Old West Webquest


Old West Webquest
A WebQuest for 7th Grade (English, Psychology, Art, FACS)
Designed by:
Claire, Emily, Noelle, Abby
webermiddleschool@k12.edu

Image result for old west clip art


Introduction:
You are planning a hoedown! Old Western hoedowns were quite different from parties today, so you will be immersing yourself in all things Old West in order to plan. To plan your hoedown, you’ll need to consider Western food, social interaction, decor, and tales. Your planning process will give you a taste of Old Western culture, which we will be studying about later on in our Western unit. While you plan, think about: What we can learn about Old Western culture from planning a hoedown? Good luck, hoedown planners!



The Task:
Your planning efforts will be compiled onto an event planning organizer. As you use the web to generate ideas, you will copy and paste your ideas into a hoedown planning organizer, where there will be a designated space for all your plans. The organizer will be available on the class website, and should be printed upon completion. Your hoedown plans should consider one idea for each Old Western category: food, social interaction, decor, tales.



The Process:
First, the teacher will split you into groups of 3-4 students. Once you have found your group, you may begin with the following instructions.

Traditional Tale:
  1. Follow the provided link to examine Old Western short stories and tall tales: http://www.ropeandwire.com/MainPages/Stories.html
  2. Once you have read a few interesting stories, select one that may be exciting to share around the campfire at your hoedown.
  3. Copy and paste this into the designated space in the hoedown event planning organizer, located on the team page.

Food:
  1. Follow this link: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-oldwestrecipes.html.
  2. Using only the link provided, choose ONE Old West Repice, and click on it.
  3. Copy and paste the recipe onto your hoedown event organizer.
  4. Because this recipe will need to serve 100 people, you will need to convert the recipe. Ex: If the recipe states that it serves 4 people, first figure out the amounts of each ingredient needed to make 1 serving. Once you know how much of each ingredient is needed for one serving, multiply the amounts by 100. 
  5. Using your hoedown event organizer, be sure to type in the new recipe below the original (you do not need to write down the entire recipe - only list the amounts for each ingredient).
  6. You are done with this section!

History:
  1. You will be in charge of researching important facts and information about the old west.
  2. Once you have your information, you will create a pamphlet or a poster that outlines the important information that you learned.
  3. The information should include (but is not limited to) important dates, people, events and other fun (and relevant!) facts.
  4. Follow these links for the information:  http://www.ducksters.com/history/westward_expansion/ 
    https://kidskonnect.com/history/wild-west/


Art: 
1. Follow the links:
2.  Spend some time looking at the old west imagery provided on the sites.
3.Choose one (1)  or two (2) images of old west scenery, and/or old west storefront 
signage/Wanted posters, and copy + paste them into the designated space of the hoedown event planner organizer - located on the team webpage.
Lastly, be sure sure to print out your hoedown event organizer with the names of each person in your group. Give it to the teacher before you leave. Your hoedown event organizer will be evaluated by the teacher, and your group will receive a common grade.



Conclusion:
You have learned about Old Western culture as you planned your hoedown. What do you think an authentic hoedown was like? How was Old Western culture different from our culture today? What can we learn from Old Western culture that can help us today? Follow these links to learn more about the Old West:


Credits & References: