WebQuest Guide
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INTENDED USE
Thank you for pursuing this WebQuest. This WebQuest was designed for 11th grade high school students. It was intended to be part of the English and/or social studies curriculum.
IMPORTANCE
- To prepare for and negotiate a treaty, students will need to "write persuasive pieces," "speak using skills appropriate to formal speech situations," "participate in small and large group discussions and presentations," and "use and understand a variety of media." The current "Pennsylvania’s Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening" specify that eleventh grade students should acquire and use knowledge and skills necessary to complete these particular projects and others (pp. 5, 9, 12-13).
- In the process of completing these projects, students will need to use higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (the bottom half of Bloom’s Taxonomy).
- Because negotiating a treaty is an authentic and urgent ill-defined problem, students will gain relevant insights about and test:
- the accuracy and power of the language of diplomacy
- the value of multiple perspectives
- the careful development of logical arguments used for reconciliation
- the need for active listening when resolving conflicts
- a repertoire of problem-solving strategies.
Students will be evaluated, in part, based upon the "Quality of Writing" rubric of the state standards (pp.10-12). Therefore, because this problem will satisfy specified state standards for English for eleventh grade students, it is a worthy unit that should be part of the curriculum.
TIME FRAME
This WebQuest is a five-to-six week unit. It was carefully designed to include key steps to the process to peace. This is a minimum amount of time needed to complete the WebQuest; to reduce the time would dilute the meaning and purpose.
PERMISSION
Permission was requested to use the following and is pending:
- The photographs of Jerusalem that begin and end the WebQuest are posted on Isam G. Ishaq's web page.
- The picture of Zion Gate of Jerusalem is part of the Virtual Jerusalem Tour, a pictorial portfolio of Jerusalem, on a web page by The Hebrew University.
- The maps of Jerusalem: Occupation maps are from CNN. The map of Israel and Jerusalem (by Charles M. Blow and Jim Perry) are from the New York Times.
INTRODUCTION
It is important that students click on "Jerusalem" and see the maps of the city. This information will help to clarify the complex issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict and help to identify the different names for the Arabs and the Israelis.
TASK
The Recommendation to the World will not be evaluated by the teacher because the emphasis of the WebQuest is the process to peace. Like the process to peace for the Arabs, Israel, and the United States, the process for students is paramount since actual peace may not (and usually does not) endure.
PROCESS
- Assign students to corps. This enables heterogeneous groups to collaborate.
- Students will follow the seven steps to peace. The steps build upon each other to form a distinct process; therefore, all steps should be followed within an appropriate span of time.
- As part of the WebQuest students will read primary sources, write in different styles, evaluate themselves and their peers, present arguments in the form of speeches, persuade and negotiate for a consensus, and collaborate with others. It is imperative that students collaborate. Because the Arab-Israeli conflict is complex, students will learn about a small part of it and then share their findings with members of their small groups so that all can see the big picture. To encourage all students to collaborate each will evaluate members of their group and be evaluated by the members and the teacher. Each evaluation will be given equal weight.
- Only one part of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the focus for the process to peace: the "Jerusalem Issue." Because the resources cover more than this issue students will have to winnow information about the "Jerusalem Issue" from them. Throughout the WebQuest students are constantly reminded to focus only on this issue..
RESOURCES
Primary sources are provided. Although most of the resources are web sites, the sites vary tremendously. Printouts are provided for time-sensitive articles. CNN and the New York Times do not keep all pages on their sites for long periods of time; therefore, articles from these resources have been printed immediately.
EVALUATION
One scoring rubric for the WebQuest is illustrated a few ways.
CONCLUSION
Importantly, the conclusion encourages students to use the Protocol Log in their everyday lives. It is not exclusively used for the peace process or inside classrooms.
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