GREAT THINKERS OF THE PAST
A WebQuest
in support of Fahrenheit 451
Designed by
Audrey Graham, Holmes High School
Introduction | Task |
Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits |
Teacher Page
Introduction
In
Fahrenheit 451, people who care about the knowledge which
is in danger of being lost as books disappear from society commit parts of
great books to memory. It is through these people that future generations
of humans will be able to study the teachings of great minds.
The
Task
Some
of the great minds mentioned are the twelve men included in the following
list. Your job is to research these people and their teachings.
Your motive for doing this study is the desire to verify their importance
to your classmates. You must explain their importance and their teachings
in an oral report to the class. Each group will research two thinkers.
The
Process
In
your groups, you will assemble in the computer lab. One of your group
will sit at the computer and search the web sites given with your assigned
great thinkers. Another of your group will sit at an adjoining computer,
ready to type into a word processor the information you find in your study.
The rest of your group will sit nearby to help in determining which information
to present to the class and to help design the handout your group will prepare
for their classmates. Your procedure will be as follows:
- Determine
which job each member of your group will undertake. These jobs should
include:
- computer
searcher
- word
processor typist
- coordinator
of efforts
- information
editor
- design
artist
- Prepare
a list of designated job assignments for the teacher.
- Conduct
your internet search by
- clicking
on the picture of your assigned thinker (above)
- clicking
on one URL at a time under your thinker's name to find information
- clicking
"back" after finishing at each web site to return to this assignment
- At
each web site, find information which will explain the following:
- philosophy
of thinker
- importance
of his ideas to society
- justification
for preservation of his teachings for a new, future civilization
- Prepare
a handout for your classmates. This handout should include the following
qualities:
- be
attractive
- present
the major teachings/ideas/beliefs of your thinker
- contain
a statement which justifies the preserving of these ideas for a new civilization
- Prepare
an annotated source list which will, in one or two sentences, summarize the
important aspects of each web site. Include this annotated list on
the back of your required handout. Each entry should include the following:
- the
title of the web site
- name
or organization responsible for the web site
- the
web site's URL
- entries
should be arranged alphabetically
- entries
should follow MLA style
- Prepare
an oral report/explanation based on your handout to be presented to the class.
Your presentation should include:
- presentations
by all members of your group
- a
full explanation of your handout
- full
explanations of the required information
PLATO
Plato
Science and Human Values:
Plato
Greek Philosophy:
Plato
Plato (427 - 347 BCE)
MARCUS
AURELIUS
Marcus Aurelius - The
Philosopher-Emporer
Ancient
History Sourcebook: The Reign of Marcus Aurelius, 161 - 180 CE
Marcus Aurelius,
Capitoline Museums, Rome
JONATHAN
SWIFT
Biographical
Introduction: Jonathan Swift
Spectrum Biographies:
Jonathan Swift
The Jonathan Swift
Page
CHARLES
DARWIN
Charles
Darwin: British Naturalist
Biograhy
of Charles Darwin
The
Scientist: Charles Darwin
Charles
Darwin
ARTHUR
SCHOPENHAUER
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)
Island of Freedom: Arthur
Schopenhauer
Blupete
Biographies: Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer:
An Introduction
ALBERT
EINSTEIN
Albert Einstein: Image
and Impact
Albert
Einstein Home Page
Nova Online: Einstein
Revealed
Albert
Einstein: Physicist
ALBERT
SCHWEITZER
Official Homepage of
the International Albert Schweitzer Assoc.
The Albert Schweitzer Page
Albert Schweitzer:
Philosopher, Physician, and Humanitarian
CONFUCIUS
Confucius: A Biography
Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy: Confucius
Chinese Philosophy:
Confucius
THOMAS
JEFFERSON
Thomas Jefferson
on Politics & Government
Thomas Jefferson Digital
Archive
The thomas Jefferson
Papers at the Library of Congress
Life of Thomas
Jefferson
HENRY
DAVID THOREAU
The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau
The Thoreau Reader
The Henry D. Thoreau Home Page
BERTRAND
RUSSELL
Standard Encyclopedia of
Philosophy: Bertrand Russell
Bertrand
Arthur William Russell
The Bertrand Russell
Gallery
MAHATMA
GHANDI
Mahatma Gandhi Album: Are Great Minds Born Great?
The Complete Site on Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma
Gandhi
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.
|
Beginning
1
|
Developing
2
|
Accomplished
3
|
Exemplary
4
|
Score |
|
Handout Quality
|
Student will submit a handout for the class, but handout will not
deal with the required thinkers
|
Student will
submit a
handout for
the class
which explains one of the required thinkers. However, the
handout will be sketchy and incomplete.
|
Student will submit a handout for the class which discusses both
required thinkers. However, the handout will not have graphics or be
attractively presented.
|
Student will submit a handout which not only discusses completely
the required thinkers, but will also contain appropriate graphics and be attractively
portrayed.
|
|
Presentation Content
|
Presentation will discuss only one thinker marginally.
|
Presentation will discuss both thinkers marginally.
|
Presentation will discuss both thinkers in detail, but will be
unpolished and unpracticed. It will not contain work by all group members.
|
Presentation will completely present both thinkers in detail and
will be thoroughly prepared and polished.
|
|
Presentation Preparation
|
The presentation will be unpolished and show little, if any, preparation.
|
The presentation will show a little preparation, but will still
lack polish.
|
The presentation will show preparation, but will be clearly unpracticed.
|
The presentation will show obvious planning and practice.
|
|
|
Justification Statement
|
Group will not present a statement which justifies the preservation
of this thinker's information.
|
Group will present a justification statement, but it will not justify
the thinker's information.
|
Group will present a justification statement, but it will include
justification for the study of only one of the required thinkers.
|
Group will present a justification statement which clearly justifies
the study of both required thinkers.
|
|
|
Annotated Source List
|
Source list will be present but will not contain all sources.
|
Source list will contain all sources, but will not include all
required information.
|
Source list will include all required sources and information,
but it will not be arranged correctly.
|
Source list will contain all required information and sources,
and will be arranged correctly.
|
|
Conclusion
By
completing this WebQuest, you will enlarge your understanding of important
thinkers of the world, both current and ancient. Through this understanding,
your concern for others and for the importance of the written word will be
enhanced. Hopefully, you will continue to study the thoughts of others.
Through this activity, you will be encouraged to respect ideas
which differ from yours, a sure way to encourage peace on earth.
Credits
& References
BACKGROUND:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4818
AUTHOR
PICTURES:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Plato.html
http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/marcus.htm
http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Swift.html
http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96feb/darwin.html
http://www.friesian.com/arthur.htm
http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/schweitzer.html
DIVIDERS:
http://www.animfactory.com/af_dividers_misc_page_aa.html
Last updated on April 13, 2003. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page
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