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Evaluation > Conclusion
Teaching the WebQuest
Background - Pre-Teaching
Ideas - The Quest Lesson Plan - Follow-up
Standards - Resources
In Maine, we teach the
history and culture of our Native peoples, the Wabanakis, mandated by LD 291.
This WebQuest is part of my plan to improve my teaching of the Wabanaki by making
use of of what is available and accessible to middle schoolers online and in
print. I am indebted to the members of the Wabanaki Program Committee who meet
with me to review and improve this Quest (and related lessons). From them I
have learned this: It is time to be tough about content - the Wabanakis need
to be heard by and known to our students.
Because we are a laptop school, and because this
is a WebQuest, most of the resources given
are on the Internet. I have made some assumptions about teachers and classrooms
in building this unit. They are:
- You will have access to the Internet on a 1-1 basis (laptop schools) or
at least access for small groups.
- You will have the instructional time to do some pre-teaching (described
below).
- You are willing to undertake in the classroom the kind of group work that
allows students to self-direct and to define/be responsible for their own
learning.
- You are willing to preview the resources, if only briefly.
Target: This quest is designed for a class
of 20 students in grade 7 or 8. Groups should be from 3-5 students. It is assumed
that students can read at grade level or just below. However, since many of
the web resources are measured above this level, you should try to preview them
yourself. Most of the students will be able to gather good notes by focusing
upon the specific questions asked. I would suggest that you and/or the students
themselves add at least two guiding questions to those given within the individual
Research Topics.
Teachers should understand that there is a great deal of contradictory
material "out there." I have tried to limit my resources to primary
(mostly visual) resources, Wabanaki tribal resources, or scholarly sites (museums,
professors). I suggest that you not allow students to "browse" - perhaps
the most advanced can benefit, but even I have had a hard time filtering content.
This Quest has gone through many transformations. I am not
at all sure that it is the best platform for teaching the culture of the Wabanakis.
It should absolutely NOT be the only platform. Certainly actions and objects,
as well as words, are opinion-forming. For this reason, I have included suggestions
for alternatives to the Presentation outcome. I have, however, held fast to
the processes that I think must be core to this Quest:
- individual students must reflect on assumptions and the Powerful Words that
create them;
- group participation is central to an outcome, which must involve equal sharing
of learning, ideas and understandings (collaboration);
- the focus should be upon Essential Questions, the most powerful being the
last; I have included these Questions as a discrete element of the WebQuest
itself.
Enjoy the experience - Believe in it as I do.
Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain
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Pre-Teaching Ideas -
Before the WebQuest, students should have some understanding of the
geography of Maine, the names and locations of the Wabanaki tribes and of earlier
Indigenous peoples. Although it is tempting to follow a strict
chronology, which would mean completing this Quest before any mention of "European
contact," I think students will get more out of it if they have had a brief
introduction to the exploration of and early settlement of Maine (know the enemy,
so to speak). You will find excellent maps and timelines in the The Maine
Dirigo resources file that can be downloaded at the Wabanaki
Commission website, Maine and Maritime Indian Resources, as well as in the
resources identified below. You should do as many of the following activities
as possible:
- Study the geography of Maine - map and name the major
rivers, mountain ranges, lakes, islands, bays, etc. We evaluate this
by having students draw Maine "by heart" (with or without a word
bank). There are suggestions in my Mapping
the Wabanaki lessons.
- Introduce the concept of Indigenous Peoples in Maine
(use and introduce other appelations: Natives, Native Peoples, Indians,
Wabanaki, First People):
- Show the excellent Maine PBS film called People
of the Dawn - Program 8 in the series called HOME: The Story
of Maine. There are support materials online.
- You will also find resources in Maine Dirigo itself. The
text is available, used, from Amazon.com. There has been some recent
research about native peoples in Canadian coastal settings - who arrived
much earlier than previously thought.
- (optional) Learn the names of the early tribes (given to them by the
Europeans). The Wabanakis of Maine & the Maritimes is a
good resource.
Etchemin - Maliseet & Paasamaquoddy
Souriquois - Micmac
Armouchiquois - southern Maine
Abenaki - interior and western
- Learn the names of the five tribes that comprise the Wabanakis. Refer
to The Wabanakis of Maine & the Maritimes, D-8 to D-17
(map on D-16).
Micmac
Maliseet
Penobscot
Passamaquoddy
Abenaki (some histories, including People of the Dawn and Dirigo,
do not include this tribe)
- Map the locations of the tribes, now and in the past, using resources
available online at MPBS
and elsewhere; explain that the tribes were distinct and had cultural
differences as well as similarities (such as language). Point
out that on the maps the Wabanakis did not align to the current
(or European-contact) borders!!
- Discuss the differences between "Maine native" and "Indigenous
people." Try to come to an understanding of terms and definitions
within your classroom. Be sure to read Maine Dirigo's statement
about History and pre-History.
- Access and discuss the Maine Census 2000 Percent
Native American Population map, showing the distribution by county.
- Discuss the difficulties with studying the history of a pre-writing
culture; be sure that students understand that they will find seemingly
contradictory information, names and spellings, in the research materials.
However, make sure that students know that each nation had a unique
and complex language - one that Europeans found hard to learn.
- Divide students into groups - play Pictionary
or complete and discuss the Wabanaki Word Scatter (find link in the Pictionary
lesson).
- Have students study the Seasonal
Migration of the Wabanaki tribal people (pointing out that
not all villages and tribes followed the full pattern - in fact, the resources
vary about individual tribes) by doing one or all of the activities described
in the lesson. Links are provided to detailed lessons and assessments.
- Wabanaki Legends can be studied independently of the
Quest. In this case, the story group would not be useful. Download Lesson:
Wabanaki Legends .doc (Word)
or .pdf.
The lesson is also available as a printable webpage: Wabanaki
Legends.
- Vocabulary (these words
are pulled from the Documents, Tasks, and Process) - I have made a separate
file of the words that occur in the three Documents and in the Quest itself.
It would be an option to study the vocabulary before doing the quest.
- Complete a short lesson on early European exploration (trappers, hunters,
religious) and settlement (Popham, French settlement, local settlement,
other...). Students should know: Why? From Where? Why might the French
and English settlers have conflicted with the Wabanaki? Why might alliances
have been formed? What were some of the changes in Wabanaki life after European
contact? The Maine Dirigo and The Wabanaki of Maine & the
Maritimes contain good text and lessons on this topic.
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Follow-up Ideas
- This webquest goes in many directions. Here are some:
- Write about the Conclusions.
- This is a terrific time to teach Maine industrial and economic history
and migration of people within the state of Maine. If your class can handle
it, have students read about Molly Ockett's life and migrations, or one
of the 1st person stories in Wabanaki of Maine & the Maritimes,
and also materials from the Work chapter of Maine Speaks. After
this they will be better able to compare cultures.
- It would also be an appropriate time to look with a wider lens at some
of the issues touched upon: Racism, conservation, citizen
rights vs. state/national law, contemporary issues faced by the Wabanaki
(their tribal websites are a powerful source of information). Again, Wabanaki
of Maine & the Maritimes has good background, but it may be too
difficult for many Middle School readers.
- Include Wabanaki topics in a Middle School Debates assessment.
- Students should reflect more deeply on the concept of Powerful Words and
stereotypes. A media literacy unit with this focus (including children's
books) would be a good fit.
- Night (Wiesel) would be a good novel follow-up, as would
be novels about slavery, racism, the Nisei, and immigrant
experiences in this country.
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Further Resources - I
do not pretend to make this complete. I will add to it as I read and use resources
that would support this Quest. It does not duplicate resources listed in the
Process or in the Lesson
Plan.
