are spelled correctly, and The text areas and graphic areas appear balanced.
     The slides appear to go together; they make a cohesive whole.
    I gave a full explanation of my topic and subtopics, including details that made my presention more complete and/or more interesting.
    		  Major/  Test grade


    Conclusion

    After completing this WebQuest you should have a better understanding of how Shakespeare's theme, violent means always result in violent ends, applies to  civilization as a whole. 
     


    Credits & References

    World Wide Web Textual Resource Items
    Freeman, Greg. "Together in Grief: St. Louis and Martin Luther King, Jr. 
    http://www.special.postnet.com/century/38mlk.html , March 5, 2001.
    Emergency News Service. "Major  Riot in Los Angeles, Thirteen Dead, 192 Injured." http://www.emergency.com/la-riots.htm, March 5, 2001.
    Bennett, Eric."Los Angeles Watts Riot of 1965." http://www.africana.com/tt_023.htm, March 5, 2001.
    Garcia, Noemi. Zoot-Suit Riots Timeline. http://members.tripod.com/~noemigarcia/lapaint/zootline.htm, March 5, 2001.
    Associated Press. "WTO Turmoil." http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/wtoprotests_991201.html, March 5, 2001.
    "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/, March 5, 2001.

    Online Images
    Web Page Design ImageCollection http://www.esc20.net/techserv/workshops/graphicsandsound/set1/default.html, March 5, 2001.
    Pics4Learning. http://pics.tech4learning.com/, March 5, 2001.
    "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/, March 5, 2001.

    Last updated on March 5, 2001. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page