Famous People of Massachusetts A WebQuest for 3th Grade Massachusetts Study Designed by Cyd McCann Eileen Sullivan Susan Melander

Introduction | Task | Process | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

Your teacher is very lucky to have recently come across the Massachusetts Magic Cranberry. This fruit has very special powers. If you touch the cranberry three times, any famous Massachusetts person you choose will magically appear in your classroom. He/she will even be able to speak to you! But before the person will appear, you must lure him/her with a letter that contains what you admire about him/her. So that you don't waste this wonderful opportunity, you want to be sure to prepare questions you would like answered.

You will select famous Massachusetts people to read about and choose one. You must write a letter to this person and prepare questions you wish to ask.

1. Take a look at the table below. Choose one person from each category to read about. Click on his/her name to go to a website that gives more information.

   Politicians John Adams 2nd U.S. president, Braintree John Quincy Adams 6th U.S. president, Braintree Samuel Adams patriot, Boston Susan B. Anthony woman suffragist, Adams George Bush 41st U.S. president, Milton Benjamin Franklin statesman, scientist, Boston John Hancock statesman, Braintree John F. Kennedy U.S. president, Brookline Paul Revere silversmith, Revolutionary War figure, Boston William Bradford Govenor of Plimoth Colony, First Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony	Authors John Greenleaf Whittier poet, Haverhill Edgar Allan Poe writer, Boston Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) author, illustrator, Springfield Henry David Thoreau author, Concord James Russell Lowell poet, Cambridge Nathaniel Hawthorne author, Salem Oliver Wendell Holmes poet, Cambridge Louisa May Alcott author, Concord E. E. Cummings poet, Cambridge Emily Dickinson poet, Amherst Ralph Waldo Emerson philosopher, poet, Boston
   Scientists/Inventors Luther Burbank horticulturalist, Lancaster Benjamin Franklin statesman, scientist, Boston Robert Hutchings Goddard rocketry, Worcester Elias Howe inventor, Spencer Eli Whitney inventor, Westboro Alexander Graham Bell inventor, Samuel F. B. Morse painter, inventor, Charlestown R. Buckminster Fuller inventor, mathematician, philosopher, architect, engineer, Milton	Artists John Singleton Copley painter, Boston Winslow Homer painter, Boston James McNeill Whistler painter, Lowell Norman Rockwell painter Childe Hassam painter, Boston
   Other Clara Barton American Red Cross founder, Oxford John Chapman / Johnny Appleseed nurseryman, Leominste Buckminster Fuller architect, educator, Milton Cotton Mather clergyman, Boston Sharon Christa McAuliffe teacher, astronaut, Framingham Frederick Law Olmstead landscape architect, Lucy Stone woman suffragist, West Brookfield Leonard Bernstein composer, Lawrence Massasoit Wampanoag chief

2. After you have read about the people you chose, select one person you would like to meet.
3. To have them "appear" in your classroom, you must first write a letter to them. The letter must contain why you admire that person. Be specific - refer to things they have accoplished in their life. The letter should be one page, double spaced.
4. To prepare for their visit, you must create at least three questions to ask. The questions should be designed to get the person to "talk" (so they wouldn't be able to just answer with a yes or no) and give you new information.

Put a couple of sentences here that summarize what they will have accomplished or learned by completing this activity or lesson. You might also include some rhetorical questions or additional links to encourage them to extend their thinking into other content beyond this lesson.

List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using. Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources or help.

List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.