Victorian Age Research Web Quest

(an assignment related to Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations)

While you are reading Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, you are going to encounter several references to the Victorian Age. In order to understand the text and the plot of the story, you must do some research on the Victorian Age. You and one of your classmates are going to research some aspect of the Victorian Age.

Task

Your task is to research the Victorian topic that I gave you and create 1-2 power point slides that contain the most important information about your topic. Then, you will present your slide(s) and teach the entire class about your topic.

Here are the topic choices:

· Child Labor

· Queen Victoria

· Technology

· Religion

· Social history/social class

· Political history

· Art

· Literature

· Culture

· Victorian Legislature/Law

· Victorian Education

· Victorian Prisons

· Victorian Family Life

· Victorian Union House

· Charles Dickens

Taken from: www.wwnorton.com/nael/ victorian/welcome.htm

Procedures

1. Read your topic and discuss with your partner what you may already know about the topic.

2. Use the links below to find out as much information about your topic as you can. You are not limited to these links. You must have at least two sources for your slide(s).

3. Create 1-2 power point slides that contain the most important information about your topic. You are going to be “teaching” the class about this topic so be sure the information you present is the most important and is relevant to your topic. Also, be sure that your slides are readable.

4. Create a bibliography of the sources you used to gather your information. This should be your last slide. (This may be your third slide.) This bibliography should include the title of the website, the web address, and author(s), if available.

5. Prepare for you presentation. What are you going to say? What should you make sure is said during the presentation?

6. Present your slide(s) to the entire class. This presentation should be no shorter than 1 minute and no longer than 3 minutes.

Victorian Age Websites:

Britain Express

Victorian Web

Victorian Research

http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Vic-Cul-Soc.html

http://victorian.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/sites/links.html

http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/damrosch_awl/chapter6/objectives/deluxe-content.html

http://www.fenwick.org/../Library/life_in_the_victorian_age.htm

http://victorian.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/sites/links.html

Back to top

Taken from: www.lawrence.edu/ fac/SPURGINT/41/

Evaluation

This project is worth 50 points. The following are the evaluation criteria for this project:

· Gathering information: at least 2 reliable sources ~ 10 points

· Following Directions: no more than two slides with the last (third) slide being your bibliography, slides are readable, stayed between 1-3 minutes ~ 10 points

· Information: should be relevant to your topic and should be important ~ 20 points

· Presenting information: each group member should present information about the topic, information presented was important and relevant to the topic ~ 10 points

Total: 50 Points

Conclusion

Now that you know a little about the Victorian Age, you should be ready to take on Dickens’ Great Expectations. Remember: just because you have completed this project and learned a great deal from your research and classmates, it doesn’t mean that you know everything about the Victorian Age. I encourage you to research any topic that comes up in Great Expectations that you are unfamiliar with or are curious about. I also encourage you to share your findings with the entire class. Don’t stop your search for knowledge now. Continue to explore the Victorian Age, and continue the long, but exciting journey through the life of Pip!

Picture of Charles Dickens