Self-Determination and the American Revolution
Description of activities leading to identified cognitive tasks.
Grade Level: 11-12 U.S. History
Cognitive Objectives:
1. Reconstruct the Chronology of critical events leading to the outbreak of armed conflict between American Colonies and England.
2. Understand the meaning of fundamental ideas including equality, authority, power, freedom, justice, privacy, property, responsibility, and sovereignty.
3. Understand the ideals of this nation as expressed in the Declaration of Independence which will also be applied later to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
4. Define a personal position on issues while understanding the historical aspects of the positions and roles assumed by others.
Activities:
Objective 1:
A) Construct a time line using information covered from 1760 to 1776.
Homework: completion of "Cause and Effect" worksheet
B) Construct a chart with three columns entitled Act, Purpose, and Effect.
Homework: completion of "Discontent in the Colonies" worksheet.
C) Question and Answer Game.
D) Group newspaper project: The Boston Gazette
Objective 2:
A) Quotations from Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau will be analyzed and discussed by groups to determine their meaning.
B) Research of primary documents such as private letters, correspondence, and political speeches made by notable figures of the period to discover what political philosophy underlies the content.
C) Presentations of research findings.
D) Summary and application of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense.
Objective 3:
A) Group analysis and summary of the Declaration of Independence.
B) Comparison and Contrast Jefferson's first draft of the D.O. I . and the final draft.
C) Research paper.
Objective 4:
A) [link to 2C] Group discussions on information obtained from class presentations.
Activity Descriptions:
1A. Time line: Students will construct a time line covering 1760-1776. Students should list actions by the British Parliament, responses of American colonists to these actions, and other events of this period that led to war.
Homework: Worksheet requires students to find causes of events that occurred during and immediately after the French and Indian War.
1B. Charting Cause and Effect: In the first row, under the title of "Act," students will fill in such events as the Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act of 1764, Stamp Act of 1765, and the Declaratory Act. Students will then complete the chart by describing the purpose of each act and its effect on the colonists.
Homework: This worksheet provides an entertaining review of the acts imposed by the British Parliament. Students complete limericks that deal with the period beginning with the Townshend Acts and ending with the Boston Massacre.
1C. Question and Answer Game: A fun method of review and reiterate facts and events prior to test. Student will be divided into three teams. Each team will elect a spokesperson to provide the group's answers. Each team will take a turn to choose a question worth 5, 10, or 15 points. Cognitive value of questions vary according to point value. Game is over when all questions have been answered. Points are then totaled for the team. The team with the highest points win.
1D. Newspaper Project: In groups of 5-6, students will research the Acts by Parliament, The Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party. Then, each group will prepare a front page news page entitled, The Boston Gazette. They should include facts about the story, eyewitness accounts (identified through research), political cartoons relating to the events, opinion statements, and a poem or song (either published or original). The front page should be made from poster board, and its design and implementation will be left to the group and its imagination.
2A. Quotations: Groups of 3-4 students will be assigned a quotation from one of the political philosophers known to influence political thought of the time. Each student will then write a one to two paragraph explanation of what they think was meant by their statement and will form the basis for class discussion.
2B. Research: Students will seek primary documents relating to key figures of the revolution movement. Library and Internet resources will be utilized to find the private letters, correspondence, and political speeches by such men as Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams. A one to two page reflection paper will be required to indicate which political philosophy can be identified in the document. Findings will be discussed in class.
2C. Presentations of research/reflection papers: Students will be given an opportunity to share their findings with the class.
2D. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" summary and application. Students will read a copy of "Common Sense" and prepare a one page summary of what they think is its most important points. Then during class a discussion will be applied to their reading. A list of questions will then be given to the students to complete for assessment.
3A. Analyzing the Declaration of Independence: Students will be divided into 4 to 5 groups, each taking a section. The first group will restate the first part in their own words. Another group will do the same for the second part, etc. When the groups have completed their work, a representative will read the group's summary aloud. The other groups will assess the accuracy of each group's restatement.
3B. Comparison and Contrast of Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence with his final draft. Students are to prepare an outline of the similarities and differences. The question of whether the ideas contained in both were basically the same or if there were major differences must be answered. Students are to speculate on what might have caused the changes made by Jefferson according the research and class discussions they have already participated in. Reasoning must be supported by evidence.
3C. Research paper: Students will write a paper on why they either believe or do not believe that violent revolution by the American colonists was justified. The basic format will be as follows:
I. The paper will be 5-7 pages in length-typed and double-spaced.
II. Include an introduction, body, and conclusion.
III. At least three points supporting their argument must be made and supported by primary evidence. (Evidence or its source should be readily available from the research activity)
IV. A minimum of three sources must be utilized and appropriately cited in a bibliography.
4A. (Linked with Objective 2: activity C) Students will get into cooperative-learning groups and discuss what they learned from the presentations. They will have specific questions to help guide them through the process. Students will then be given time to share their groups ideas about what they learned with the rest of the class.
Assessments:
Assessments on activities will be defined on individual lesson plans. However, individual projects, research, and testing will weigh heavily on the overall grading of unit.