A PROJECT CRITICAL WEB QUEST

 

Ms. C. Stallone

A. PHILIP RANDOLPH HIGH SCHOOL

New York City, NY

 

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST”

By Oscar Wilde

 

 

A STUDY IN VICTORIAN POVERTY and CLASSISM

 

INTRODUCTION:    

 

Oscar Wilde was clearly a genius of his time. His era was Victorian England. It was a period in which birth meant more than accomplishment. Social mobility was almost nonexistent. You were born lucky or you lived poor. Some did rise in to upper class status but it was quite difficult. Imagine, you are born to poverty or wealth and all you can do is live out your life. We in America, where social mobility is a critical feature of our democracy cannot visualize this type of social structure. Oscar Wilde, through irony and comedy, shows us the reality.

 

In this web quest, you will investigate a major cause for poverty in the Victorian era in England. The class system prevented thousands of English citizens from ever approaching a decent standard of living. Lady Bracknell is horrified when she learned that Jack was adopted as a toddler when he was discovered in a handbag at a railway station. In her opinion it is absolutely below the standards of her daughter to "marry into a cloakroom and form an alliance with a parcel", as she puts it.

 

You and your group will use the GLOBAL PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST to analyze poverty caused by classism in Victorian England.

It is possible, that you can make inferences to our contemporary society in which many of our citizens are born to poverty with little chance for advancement.

 

TASK

 

1: The class will be divided into groups of FOUR

 

2: Each group will be responsible for completing two four page essays typed on Ms. Word

 

3: Essay # 1 will be a GHPPA study of Victorian England focusing on CLASSISM as a major cause for the social problem of poverty. All four of the GHPPA sheets must be completed and used as resource material for the essays. This will be collected

 

4: Essay # 2- Your group will fill out the four GHPPA sheets as if you were OSCAR WILDE using the play, “The Importance of Being Ernest” as the resource. You will use facts, scenes, characters etc. to complete the worksheets. Be sure to place evidence from the play on your notes and essay. Remember, you are Oscar Wilde and you are completing the GHPPA as if your were looking through his eyes.

 

PROCEDURE        

 

1: The class will be divided into groups of FOUR.

Each member of the group must fulfill his given responsibilities. The group will decide the roles for each member using the outline below. Each group member will be responsible for A Written Reports but there will be a group grade for the power point.

2: Individual responsibilities for group members

Student # 1: Recorder & Writer-This student will take notes on information gathered by group members and write an outline FOR THE GROUP ESSAYS. These notes will also be used by each member to write the paper. This student will be responsible for completing the Public Policy Analyst Worksheets for VICTORIAN ENGLAND & for the information on “The Importance of Being Ernest”. This person will also make connections between the two eras.

Student # 2 & 3: Researcher-This student will do the research, with help of other members. He/she will search the Internet and gather information that will be used to complete the worksheets. All public policy worksheets must be complete and accompanied by notes that will enable the recorder to write the paper

Student # 4: Time keeper of organizer-Will keeps the group on track. He/she will assist in the research, lead & coordinate group meetings and be aware of teacher made deadlines and schedules

II:  Each group member should do individual research whenever possible. As a group, you will complete the worksheets (steps) in the GLOBAL Public Policy Analyst.

The GLOBAL PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST

Each group will complete

GLOBAL PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST worksheets for the social problem

         

              Your group will use these worksheets as resource for completing the task assignments.               

 STEP # 1:   IDENTFY THE PROBLEM

                   For poverty in Victorian England

 STEP # 2:  GATHER THE EVIDENCE

                     For poverty on Victorian England

                                                      STEP # 3: DETERMINE CAUSES

                                                                        Use the cause of CLASSISM and evaluate it

  STEP # 4: EVALUATE THE POLICY

Evaluate the government policy

 

Your group will complete essay # 1 Poverty in Victorian England as a historian

 

Your group will complete essay # 2 Using “The Importance of Being Ernest” and look through the eyes of Oscar Wilde and fill out the worksheets as if you were he. Use scenes, quotes, plot, characters and setting to explain your ideas

 

RESOURCES              

     VICTORIAN HIGH SOCIETY

 

GENERAL WEB SITES

 

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.YAHOO.COM

WWW.ASK.COM

WWW.ALTAVISTA.COM

 

SPECIFIC WEB SITES FOR VICTORIAN ENGLAND AND ITS SOCIAL CLASS SYSTEM

 

VICTORIAN ENGLAND-HISTORY & SOCIAL STRUCTURE

 

THE POOR LAW AND WORK HOUSES FOR THE POOR

 

CLASS DIVISIONS

 

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST”-CLASSISM

 

VICTORIAN CLASS STRATIFICATION—other literary works

 

NOTES ON “The Importance of Being Ernest”

 

SPARK NOTES AND TEXT ON OSCAR WILDE

 

CAUSES FOR POVERTY IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

 

MANY ESSAYS ON SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

 

WAGES OF A COMMONER AND LABORER

 

 

EVALUATION RUBRIC    “FOUR PAGE ESSAYS”

 

Research Report : VICTORIAN ENGLAND AND POVERTY CAUSED BY CLASSISM

Teacher Name: Ms. STALLONE

 

CATEGORY

4 EXCELLENT

3 VERY GOOD

2 SATISFACTORY

1 UNACCEPTABLE

Organization

Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings.

Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.

Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.

The information appears to be disorganized. 8)

Amount of Information

All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each.

All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each.

All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1 sentence about each.

One or more topics were not addressed.

Quality of Information

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.

Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.

Sources

All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format.

All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format.

All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format.

Some sources are not accurately documented.

Notes

Notes are recorded and organized in an extremely neat and orderly fashion. uses THE GHPPA IN ALL FORMS

Notes are recorded legibly and are somewhat organized. USES MOST OF THE GHPPA

Notes are recorded. LIMITED USE OF THE GHPPA

Notes ARE NOT RECORDED. DOES NOT USE GHPPA

Paragraph Construction

All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence.

Most paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence.

Paragraphs included related information but were typically not constructed well.

Paragraphing structure was not clear and sentences were not typically related within the paragraphs.

Internet Use

Successfully uses suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Usually able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet links and/or to navigate within these sites.

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION            OSCAR WILDE     

 

You should have learned from this web quest that classes, in any society, lead to poverty and frustration. As in Victorian England, judging a citizen by his birth injures every other citizen and limits the potential of subsequent generations. You have seen how literature can become a mirror for societal problems as was the case with Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Ernest”. Moreover, problems in one era can be carried to another. History often repeats itself. In America today, we have citizens judged by birth and class. They are limited in their potential by poverty caused by stereotypes and class. Let’s hope you can make a difference and become a public policy advocate for those who are doomed by poverty and classism.

 

STANDARDS

 

English Language Arts

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2:   Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

 

SOCIAL STUDIES

Standard 2:   World History

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Standard 4:   Economics

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.