Introduction

Your school is participating in a special program called "Symbols of America" whose goal is to help elementary students that are new to the United States learn about places in our country where there are pieces of history symbolic of our nation.

Imagine that you are under the canopy of the Rock, surrounded by curious tourists, explaining the history of Plymouth Rock. These tourists flock to Plymouth, MA from all over the world to see the monuments to the Pilgrims on the waterfront. Many of these tourists do not speak English and know nothing about the history of America. What will you tell them about the rock and this period of history?

Here is a list of tasks for you (or your class) to work on to gather the knowledge needed to prepare your tour. You will need to create some or all of the following:

Short Term WebQuest

• a summary of the history of Plymouth Rock created in your word processing application to make note cards for the tour guides
• a tour brochure designed in a desktop publishing application for the visitors to take with them

Long Term WebQuest

• multimedia presentation to explain the tour to the community at the public library or on the Web
• class play reenacting the adventures of Plymouth Rock
• information about the position of the Native American viewpoint of the "National Day of Mourning" for a classroom debate

You (or your class) will visit the following Web sites to gather the needed information for the tasks. Your teacher will assign you (or your class) specific sections.

Reading Assignment

Read Who's that Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz

• Check your library to borrow this book.
• Read this "Meet the Author": Jean Fritz's Biography

Learning about the Rock

What is a symbol?

• Visit WordCentral.com, in the search box next to Dictionary, type the word symbol and click the Find button.

How many people come yearly to Plymouth Rock?

• Pilgrim Memorial State Park

What does Plymouth Rock look like today?

• Examine photographs of Plymouth Rock
• View a Web presentation on the area around the waterfront in Plymouth, MA

What is a legend?

• Visit WordCentral.com, in the search box next to Dictionary, type the word legend and click the Find button.

Read about history and adventures of Plymouth Rock

• Plymouth Rock at the Pilgrim Hall Museum
• Plymouth Rock at Wikipedia [Is the information here accurate?]
  

History of Plymouth Rock

What evidence is there about who stepped on Plymouth Rock? Is it accurate?
Examine these two painting and read the text

• Landing of the Pilgrims by Henry A. Bacon
• Landing of the Pilgrims by Michel Felice Corne

Viewpoints on Plymouth Rock

What has been written about Plymouth Rock? Do these words reflect the faith of the Pilgrim Fathers?

• Alexis DeTocqueville, 1853
• Daniel Webster, 1820

• Read Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers by Felicia Dorothea Hemans (use in the class play)

What is the Native American viewpoint about this historical time?

• United American Indians of New England
• National Day of Mourning Monument Top of Page

Your performance during this WebQuest will be based on your transformation of knowledge gathered from the book and the Web to create these products as directed by your teacher.

Conclusion

• Does it really matter who stepped on Plymouth Rock?
• Is it important to recognize and preserve symbols of American history for all the world to see?
• How do the paintings and words of the past effect our perceptions of what really happened?
• Why is it important to consider the views of the Native Americans?

Additional References and Resources for Use

Plymouth Rock in the 17th Century
Pilgrim Life Adventure WebQuest
The Pilgrim's Landing in America