Problem:

WAR OF 1812

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyahgp/images/nolink/1812ba.jpg

Eileen Schreppel

Grade 5

Holland Patent Elementary School

PROBLEM:

Should the United States declare war on Great Britain to gain freedom of the seas and to stop British support of the American Indians against westward expansion?

INTRODUCTION:

Imagine you are a sailor on the American Navy ship Chesapeake in 1807. You are on a routine journey north when suddenly you are attacked by a British ship demanding to be allowed aboard to look for British deserters. When your Captain refuses to allow them onboard, the British fire upon your ship. In order to avoid bloodshed, the Captain allows them on to the ship. The British sailors pick out four of your crew claiming they are British deserters, and carry them off to their ship the HMS Leopard. This type of occurrence became common in the early 1800’s not only with Britain but also with France. Those two countries were at war with each other and thought the United States was giving supplies to the opposite country.

TASK:

1. With your group make a PowerPoint presentation explaining the War of 1812. Be sure to include:

· What were the causes leading to the War?

· Who were the presidents at the time of the events?

· List a timeline to go with the War of 1812.

· What were the major battles of the war?

· What were some important events during the war?

· What was the outcome of the war?

· Did the war accomplish what it was intended to at that time?

2. Pretend you are living during this time period. Write a fictional letter to a United States representative expressing your opinion about the War of 1812. You must include at least five things in your letter from information you found in the Web sites in the Resources section. The letter may be after the war is complete. Type your letter on the computer.

PROCESS:

You will begin by researching the War of 1812You will follow the American History Public Policy Analyst (AHPPA) process to help you complete this task. Use the resources listed below to complete the AHPPA worksheets included in each step of the process. When all four of the worksheets are completed, you will write your complete your three tasks.

Step 1: Identify the Problem: First, you will identify the problem that the American government had that led up to the War of 1812. Complete worksheet #1

Step 2: Gather the Evidence: Your next step is to choose a minimum of at least three sources that provide evidence of the problem the United States faced. Complete worksheet #2

Step 3: Determining the Causes: What major causes led to the War of 1812? List a minimum of three factors that ultimately led to the United States going to war. Complete worksheet #3.

Step 4: Evaluate the Policy: Your last step is to evaluate the War of 1812, the policy adopted by the U.S. to deal with their problems with Great Britain. You will identify the advantages and the disadvantages of the War of 1812. Did it accomplish what was intended when the United States went to war? Why or why not? Complete worksheet #4.

RESOURCES:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/War_of_1812

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/warof1812def.htm

http://www.usd281.com/warof1812/

EVALUATION:

PowerPoint

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.	Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.	The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.	Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.
Sequencing of Information	Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card.	Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card or item of information seems out of place.	Some information is logically sequenced. An occassional card or item of information seems out of place.	There is no clear plan for the organization of information.
Spelling and Grammar	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings.	Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Effectiveness	Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic. It is a highly effective study guide.	Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is an adequate study guide.	Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an incomplete study guide.	Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies that make it a poor study guide.

Letter Rubric

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Grammar & spelling (conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Salutation and Closing	Salutation and closing have no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 3 or more errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and/or closing are missing.
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Capitalization and Punctuation	Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.
Neatness	Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.	Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.	Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.	Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.
Content Accuracy	The letter contains at least 4 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 2-3 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 1 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains no accurate facts about the topic.

CONCLUSION:

Congratulations!! You have completed your WebQuest and you are now an expert on the War of 1812!!

STANDARDS:

Social Studies

Standard 1 - History of the United States and New York Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

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.

English Language Arts

Standard 1 - Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding; they will collect data, facts, and ideas and use electronically produced texts.

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.