Lick'em, Stick'em, and Learn

Lick 'em, Stick 'em, and Learn

A Web Quest for 6th through 8th Grade Social Studies and Language Arts

Introduction:

For Black History Month, the eighth grade class will be studying African Americans who have been honored on United States postage stamps. They will also collect stamps featuring African Americans and prepare a scrapbook for the upcoming open house. The class will choose someone they feel is worthy of being honored on a stamp and prepare a portfolio. You have been chosen to make a presentation on behalf of the class to the United States Post Office.

Tasks:

The following tasks are to be completed as you work through the Web Quest:

Briefly discuss the hobby of stamp collecting and how to get started.
Discuss the significance of African Americans being honored on postage stamps.
Develop and provide (3) three honoree information pages for the scrapbook.
Develop a portfolio for your presentation to the United States Post Office.

Process:

Today class you will learn about stamp collecting. You will prepare a scrapbook of African Americans who have appeared on stamps. Also, you will choose someone you feel is worthy of being honored on a stamp and will develop a portfolio for presentation to the United States Post Office.

1. To do this you need to know about the hobby of stamp collecting and how to get started. For specific information you will need to visit stamp collecting online.
2. You will need to read and write a report about the history of stamps featuring African Americans.
3. You will need to choose three (3) African Americans who have been honored and create an information page for the scrapbook.
This page should have the following information:

Name of honoree.

Year of honor.

Picture or drawing of stamp.

Minimum of two paragraphs about the honoree and their accomplishment, invention, awards, obstacles, etc.

Contribution to others.

4. The class will choose someone they feel deserves to be honored on a stamp and have chosen you to be the class spokesperson. Therefore, you must inform the class of the stamp selection process. You will need to include the name of the committee. Please feel free to read more about early stamp selection.
5. The portfolio for presentation to the United States Post Office must include the following:

Name.

Biography of the individual including their achievements, works, contributions etc.

Develop a stamp using a picture or drawing of the individual you will honor, the picture must include a symbolic representation of their work or achievement.

One page paper on why you feel this individual is worthy of such a honor.

6. You are to print and complete the quiz on Black History.
7. Bonus Questions: What is the name of the individual who has designed more African American stamps than anyone else? How many stamps has the individual designed?

Evaluation:

Your performance will be determined by the rubric that is found below. The grade will be a common grade based on how well you perform the assigned tasks. Read the rubric carefully to better understand the grading structure for this assignment.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Become familiar with the hobby of stamp collecting.	Ability to correctly answer one question about the hobby of stamp collecting.	Ability to correctly answer two questions about the hobby of stamp collecting.	Ability to correctly answer three questions about the hobby of stamp collecting.	Ability to answer in detail at least four or more questions about the hobby of stamp collecting.
Become familiar with the history of stamps honoring African Americans.	Ability to correctly answer one question pertaining to the history of stamps honoring African Americans.	Ability to correctly answer two questions pertaining to the history of stamps honoring African Americans.	Ability to correctly answer three questions pertaining to the history of stamps honoring African Americans.	Ability to correctly answer in detail at least four or more questions about the history of stamps honoring African Americans.
Prepare three (3) African Americans honoree pages for scrapbook.	Prepared one honoree page and provide at least two of the information listed.	Prepared two honoree pages and provided at least two to three of the information listed.	Prepared three honoree pages and provided at least three to four of the information listed.	Prepared three honoree pages and provided in detail all of the information listed.
Become familiar with information and facts about stamp selection processes.	Ability to correctly answer one to two facts about the stamp selection process.	Ability to correctly answer two to three facts about the stamp selection process.	Ability to correctly answer three to four facts about the stamp selection process.	Ability to correctly answer in detail at least five or more facts about the stamp selection process.
Develop a portfolio for presentation to the United States Post Office featuring someone you feel should be honor on a stamp.	Portfolio is developed correctly with drawing or picture and symbolic representation and presentation.	Portfolio is developed with all required information. Drawing or picture and symbolic representation and presentation.	Portfolio is well developed and appealing, with all required information. Drawing or picture and symbolic representation is well designed and presentation well thought out.	Portfolio is well developed with all required information. Drawing or picture and symbolic representation is well designed and of high quality and presentation well thought out and persuasive.

Conclusion:

By doing this WebQuest, you will have gained knowledge about the hobby of stamp collecting. You will learn about African Americans who have been honored on postage stamps. You will learn about the numerous contributions African American have made to this county and the world. During the open house, please share with your family and friends the scrapbook and what you have learned. Make sure you also share the portfolio and presentation information you developed. Hopefully, what you have learned has sparked your interest in starting your own stamp collection.

Credits & References:

Thanks to the United States Post Office.
Thanks to the African American Philatelic Society.
Thanks to ThinkQuest for a very informative and helpful web site.
Thanks to Erica Spencer, my computer partner, for her patience and help.
Thanks to Dr. R.B. Lewis and Chad Thompson for an informative and challenging class.

Teacher Advice:

This WebQuest is developed for any students 6th through 8th grade studying African American history. The teacher's task in this WebQuest is to facilitate learning by helping students form their own conclusions. It is strongly suggested that the teacher do a KWL chart with the students:

1. What they KNOW. 2. WHAT they want to know. 3. What they LEARNED.

The teacher should not give direct answers, but instead ask questions to involve them in learning and gaining knowledge about the history and contributions of African Americans. The WebQuest is designed to last at least one week, although it may take a little longer. A teacher using this WebQuest should be familiar with technology such as the Internet, email and portfolio setup and presentations. This project is excellent for teaching not only African American history, but the history of any culture. Students are encouraged to find other cultures that have been honored on United States Postage Stamps.

Created for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Vicki Orr Stokes on July 31, 2001.