G&T Webquest Part 1

 Lesson: Utopia and the American Dream (Notes)

Lesson 1

Questions could probably be a little more open-ended for a gifted group (example: In what ways do you believe Winthrop’s ideas are manifested in society today? How are they not?

Lesson 2

I like the focus on contradicting ideas of the American dream

Comparative texts

Lesson 3

I think the questions could, again, be a little more open-ended; Linking Kennedy and Winthrop is smart and makes sense in terms of front-loading information, but probably should have been done on day 2

Should have asked questions like: How has the American Dream evolved over time?

Lesson 4 (1.2) (1.3)

I don’t think we needed to refer to another president. This lesson plan appears to lack diversity. Why not hear a story from a regular, everyday person?

Lesson 5

Questions seem too leading (except the first one asked in both images. That one is perfect)

I like the choice of using pictures like this and drawing parallels again

Lesson 6 (3.2) (4.1)

I think this lesson should have been spaced out over two different days. There’s a lot of information being conveyed here that don’t connect easily, and might be difficult even for gifted students

I love the questions after the painting, specifically asking if both a utopia and dystopia can exist at once)

Lesson 7 (3.5)

I don’t know how I feel about this assessment; It almost seems like too much

Maybe just have the students select soundtrack, art, or literature, not do all three

The collect section is alright, but parts of it feel like busy work. Why have students collect information they aren’t going to use? (I know there are reasons, but I still don’t think it’s necessary and students might get annoyed and bored)

The create section is perfect

Assessment (2.1) (5.6)

Some of the language feels too ambiguous (i.e., superior vs. above average)

Lesson: Utopia and the American Dream (Analysis) 

I found a lot of good points and strategies in this lesson plan. However, of course I think it can be improved upon. My biggest problem with this is that it lacks diversity. There was probably an opportunity to include diversity, whether it be from someone of a different race, gender/sex, ethnicity, or SES, instead of discussing two different presidents on two different days. I was also concerned that I didn’t see any standards being fulfilled in standard 6. I will concede, however, that this can be difficult to display on paper. However, I think that most learning and developmental standards, or at least opportunities for them to develop, should be evident, if not obvious, within one’s lesson plan. I was concerned that there were not many opportunities for students to develop personal growth, and, while the lesson plan did include questions to ask students, it never specified how or in what format these questions were supposed to be presented. Would it be in class discussion? Would they write their answer and turn it in? Is it in small groups? I think standard 6 would have been more obvious if these questions were addressed.