Russian Revolution Webquest

Russian Revolution Webquest

The 1917 Russian Revolution

INTRODUCTION
You are there. In Russia. 1917. Imagine your terror. You are the daughter/son of the csar. All you have ever known is a life of luxury. Your father is forced to abdicate. Your family is about to be arrested. 
Or you are the son/daughter of a peasant. All day, every day, you have been forced to labor on land you will never own. But there are rumors this could change… 
Or are you a Cossack? A Boyar? A Menshevik? A Bolshevik? A member of a Slavic minority? 
The concentration of power and wealth of a few at the expense of the rest can be a recipe for unrest. Is this a "class conflict" or are the events of the Russian Revolution deeper than that? By the end of this assignment you will have gained a better understanding of the causes and events of the Revolution. You will also have a greater understanding of the social conditions of the time.
TASK
Your task is to produce a newspaper containing articles about the Russian Revolution, the events leading up to it, and its effects. All the articles must be written from the same point of view. Remember to be consistent. Your finished newspaper should look like a historical document. 
PROCESS
Preliminary Research: Getting Started  

1. You may work with one other person. Agree upon a timeline and the division of labor. You will have one class period to begin research, and your assignment will be due in one week. Decide who will be responsible for each segment of the project.

2. Using your textbook or websites as background references, select fifteen topics from the list below to include in your newspaper. (If you choose to work alone, select eight.)

Topics: 

  1. The Kremlin
  2. Nicholas II
  3. Alexandra
  4. The Romanov Family
  5. Bloody Sunday
  6. The Duma
  7. Boyars
  8. The Provisional Government
  9. Mensheviks
  10. Soviets
  11. Bolsheviks
  12. The Red Guard
  13. Lenin
  14. Communism
  15. The White Army
  16. The U.S.S.R.
  17. The Russian Civil War
  18. The Winter Palace
  19. Stalin
  20. Trotsky
  21. Kerensky
  22. Your choice: any other topic related to the Russian Revolution 

    23. 3. Select a format for each topic. What follows is a list of suggestions based on a modern newspaper. Remember that every item must relate to your main topic.

    1. ARTICLE/CURRENT EVENTS: If you choose to write an article, the length should be at least 200 words. Focus on an event that individuals or groups were involved in rather than merely biographical information.
    2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: These letters might be about social conditions, political views, or reaction to an event.
    3. EDITORIALS: Freedom of the press, the killing of Marat, social issues, and political comment are possible topics for an editorial.
    4. FASHION AND SOCIETY PAGES
    5. SPORTS
    6. CLASSIFIEDS
    7. ADVERTISEMENTS
    8. BUSINESS/TRADE
    9. CARTOONS: These should be political cartoons that comment on an event or social condition.
    10. OBITUARIES
    11. REAL ESTATE
    12. ADVICE COLUMN
    13. CROSSWORD PUZZLE
    14. WEATHER
    15. MUSIC
    16. ART
    17. HUMAN INTEREST

      4. When formatting your newspaper include a table of contents, price, date, page numbers, article titles, and headlines.

       

      5. Keep track of your sources to submit a separate bibliography.

Research: Information Collection and Evaluation You now are ready to collect more information about the topics that you have chosen. Be sure to use a variety of resources and verify your information.

RESOURCES

General Sites

These sites are comprehensive and cover many topics.

http://www.thecorner.org/hist/russia/revo1917.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution-of-1917

http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/his1e.htm

http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/russianrev.html 

http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/rev1917.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rusrev.html

http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/kraus.htm

Timelines:

http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html

http://www.therussianrevolutiontimeline.com/

http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/events/timeline/1917.htm

Primary Sources:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook39.html

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/abdication.html

Bloody Sunday:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSsunday.htm

Images of the Revolt:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/513907/94162/Demonstrators-gathering-in-front-of-the-Winter-Palace-in-Petrograd

http://www.nevsky88.com/SaintPetersburg/Revolution/default.asp 

Peace, Land, Bread:

http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=147 

Political Posters:

http://www.fbuch.com/posters.htm

The Romanovs through Anastasia's Eyes:

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/anastasia/index.html

Nicholas II:

http://www.history.com/topics/nicholas-ii 

Images of the Romanov Family:

http://news.webshots.com/album/200048252uNmbeS

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/romalbum/gallery.html?sku=1

http://www.angelfire.com/biz5/romanovs/album2.html

Modern Update on Romanovs:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090311-romanov-murder.html

The Palace:

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=winter+palace+st+petersburg&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=axXfS9mvHYHGlQe5p5WbBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQsAQwAA

The Jewels:

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/jewels 

The Kremlin:

http://www.moscow-taxi.com/sightseeing/kremlin/kremlin.html 

Lenin:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSlenin.htm 

http://www.history.com/topics/vladimir-ilich-lenin

Trotsky:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/index.htm

Documentation: ·       Every source you use in an article should be given credit, both in a Bibliography (a.k.a. Works Cited Page) and in parenthetical citation (see your Writer’s Ink book or http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/mlastyle.htm for proper M.L.A. documentation). All ideas that are not your very own (nearly every sentence or paragraph) should be given credit in parenthetical citation. Every sentence should be completely different from the way it was written in your sources. See Writer’s Ink for further details.·       Crossword puzzles, real estate pieces and the like may not require documentation.If you have any other questions, please ask your teacher WELL AHEAD of the due date. Your teacher retains the right to make any changes as she deems fit.

EVALUATION SUMMARY

RESEARCH: quality, accuracy, variety of resources: 15 points

BIBLIOGRAPHY sources, format: 10 points

CONTENT:  appropriate events, format, thoroughness, consistent point of view, accurate point of view 5x10=50 points

EDITING: grammar and spelling, clear expression, neatness: 10 points

CREATIVITY: unique ideas, interesting and visually pleasing presentation: 15 points