Decisions at Midcentury – 20th Century History€¦ · Web viewAny of the horror films...

History Unit Sampler 2009

US History: The 60’s: A Society Erupts

Summary:

Using documentary sources and role-playing based on provided background information, students investigate, as though they were a government commission, the race riots of 1968. Their purpose is to discover what happened, why did it happen, and what could be done to prevent it from happening again, as President Lyndon Johnson charged his own investigative commission. Some students play roles of participants in the events, others act as commission members. When the commission presents its report, all make comments for improvement. Finally, students study the aftermath to see if racial relations have improved any since 1968.

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Transfer Goals/Standards Addressed:

o Standard(s): Virginia SOL's 11.13 The student will evaluate federal civil rights and voting rights developments since the 1950's, in terms of the Brown v. Board of Education decision and its impact on education; civil rights demonstrations and related activity leading to desegregation of public accommodations, transportation, housing, and employment; reapportionment cases and voting rights legislation and their impact on political participation and representation; and affirmative action.

Understandings:

1. Race was and is a crucial element in American politics2. Americans have a difficult time honestly reconciling their beliefs with the

record on civil rights Essential Questions:

Do our stated American ideals cause progress or mask hypocrisy? What caused the race riots of the late 1960s? Can the racial divisions that have plagued American society be erased?

Knowledge and Skills:

o Knowledge of post-war civil rights events (Brown vs. Board, Selma)o How anti-war and civil rights movement came together

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Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

Performance Prompt:

Kerner Essay Essay question: Did the Kerner Commission reveal or sidestep the issues of race relations?

Performance Task:

Kerner Commission Role Play Students role-play being members of LBJ's Kerner Commission to determine the causes of urban rioting in the 60's.

Quiz on the timeline of key events

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

1) After students have studied some information about the 1950s and early 1960s, they should understand that there was a strong consensus in the U.S. in the mid-1960s for social justice. At this point, students should read the background reading on the race riots in 1968. Ask the students what questions come to mind. They should be puzzled about how the nationwide consensus fell apart and violence broke out in the cities. They might be encouraged to wonder about relationships - to the Vietnam War, for example, or to more militant separatist African American groups. Eventually they should define the questions President Johnson defined for the Kerner Commission: what happened, why did it happen, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again?

(2) Divide the students into role-players (with role information sheets) and commission members. Send the commission members to the “archives” (your collection of documents on the history of racial relationships in the 20th century), and show the role-players the segments of “Eyes on the Prize” which deal with Elijah Mohammed, Malcolm X, the Black Power Movement, Martin Luther King’s northern strategy (and his assassination), Chicago and Detroit. This will help them visualize the environment in which their characters lived, and it will also help them understand the tension, which erupted at the time. They will then be better able to convey the emotional side of their role, which is so important for the commission to experience. The commission members need to be coached to develop questions on the basis of the documents they read - to test out hypotheses they might have, given what they learned about patterns of discrimination, racism, or any changes for the better in the first part of the century. Give

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them a list of the people who will come to “testify”(with their occupations or positions) so that they can prepare appropriate questions.

(3) Appoint a chairman and have the commission begin its hearings. It may take a few days to get through all ten “witnesses” but if the questioning is good and the witnesses are able to develop good answers on the spot, the exercise will be well worth the time.

(4) Allow the commission time to discuss their findings and to develop a report. Perhaps they could make an outline of the report for duplication, and then present the report orally. While they are doing this, the role-players could do some journal writing, beginning to develop their own ideas, based on all they have heard, about what caused the riots.

(5) Discuss the commission’s preliminary report. Be sure to have the commission identify the sources of their information for the benefit of the role-players, who did not look at the documents. The role-players should note that some historical perspective is helpful in analyzing this situation. Then have the students read the excerpts from an actual preliminary report, or some excerpts from the Kerner Commission report.

(6) Assign the students the paper on what happened and why. Have them exchange and comment on their papers, develop a rubric for excellence, and tell the students to revise and rewrite their papers.

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Decisions at Midcentury – 20th Century HistoryMark Williams U.S. History [Stages 1 and 2 only]

Students role-play world and national leaders involved in two of the most important decisions in the century: the Yalta Agreement, and the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. After the role-play, students analyze the factors which were most important in making the decisions, as well as the near- and long-term implications.This unit combines role-playing, films, modeling, the use of documents and the use of contextual understanding to help students to make historical and/or moral judgments about issues that are still controversial fifty years later. No doubt this unit will be used late in the year of a survey course, and much should be expected of students, both in terms of how well they use their imaginations and data analysis in the role-plays, and in terms of how carefully they justify their arguments in the final assessment.

Transfer Goal:

Better understand the past to better understand the present. Make informed and proactive decisions as a citizen.

Essential Questions

Why do you think Roosevelt allow Stalin to “take over” Eastern Europe after World War II? Why did Truman drop the bomb? Were these the “best decisions” under the circumstances?

What morally questionable actions have US Presidents engaged in and what can be done to prevent it?

Skills

Ability to analyze primary and secondary source material

Ability to understand events as dependent upon no single cause

Historical thinking skills (primary source interpretation and analysis, analysis of cause and effect, recreation of character - empathy, written argument)

Selected background readings to develop individual roles

Teachers should make a collection of documents by some of the following people in order to give students their thoughts on the dropping of the bomb.

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All of them were influential, some more than others.

Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson General H.H. Arnold, Commander of the Army Air Force General George C. Marshall Admiral William D. Leahy, Naval Advisor and Truman’s representative

to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph C. Grew, Acting Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, Truman’s special representative on the Interim

Committee Ralph Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy A.H. Compton, scientist, and advisor to the Interim Committee J. Robert Oppenheimer, scientist and Director of the Los Alamos

Laboratory, advisor to the Interim Committee Leslie R. Groves, Brigadier General of the Army Corps of Engineers

STAGE 2

Role plays (see Stage 3) & Essays and quizzes

(1) After students have studied World War II, both the campaigns and the impact on the home front, assign students to read the short Introduction to the Yalta Conference and divide the class into thirds, assigning each third to be a “negotiating team” for one of the great powers. Do not have them read anything in their texts about the outcome of the Yalta conference yet.(2) Allow the students to prepare their positions in their groups, and to think up supporting arguments, based on what they already know about the experiences of these leaders during the war (e.g. the students should recall that Stalin once had a non-aggression pact with Hitler, and that the Soviet Union lost 6 million people as a result of the war - the Stalin group would use this to justify their need for a friendly government in Poland, to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again). The teacher will need to do some coaching here, for even at this point in the year students need to be reminded to use historical data to support their arguments and recreate the past!(3) Assemble the students in a circle, sitting with their groups. The Roosevelt group should serve as “chairman” and announce the various agenda items. However, the agenda should not be tightly controlled, and the teacher should encourage various teams to try to address other issues if the group seems to be reaching an impasse, or if the conference is not addressing the item their team thinks is most important. We want students to begin to see that the different issues on the agenda were eventually all inter-related and that the parties involved could not agree on any of them until they began to make agreements on many or all at once. (e.g.If you do

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this, I’ll do that.) Thus the conference may go on at some length, in order for students to appreciate the complexity of the negotiations.(4) After an agreement has been hammered out (or after the students have tried to create one for some time), show the segment of “When Lions Roared” which recreates the Yalta conference, and have them read the Yalta Agreement itself . Summarize together the main points of the agreement, and discuss how each side had to make concessions to get what it wanted. Who got the better of the conference? The film suggests that the success of the agreement would hinge on the relationship of trust among the three principles: Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. Tell students to write journal entries which address the question of whether or not Roosevelt “gave away” Eastern Europe, as many critics have suggested over the years. (And if so, then why?) Also, they should think about what role Churchill played in this conference, and whether or not he made much of a difference.(5) Assign a short background reading, perhaps from your text, which discusses the end of the war in Europe and the final campaigns of the Pacific theatre, bringing student into the summer of 1945. The New York Times article, “Operation Tokyo” is also useful. Roosevelt is dead, Truman is president, and he has just learned of the work of the Manhatten Project. At Potsdam, Truman would jolt the Russians by revealing that the Atom Bomb had been tested and worked with devastating results, but then he had to decide if he would actually use it.

(6) Assign the roles of Truman’s advisers to students - the teacher could be Truman, or a student could play the president too. Each role has a short reading, but students should not read the excerpts from Truman’s memoirs until after the role-play. Students without roles will be “analysts,” who will observe a “Truman cabinet meeting” and try to determine what factors were most influential in Truman’s decision to use the Atom bomb against Japan. The advisors should present their positions (giving their names), and argue them as forcefully as possible. The person playing Truman should present the points of the Truman reading when all are finished (or all could read the selection after the debate), but during the debate should encourage the participants to present their views fully and clearly.

(7) After the cabinet meeting, the analysts should discuss what factors they think were most influential in Truman’s decision. Discussion following the analysis of the decision should draw on understanding of the Yalta conference and its aftermath, and center on the problem of trust and suspicion in international relations. Any of the horror films depicting the bombing of Hiroshima, or the graphic description in John Hersey’s novel, should elicit some strong views on the morality of the use of the bomb, and there are plenty of readings available arguing its necessity, all to evoke an intense debate on the subject. Students could also be assigned to read from the text about the beginnings of the Cold War in the late 1940s, the Korean

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War, and McCarthyism, all of which can be considered important effects of the two decisions together. They should also consider the controversies around the effectiveness of the United Nations as they think about whether these decisions were the best which could have been made under the circumstances. One might argue that it is unfair to judge Truman or Roosevelt, when much of what we now know about the impact of their decisions was not known to them. On the other hand, the teacher should point out, if the students don’t, that most of the readings we have from those involved in the decision to drop the bomb were written well after the bomb was dropped - defending their positions as though nothing had happened to make them change their minds.(8) After the students have had time to process many of these issues in their journals, assign them to write the paper, either on the factors most influential in the decisions, or on whether the decisions were the best that could have been made. Have them exchange and comment on each other’s papers and then revise and resubmit them.

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European Imperialism: 1870-1914

STAGE 1—DESIRED RESULTS

UNDERSTANDINGS

1. Students will understand that European governments were motivated for imperialistic conquest by a determined economic and psychological need for natural resources and self-sufficiency.

2. Students will understand that many Europeans had perceived altruistic motives for colonization and civilization. [Misconception: Europeans approached imperialism with the singular goal of economic and political benefit.]

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS1. Who were the “winners” and the “losers” in the 19th century European

scramble for Africa?2. To what extent should people go to protect their interests? (O)3. Was 19th century European Imperialism justified?4. What does it mean to be “civilized?”5. Are all men created equal? (O)6. Are some types of civilization inherently better than others? (O)

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLSStudents will know…

European imperialistic countries and conquered African countries Relation between growth of European industrial economy during

the Second Industrial Revolution and the need for natural resources

Types of colonial governments: colony, protectorate, condominium, sphere of influence

Boer War

Students will be able to… Write a speech/letter with a persuasive argument from a particular

point of view Analyze meaning contained in primary sources (poetry) Discuss differing viewpoints on imperialism

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STAGE 2—ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

PERFORMANCE TASKS1. Discussion in small groups: If you were an English missionary going to

Africa, why might you like Kipling’s description of imperialism in the poem, “White Man’s Burden?”

2. Imagine yourself as a Sudanese chieftan who is called to a meeting with the same English missionary. Compose a speech given by the chief expressing his tribe’s disagreement with the motivation for imperialism expressed in “White Man’s Burden.”

3. Imagine the English missionary has just read the poem, “Brown Man’s Burden.” Write a letter from this missionary to a member of Parliament (who has sponsored his African mission) criticizing the view of imperialism in the poem.

OTHER EVIDENCE1. Quizzes to check completion of textbook reading2. Essay-driven test

STAGE 3—LEARNING PLAN

LEARNING ACTIVITIES1. Read textbook section introducing imperialism.2. Read “White Man’s Burden” to introduce European altruistic

viewpoint on imperialism.3. Read “Brown Man’s Burden” to introduce African resentment towards

imperialism.4. Participate in classroom discussions.5. Take notes on lectures.6. Write assigned letters and speeches.7. Read excerpts from primary sources: K. Pearson’s “Social

Darwinism;” J. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness; Lugard’s “The Rise of Our East African Empire”

8. View selections from films: “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and “Heart of Darkness” (1993).

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UNIT TITLE: FREEDOM FOR ALL?American History I – Foundation unit for the entire course of studyFrank Champine-Neshaminy School District, Langhorne, PA

UNIT DESCRIPTION: This unit is the opening unit for a course in American History (1765 – 1789). It focuses the students on four concepts and overarching Big Ideas that permeate the entire course: Liberty/Freedom, Equality, Citizenship, and Conflict. The four concepts will be used to test the impact they have had on the lives of seven social groups in America: Women, Free Blacks, Slaves, Native Americans, Rich Whites, Poor Whites, and Immigrants. These groups will be the lens or filter that will guide our exploration of the evolution of freedom, equality, and citizenship in American history. This unit will introduce all seven groups, the Colonial and Revolutionary experience, and culminate with a critical analysis of the Declaration of Independence. The student will eventually be asked how these various groups faired at the end of the revolution, who were the winners and losers?

SUGGESTED MATERIALS1. Any American History text will serve as the basic resource.2. Materials developed by Teacher Curriculum Institute – History Alive3. American Writers: A Journey Through History: Founding to the

Revolution” 1600-1800 < www.americanwriters.org/chapters/one.asp >Streaming video of the series and links to related topics.

4. The Declaration of Independence www.historychannel.com/exhibits/declaration Historical information, biographies, a teacher’s guide, and links

5. Declaration of Independence WebQuest www.amasd.org/ahscluster/webquest/webquest.htm Students deelop their own unique Declaration of Independence.

6. Founding Brothers www.historychannel.com/foundingbrothers/brothers.html Streaming video of Founding Brothers, with short biographies.

7. Founding.com: A User’s Guide to the Declaration of Independence www.founding.com/home.htm Primary source materials, a timeline, issues, hot topics for today and more.

8. Thomas Jefferson” A Film by Ken Burns www.pbs.org/jefferson Classroom activities, archive of Jefferson’s writings, and more.

9. Touchstone Readings in Social Studies - Touchstone10. Reading Strategies for the Content Areas – ASCD11. Surviving the Research Paper by Dr. John Collins

CONTENT STANDARDS (Implementation of the Pennsylvania State Content Standards expressed as understanding)

1. Political and Cultural Contributions of Individuals and Groups

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http://www.pbs.org/jefferson

http://www.founding.com/home.htm

http://www.historychannel.com/foundingbrothers/brothers.html

http://www.amasd.org/ahscluster/webquest/webquest.htm

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/declaration

http://www.americanwriters.org/chapters/one.asp


a. The students will understand that the evolution and development of a nation requires the interaction of various social groups, courageous leaders, and inspirational innovators and reformers.

b. The students will understand that individuals often create history, but more often individuals are made by history.

2. Primary Documents, Material Artifacts and Historical Placesa. The students will understand that historians rely on artifacts

and primary documents to help them interpret the ideas and intentions of people in the past.

3. How Continuity and Change Have Influenced Historya. Students will understand that all of history depicts the struggle

of people who want their world to remain the same and those who desire change.

4. Conflict and Cooperation Among Social Groups and Organizationsa. Students will understand that conflict results in all social,

political, and economic change.b. Students will understand that when a particular group demands

their civil rights it creates conflict in the society.

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS1. The students will understand that the evolution of democracy in

America was a slow, painstaking process where some people experienced the benefits in the extension of Liberty, Equality and Citizenship while many others were marginalized in their quest.

2. The students will understand that when people demand their civil rights of liberty, equality, and citizenship it creates intense social, political and economic conflict.

3. The students will understand that the evolution and development of America required the interaction of various social groups, courageous leaders, and inspirational innovators and reformers.

4. The students will understand that historians rely on artifacts and primary documents like the Declaration of Independence to help them interpret the ideas and intentions of the republican leaders of the new nation.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. Why was conflict the outcome for groups of people demanding a change and an increase in their civil liberties in 18th Century America? Is that the case today?

2. How did the leaders of the American enlightenment inspire and betray the people in the early republic?

3. What are the promises of the Declaration of Independence and how were those promises disseminated among the American populace after the American Revolution? OR Who were the winners and who

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were the losers in achieving liberty, equality, and citizenship in post-revolutionary America?

4. How did the various social groups define and interpret the Declaration of Independence during the 18th Century?

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CONTENT KNOWLEDGE SKILL REQUIRED

EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING

PERFORMANCE TASKYou are an historian developing a new section for the traditional American History textbook for middle school students. Your editors have given you the task of developing an interpretation of the enlightenment thinking that stormed Thomas Jefferson’s mind as he penned the Declaration of Independence. Given the principals of republicanism found in America at the time and found in the Declaration of Independence, how does Jefferson and the new American government fare in their application of those principles? Given your “read” of 18th Century American history, how were the principles of liberty, equality and citizenship applied to the American public? You must write your chapter of the text in the form of a persuasive essay taking a stand on your interpretation of those civil liberties and how they were applied to the population. Your editors will judge the quality of your work using the Pennsylvania Writing Standards and its rubric.

TRANSFER TASKSAs an newspaper reporter, your editor has given you the opportunity to write a feature article describing the application of the principles found in the Declaration of Independence to any social, political, or economic problem facing the American people today. Select the problem, develop an analysis of why it is a problem and how the principles of republicanism are denied or diminished for the people involved. Also, offer a possible solution to the problem that presents a meaningful argument on the topic. Your editor will use the Pennsylvania Writing Standards and rubric to evaluate your work prior to publication.

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1. Concept attainment of Liberty, Equality, Citizenship, Conflict, Revolution, Government, Democracy, Republicanism, Enlightenment and Social Contract.

2. Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Letters of John and Abigail Adams, Mary Walstonecraft, Simon Marker (Free Black), Native American Speeches, Letters of Jefferson, Adams.

3. Causes and effects of the Am. Rev.4. Presidents Washington and Adams5. Leaders: Jefferson, Locke, Franklin,

Adams6. Life and times of Women, Native

Americans, Free Blacks, Slaves, Rich and Poor Whites and Immigrants

1. Information reading strategies2. Discussion strategies for Socratic

Seminars and Scored Discussions3. Interactive Notebook and note-making4. Summarization5. Persuasive Writing/essay and writing

process6. Design and interpretation of charts and

graphs7. Map reading/interpretation skills –

Physical maps, political maps and area value maps.


OTHER EVIDENCE 1. Basic Tests and Quizzes on content2. Interactive Notebook (formative and summative assessment)3. Socratic Seminars –

a. “On Revenge” by Francis Bacon (Introducing and teaching the process)

b. 2 on the Declaration of Independencec. “Second Treatise on Government” John Locked. “On Liberty” John Stuart Mill

4. Scored Discussiona. “Jefferson, the Shadow Man” – Teams will discuss the life of

Jefferson and the apparent inconsistencies in his beliefs and his actions. Members of teams will split into Jigsaw teams to gather their data:

i. View the PBS video (Clip) on Jeffersonii. Critical reading and note making of the Declaration of

Independenceiii. Web based analysis of the historic application of the

republican principles and their problems today

STAGE 3 OVERVIEWINSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES (W.H.E.R.E.T.O. and LEARNING TRIANGLES)

Days of Instruction (30)1. WHERE will this unit be going and what will be expected of the

teacher and students: (This segment takes about three days of instruction in preparation and scaffolding – learning readiness [Acquire and Make Meaning])

a. Present the Learning Guide to the students for their Interactive Notebook – Understandings, Essential Questions, and Overview of the Performance Assessment and Transfer task.

b. Explain each part of the unit design and develop trust in my job… I promise to give you all you need to be successful.

c. Explain and practice the design of the Interactive Notebook and how to use it to gather all data for the assessments.

2. HOOK (Make Meaning) - show the students the video “The Lunch Date” ask them to identify four critical concepts or Big Ideas presented in the video.

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3. EQUIP – Begin the process of Acquiring Knowledge on critical concepts in this unit

a. Engage in class discussion – use “Your Choice” style for discussion. Lead Question, What did the four characters learn today?

b. The teams will take their process of developing concepts and generalizations deeper. This will act as a formative assessment and the process will help them acquire new skills and make meaning.

c. When students develop at least three generalizations have them pick the one they like best and design their own writing assignment.

d. Introduce the thesis statement (the generalization) and how it is constructed.

e. Let them deduce what they have to do to prove the generalization.

f. Have them discover the need for supportive evidence (use the discussion from the video) as the common source of evidence.

g. Teach the need for a conclusion – the so what of their writing.h. Show them how they have developed the foundations of a

powerful persuasive essay.i. This introduction to the persuasive essay and interpretation of a

video will “ease” the students into the formalized writing required for the performance assessment. Graphic Organizers will be provided from the “FRAMES” PROJECT to help organize thinking

j. Series of lessons on Concept Development focused on the Essential Question – Why were the principles of Republicanism emerging from the Enlightenment a challenge both to develop and deliver to the people of America?

k. Scaffold the lesson to add new components to the process of developing a Concept: [Acquire]

i. Introduce the graphic organizerii. Place first concept word in the main circleiii. Brainstorm the Characteristics, Attributes, and Qualities

of the concept around the circle. Constantly repeat the question to drive the ‘How to’ do this with the kids.

iv. Once at least 10-15 ideas are coaxed from students, begin to have them move from the abstract (concept) to real world examples of the concept in action. Try to develop at least three real world examples.

v. Once the examples are on the organizer, bring students to the Generalizations portion of the organizer.

vi. Teach a mode for creating generalizations1. Create a declarative sentence using the CONCEPT

WORD

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ii

iv

v


2. Link any two of the Characteristics of the concept together.

3. Use Active Verb.4. Keep it universal (avoid using we or us – use one or

people).l. Work through each step with students on the concept of

Equality. Add a new concept until the four critical ones are developed. Each new concept allows the students to do more of the developing until teams can develop a concept on their own.

m. Creating Generalizations (Skills) – Developing Thesis statements using Magic 7

n. Equality and Pledge of Allegiance (Making Meaning and Transfer) – Discussion and first essay – Focus Correction (Thesis Statement)

o. “Lunch Date” – Making Meaning and Transfer - Discuss video (What did the characters learn today?) Writing assignment – Develop a journal entry from the perspective of one of the characters and explore the concept of equality for that person’s experience in the train station.

p. Sartre’s Freedom Paradox – “All men are always and everywhere free.” Discuss the existential concept of choice in people’s lives. How does free choice both free us and at the same time tie our hands? (Make Meaning)

q. “Shadows of Hate” – Short film to hook students into looking at the historical evolution of Liberty, Equality, Citizenship through the eyes of several of the social groups that focus this course of study. Create a matrix before watching the video with the three concepts across top and the groups down side. Cooperative Learning teams will discuss the issues and make meaning on the chart.

r. Analysis of “fake” letter to parents from school board claiming shortfall of taxes and requiring students to pay for all paper used. Experiential lesson on the Stamp Act. Lead discussion, debrief and develop “T”-Chart for comparison to historical event. (Acquire)

s. Major Issues (10) leading to American Revolution: Deconstruct reading to determine the primary causes for the Revolution. Create a “Social Unrest Meter” to reflect the major issues that could have caused the Revolution. Write persuasive essay (focus corrections: Thesis statement and supportive evidence). What are the three primary causes of the American Revolution? (Make Meaning)

t. “Country-House” – use analogy of looking through the “windows” (Social window, Economic window and Political window) of a house (nation) to understand how the country

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functions. Present the concepts in the form of questions to ask when analyzing problems in a country. Apply this to Pre-Revolutionary America and England (Make Meaning and Transfer)

u. Physical Map reading and analysis – Design physical maps using the international color code, create a map of the school grounds, design a physical map of the U.S.A. prior to the revolution. Analyze the maps and the readings to develop a political, economic and social sense of the Colonial American experience. Why is where important? How does geography determine the destiny of a country? (Acquire and Make Meaning)

v. Readings and video clips on the various social groups from text and teacher supplied (American Natives, Women, Free Blacks, Slaves, Immigrants, Rich and Poor Whites). Establish what happened to each group during and after the Revolution. Who were the winners and losers in Post Revolutionary America? (Acquire)

w. Analyze cartoon called “The Social Ladder” and compare social mobility in the colonies and in England.

x. Declaration of Independence Analysis: Use Jigsaw in uncovering “The Shadow Man: Thomas Jefferson” - Divide students into teams, allow them to choose the way they learn best – (Reading, Video, or Internet). Students will find different approaches to Jefferson’s life and beliefs. Take notes at each station, share with expert groups, return to home team and pull impressions and perspectives together. Write essay on the Paradoxical nature of Thomas Jefferson – What did he really mean when he said, “All men are created equal?” Use notes gathered so far in the unit (Focus corrections CONCLUSION – thesis statement and supportive evidence.- full essay in place at this point) (Acquire- Make Meaning – Transfer)

4. REFLECT, REVISE, REFINE – Assist students in Making Meaning and Transfer

a. Daily reflection using the Interactive Notebook – students are asked to make meaning of the day’s lesson utilizing their multiple intelligences and choices for expressing their understanding.

b. Use writing conferences to help students explain their interpretation of the various decisions they made in their persuasive writing.

c. Socratic Seminars on three critical elements of republicanism – readings from John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Ticket to enter seminar will be information reading strategy and reflection will come from Facet of Understanding Questions and written interpretation.

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d. Scored Discussions – Practicing civil discourse, students will work in teams to develop insights into a problem facing the new nation and then present the problem and their solutions in a Teacher-Free discussion. Teacher and the rest of the class will score their presentation. Open class discussion follows on the process and product of the team’s presentation.

e. Frequent “Your Pick” discussions where teacher opens with a Facet or Essential question and as students respond simply reflect back what the student said and tell the speaker to “Pick” the next person.

f. All students have the opportunity to read their published essays and make revisions or corrections to improve their grade until the end of the unit.

5. EVALUATION – Student Self-Evaluation – TRANSFER TASKSa. Interactive Notebooks work as daily opportunities for students

to self assess their learning and note progress and ask questions.

b. Students must complete self-evaluation check sheet and write a self- analysis of their work after all writing assignments.

c. Periodically during class discussions, students evaluate my teaching and recommend pacing and re-teaching needs.

d. After all formal discussions Seminars and Scored Discussions, students evaluate their contributions to the team and the discussion. They develop “lead questions” that stimulate new discussions and writing assignments.

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6. TAILORING – arrangements for Special Needs students and students who “just didn’t get it” first time around.

a. Develop lessons around learning needs of known students with IEP’s and 504 Plans with their special education teachers.

b. Provide more time for writing and test taking.c. Utilize scaffolding to ease students in to the writing process.d. Work closely with my English teacher teammate to fashion

lessons based on her work in class and my needs in class.e. Use “Frames” for students who have difficulty organizing their

work and present difficulties in informational reading. “Frames” provides a fill-in the blanks, persuasive formula to acclimatize students to the rigors to essay writing. Used as a scaffold, it is slowly removed and students begin the process of developing supportive evidence on their own.

f. The Interactive Notebook establishes a solid support network to help disorganized students stay on track. I keep a notebook always available to students who have problems with an assignment or who may have been absent. All materials supplied to students for reactions to lessons are kept in file in the back of the room for students who might have been absent. Special Education teachers have access to my notebook to help their students in resource room.

g. The utilization of John Collins’ work on focus corrections in writing moves the students into the persuasive essay at their own pace.

h. Providing choices in assignments, teammates, and approaches to presenting work helps all students. Example: I use History Alive materials that use a constructivist approach to acquiring information, DI strategies like Tic-Tack-Toe Assignment choices allow students to prove their understanding in many different ways.

7. ORGANIZATION – refer back to EQUIPPING students to see the general organizational format of the lessons for this unit.

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The Revolution: A New Order, or Status Quo?Mark WilliamsHistoryU. S. History10 - 11

Using a large collection of primary sources and historiographical commentary, students study the causes and meaning of the American Revolution (including the ratification of the Constitution of the United States). Students work in groups on different collections of materials studying different groups of colonists, and then study the Constitution through a role-play of a constitutional ratification convention. Keeping a journal throughout the entire inquiry, students then write well-reasoned hypotheses on both the causes and meaning of the Revolution as part of a simulation of a paper reading at a professional conference.

Era 3, Standards, 1, 2, 3.(National Standards for U. S. History)• Chronology of the Revolution and relationships among events and people.• Changes during the American Revolution (social and economic structure, ideals, government, attitudes)• Historical thinking skills (defining issues, primary source interpretation and analysis, narrative, synthesis)

Essential Questions What does it mean to be an American? (values, traditions, customs,

conflicts, paradoxes) What role do ideas, class conflict, self-interest, racism, crowd

psychology, violence and local politics play in major historical transitions?

What is history and what do historians do? Why did Americans rebel in the 1760s and 1770s? Was the Revolution revolutionary?

Understandings

History involves interpretation - it is not simply “the facts” - and historians are the interpreters of primary source material, seeing those sources from the perspective of their own times and circumstances.

Historians piece together an incomplete record of the past, often using their imaginations to fill in the gaps and create a narrative.

Historians also draw meaning from the past, and the questions they ask, and events of the past they choose to study are dictated by their search for meaning.

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Americans share a two-century old tradition of representative government, guaranteed rights, rule of law and popular sovereignty, although these ideals have not yet been fully realized, and, at times have been blatantly ignored. They also share a history which has been, from the start, created by a racially and ethnically diverse population.

Class conflict, self-interest, racism, crowd psychology, violence and even local politics play important, interlocking and complex roles in the making of major historical crises.

Americans rebelled for many reasons, but not because their colonial governments had been long oppressed by the British. Ideals related to liberty and equality (e.g. “no taxation without representation”) were developed by the colonial elite during this period (based on old ideas) to justify the rebellion. Once the ideals developed they had different meanings for different people.

A new nation was created during the American Revolution, but American nationalism was not a strong motivating force for the rebellion until its later years, if then.

Knowledge & Skill The main events, social and economic structures and ideas of the

Revolutionary period, as well as the way in which different groups (sailors, southern planters, New England farmers, merchants and craftsmen, African Americans - both enslaved and free, women, American Indians) of Americans responded to the conflict with Britain and the sorts of changes each group experienced during that period.

What historians do - historians make arguments - students should learn to identify them.Some of the conflicting interpretations of the causes and meaning of the American Revolution.

STAGE 2:

As a noted historian, you have been asked to write a brief account for middle school students of: What really happened at Lexington? The account should be clear, engaging, and historically accurate.

Now, you must work up a chapter on the pre-revolutionary era explaining how the revolution came to pass.

Quiz on the class-generated timeline of key events

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STAGE 3:

Entry Point: (a) Have students read and take notes on six short accounts of the Battle of Lexington: The notetaking should involve writing down information such as author, date, type of document, intended audience, historical context, author’s purpose, a summary of the key points and some thoughts on what can be inferred. Discuss with the students “What happened at Lexington?” Try to get them to see that there are questions that can’t be answered (e.g. who shot first), but there are many things that can be determined, even though the writers disagree on much. Encourage them to use their imagination responsibly to fill in the gaps (e.g. the implications of wading waste-deep through Cambridge marsh and then marching in the middle of the night with tight britches - makes for a cranky regiment). Assign students to write a 500-word narrative on what happened at Lexington.

(b) Have students read their narratives to each other in pairs or with the whole class. Read them Edmund Morgan’s introduction to The Birth of the Republic, as a model of good imaginative historical narrative on Lexington. Ask them what questions come to mind - get beyond the questions about Lexington in particular and encourage them to ask questions which the documents raise about the Revolution itself (Why were the minutemen out there in the middle of night - and why didn’t they themselves seem to know? Why was Gage in Boston? Some of the American authors talk about rights and liberties - what did they mean? Were they oppressed? How?). They should be asked to write questions with explanations in a journal entry in preparation for defining issues.

(c) Have students study the Declaration of Independence (which few Americans have actually read). What questions come to mind now? (How come the war started before there was a Declaration? How come Jefferson is blaming the King for everything? Was this just propaganda? For whom?). Obviously students who are not used to being the ones that ask the questions will need some help in shaping the questions, but be sure that they have plenty of chance to articulate questions so that, in the end, pointing to the essential questions will seem to be simply a summation of all of their wondering. More journal writing on questions and issues.

Investigation: 1) Divide the class into small groups and assign a different set of documents to each group. Tell the students to study and discuss their material, trying to determine why the people they are studying rebelled. As they are doing this, ask them to submit important dates to a class time line (to take the place of a textbook). When they have finished their analysis, they should write a summary for the class, using this format: topic, documents studied, issues addressed by the documents, what we learned, examples of our analysis, unanswered questions. I have them post their

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summaries on our electronic bulletin board (I put my own on as a sample). The groups will need supervision to be sure they are interpreting the sources correctly and appreciate the complexities. When all is said and done, the students have written the text and need not be assigned any text reading.

2) Discuss the summaries. The students should realize that there was a lot of rebellion in the 1760s, much of it only indirectly in protest of Parliament’s policies.

They can write out their hypothesis now on Why Americans rebelled; if they have been writing in their journals as the summaries were shaping up and being discussed, they can use their journals to develop their hypotheses. They should note that it is possible to identify certain motivating forces which can be associated with certain groups.

3) Assign a set of interpretive articles demonstrating the variety of views on the meaning of the Revolution. . Use the same groups to divide the articles, asking students to produce short summaries using this format: author, title, date written, purpose of author, thesis of author, type of evidence used and argument made, student’s reaction. Have the class read all the summaries and discuss them - assign journal writing. Some additions to the time line may be made here.

4) While discussing the interpretive articles, ask students to become familiar with the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution - great bedtime reading. The teacher might introduce some events of the 1780s on the time line here (Treaty of Paris, Shays’s Rebellion, Northwest Ordinance, Philadelphia Convention), although it is enough simply to announce that there was considerable controversy, after the new Constitution was proposed in 1787, over whether it should be the law of the land. Assign excerpts from Patrick Henry’s opposition speech and a few of the Federalist Papers, and divide students for and against the Constitution for a debate on ratification (I use Connecticut figures, with some local newspaper editorials and conduct a role-play of that state’s ratification convention of January, 1788). Tell them they must use specific sections in the Constitution to support their claims. I will often take a role myself to stir things up.

5)Discuss how the Constitution is related to the Revolution - they should see ideological connections as well as implications for class conflict theories, and some contrast with the Declaration. Some of the story of the ratification process also reveals the role of local politics in what seems, on the surface, to be a national agenda issue. Give a quiz on the finished time line to be sure they know the ten or twelve events the class has identified as key.

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6) Now students should be able to write a hypothesis of their own on the meaning of the Revolution. Have them discuss their hypotheses, using evidence to support their views. Then have them refine both this hypothesis and the one on why Americans rebelled, and submit final drafts. Before each hypothesis they should write a paragraph or two which defines the issues (that is, explains why anyone might disagree on the essential questions and why it’s important to state one’s hypothesis).Assessment: The teacher’s evaluation should take into account the care and thoughtfulness with which the student has approached the whole investigation as well as the clarity and sophistication of each hypothesis. I use an evaluation sheet which is filled out by both me and the students at each step of the way.

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