WEBQUEST on Brown versus Board of Education

created by Jacque Ensign spring 2004

Task

You are to write a reflection paper on the relation of Brown v Bd of Ed to a related issue in a young adult novel (one of the recommended books on the course syllabus).

Process and Resources

  1. Begin by listing issues you noted in the second young adult novel you read.
  2. Spend a minimum of 3 hours reading the websites on Brown v Board of Education. Also read the handout on Brown v Board of Education that was distributed in class. (normal time allotted to a graduate course is 2 hours for every hour in class which translates to 6 hours expected for this week's total.)
  3. Decide on one issue from the young adult novel that relates to the issues or spririt of Brown v Board of Education.
  4. Write a reflection paper (1 page single spaced) reflecting on the relation of the issue in your novel to Brown v Board of Education. In what ways is Brown v Board of Education still relevant to an issue today's youth face in the book you read? (Even if the court case did not address the issue in your book directly, how is it a similar issue to the issue of racial equality in education and what are the implications from the court case to the issue in your book?)
  5. By copying and pasting, submit your reflection paper to http://www.nicenet.org, under "Assignments" "reflections on Brown v Bd of Ed" by the deadline for your class.
  6. After April 15, you may check the site again to read classmates' papers. No need to respond to others' reflections but do read many before class.
  7. Bring a copy of your paper to class April 19 (21).

Conclusion

Come to class on April 19 (21) prepared to discuss your paper in class (as well as the assigned reading on violence).

Useful Websites for Information on Brown v. Board of Education
rich site of digital archives related to Brown v Bd of Ed: photos, details on court cases, recent resegregation info from Harvard Civil Rights Project http://www.lib.umich.edu/exhibits/brownarchive/

Brown Foundation for Educational Equity http://brownvboard.org/

PBS site on Brown v Bd of Ed: short summary of history of Brown v Bd of Ed http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/enlight/brown.htm

NPR site of audio archives on Brown v Bd of Ed http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/brown_v_board_documents/brown_v_board.html

NPR archive, “Teachers Weigh the Decision of Brown v Bd of Ed http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1547570

summary of recent report from Harvard Civil Rights Project, “Brown at 50: King’s Dream or Plessy’s Nighmare?” http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/news/pressreleases.php/record_id=42/


Howard University Law School Brown v Bd of Ed site http://www.brownat50.org/

resources for teachers:

analysis of political cartoons from Brown v Bd of Ed: http://www.landmarkcases.org/brown/cartoons.html

Tolerance Magazine’s site on Brown v Bd of Ed with many resources of classroom activities and info for students http://www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/mag/features.jsp?p=0&is=34&ar=485

digital classroom materials to use with students, including copies of the documents, letters, from national archives http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/brown_v_board_documents/brown_v_board.html

student radio project from Univ of Illinois using middle school girl reporters http://www.will.uiuc.edu/community/beyondbrown/brownstudentradioproject.htm