Ft. St. Louis Webquest

Texas History students will take a closer look at the people and events at Fort St. Louis under Robert de La Salle during a unit on Texas Exploration with this webquest. They will answer 25 questions based on a specific section of texasbeyondhistory.net. I typically introduce my students to La Salle and the basics of Fort St. Louis, then assign this webquest allows them to learn about it all in more detail. The questions are divided by section titles within the url provided in the instructions. The answers are included where appropriate.

Sample questions include:
--Using context clues, what does “beleaguered” mean? Why would the men have been beleaguered?
--Look at the map on the left with its caption starting with, “map confusion” and explain how La Salle was hampered by the maps of his time. 
--Pick 3 adjectives, or descriptive phrases with unique adjectives, to describe La Salle based on the first 4 paragraphs of this section. Explain why you chose them by citing evidence and support from the text.
--La Salle claimed the MS River area for France and King Louis. Explain how or why that could have caused tension between Britain, France, and Spain.
--What was Fort St. Louis in actuality compared to what it was intended to be?
--Using the image at the top of the page, think about and write one positive and one negative of the chosen site for Fort St. Louis.
--In what ways did the settlers almost sabotage themselves? List at least 3.
--Why do you think the Spanish were so intent on finding La Salle’s settlement? What might their reaction have been upon finding it empty?

You might be interested in:
Exploration of Texas Bundle
Texas History Resources