Revolutionary+War+Lesson+Plan

= The Declaration of Independence = 8th grade Social Studies


 * ** Planning **
 * **Reading Comprehension Strategy:** Activating Background Knowledge and Questioning
 * **Reading Development Level:** Advancing
 * **Research-based Instructional Strategies:** Identifying similarities and differences, Notemaking, Nonlinguistic Representations, Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback, Think-Aloud and Inquiry Questioning.
 * ** Lesson Length: ** The co-taught lesson will be taught on Day 4 of a five-day unit the week of November 10 during periods 2, 3, 4 (50 minutes each).

The unit is anchored between the students’ study of the establishment of the thirteen colonies and their study of the American Revolution. This unit is comprised of five lessons and is intended to activate background knowledge, offer opportunities for students to connect with new information (Stripling), embed instruction on reading both visual and digital text in the social studies class, and meet standards for the TEKS, AASL, and CCRS and ISTE. The students will track their progress on a checklist.

By lesson 4, students will have a familiarity of the major figures involved in writing the Declaration of Independence. In lessons 1, 2, and 3 students will have read //Those Rebels John and Tom// by Barbara Kerley and completed a double bubble graphic organizer to compare similarities and differences between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Students will have watched two video excerpts from the HBO mini-series //John Adams//: 1) the scene involving the Boston Massacre to evaluate the deteriorating relationship between the British and the Colonists, and 2) the scene in which Jefferson shares an early draft of the Declaration of Independence with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in order to identify the collaboration involved in drafting the final document.. The students will have also read the play “Patriots and Loyalists” to examine the growing tensions between Colonists and British. As Lesson 4, our target lesson, opens, the students will encounter the Declaration of Independence in writing for the first time. The lesson after our target lesson, Day 5, contains the assessment (writing) and the reflection.


 * **Purpose**: The purpose of the target lesson is to build background knowledge to help struggling readers connect with the text of the Declaration of Independence by engaging the students’ emotions.


 * ** Objectives: ** At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
 * Utilize mobile phones or other technology to participate in a Web 2.0 polling tool.
 * Locate a specific Web 2.0 tool to recall an emotion for text-to-self connections.
 * Analyze a video clip for emotion and classify emotions.
 * Interpret songs to help build background knowledge and to infer emotions.
 * Categorize connotation of language as positive or negative.
 * Use a graphic organizer to classify similarities and differences.
 * Compose a reflection to describe how understanding the emotions and people involved with creating the Declaration help you comprehend the text better or find meaning in the text.
 * Discover and give examples of reasons why the Founding Fathers defied authority.
 * Synthesize information from a variety of resources to support beliefs.

**Children’s or Young Adult Literature (fiction and informational books):** N/A
 * **Resources, Materials, and Equipment**
 * Websites ** (including pathfinders)
 * [|"Too late to apologize: A Declaration" YouTube video] (Song of the day)
 * YouTube video describing [|__9 concepts of the Declaration of Independence]
 * [|Clip from John Adams__]
 * [|Audio recording] of Max McClean reading the Declaration of Independence (for audio learners)
 * [|Polleverywhere.com]
 * [|Padlet.com]


 * Graphic organizers **
 * Double bubble graphic organizer


 * Materials **
 * Original copy of the Declaration of Independence
 * Declaration of Independence poster
 * Transcription of t he Decla ration of Independence
 * Exit Ticket
 * [[file:groffls5443/Our Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence.docx|Unit Checklist]]
 * Words Have Connotation Slide
 * Category matrix
 * Checklist for category matrix
 * Reflection (used on Day 5 of unit) Reflection w/ formatting retained
 * Writing Assessment (used on Day 5 of unit)
 * [[file:groffls5443/WritingRubric (1).docx|Writing Rubric]] (used on Day 5 of unit) (same for educator and student)
 * Equipment **
 * Laptops
 * Media cart: document camera, LCD projector, computer, speakers

Prior to viewing the YouTube video, the educators co-lead the students in a discussion in which they imagine the emotions the Founding Fathers experienced  when the time came to vote to officially declare independence from England. After viewing the video, one educator leads the students to add sticky notes to a Padlet and respond to a PollEverywhere poll, while the other educator moderates the Padlet and facilitates the poll. The educators continue co-teaching while one leads the students to classify words having positive and negative connotation, and the other educator adds t he students’ responses to the Words Have Connotation slide. The educators facilitate half-class groups as students partner to complete the category matrix. During the closure of the lesson, one of the educators leads the students to reflect on how understanding emotion helps a reader comprehend a text. The educators co-assess the writing according to the rubric and complete the unit checklist together.
 * **Collaboration**


 * **Assessment**
 * Category matrix (Day 4)
 * Checklist for category matrix (Day 4) assessed by educator 1
 * Double bubble graphic organizer- assessed by educator 2
 * Writing Rubric(Day 5) co-assess
 * Unit Checklist (Day 5) co-assess

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 8 §110.20.(10) Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to: (A) summarize the main ideas, supporting details, and relationships among ideas in text succinctly in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;
 * **Standards** (from the TEKS or other state standards)
 * Reading and/or writing **

§110.20. Figure 19: Reading/Comprehension Skills. Students use a flexible range of metacognitive reading skills in both assigned and independent reading to understand an author’s message. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts as they become self-directed, critical readers. The student is expected to: (C) reflect on understanding to monitor comprehension (e.g., summarizing and synthesizing; making textual, personal, and world connections; creating sensory images)

**Other content area**s Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, Grade 8 §113.20 : Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to (D) identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference which influenced the participants;
 * Listening and speaking **

Social Studies, I : Interrelated Disciplines and Skills. C. Change and continuity of political ideologies, constitutions, and political behavior 1. Evaluate different governmental systems and functions. a. Explain the key concepts of democracy expressed in the Declaration of Independence and how they shaped the government and culture of the United States.
 * COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS **

Cross-Disciplinary II : Foundational Skills A. Reading Across the Curriculum 3. Identify the intended purpose and audience of the text. 8. Connect reading to historical and current events and personal interest.

Standard 1 : Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 1.1 Skills 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 4 : Pursue personal and aesthetic growth. 4.1 Skills 4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. 4.4 Self-Assessment Strategies 4.4.4 Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.
 * Educational technology **
 * Information literacy (or AASL Indicators) **
 * AASL STANDARDS INDICATORS **

6. Technology operations and concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations b. Select and use applications effectively and productively
 * ISTE Standards **

Connect to self and previous knowledge (Stripling) : As the students enter the room, period music is playing. As the students settle, the educators begin discussing what emotions the music reflects. Educator 1 asks: I remember a time I had to stand up for what I believed in even though my family and friends were against me. I felt .... Educator 2 says: I remember a similar situation when I …. I remember feeling …...Educator 1 invites the students to think about a similar situation and respond to a Padlet with the emotion he/she felt. Educator 1 asks: What emotions do you think the Founding Fathers felt as they pondered voting for their official declaration of independence from England? Educator 2 says: “I don’t know. Maybe we can figure it out from this video.” After viewing the video, Educator 1 leads the student in adding to a Padlet while educator 2 moderates the Padlet. The students are invited to respond to the PollEverywhere poll to assess the predominant emotions of the Founding Fathers.
 * Implementation **
 * **Process**
 * Motivation **

1. Use PollEverywhere and Padlet to participate in class discussions. 2. Analyze songs and YouTube video clips to classify emotions. 3. Use a graphic organizer to classify similarities and differences. 4. Write a reflection to indicate how activating background knowledge can help you comprehend text. 5. Write a response to the question “Is it ever right to defy authority?”
 * Student-friendly objectives **

Begin with one educator assisting the students in accessing a copy of the Declaration of Independence (print or online). One educator leads the students in reviewing connotation using the Words Have Connotation Slide while the other educator adds words to the slide. Then the educators model reading the Declaration of Independence in chunks and provide think-alouds as they read t line by line. They model substituting synonyms and determining positive and negative connotation of words. Then the group divides into two and each educator works with half the class as the students complete the category matrix. Educators use questioning to guide the students in completing the matrix. The groups come back together and reflect orally on the question: How does understanding emotion help readers determine meaning?
 * Presentation **

1.Take turns reading lines of text, no more than two sentences at a time. 2. Think-aloud. 3. Note which words you substituted synonyms to make meaning of the text. 4. Note whether the words have a positive or negative connotation. 5. Record responses on the Category Matrix.
 * Student participation procedures **

The educators support the student partners as they read the text, think aloud, and complete the category matrix.
 * Guided practice **

The groups come back together and the educators lead the students in discussing how understanding the connotation (emotion) of language helped them make meaning of text.
 * Closure **

**Reflection** __Writing prompt__. Based on what you've learned about the Founding Fathers and your own personal experience, how do you answer the question: "Is it ever right to defy authority?"

Use the category matrix, video clips, and reading to provide at least three specific reasons the Founding Fathers used to make their decision to defy authority. Based on text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections, in your conclusion explain whether you believe defying authority is ever justifiable.

__Reflection__: Complete a reflection on the following questions in your social studies journal. Provide at least two specific examples to support your response to EACH question on the importance of activating background knowledge before studying new material. 1. “Do you agree that connecting emotionally to a text helps you understand it better?” Explain. AND 2. “What information about the lives of the people who helped create the Declaration of Independence helped you better understand the text?


 * **Extensions** (Moreillon 15, 17)
 * Create a song from the perspective of a Loyalist or Patriot. Here are some website that include lyrics from famous Revolutionary Songs. []
 * This is a website showing the same music, but different lyrics for each side, for example, both the Patriots and the British have songs named Yankee Doodle. []
 * Create a “Found Poem” using illustrations, videos, and text we’ve used throughout the unit.
 * Create a compare/contrast chart or use a Web 2.0 tool to discuss the differences and similarities of the Revolutionary War with another war (i.e., WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, etc.) ||