WEBQUEST

 

RACISM

in America

and in Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

 

 

Liam McAndrew

Adlai Stevenson High School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


INTRODUCTION

 

Put yourself in Ellen Foster’s shoes.  You are a poor white girl/boy in the pre-Civil Rights American South whose father’s an alcoholic whose mother has just recently passed away.  You have no other relatives, and you find that you no longer have a family.  A black family down the road agrees to raise you.  They take you in, feed you, clothe you, and send you to school.  They do this despite having little themselves.

 

Before moving in with the black family, however, Ellen was extremely judgmental of them.  She was prejudiced, having negative feelings about them which were influenced by her alcoholic father.  In the story, Ellen overcomes her prejudice.

 

 

TASK

 

Your task in this WebQuest will be to research the social problem of racism in the American South n the 1940’s, before the onset of the Civil Rights movement.  You will use the TIPS Public Policy Analyst and the websites provided in the Resources section to help you in your research.  Next, you will discuss how Ellen Foster overcomes her own racial prejudice.  Finally, you will create a scenario similar to that in Ellen Foster, in which you will describe how you personally would react in such a situation.  You will present your final product – a poster – to the class.

 

 

PROCESS

 

1.                  Research the problem of racism in the American South during the 1940’s, before the onset of the Civil Rights movement.  Use the websites provided below to help you in your research.  Summarize your findings and original ideas on the following TIPS PPA worksheets:

a.     Define the problem: Worksheet #1

b.     Gather evidence of the problem: Worksheet #2

c.     Identify the causes of the problem: Worksheet #3

d.     Evaluate public policy solutions: Worksheet #4

e.     Develop your own original public policy solution: Worksheet #5

2.                Write a 1-2-page essay explaining how Ellen Foster overcame her racial prejudice when she went to live with the black family.  In your essay, answer the following question: Is Ellen’s experience realistic? Why or why not?

3.                Create a scenario in which you are in Ellen Foster’s shoes and have to live with a family that is completely different from you and that has completely different values, customs, etc.  What would your experience be like? How would you react? How would this experience change you, if at all?

4.                Create a poster in which you will show Ellen’s experience (as well as your own experience) “Before” and “After” going to live with the family.  Include at least one visual (picture, cartoon, etc.) and at least one paragraph for the Before part and one for the After part.  Be prepared to share this with the class in a 3-4-minute oral presentation.

 

 

RESOURCES

 

Use the following websites to help you in your research:

 

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html

 

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/U/U/U.S._Southern_States1.htm

 

 

EVALUATION

 

Your work will be graded according to the following rubric:

 

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS

IN PROGRESS…

KEEP WORKING.

 

 

 SATISFACTORY

 

 

IDEAL

 

POSSIBLE

SCORE

 

YOUR SCORE

Six PPA Worksheets

 

 

Answered most questions adequately

Answered all questions adequately

Answered all questions adequately, showed advanced understanding

 

 

50%

 

Oral Presentation, Including Visual

Did not address all of the issues or make a very convincing argument

Has all of the required issues in the Presentation, but the PPT is not very convincing

Shows how each required issue is relates to your side, and the PPT is clear and convincing

 

 

100%

 


Written Papers

 

Unprepared, poorly presented and developed

Presented most arguments adequately

Above and beyond well prepared, excellent research, excellent development

 

 

20%

 

 

 

Standards

 

This WebQuest addresses the following English Language Arts Standards:

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.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation.

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.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Having completed this WebQuest, you have learned about the racism existed in the American South before the Civil Rights movement began.  You have related this knowledge to the story of Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, analyzing Ellen’s experience in light of this historical knowledge.  Finally, you have developed a fictional scenario of your own, in which you place yourself in the role of protagonist to see how you would personally experience and be affected by similar events.