Web Quest Lesson Plan

Introduction
Students have explored the topic of the Sacred Earth and the Power of Storytelling. In this lesson, they will learn about different reasons why people tell stories and different ways in which to tell these stories. After exploring two Web sites that show examples of storytelling in different formats, students will write their own stories, explain why they wanted to tell that particular story, and share why they decided to tell it in the way in which they did.

Lesson Description
Students will read selected passages from “The Power of Storytelling” on the wbur.org Web page http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/12/20031210_a_main.asp and “Subject-Story Telling” on the Poet’s Corner Web page http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/SubjIdx/story.html. Then, each student will write his or her own story. Their stories will include an explanation of why the student told that particular story and why it was told it in the style in which it was.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will use the Internet as a resource to get information.
2. Students will identify ways in which stories can be used to communicate.
3. Students will identify effective ways to tell stories in order to accomplish the objective of the story.

Student Web Activity Sample Answer
My English teacher took our class outside the other day. The weather was cool, so we all went to our lockers to get our coats, and met by the doors at the back of the school. There was one condition—we were not allowed to talk. We were just supposed to think while on our walk outside. After we got outside, I expected people to start whispering to each other, but no one did. We all walked in silence. We walked past the track to a wooded area behind on the school. When we got to the edge of the wooded area, my teacher laid his jean jacket down on the ground, and lay down on his back with his hands behind his head. The rest of us just stood there for a few moments, and looked at him, wondering what to do next. Finally, curiosity took over. I broke from the group and went into the wooded area. My friend followed me. For what seemed like an endless amount of time, I walked and thought until someone came to find me to head back to our classroom. On our way back, my teacher told us that we could talk, but surprisingly, no one did. When we got back, our assignment was to write about what we thought about on our walk. The next day our class was back to normal, but for a day it seemed suspended in time.

My objective for telling this story is to share with the reader a unique day in my life.