An action research study was conducted at a suburban elementary school in which the use of a WebQuest, an online instructional tool based on discovery learning, was compared to the use of a traditional, didactic-method of teaching the same lesson. Areas that were compared include areas of achievement, student engagement, and student interactions with teachers and other students while working in cooperative groups. The lesson was on the reasons for the South's secession during the Civil War. Four classes made up of 87 5th grade students and 4 teachers participated in the study. In the study, it was found that there was little or no difference in achievement between the two groups. Students were more engaged in learning in the classes taught using a WebQuest. The interactions of the students with their teachers and peers were found to be at a higher order of thinking in the class using a WebQuest, and the students in the WebQuest classes also had more interactions pertaining to the topic than the students in the traditionally taught classes.