The purpose of this webquest is to learn more about the history and firebombing of Dresden as it relates to the novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

With your small group, read through the websites provided in this webquest to find information related to your topic.
Group one: Dresden before WWII
Group two: The attack itself
Group three: Art and Architecture in Dresden
Group four: The controversy surrounding the attack
Group five: Dresden since WWII
Group six: Kurt Vonnegut's experiences as a POW

Use skimming and scanning strategies to locate information related to your topic. As a group, discuss your findings and take notes. Then compose a summary paragraph together. Make sure to put the research into your own words.  If you come across any significant quotations or photos, you may share these using the LCD projector when we return to the classroom.

The following websites are good resources for this project. You may consult additional websites, but start with these. Many of these websites are biased and should not be considered historically accurate. For a variety of reasons that you will discover, the importance of Dresden as a military target and the number of casualties are widely debated.

The Truth about Dresden

Churchill and the bombing of Dresden

Dresden WWII

Kurt Vonnegut Biography

Dresden: 800 years of history

A Defense of the Dresden bombing

Students will turn in a paragraph summary and share their findings with the class. This will be graded as a small project (see rubric handout).

I hope you find this webquest helpful. We will discuss your research together in class and apply it to our study of the novel.