STOP THE WAR!

A Webquest for a Fourth Grade Class

Designed by

Joy Stiff

P.S.194M

INTRODUCTION:

There is a war currently going on between the United States and Iraq. One night, you are watching television, and you think to yourself, “What can I do as a student to protest against the war?” You then remember what you have learned about freedom of speech and wonder if this would be one way that you could express your views about the war.

TASK:

**You and your classmates will review the Ladue v. Gilleo (1994) through the use of websites and other resources to help you decide on the ways you can protest against the war.

**You will role-play the Ladue v. Gilleo (1994) case with your classmates.

**You will create signs that protest against the war.

**You will work in groups to compose an essay that expresses your views against the war.

PROCESS:

** WEEK ONE:

The class will use visuals and other resources to analyze the Ladue v. Gilleo case. (See resources)

**WEEK TWO:

Students will work in groups of four to dramatize the Ladue v. Gilleo case to help understand freedom of speech. Each group will present their dramatization of the case in front of the class.

**WEEK THREE:

*Students will have computer lab to create signs that protest the war.

*Students will work in pairs to compose an essay that expresses their views about the war.

RESOURCES:

https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/ladue.html

http://www.education-world.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0027.shtml

EVALUATION:

Evaluation will take place in two parts

PART I – Each group will be responsible for writing an essay supporting their views about the war.

PART II – Group presentation: Each group will dramatize the events of the Ladue v. Gilleo case.

STANDARDS

English Language Arts

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E3b: Participate in group meetings.

E4a: Involves conventions of Standard English.

E7a: Utilizing and analyzing public documents.

Social studies

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government: Use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

CONCLUSION:

Students were able to analyze the Ladue v. Gilleo case and discuss the facts and decision of the case. The students used the information from the case to decide how they could use Freedom of Speech to protest against the war. To further understand the case, the students presented a dramatization of the case. The students also created signs with words and phrases that demonstrated their protest against the war. As a wrap-up activity, the students worked in pairs to compose an essay that expressed their views about the war.