Home :: Media Center :: WebQuest :: Harlem Renaissance

This WebQuest's Building Blocks:

• Introduction
• Task
• The Process
• Resources
  • Student Resources
  • Teacher ResourcesNew
• Handouts
• Evaluation
• Conclusion

Introduction

Your parents have finally decided to let you go out on a Friday night! You and your friends decide to go a party you’d read about. Earlier that day you and your friends found a business card-sized invitation stuck in your locker. The card looked like this:

You figured, "Why not?" and headed over to see where these places were located on the Highway.

The party is nothing like you expected. There seems to be a bouncer at each door. They let you walk in when you show the card, and pay the cover charge of 50 cents. You are told that the owners need the money to make rent. You take in the sights. You notice three things right away: there is no furniture, there is a piano player, and everyone is black. A calendar says the year is 1927.

You realize that the small card has somehow transported you away from Alexandria and to some Harlem house-rent parties...

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Task

This party may be different than what you're used to, but you decide to explore. Since your English teacher had recently assigned a research project to help the Alexandria Black History Museum, you figure you may be in luck. You decide to explore the four rooms where people are gathering to see if you can decide who you’d like to research.

• Your task is to interview 1 person in each house to find out why they are icons of the Harlem Renaissance. After you find enough information about each person, you can write your research proposal for your English class.

Here are the houses and the famous Harlem Renaissance icons who have gathered in them:

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The Process

1. For each Harlem Renaissance icon you choose to "interview" fill out an Interview Sheet. This sheet gives you questions that you should ask, and gives you an opportunity to include extra information that you may find. Use the school's online databases and approved Harlem Renaissance Resources.
   
   
2. After you've completed your interviews, review your information, and decide who you would like to research. Put this icon's interview sheet on the top when you turn in your interview sheets.
   
   
3. Turn in your interview sheets to Ms. Bosch or Dr. McCracken.
   
   
4. Fill out a research packet for your icon. Make sure you use at least three online sources and at least one book or magazine as a source.
   
   
5. Remember that you will need to prepare a bibliography. This can be done using NoodleTools.
   
   
6. Create a "desktop" for the person you will be researching in depth.
   
   

Creating the Desktop

While The Alexandria Black History Museum has pictures and documents that relate to Black History in the DC area, it does not have many items that relate to the Harlem Renaissance. The museum director would like to add to the collection and has offered local students the opportunity to contribute. He has envisioned an exhibit entitled, "Desks of the Decades: Black History in Desktops."

Using your knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance and your Harlem Renaissance icon, create a three dimensional model of what you think your icon's desktop would look like. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What pictures might your icon have?
• What works of literature might your icon have?
• What other objects would be on your icon's desk?

Your desk exhibit should showcase your knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance and your icon. For each object that you place on your desk, the museum director requires that you include an explanation of the object and why it was chosen. The explanations should be typed and included in a separate explanation booklet.

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Student Resources

• Click here for Harlem Renaissance Student Resources.
• NoodleTools

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Handouts

• Interview Sheet: Interview Sheet
• Research Packet: Research Packet
• Desktop Assignment Sheet: Desktop Assignment Sheet
• Desktop Booklet Sheet: Desktop Booklet Sheet
• Desktop Rubric: Desktop Rubric

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Evaluation

Your exhibit will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Understanding of the icon's life and work
• Understanding of the Harlem Renaissance and the icon’s connection to the Harlem Renaissance
• Presentation
• Understanding of principles of good research

Those exhibits that express the life and times of the icon fully will be displayed.

Please use the attached rubric to help guide your efforts and evaluate your own work.

Conclusion

After you've completed your interviews and research proposal, you should briefly speak with Ms. Bosch or Dr. McCracken to present your research proposal.

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