Les Livres dans le Feu:
Books in the Fire
A WebQuest Lesson on the Censorship of French Literature
Designed by Diana Mason and Jen Schade
masondc@acs.wooster.edu, schadeylady12@yahoo.com
Many thanks to Diane Ross and Kris DeAngelis!
The Task
Introduction
With the internet sites given, research the Bill of Rights, general information on censorship, and finally any information shedding light on the French author banned from your school. With the information you find, develop your Newsletter.
You are the editor of the school newsletter this year. Recently, a French book, Candide by Voltaire, was banned from your school library because it was too "contraversial." You are curious why this book was banned and decide to make the topic a front page article for your school Newsletter.
In order to make your Newsletter article powerful and moving, everyone must take on a different perspective and adopt a role for dealing with the situation.
In addition to the article on which you collaborate with your Team to write, you will individually write up a side article on the issue through your character's point of view. Once you collect the ideas from everyone in your Team, you will write up a comprehensive final article addressing the issue at hand.
Procedure
Compileinformation from your Team members in order to complete this final write up. You want to pick a specific stance on this issue, either pro-banning or anti-banning. To support your argument, present your views but also the opposing views. Remember, it is important to be a responsible journalist.
1. Visit the websites under your role, as well as those under "Voltaire's Candide." Evaluate the information as seen through the eyes of your character.
2. Compile the viewpoints with the other members of your Team. Decide as a group whether the books should be banned or not. Create the main article of your newsletter expressing this decision.
3. Write up the newsletter for your school. The Newsletter will be distributed to students, parents, associates, administrators of the school, as well as to the community.
You will be assigned to groups of four. within your team, decide which roles each member will play. Using these guidelines, create your Newsletter.
You will have a total of five articles when you are done: one from each team member expressing the opinion of that character, and one collaborative article synthesizing the views of all the characters, and coming to a conclusion about the censorship of Voltaire's Candide in your school.
This is a rubric describing how you will be evaluated on your projects.