• This project has been designed to take place after the reading of the novel The Joy Luck Club and is a final culminating activity. I thought the process of finding out more information about Chinese geography and history, as well as the stresses of planning a trip, could only serve to enhance the experience of students. Chinese history and geography hasn't been stressed in our school, and I felt it brought greater understanding to the characters of the novel.

This project was designed for 12th grade literature classes

The process of this WebQuest is meant to take several days. The research process alone is expected to take a minimum of three days. To begin the Quest, you will want to run through the entire project--show the students what they can expect to see and what they are expected to produce. Take one full day to show the students the webpages and encourage them to find their own sources.

Students may not initially fully understand the concept of the travel narrative, particularly in this instance. Be sure to point out that the narrative is a reflection of Jing-mei's personal internal discovery through travel instead of the typical physical discoveries associated with the travel narratives that take place in exotic lands.

You will need the following before attempting this WebQuest:

• Copies of the novel
• Internet access
• A healthy amount of time (try to plan for a week, though this can be altered to suit your needs)
• Hard copies of the rubric
• To have had an in-depth discussion of the novel beforehand
• The ability to work with students creativity. While it may not suit your personal tastes-- "Jing-mei is eaten by a lion" for example-- it should be allowed so long as the students complete the Quest and provide proof of research in their writing. A better choice would be, "Jing-mei was eaten by a lion that was native to the area where she was traveling."

Evaluation

Feel free to use your own scoring rubric! I used one that was automatically generated at Rubistar. Here you can choose which criteria are important and how you wish to score the paper. I also like the NWREL's 6+1 Trait Writing. You can lean more about that here.

This project is meant to be a fun, yet effective final activity for a novel. This is the last novel that my 12 graders will read for their English literature class and I know that they want to do something different after all the reading and essays (I think the teachers do, too!). As always, feel free to use your own variations. Use this as a model for any novel that involves travel and make up your own activities. The choice is yours! And please contact me with success that you've had using this activity or any suggestions that you have.

 

-K.A. McGarey