Day 3        

Teacher: Rick Kiefer      

 

Subject Area: Social Studies: U.S. History      

 

Grade Level: 8

        

Unit Title: Expansion and Conflict

        

Lesson Title: Manifest destiny: Understanding through simulation.

        

Objectives (Write 2-5 objectives stating expected learner outcomes.):

 

SWBAT - Actively participate in a simulation to show the conflict in territorial disputes.

SWBAT - Demonstrate higher order thinking skills by answering questions during class discussion or by writing an essay.

SWBAT - Write an essay based on their experience and make a comparison between it and how immigrants and Native Americans felt then in the 1800’s.

        

Anticipatory Set (List specific statements or activities you will use to focus students on the lesson for the day.):

Visiting teacher: Announces to class that they will need to evacuate their classroom, (it should be determined what the reason may be in advance). The students will be told they will have to share another room. Students will be told that when they arrive at the other room they are to take whatever open seats are available or are to share one or sit on the floor. 

Host teacher: Announces to the class, (at the same time), that there has been a problem concerning the visiting teacher's classroom and asks if it would be all right if their class could host those displaced students for an indefinite period of time, (it is important that it is worded this way). The teacher also emphasizes that it would be an admirable gesture if someone from the class were sent to invite them over.

The visiting class will begin sending students over to the host classroom, in an orderly fashion, with each student filling up available seats or sitting on the floor. (It may become noisy). Both teachers will bring the room to order and the class will proceed.  It would be interesting to be teaching Day 2 or Day 4 lessons so that half of the class is getting the lesson for the first time, but the other half is getting it again, this will add to the complaints. The students should begin complaining that they cannot hear or learn under these conditions, etc. (It may be necessary to "plant" some students to start the complaints). After a few minutes, the teachers will need to stop the lesson to listen to the complaints, writing down specific ones. The host group will typically voice the loudest objections to the situation, they may voice things like, loss of seats, privacy, and freedom, this despite having invited the other class. The visitors are usually content with the situation.     

 

Input (What information is essential for the student to know before beginning and how will this skill be communicated to students?): The 'experiment' will then be explained, drawing parallels between the situation in the classroom and the previous lessons on manifest destiny and/or Native Americans, and how it affected the indigenous people, settlers, immigrants, etc. living in Texas and the rest of the continent.

 

Check for Understanding (Identify strategies to be used to determine if students have learned the objectives.): Students will be told to write an essay describing their feelings during the exercise and to compare them to, either the perspective of the immigrants, or the Native Americans during the westward expansion of the continent of North America.     

 

Closure (What method of review and evaluation will be used to complete the lesson?): If there is time, students will be returned to classroom they came from and /or told to start their essay.

        

Independent Practice (List homework/seatwork assignment to be given to students to ensure they have mastered the skill without teacher guidance.): Finish essay.