Distance Learning: The Past IS Present - Black History WebQuest

Introduction

Too often Black History is only studied in February and easy for students to dismiss as something they have already “done” and only related to the past - that period long before they were born, which is essentially a different world. Also Black History Month activities often only focus on historical people. This is great as such heroes are deserving, but this can fail to connect to the very real issues confronting our society today.

The main purpose of this WebQuest is to engage students in real, rich and relevant learning that scaffolds their acquisition of new information into a deeper understanding, to construct meaning that is personally significant, to take their learning into real world action. I hope you and your students engage and enjoy!

Included in the full WebQuest:

√ Detailed Presentation Slides with

√ Engaging Video Introductions on

√ 6 Compelling Current Issues each with

√ Interactive Maps that connect the issue to your community.

√ Complete Scaffolding and Worksheets

See a video tour of the WebQuest at my Web site.

Note: This is a real WebQuest where students transform information to new understandings.

In case you are familiar with the kind of “WebQuests” in which students are prompted to find answers on linked Web resources, this is something different. As one of the original developers of WebQuests way back in 1995, I hope you find value in engaging students in a more real, rich and relevant series of activities that prompt them to construct meaning and apply it to the real world. You can read more about this and WebQuest design for this activity at my blog if you are interested: tommarch.com.

You can use a subset of this WebQuest that provides the slides with videos and a Mindmapping activity. This might be a good way to get started and to get a feel for exploring rich topics in greater depth.