Download Elissa Berger

Lesson Plan
SEED 371 H
Dr. Barbara Slater Stern
Teacher’s name: Elissa Berger
Subject: 11th Grade U.S. History
Topic: The Antebellum Period
Concepts: Within a lesson on the Antebellum period, students will learn about the social,
environmental and political factors which worked to bring about attitudes leading to civil
war in the United States. Through such topics, concepts such as the environment, industry
and political power will be addressed.
Learning Outcomes: Within a lesson on the Antebellum period, students will be able to
identify key environmental, social and political factors which induced regional tensions
in the United States, eventually leading the country into civil war and will show their
knowledge through the construction of a flow chart.
Within a lesson on the Antebellum period, students will be able to explain the stances of
both the North and South towards the continuation of slavery into new territories and will
share their knowledge through a simulated trial.
Objectives:
National Standards- Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for
the study of people, places and environments, so that the learner can…
NCSS.1.3.a ...construct, use and refine mental maps of locales, regions, and the
world that demonstrates their understanding of relative location,
direction, size, and shape;
NCSS.1.3.f
...describe how people create places that reflect culture, human needs,
current values and ideals, and government policies;
NCSS.1.3.g ...examine, interpret, and analyze the interactions of human beings and
their physical environments;
State Standards: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the factors that shaped
colonial America by…
VA-SOL.SS US1.5.C: describing colonial life in America from the perspectives of large
landowners, farmers, artisans, women, indentured servants, and slaves
VA-SOL.SS.US1.9: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes, major
events, and effects of the Civil War by…
VA-SOL.SS.US1.9.A: describing the cultural, economic and constitutional issues which
divided the nation
VA-SOL.SS.US1.9.B: explaining how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased
social tensions
Content Outline: In their study of the Antebellum period, students will have been
previously exposed to emerging tensions in the Union over the issue of slavery. Within
the lesson, several key acts will be addressed, key terms that students will learn within
the lesson will include:
Popular sovereignty: States entering the Union would have the chance to choose whether
they wished to be a slave or free state.
Fugitive Slave Act: An act which made a concession to southern requests in requiring the
return of escaped slaves to their owners.
Missouri Compromise: A compromise which maintained the balance of slave and free
states in Congress, having Missouri enter the Union as a slave state, and having Maine
enter as a free state.
Compromise of 1850: A congressional deal which made concessions to both northern and
southern states over the issue of slavery. (See content outline for more details)
Kansas Nebraska Act: An act which allowed for both Kansas and Nebraska to enter the
Union as slave states and repealed precedents set forth in the Missouri Compromise. Such
an act angered anti-slavery proponents and help lead to the incidence of Bleeding Kansas.
Set Induction: As a set induction for a lesson on the environmental and social influences
leading to the Civil War, students will break up into pairs. Each pair will be provided
with a brief description of a hypothetical environment in which they may live. Based on
such an environment, students will be instructed to think about and discuss how their
economic activities and material values may be influenced by the resources around them.
After students have read and discussed the effects of their “new” environment, the
teacher will ask students who have worked with each of the three environments to share
their conclusions with the class. (Scenarios are attached)
Time
0-10 min
Teacher
Set Induction
-The teacher will pass out
one of three possible
environmental scenarios to
each pair of students.
-The teacher will instruct
students to think about and
discuss how such an
environment might affect
their economic activities
and material values.
-After students have read
and discussed each
Students
Set Induction
-Students will break up into
pairs and read their
environmental scenario.
-Once students have
finished reading they will
discuss how such a scenario
might affect their economic
activities and material
values.
-Students will share their
conclusions with their
classmates.
10-20 min
scenario, the teacher will
ask several students to share
their conclusions with the
class. (“Scenarios” are
attached)
Explanation of Activity
-The teacher will explain
that students will be
participating in a trial,
reenacting a debate over
whether to allow slave
states to enter the Union.
-The teacher will explain
the general elements of
disagreement between the
North and South which
worked to influence a
declaration of civil war.
(Such elements will include
the issue of slavery, states’
rights and the admission of
slaves states within the
Union-see content outline)
-The teacher will designate
several students as members
of the jury and divide
remaining members of the
class among North/South
lines.
-The teacher will hand out
an overview of students’
respective roles to both
“Northern” and “Southern”
groups. (See attached
“Roles” for both the North
and South).
-The teacher will explain
the distribution of roles to
students as well as the goal
of the assignment for the
class as a whole (which is to
conduct an informative and
well reasoned debate using
authentic historical
perspectives and evidence).
-The teacher will hand out
Explanation of Activity
-Students will listen to the
teachers’ lecture on the
general economic and social
elements which helped lead
to civil war in the United
States.
-Students will ask questions
of clarification when
needed
-Students will review
descriptions of their
assigned roles and ask
questions when needed.
20-45 min
50-80 min
80-90 min
and explain rules for the
trial. (See “Rules”).
Group Research
-The teacher will instruct
students research the
perspectives of their
respective roles in order to
defend their position in a
“court of law.”
-The teacher will monitor
students’ progress as they
conduct research, providing
aid and taking disciplinary
action when necessary.
Trial
-The teacher will observe
and mediate the trial,
correcting and clarifying
information as necessary.
Closure
-The teacher will instruct
students to create a flow
chart explaining how
differences in
environmental factors led to
social tensions between the
North and South, and
eventually, the Civil War.
Group Research
-Using provided sources
(see “Sources” below),
students will conduct
research on the perspectives
and opinions of their
historical “characters”.
Students’ research will be
guided through provided
questions within their role
descriptions).
Trial
-Within their designated
roles, students will present
each side of the debate on
whether slave states should
be admitted into the Union.
Closure
-Students will complete a
flow chart, explaining how
environmental factors
eventually led to tensions
between both Northern and
Southern regions.
Closure: In listing the opinions of “characters” from the North and South, students may
begin to see how industry in the North and agriculture in the South, both developments of
place in terms of climate and natural resources, led to differences in opinion over the
issue of slavery and eventually, civil war. In order to demonstrate their knowledge,
students will be asked to create a flow chart demonstrating how climactic and
environmental differences in the North and South lead to differences in economic
activities thereby causing different approaches to the issue of slave labor in the United
States. (See attached “Flow Chart”)
Materials: In order to successfully conduct a lesson on the Antebellum period, each
student will need a handout of their respective roles for a whole-class trial, a list of
sources which they may use to conduct their research as well as a handout for each group
stating the general “rules” of the trial. (All materials attached)
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress/Performance: Student performance and
progress within the lesson may be evaluated through both a student-run trial as well as
through student-developed flow charts. Through the trial, students will be able to
demonstrate the depth and accuracy of their research and understanding of material as
they communicate the perspectives of their assigned “characters” before their classmates.
Lawyers may also relay their understanding of material by the ways in which their
questions seek to extract important information from witnesses. In having students create
a flow chart depicting the ways in which environmental factors led to regional tensions
and civil war within the United States, the teacher may also be able to effectively gauge
students’ understanding of the connection between one’s environment and political
perspectives, a key objective of the lesson.
Subject Matter Integration/Extension: Within a unit on the events which occurred in
the United States between 1800 and 1850, a lesson on the Antebellum period would be
placed directly before a lesson on the Civil War. In focusing on the ways in which both
place and environment affected political perspectives and regional tensions between the
North and South, such a lesson may serve to show students the deeper social, political
and economic complexities which led to civil war, rather than provide a pure focus
“larger” events of the period such as the caning of Charles Sumner and Missouri
Compromise. In this sense, such a framework may be applied to other areas of American
History such as the California Gold Rush, thereby creating a trend of continuity for
students.
Reflections: In having students conduct individual research and carry out a well-planned
trial within the classroom, such a lesson ties in with my educational support of studentdirected work and thought. Also, in providing students with an introductory lesson on
material and allowing them to research such information on their own and express it
before their classmates, students are able to focus on three principle activities which
synthesize information, rather than being exposed to a variety of activities which focus on
individual topics. In this sense, the lesson molds to my educational philosophy of
providing students with one or two quality activities which they may retain rather than
several shorter activities which may hold less meaning.
Handouts for Lesson:
Set InductionScenario #1
Directions: Pretend that you are placed in the environmental scenario listed below. After
reading through the scenario, consider, and discuss with your group members how such
an environment might affect your economic activities and material values based on
material resources. Be prepared to share your conclusions with your classmates.
Suppose you are in a boat which washes up in the tundra. Here, summers provide
temperatures which average between 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit and winters can see
temperatures which reach -20 degrees Fahrenheit. The dominant plants in your region are
lichens and mosses. However below the ice, a multitude of fish and marine life (such as
walruses and sea otters) exist.
Scenario #2
Directions: Pretend that you are placed in the environmental scenario listed below. After
reading through the scenario, consider, and discuss with your group members how such
an environment might affect your economic activities and material values based on
material resources. Be prepared to share your conclusions with your classmates.
Suppose you are on a boat which washes up on land with expansive forests, containing a
plethora of plant species and trees such as maple, evergreens and oak. While such trees
provide some edible sources such as acorns and a variety of animals abound in the forest,
the soil does not provide for a good means of agriculture. The land which you have come
upon is located in a temperate climate, causing it to experience four seasons, with
summer temperatures reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit and winter temperatures averaging
around 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scenario #3
Directions: Pretend that you are placed in the environmental scenario listed below. After
reading through the scenario, consider, and discuss with your group members how such
an environment might affect your economic activities and material values based on
material resources. Be prepared to share your conclusions with your classmates.
Suppose you are on a ship which washes up on a tropical island. Here the year round
temperature averages at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the trees provide an abundance of
food sources. Soil on the island is also fertile and will allow for large amounts of
agriculture to take place with heavy amounts of labor.
TrialRoles for the North
Objective: As members of the industrial North, you wish to see new states enter the
Union as free or non-slaveholding. Below are descriptions of your assigned roles which
you are to research using provided materials. Each person will be called to the bench
once. Be prepared to voice your opinion as your character would during the Antebellum
period. Remember, you are opposed to the admittance of slave slates into the Union.
Roles:
Lawyer (North): You are a lawyer defending northern interests. Primarily, you and your
clients seek to have states enter the Union as free and non-slaveholding. Witnesses on the
southern side include a large plantation owner, John Calhoun and a small farm owner.
You have one chance to call each witness to the stand and may ask each person a total of
three questions. Your questions should be aimed at exposing the fault in admitting new
territories to the Union as slave states.
Charles Sumner: As a senator from Massachusetts, you oppose both the Kansas-Nebraska
and Fugitive Slave Act. Through the trial you will want to voice both your moral and
political opposition to slavery.
Immigrant: You have recently arrived in New England from Germany and are working in
a textile mill. You don’t make much, but your small wage allows you to buy food and
shelter and modestly provide for your family. Why might you be opposed to the spread of
slavery? How might the spread of slavery bring competition to your job etc.?
Abolitionist: Not only do you wish to prevent slave states from entering the Union but
you wish to do away with slavery entirely. What are some of your key arguments against
the institution of slavery? Who are some of the key figures who share your views? What
are your methods for seeking an end to slavery?
Roles for the South
Objective: As inhabitants of the South, you wish to see the admittance of slave states into
the Union. Below are descriptions of your roles. Read through each role carefully and
proceed to conduct research on your “character” by using the websites listed below. Each
character will be called to the bench once. Be ready to voice and defend your position on
slavery, providing reasons as to why you think the institution should be allowed to
continue in new states entering the Union.
Roles:
Lawyer (South): You represent the interests of the Southern colonies which seek to keep
the institution of slavery intact and support the admission of slave states into the Union.
Witnesses for the northern side include an immigrant worker, an a abolitionist and
Charles Sumner. You may call each witness to the stand once, asking each person a total
of three questions.
John C. Calhoun: You are a senator from South Carolina who wishes to see the
continuation of slavery both in the South as well as within territories entering the Union.
On the stand, you will want to communicate the role of slavery in southern society and
the ways in which it relates to the issue of states’ rights.
Wealthy Planter: Within the South you own a large plantation, as well as many slaves.
During the trial you will want to communicate the ways in which slavery affects aspects
of production on your plantation as well as your comfortable way of life. You will also
want to voice the ways in which production of your crops contributes to the American
economy.
Small Farmer: While you don’t own many slaves, you hope to make enough money to
buy a large farm and acquire slave labor. During the trial, you will want to talk about how
the production of crops aids the Southern economy and why you might wish to see the
expansion of the institution into new territories.
Rules for Trial
-The teacher will determine which side will first take the stand.
-Lawyers must call upon each witness on the side in which they represent. (i.e. Lawyers
representing the South will call up southern witnesses while Lawyers from the North will
call up northern witnesses).
-Lawyers may call up each witness only once.
-Lawyers may ask each witness a total of three questions.
-Objections may be made to the judge (your teacher).
-Please refrain from talking during the trial.