1. The Things You’ll Carry Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] A Webquest for 10 th Grade English with The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Designed by Trevor Johnson [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page Image #1
2. Introduction Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] The year is 1968 and more than 500,000 of your fellow Americans are overseas fighting in the Vietnam War. On your way home from school the elderly postman that delivers mail to your neighborhood hands you a letter from the U.S. Government. You drop your bags and immediately open the letter only to realize that you have just been drafted to aid the U.S. Army in fighting the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. You break the news to your family that night over dinner and there are mixed emotions. The next day they present you with a leather bound journal so you can write home to them as often as possible. But you decide that you will use it for much more than that. Writing in the journal is one of the only ways you envision yourself being able to keep your sanity when you are on the other side of the world fighting for your country. Your tell yourself that the journal is just one of the many things that you will carry, but it is easily the most important. Having read Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried , you all have an example of an infantry soldier’s personal description of the Vietnam War. You will be creating a collection of the most significant entries from a typical soldier’s journal. While Tim O’Brien was infantry fighting on the ground, I don’t expect you to exactly follow the soldier that he created in his book. You are allowed to focus on any type of American soldier that was directly involved in the war. I’m hoping that this assignment will challenge you in a number of ways. Creating entries in your journal will require you to put yourself in a soldier’s shoes and reflect on the experiences that they encountered. At the same time I want you to remain as historically accurate as possible when describing specific battles, political events, historical figures, landscapes and/ or equipment. Setting Expectation
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5. Resources For The Things You’ll Carry Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] The following links will take you to information on the sections of military that you want your character can be involved in. These sites are also very helpful since a lot of them provide viewers with soldiers pictures, stories, reflections and background information. Army , Navy , Air Force , Medical and Military (This has links to other specific sections such as national guard and marines.) Get an overview of the Vietnam War and it’s soldiers. The following websites provide tons of background information and links. They also contain soldier’s stories that I suggest you look at. Vietnam war links Vietnamwar.com Vietnam Gear Vietnam Timeline Vietnam Pictures If you’re having problems creating developed characters or a solid plot here is a sites that can help. Creating Characters Getting Started and Running with Ideas Other Resources: Don’t forget that you have an incredible resource at your hands with Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried . Wikipedia is a resource that can be used simply as reference, but do not rely solely on information from this site. Explore the internet! You are by no means limited to the sites that I have provided for you. However, you want to make sure that your information is reliable because I will be checking the facts on your projects. Image 2
6. Evaluation Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Beginning Points: 1-5 Developing Points: 6-10 Accomplished Points: 11-15 Exemplary Points:16-20 Score Creativity There is little to no variety in the journal entries and the characters are poorly developed. There is some variety in the journal entries and the characters are somewhat developed. The variety in journal entries is better than average, but could still use improvement, and the characters are fairly well developed. The journal entries are noticeably different from one another and the characters contribute to the overall assignment since they are developed efficiently. All Requirements for the Entries are Met and Meet the Length Standards The journal entries include only a few of the requirements or are very briefly mentioned and short. Less than half of the requirements are included or are not elaborated on as much as was expected for the assignment in regards to length. Most of the requirements are met and explained efficiently for the reader with appropriate length. All of the requirements have been met and go into great detail to further readers’ understanding while meeting the expected length. Historically Accurate The historical aspect of the journal is poorly developed and inaccurate. The historical entries are less than what was expected and somewhat inaccurate. The historical entries are satisfactory and/or work well with the story and are mostly accurate. The historical entries are fully developed and fit well with the overall story and are very detailed, accurate descriptions of real events. Ties to Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Student doesn’t relate his/her own work to Tim O’Brien’s at all. There are some ties to Tim O’Brien’s work but they are somewhat vague and underdeveloped. There are good ties to Tim O’Brien’s work but there could still be more. Student’s work is clearly related to Tim O’Brien’s and is very easily identified. Effort and Commitment to the Assignment The student has put forth very little effort and is not committed to this assignment. The effort is just shy of what was expected and there could be more commitment. The student has put a strong effort into this assignment and is committed. The student has clearly put a lot of effort into this assignment and has obviously committed a lot of thought and time into his/ her work. Grammatical and Spelling Errors There are 8 or more grammatical and/ or spelling errors. There are 5 or more grammatical and/ or spelling errors. There are 3 or more grammatical and/ or spelling errors. There are no more than 2 grammatical or spelling errors.
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9. The Things You’ll Carry [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page A Webquest Designed for 10 th Grade English Designed By Trevor Johnson [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion Image 1
10. Introduction (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This lesson is designed for a 10 th grade English course working with the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. The rationale behind this project is to get students to work with the piece of fiction and relate it further research of the Vietnam War. This book combines elements of fiction and non-fiction as it is loosely based on Tim O’Brien’s personal experience in the war. The ultimate goal is to have students get a better understanding of what life was like for a soldier engaged in combat. By researching various aspects of the war and comparing it with the book, students will have a much more personal commitment to the text. This lesson focuses primarily on having students put together a collection of their own writing that imagines what it may have been like to have experience the Vietnam War first hand. Students are expected to share some of the same themes that The Things They Carried presents in addition to creating some of their own. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion
11. Learners (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page The assignment is intended for a sophomore level English course, but could be used in a number of different teaching contexts. The Things They Carried is an integral part of this assignment and is typically taught in English 9, 10 or 11 classes. However, this book can be adapted into a number of classroom settings, like creative writing or history courses. It works especially well for English but I think it can be included in a number of different curriculums. There is a decent amount of writing that students are expected to complete as well, so one might want to take that into account before using this prompt. It is expected that students have read The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien before beginning this assignment. Another assumption would be that they have some background knowledge of the Vietnam War, but that isn’t as large of a concern as them having read the book. It wouldn’t hurt for teachers to give a brief lesson plan on the nature of the Vietnam War, but it isn’t an absolute necessity. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion
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13. The Process (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Teachers will probably want to refer to the student process slide while evaluating their process on the lesson. This multidisciplinary lesson should take some time to perform. Teachers have to set aside time at a computer lab for students read through the webquest and research their topic. Once that has been done they need time to write, edit and revise their work. This assignment should fill at least a week and a half of a lesson plan, if not more. Students will have to stay on task during this assignment. Students are combining a lot of different elements of reading, writing and research into this project and their focus is an absolute necessity. Teachers should monitor their progress and make sure they are not falling behind. Teachers will also have to have a confident background knowledge of the Vietnam War and be comfortable with grading students’ creative writing. Variations Variations could easily be made to make this a historical assignment. The emphasis on student writing could be cut down and the work load on research could be built up. I think this is a very flexible lesson that can be applied to a number of teaching contexts. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion
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15. Evaluation (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This assignment relies heavily on creative writing with an emphasis on historical background and connection to the text The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. A successful assignment is one that has clearly been dedicated to creating an intriguing and inspirational story while remaining as historically accurate as possible. Students should have demonstrated a piece that not only met the requirements, but actively engaged their creativity and thought process. There should be some clear emotional commitment to their work since this is a very adult situation that they have been working with. They should recognize their work and that of Tim O’Brien’s as not only a pieces of fiction, but records of human experience. Though they were not in the Vietnam War, they should have performed some type of personal involvement in their writing and gained a deeper understanding of the mindset that the U.S. soldiers experienced. Teachers will want to refer to the Evaluation page for students, which includes a rubric that is appropriate for this lesson. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion
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17. Conclusion (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This is a very worthy lesson plan that can be facilitated by a number of teachers from a number of teaching backgrounds. This is a particularly useful assignment for history and English teachers, but could be integrated creatively into other classes. The emphasis for this particular webquest is primarily creative writing, with historical and research aspects as well, but it could easily be tweaked to match your criteria. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion
18. Credits & References (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Images Used: Image #1- Photograph found online at: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vietnammemorial.com/vietnam-soldiers-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vietnammemorial.com/vietnam-war.html&h=404&w=500&sz=45&hl=en&start=1&usg=__Df-k1JDvSgaIpAypI93rA3kyyyA=&tbnid=hlhVGo8edfEorM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvietnam%2Bwar%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG Thanks to Dr. James Folkestad at Colorado State University and Adam White for their help in creating and revising this website. Thanks to Tim O’Brien for creating such an inspirational novel and has allowed me to create such an engaging lesson plan. I have included a link back to The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion