All History is Local

Student Guide: Creating a Web Page

Overview of Activity

In the final weeks of the unit, you will use the writing techniques that you have learned and the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that you have acquired to produce a high-quality Web page based on the primary sources that you have collected and analyzed. The unit ends with a final presentation to your class in which you will defend your work as both an historian and as a producer. Your final product will be published online and the best of our student collections will be burned onto CDs for distribution to other schools in your state.

The Art of Creating Web Pages

There is an art to writing for the Internet, both in designing layout and in composing text. Writing for the Web is different from essay writing, just as writing for magazines is different from writing for newspapers. Content of Web pages--especially for an educational Web page--must be well-researched and accurate.

The purpose of this unit is:

1. to explore the elements of effective Web page writing and design; and
2. to use examples of high-quality Web page writing and design to improve the quality of the Memory Project Web pages.

Objective of Your Web Page

The final Web page you are creating on for the Memory Project is intended for use by middle school students. In order to review the success of your Web Page, you must ask yourselves the following questions:

1. What does a middle school student need to write a "successful" paper?
2. What theme is his or her teacher trying to teach?
3. What topics is he or she choosing from?
4. How does your Arkansas Memory topic relate to this theme?
5. What background information will the middle school student need to understand your primary source materials (photos, letters, headlines, etc.)?
6. What search words might he or she use to find your Web page?
7. What is the first information or image that you should present to grab the attention of a middle school student ?
8. What is the next bit of information or image that you should present?
9. How much text should you include on any given Web page?
10. What other links would assist the middle school student in writing a successful paper?

Assignments

1. In Class
   • Team
   1. Print out at least three sample history Web pages, including two student-produced pages and one introductory page from a related American Memory collection.
   2. Complete a Web Page Evaluation Worksheet for each Web page. (one set per team)
   • Individual
   1. Complete Internet Search Log.
   2. Complete Web Page Evaluation Worksheet for one of the teams' sample Web pages.
2. Homework
   1. Complete rough draft of your Web page.
   2. Submit printout of draft and index of your Web page.
   3. Submit Web Page Evaluation Worksheet by two peer reviewers.
3. Homework
1. Complete final draft of your Web page.
2. Complete Web Page Evaluation Worksheet.
3. E-mail your teacher that your folder is ready to copy.
4. Bonus Points
   1. Provide a written critique of your state Memory Web page by a middle school student or teacher.
   2. Follow directions in Creating a Lesson Plan to create a lesson plan that teachers can use with your Web page.

Webliography

Use these sites for sample Web pages, related history, and other ideas:

• American Memory collections of the Library of Congress
• Arkansas Memory Project
• Blue Web’n: A Searchable Library of Blue Ribbon Websites; Pacific Bell
• Social Studies: Students Did This!