"Kite Runner" Webquest

“I became what I am today at the age of twelve.”
- from the novel, "Kite Runner"

Major John posted about the novel, “Kite Runner,” some time ago. Here at UIUC, the novel is read by undergraduates in the Secondary Education - English program as part of their teacher certification preparation. I cross-searched the novel with “webquests” - a web-based instructional strategy that encourages K-12 students to use information gathering and higher order thinking skills to engage in “messy” content and issues posed by the teacher. I teach many workshops to K-12 preservice and service teachers on how to build their own webquests. When well-designed, this approach moves students from mere fact-finding to dealing with multiple (and often contradictory) life experiences, perspectives, values, and ways of knowing.

The “Kite Runner WebQuest” looks like a good webquest that has students explore complex issues within the novel including bonds, relationships, fathers/sons, privilege/poverty, men/women, and cultural differences. I like how students in this webquest must use the web to locate images that illusrate the book's themes.

It also looks like there is a "Kite Runner" film coming out in 2007...