Assignment: The Great Expectations Debate

 

Introduction

 

Young Pip’s world of Victorian England is fraught with the perils of corporal punishment, harsh prisons, non-existent child labor laws, and an imperfect educational system.  While today’s society has made great strides in dealing with these problems, how modernism deals with these issues is often contestable.  Your job is to compare the social issues present in Great Expectations to those present in our society today. You will make this comparison based on your knowledge as a 'professional expert' in one specific area, and then will engage with your fellow classmates in a debate on how to best solve these issues.

 

The Task:

 

Have the social issues that Pip encountered have changed over the years, or do the same problems and difficulties still exist today?  If they do exist today, what solutions would be best to deal with these problems? 

 

You will explore the social issues that Pip faced in the Victorian period and discover if those same issues exist today and if they still have affect people. You will then use this information to prepare a series of arguments that you will use to affirm, or negate a possible solution to these issues.

 

 

The Procedure:

 

Section I: Everyone

 

Before you become an expert on one of the social issues concerning Pip, we'd better make sure that everyone on your Web Quest team knows the basics. Use the links below to answer the following questions:

 

These questions will be handed in, so make sure that you answer them in complete sentences! 

 

Section I is due: Tuesday January 29^th!

 

1) What social issues were important to Charles Dickens (Pip's close friend)?

 

2) What social issues were central in the Victorian period? Give a brief description of three of them. 

 

3) What are the main social classes in Victorian England?  How are they divided?  Give a brief description of each.

 

4) What are some of the important historical incidents that took place during this time period?

 

5) Give a brief description of the science and religion of the Victorian Period

 

Social Issues - Victorian (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html)

 

Victorian Background: (http://www.victorianweb.org/vn/victor4.html)

 

 

Religion: (http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/altholz/a2.html)

 

 

Science: (http://www.victorianweb.org/science/index.html)

 

 

Class overview: (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/race/rcov.html)

 

 

 

Section II: Topic Specific Groups

 

Now that you have some overall background knowledge, it's time to return to the main question for this Web Quest. Questions this big and important are better answered when a few people are working on it at one time. Things work even better when a group of you decide to look at the question from different perspectives. This way team members can become experts on different aspects of the question and then come together to poll their learning. This is where team work pays off. So are you ready to divide and conquer this question?

 

What happens when your group can’t decide!

 

 Strategy for Analyzing the People's Opinions on the Topic (http://www.web-and-flow.com/scaffolds/compare.html) 

 

 

 

Topic I: Education

 

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

 

 

 

How is the educational system (if one even existed) structured?

 

Describe a typical Victorian education?

 

Are there differences in how the classes are educated?

 

Education Background  (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html)

 

Day in the life of a student   (http://logicmgmt.com/1876/educate)

 

 

** How is Pip educated by Joe?  How does his education change?

 

 

Topic 2: Family Relations and Family Life

 

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

 

How are family’s structured?

 

What are the roles of men, women, and Children in a Victorian family?

 

What are some of the issues faced by families?

 

Family relationships  (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html)

 

Role of Women        (http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/socialhistov.html)

 

 

**What sorts of relationship pressures are shown in Great Expectations?

 

Topic 3: Child labor

 

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

 

1)What was child labor like in Victorian England?

 

2) What protections existed for children?

 

3) What might a typical child’s day look like in Victorian England?

 

Child Labor (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRchild.main.htm)

Child Labor    (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html)

 

**How was Pip affected by child labor laws?

 

 

Topic 4: Prisoners and penal laws

 

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

 

What was the prison system like during Victorian England?

 

Describe the life of a prisoner.

 

Describe the prison reforms were made during this time period.

 

** What rules and laws are present in Great Expectations? Who set up the laws in Victorian England?

 

**How did the penal laws affect Pip?

 

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html

 

 

http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/snapshots/snapshot24/snapshot24.htm

 

Cites: This Web Quest is a modified version of Jacqueline Cowley-Donaldson as found on http://www.web-and-flow.com/members/jcowleyd/dickens/webquest.htm  Accessed January 24, 2008.