District
11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the
purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:
Lessons 1-4:
Resources of England and the Colonies
Duration: 4
class periods
District indicator: Economics 1: Identify and give examples of economic resources and make
decisions involving opportunity costs.
Assessment: Identify
the economic resources and decisions that caused the Revolution and impacted
the outcome of the war.
Unit Assessment Options:
Follow the links below.
Writing prompts
–
Revolution Writing Prompts
Performance
assessment
– Battle for Your Teacher
Self-assessment
-
Revolution Self-Assessment
Activities
- Introduce the
economic resources of England and the Colonies.
- Students
complete a Venn diagram that
identifies the economic resources of England and the Colonies.
- Students will
compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages caused by the
economic resources of England and the Colonies.
- Each student will
provide a written response to the following writing prompt: Why did
England make economic and political decisions based on the resources
of the colonies?
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877, Chapter 5
Prentice Hall, The American Nation, Chapter 6
History Alive, Chapter 5 TCl
Differentiation
Support:
An item bank can
be provided for students in order to complete the Venn diagram. Read the
audio book,
Children at Work: Colonial America.
The words in the item bank can be provided in different languages for ELL
students.
Extension:
Students will
decide which of the advantages and disadvantages for England and the
Colonies were the most significant and why.
Lessons 5-9:
England’s
Foreign Policy
for the Colonies
Duration: 5
class periods
District indicator: Civics 3: Define
foreign policy and describe ways nations interact diplomatically in the past
and present.
Assessment:
Evaluate the effectiveness of England’s foreign policy for the colonies: to
what extent was it fair and/or did it work? To what extent did it fail and
why.
Activities
-
Introduce England’s
actions and foreign policy as it relates to the Colonies using the
power point of
Events Leading to Independence.
- Create a comparison
chart to determine similarities and differences among Loyalists and
Patriots.
- Divide students
into three separate groups…the Loyalists, the Patriots, and those
who are neutral. Each group will participate in a debate based on
the following question: Should colonists break away from Britain?
Why or Why not?
- Provide a written
response to the following writing prompt: If you lived during the
Revolutionary Era, would you have been a Loyalist, a Patriot or a
Neutralist? Why?
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877, Chapter 5
Prentice Hall, The American Nation, Chapter 6
History Alive, Chapter 5
Differentiation
Support:
The comparison chart
can be completed, with the exception of the label for each column. Then
students will only have to identify whether each column represents the
Loyalists or the Patriots.
ELL students can be paired with another student to develop essential
vocabulary.
Extension: Students
can research England’s foreign policy for its non-American colonies. They
will determine whether or not their foreign policy for non-American colonies
was the same as their foreign policy for their American colonies.
Lessons 10-12:
Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities
Duration: 3
class periods
District indicator: Civics 4:
Explain rights, roles, and responsibilities of citizens.
Assessment: Determine which of the rights, roles, and
responsibilities of colonists were the most important as war approached, and
explain the choices made.
Activities
- Introduce the
rights, roles, and responsibilities of citizens today by completing
the
Citizenship Activity.
- Use text sources to
have students determine which of these colonists had before the
American Revolution and which were denied to them by the British
and/or their colonial governments.
- Read and analyze the Enrichment Essay “The
Declaration of Independence and the Meaning of Citizenship” at
http://www.teachtci.com/resources/ha/haus/topic07.aspx
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877
Glencoe, The American Republic to 1877, Civics in Action
Prentice Hall, The American Nation
History Alive
Chapter 6
Differentiation
Support: ELL
students can be provided with the U.S. Bill of Rights in their first
language in order to complete the citizenship activity. See
the
Constitution Facts Website and notice the Bill of Rights is included as part of the Constitution in each
language.
Extension: Students will compare and contrast the rights, roles, and
responsibilities of colonists to the rights, roles, and responsibilities of
citizens today. It must include minimum of 3 sources, and 1 source must be
primary.
Lessons 13-17: British and Colonial Actions
Duration: 5 class periods
District Indicator:
Civics 4:
Explain rights, roles, and responsibilities of citizens.
Assessment Blueprint: Provide a written response to the following
writing prompt: What roles and responsibilities began to emerge in the
colonies as war approached?
Activities
-
Introduce
the rights, roles, and responsibilities of colonists as war approached. Use the
British and
Colonial Action Timeline. As students complete, ask them to
note on the back the changes in roles and responsibilities of colonists that result from
these actions.
-
Use the
PowerPoint to show different views of the Boston
Massacre, and discuss the questions that are part of the introduction:
BostonMassacrepaintings.ppt. Also, discuss how the
roles of both the colonists and the British may have changed as a result of this event.
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877, chapter 5
Prentice Hall,
The American Nation, chapter 6
History Alive,
chapter 5
Differentiation
Support: Provide item bank for the Timeline Activity.
Extension: Find a painting of or illustrate one of the events from the
Action Timeline.
Lessons 18-21: The Start of Revolution
Duration: 4 class periods
District Indicator: History 1:
Organize events and people in
chronological order and use this data to determine cause/effect
relationships.
Assessment: Why
were the advantages and disadvantages of both the Colonists and the British
so important in preparation for war? Why is it important to know the
chronology of events leading up to and at the start of the Revolution?
Activities
-
Read the audio book,
The Shot Heard Around the World.
-
Introduce the chronology of events involving the British and the
Colonists that led Revolution by having students view the
1775-76 Chronology PowerPoint.
As students view the slides, have them take notes on the strengths and
weaknesses of the colonists and the British. Read the audio book,
The American Revolution Begins!
-
Decide which of these events was most important to the colonists, and to
the British.
-
Consult the textbook to determine if there are any other events that
could be included in the chronology and have students explain why. One
by one, compare the text account of the event with the power point
account to determine if all important information has been included in
both.
-
Have students complete a comparison chart for the British and the
Colonists. It will compare advantages, disadvantages, strengths, and
weaknesses during the early years of the Revolutionary War.
See the
Comparison Chart
(Note:
A Venn Diagram can be used in place of the comparison chart.)
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877, chapter 5
Prentice Hall,
The American Nation, chapter 6
History Alive,
chapter 6-7 TCl
Differentiation
Support: An item bank can be provided in order for students to complete the
comparison chart. Read the audio book,
The American Revolution Begins!
Extension: What events could be added to the beginning of the chronology
that have already been discussed?
Lessons 22-26: Declaring Independence
Duration: 5 class periods
District Indicator: History 2:
Identify, interpret, compare, and evaluate primary and secondary sources,
including documents, eyewitnesses, accounts, letters and diaries,
literature, and newspapers.
Assessment: Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources
of information and give examples of each related to this unit and to current
events. See
http://www.ccsd.edu/link/LMS/PrimarySources/AmeRevPrimary.htm
Activities
-
Introduce and describe primary and secondary sources.
http://cbbnet2.bowdoin.edu/teaching/sources.html is one source that
can be used. Another is
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/psources/source.html
Have students review sources used so far in this unit, e.g. Boston
Massacre slides, to identify examples of both primary and secondary
sources.
-
Primary source reading
–
complete the activity related to Common Sense
-
Examine the Declaration of Independence as a primary source and have
students state key phrases in their own words. In addition, they may
provide an illustration for each key point they have rephrased. Since
the Declaration is a primary source, have students identify at least one
secondary source, other than their text, they could use to learn about
it.
Resources
Glencoe, The
American Republic to 1877, Civics in Action
Prentice Hall,
The American Nation, Primary and Secondary Sources
History Alive,
Chapter 6-7 TCl
Video: American
Revolution (93034) 35 minutes, 1996
Differentiation
Support:
ELL students can be provided with a copy of the U.S. Declaration of
Independence in their first language. Go to
http://chnm.gmu.edu/declaration/
Students will only
have to highlight key points of the Declaration of Independence, and then
choose to either rephrase or provide an illustration.
Extension: Students should
explore
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle.html for examples of
primary and secondary sources and explain why they identified each as they
did.
Lessons 27-31:
The Revolutionary War
Duration: 5
class periods
District Indicator: History 1: Identify and explain the battles that most affected the outcome of the
war?
Assessment: Each
student will provide a written response to the following writing prompt:
What battle(s) most affected the outcome of the war? Why?
Activities
-
Introduce and explain the Revolutionary War battles. Read the
audio books,
The Battle of Bunker Hill,
The Battle of Saratoga, and
The Constitutional Convention.
- Use the Revolutionary War Battle Timeline –
Revolutionary Battles.ppt
- Have students complete the Primary Source Reading –
Primary Source Reading: Lexington & Concord
- Use the Timeline: The War Ends:
Timeline.
- Use chronology to determine relationships by having students complete a
Cause-Effect Chart – Students will be assigned a specific battle from
the Revolutionary War. They must create a cause-effect poster for their
specific battle. Information must be accurate and relevant. This can
be done within a group or as an individual.
-
Continuous Improvement Process - Your teacher
wants feedback on this unit so it can constantly
be improved. Print the
Continuous Quality Improvement Survey and
answer each question, or answer online.
Resources
Glencoe, The American Republic to 1877, Chapter 6
Prentice Hall, The American Nation, Chapter 6
History Alive,
Chapter 7 TCl
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/amrev/amrev.html American
Revolution Timeline
Differentiation
Support:
Dates can be provided for all of the battles in order for students to
complete the Revolutionary War Battle Timeline.
A
Fact Bank can be provided for the Re-Teaching activity.
Provide either the cause or the effect for students in order to complete the
cause-effect chart.
Extension: Students will examine the cause-effect relationships
individuals had on the outcome of the war. Play the
Road to
Revolution Game and test your knowledge of the American Revolution. Each
correct answer brings you closer to freedom.
Additional Resources
