Does History
Matter?
An Exploration
of the Historical Context of Huckleberry Finn
A WebQuest for 12th
Grade English Language Arts
Designed by
Miss Lee
leeme@lfc.edu
Introduction | Task
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits
| Teacher Page
Introduction 
Much has changed in American society
since the time of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Although
we can never know first hand what life would have been like for Huck Finn,
we can research his world. This webquest will introduce you to some
of the historical aspects that impact the development of satire throughout
Mark Twain's novel. Your job is to be literary critics in search
of background information on your specific, assigned historical aspect.
The information you gain from this Webquest will help us decide if history
matters to readers of satire.
The Task 
Each group has a different question. Your
task is to answer your group's question as thoroughly yet concisely as
possible. You will then be responsible for sharing your findings
with students from the other groups in a jigsaw format. Each jigsaw
group will use the collective information to predict what will be satirized
in Huckleberry Finn and decide if you believe the history behind
the novel will help or not help us understand it. Each individual
will be required to write a short response paper addressing these two areas.
The Process 
You have been assigned to a group
of four, and your group has been given a number.
-
Each member of your group must select
a role from the list below.
-
Once you have selected your role,
examine your group's specific topic and question (in bold).
-
Look at the websites that have been
assigned to your group.
-
If your group has more than one website,
decide what order you will examine the sites in.
-
Based on your role, begin examining
the website(s).
-
Use the additional questions I have
given your group to guide your research.
-
Once you feel you have gathered enough
information, work as a group to answer your main question.
-
After you have answered your main
question, decide how you will present the information to the members of
your jigsaw group. *Remember that you will have a set amount of time in
your jigsaw group. What key facts are the most important to your
question?
-
You will be assigned to a jigsaw group.
Share your question and answer with the other members of this group.
-
After all members of your jigsaw group
have presented their material, brainstorm ideas for what might be satirized
in Huckleberry Finn.
-
Once you have made some predictions,
debate the importance of the historical context of the novel. In
other words, do you believe we need to understand some of the history of
Huckleberry Finn in order to understand the satire in it?
After you have completed your
discussion, you may begin work on your reflective writing assignment (see
Evaluation for details of the assignment).
Roles
|
Group Guide:
It is your responsibility to keep track of the time remaining and make
sure that all members of your group are on task.
|
Artifact Finder:
You are in charge of finding a picture or other artifact that relates
to your topic and helps answer your group's question. You are also
responsible for printing a copy of the artifact for each member of your
group.
|
|
Researcher:
Your primary responsibility is to take notes on the information your
group finds. You might want to do this by answering the guiding questions
I have provided below.
|
Analyst:
Your job is to help the reasearcher while your group works with the
website(s) and then guide the discussion of your group's main question.
|
Group 1: The Missouri
Compromise
Main Question: How did the Missouri
Compromise fuel the Abolition movement?
Guiding Questions:
What was the Missouri Compromise?
How did the North react to the
Missouri Compromise?
How did the South react to the
Missouri Compromise?
Who was affected by the Missouri
Compromise?
Websites to Examine:
http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/secessioncrisis/200303.html
http://www.rosecity.net/civilwar/capesites/warmap.html
http://www.toptags.com/aama/events/mcomp.htm
Group 2: The Second Great Awakening
Main Question: What was the result of the Second
Great Awakening?
Guiding Questions:
What caused the Second Great Awakening?
Who was affected by the Second Great Awakening?
How were they affected?
Websites to Examine:
http://www.brown.edu/Courses/HI0051/Lectures/Lecture_Thirteen.htm
http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/south/five.html
Group 3: The Abolitionists
Main Question: How did the South React to the
Abolition movement?
Guiding Questions:
Who were the Abolitionists?
What was their central belief?
What was their goal?
Website to Examine:
http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/newman_transformation.html
Group 4: Education in 19th Century
America
Main Question: What was the focus of education
in the 1830s and '40s?
Guiding Questions:
Who received an education in the 1830s and '40s?
Where did they receive their education?
What subjects were studied?
How had education changed since the beginning
of the 1800s?
Website to Examine:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/frontierlife/essay10.html
Group 5: The Life
of Mark Twain
Main Question: Why was Mark
Twain interested in writing satire?
Guiding Questions:
When did Mark Twain write The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
What was his inspiration for writing
the novel?
What other types of writing did
Mark Twain do?
What did Mark Twain dislike about
American society during his time?
Websites to Examine:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/twainlife/bio.html
http://www.yorku.ca/twainweb/filelist/legend.html
Evaluation 
You will receive an individual
grade for your participation in your groups and your reflective writing.
Your reflection must include the following:
-
Answers to all five main inquiry questions.
-
Your opinion of the main forces shaping
American Society at the time of Huckleberry Finn.
-
Your opinion on the importance of
knowing the history behind a work of satire.
-
Two predictions about what you believe
Mark Twain will satirize in the novel and your reasons why.
Your response should be no more than
2 pages long. It will be graded out of 16 points. You can receive
a maximum of 8 points for participation. See the rubric below for
grading criteria.
|
Beginning
1 |
Developing
2 |
Accomplished
3 |
Exemplary
4 |
Score |
|
Participation
in Webquest group
|
Was responsible
and productive 60% of the time
Stayed on task 60%
of the time
Followed directions
60% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 70% of the time
Stayed on task 70%
of the time
Followed directions
70% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 80% of the time
Stayed on task 80%
of the time
Followed directions
80% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 90% of the time
Stayed on task 90%
of the time
Followed directions
90% of the time
|
|
|
Participation in Jigsaw group
|
Was responsible
and productive 60% of the time
Stayed on task 60%
of the time
Followed directions
60% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 70% of the time
Stayed on task 70%
of the time
Followed directions
70% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 80% of the time
Stayed on task 80%
of the time
Followed directions
80% of the time
|
Was responsible
and productive 90% of the time
Stayed on task 90%
of the time
Followed directions
90% of the time
|
|
|
Answers to main
inquiry questions
|
Answers are
general and/or vague
Does not contain
enough detail to show understanding of material
|
Answers are
more specific but still brief
|
Answers contain
detail and are specific
|
Answers contain
detial and are specific
Student shows evidence
of reflection and opinion
|
|
|
Explanation
of main historical forces shaping the novel
|
States but does
not give support for opinion of main historical forces shaping the novel
|
States and gives
general support for opinion of main historical forces shaping the novel
|
States and uses
specific details to support opinion of main historical forces shaping the
novel
|
States and uses
specific details to support opinion of main historical forces shaping the
novel
Shows evidence of
reflection through reference to Webquest assignment
|
|
|
Your opinion
on the importance of historical context in satire
|
States but does
not give support for opinion
|
States and gives
general support for opinion
|
States and uses
specific details to support opinion
|
States and uses
specific details to support opinion
Shows evidence of
reflection through reference to knowledge gained through Webquest
|
|
|
Predictions
and reasons for them
|
States predictions
but gives no reasons
|
States predictions
but does not use information from Webquest to support them
|
States predictions
and uses information from Webquest to support them
|
States predictions,
uses information from Webquest to support them, and hypothesizes how these
predictions will come true
|
|
Conclusion 
Obviously, we cannot fully determine
if the history behind the novel matters until we have read the novel itself.
However, the information you will gain from this Webquest will shape our
discussions and activities. I expect you to reconsider the question
"Does history matter?" several times over the course of our study of Huckleberry
Finn. For now, my goal for you is to start the conversation about
the relationship between historical context and satire.
Credits &
References
Background courtsey of:
http://www.marketwizz.com/backgrounds/
Graphics courtsey of:
http://cody.designerweb.com/cgi-bin/ani/imageFolio.cgi
http://www.members.tripod.com/~nutty747/
Last updated
on August 15, 1999. Based on
a template from The
WebQuest Page
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