8th+Grade+-+French+Revolution

//A Tale of Two Cities// and the French Revolution WebQuest __ **Role:** __ For this unit, students will need to think like historians as we read one of the most famous novels of all time about the irrepressible force of the human will and the power of revolution to change the course of human history.

__** Purpose: **__ As literary and historical critics, we will come to understand that by studying the literature of the past, we become more aware of the universality of human emotions, conflicts, and experiences that create a grea ter sense of connectedness across time.

We will also use this background to reveal that examining heroes illuminates the cyclical patterns of human experience that often leads to conflict and the rise and ebb of order and chaos.

__ **Quest:** __ In Charles Dickens’ novel, //A Tale of Two Cities,// two families, two cities, and two countries become inextricably entwined in a story of love, hatred, revenge and redemption set against the historical backdrop of the French Revolution. In order to understand and appreciate the complexities and nuances of the novel, you must first know the history of the time of which Dickens writes.

Your first mission as a historian identifying the major issues of this novel is to identify __specific facts__, __dates__, __individuals__, and __causes__ of the French Revolution. Here is a list of clues to help begin to piece together the history and tapestry of the French Revolution:


 * ~ People ||~ Events ||~ Miscellaneous ||~ Places ||
 * < * Louis XIV
 * Louis XV
 * Louis XVI
 * Marie Antoinette
 * Voltaire
 * Rousseau
 * Marat
 * Mirabeau
 * Duke d'Orleans
 * Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotine
 * Robespierre
 * The Jacobins
 * Napoleon Bonaparte
 * The Bourbon Kings
 * Edmund Burke - //Reflections on the Revolution of France// ||< * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The French Revolutionary Wars
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Reign of Terror
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The March on Versailles
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Tennis Court Oath
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The First Coalition
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Second Coalition
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Treaty of Amiens
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Napoleonic Wars ||< * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Ancient Regime
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Divine Right Monarchy
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Committee for Public Safety
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The National Convention
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Estates General
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The National Assembly
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Declaration of the Rights of Man
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Guillotine ||< * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Bastille
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">London, England
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Marseilles, France
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dover, England
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Paris, France
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Versailles Palace
 * <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Elephant; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Old Bailey ||

__ THE TASK __ "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..."

These famous first lines from Charles Dickens' classic 1859 novel, //A Tale of Two Cities// represent the time period of the late 1700s, when social ills plagued both France and England. Using the links provided and others you find through your research, you will choose one of the following products. **As you research you will need to consider historical events, famous figures, important landmarks, and cause and effect relationships.**


 * Choose ONE product from the following list: **

1. Write a series of five **journal entries** composed from the perspective of an individual living in either France or England during the Revolution. Each entry must make reference to specific events, places, and people relevant to the Revolution.

2. Write a newspaper **editorial** from the time period of the Revolution that identifies at least four __specific__ factors contributing to the French Revolution in the areas of social, political, and religious. Make sure to clearly present your views about who should be blamed for the devastating events that took place during the Revolution. You want to be persuasive in your article as means of gaining support.

3. Write and record/perform a **speech** either in support of or against the French Revolution from an individual living in either country during or directly before the Revolution. The speech must present your views about the social, political, and religious reasons in favor of or against the Revolution. You need to make reference to specific events, places, people, and causes. Your goal is to persuade your audience to agree with your position and join your cause!

4. Write and illustrate a **full-page poem** from the perspective of an individual living in either France or England during the Revolution. Your poem must make reference to specific events, places, and people revelant to the Revolution.

5. Create a **sketchbook** with at least five high-quality drawings depicting France and England during the Revolution. Each sketch should incoporate historical events, famous figures, important landmarks, and cause and effect relationships. Each sketch should also have an accompanying explanatory paragraph from the artist.

**Note:** ALL products must be accompanied by a typed, alphabetized **MLA works cited page**. You may use OneNote, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or pen and paper to keep track of the sources you use to gain valuable information for your product. In text citations are not appropriate for the products, but please be aware that cutting and pasting of any text will be considered plagiarism.

__THE LINKS__ ***You may want to begin by using the databases available through our Destiny page. Gale has the "General OneFile" database and a "Biography in Context" database, which are excellent sources of overview type information. The Destiny site can be accessed easily at school and using your student log-in, through the KLMS web-site or Sharepoint site, from home.***

[|The Palace at Versailles]
__THE RUBRIC__ and/or scope as a snapshot of the Revolution. ||
 * || **Exemplary** || **Proficient** || **Novice** || **Emerging** ||
 * **Product Content** || The product is a detailed, accurate, and comprehensive "historical snapshot," synthesizing the people, places, events, causes and effects of the Revolution. || The product is mostly detailed, accurate and/or comprehensive as an "historical snapshot" of the Revolution. || The product is somewhat detailed, accurate, and/or comprehensive as an "historical snapshot" of the Revolution. || The product lacks detail, accuracy,
 * **Product Communication** || Clear, effective, specific, and well developed writing free of errors. || Mostly clear, effective, specific, and well developed writing. Mostly free of errors. || Somewhat clear, effective, specific, and well developed writing. Somewhat free of errors. || Lacks clear, effective, specific, and/or well developed writing. Abundant errors. ||
 * **MLA Works Cited** || Free of mechanical, punctuation and formatting errors. Represents varied and numerous sources consulted. || Mostly free of mechanical, punctuation and formatting errors. Mostly varied and numerous sources consulted. || Somewhat free of mechanical, punctuation and formatting errors. Somewhat varied and numerous sources consulted. || Abundant mechanical, punctuation and formatting errors. Lacking varied and numerous sources consulted. ||