Mark Twain and Laughter: a WebQuest

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For Teachers

Timeline
This unit was designed to last 10 days, but when I tried it with my college-bound students, it actually took closer to three weeks. The background research didn't take too long, but producing a good product took longer than I expected. The timeline below should probably be considered a guideline.

Day One: Introduce the project; visit the Kennedy Center Web page and read about the award. Students write a summary.

Day Two: With a partner, students read and discuss different elements of humor. List the types of humor that are most common today.

Day Three: Read an excerpt from Life on the Mississippi. Discuss types of humor present. Students write an analytical paragraph.

Days Four and Five: Begin by discussing Twain one-liners, either as a class or in small groups. As the discussion concludes, students move to independent reading of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and a second story of their choosing. They write a one-paragraph summary of each story and create a list of the types of humor present in the stories.

Day Six: Watch the video, Mark Twain Tonight! starring Hal Holbrook. As a class, discuss how understanding Twain's humor is affected by seeing it performed instead of reading it. Students write a response to the video.

Days Seven-Nine: Students design and produce brochures explaining Mark Twain's humor.

Day Ten: Students share their finished brochures.

Textbook
References to "textbook" are to the Holt, Rinehart and Winston Elements of Literature, Fifth Course, 2000. If you are using a different text, you might substitute one-liners from one of these pages:

The excerpt from Life on the Mississippi in our textbook corresponds to chapters 6, 8, and 9:

Permission
Teachers are welcome to use this WebQuest and to link to it.

 Mark Twain