Historical Overview
This unit explores the period leading up to the American Revolution with a focus on the causes that ultimately created a new nation. The Revolution was the result of complex forces, some of which predated the revolutionary period by centuries.Magna Carta (1215), Mayflower Compact (1620), English Bill of Rights (1689), and Enlightenment philosophers (late 1500s – 18th centuries) all influenced the thinking of the American revolutionaries.
By establishing limits on the power of the government, many consider Magna Carta to be the first step in the emergence of limited government in England. It has influenced ideas about government since 1215. The Mayflower Compact was the first attempt by English colonists to establish a temporary, legally binding form of self-government, reinforcing the idea of the social compact/contract. Furthermore, the English Bill of Rights asserted governmental supremacy of Parliament over the monarch in England, helping to solidify the idea of limits to governmental power.
Finally, Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke, with an emphasis on reason, created an intellectual and philosophical movement in Europe. These ideas included an emphasis on liberty, tolerance, constitutional government, progress, and separation of church and state.
The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, as well as limits on government in Great Britain, heavily influenced the thinking in colonial America as colonists established their own local governments. Although Great Britain retained ultimate power and authority over the colonies, distance and periods of unrest in Great Britain allowed the colonists to have significant control over their own local affairs.
As the colonies developed and grew, geographic variances underscored and accentuated cultural and economic differences among three colonial regions. The New England colonies, with their rocky soil and close-knit towns, had an economy based on small family farms, merchants, artisans, and shipbuilding. The Middle colonies contained good farmland and developed into small-interconnected settlements with a farming population that was more economically and religiously diverse. The Southern colonies, with rich soil and a long growing season, produced “cash” crops such as tobacco, indigo, rice, and later, cotton. As a result, large isolated settlements dotted the landscape with large plantation systems based on the labor of enslaved people.
As the colonies grew and developed, rivalries between Great Britain and France increased and erupted into a series of wars, which affected the American colonies. Britain and France struggled to define their borders in the New World and ultimately gain ascendancy there. American colonists served in each of these wars and colonists helped feed and supply British troops. The last of these wars, the so-called “French and Indian War”, resulted in the expulsion of the French from North America. Despite Great Britain’s victory, the war was extremely costly, leaving the British government heavily in debt. Great Britain expended blood and treasure to protect the American colonies and believed the colonists should pay their fair share for the cost of the wars. They began to pass additional laws and enforce old ones. Since the colonists contributed troops and money as well, they disagreed with Britain’s perspective. This led to growing tensions between Great Britain and her American colonies.
As tensions built, many colonists wanted to repair their relationship with Great Britain more than they wanted to declare independence. However, the relationship between the colonies and the British government continued to deteriorate. Boston, Massachusetts soon became the center of colonial-British conflict. With the closing of the Port of Boston and the declaration of martial law in Massachusetts, the colonial governments sent delegates to a Continental Congress to coordinate a colonial boycott of British goods. Simultaneously, political and business leaders began to build public support for their concerns and create a movement to rebel against British rule. Colonial leaders employed propaganda in order to convince others to join their cause. Through pamphlets such as Common Sense, news articles, songs, and organizations such as the Sons of Liberty and the Committee of Correspondence, revolutionary thinkers sought to build support for the idea of an independent nation. After fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord, colonial leaders met and managed the colonial war effort, and ultimately adopted the Declaration of Independence.
In the Declaration of Independence, the colonists asserted their right to be free of British rule.Using ideas from the Enlightenment philosophers, they claimed that the king had violated the social contract and set forth a list of grievances to justify their reasons for independence to the rest of the world. Over time, the Declaration of Independence has served as an inspiration for people seeking freedom, equality, and justice within the United States and throughout the world.
Unit Abstract
This introductory unit has three overarching objectives: 1) to establish a baseline for measuring student growth throughout the course; 2) to review essential political and historical underpinnings for our country; and 3) to understand the Declaration of Independence and appreciate its importance. The focus questions provide the source for a deep investigation into historical thinking and reading, as well as provide a firm basis from which students delve into the causes and consequences of declaring independence from Great Britain. The lessons of the unit provide direct support for teachers implementing this unit.
The unit begins with a focus on historical thinking and reading skills, as well as a writing exercise documenting students’ understanding of the Preamble to the United States Constitution. Using an inquiry frame, the course will develop students’ insight into how differing views of the Preamble’s meaning (“We the People” and “in Order to form a more perfect Union”) have shaped the nation over time. As such, it is essential to establish a baseline upon which student growth can be measured.
In addressing the first focus question: “How do historians determine what happened in the past?” the first two lessons provide student relevancy for learning and practice with historical reading and thinking skills. Students first apply the historical reading skills of sourcing, contextualizing, close reading, and corroborating to determine the validity of a hoax email. They then apply historical thinking skills to personal artifacts to create narratives of what elementary school was like. In doing so, students consider how their personal artifacts and those of their classmates agree or disagree and reflect on the reasons for the divergence in the accounts. Through this exercise, students discover that accounts of the past vary based on several factors – choice of sources, the experience, skills, and perspective of the historian, viewpoint of the artifact’s creator, etc.
The second focus question, “How did colonists with different regional interests and experiences use ideas from the past to unite and justify their independence from Great Britain?” serves to review and build on students’ study of American history from elementary school. Since this focus question is complex, a series of lessons support student learning. First, students apply their understanding of contextualizing to review geographic, economic, sociocultural, and political factors of colonial America to explain why historians have grouped the British colonies in North America into three distinct colonial regions. Next, students engage in a group study experiment that shows that some form of government is a natural extension of human group dynamics. They learn about the influence of Enlightenment philosophers on colonial ideas about government including natural rights, state of nature, and social contract/compact (consent of the governed). Using a gradual release model, students trace the evolution of political thought that resulted in the American colonies declaring independence. In doing so, students practice sourcing and contextualizing as they analyze the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, and the English Bill of Rights. They explore each of these documents for evidence of ideas related to natural rights (of life, liberty and property), social compact, order, and laws to develop an understanding of how ideas about government developed over time.
Students then explore the Declaration of Independence in depth. They begin by examining an excerpt of the Declaration of Independence for concepts of life, liberty, property, order, social compact, and laws. Using a brief PowerPoint, students are introduced to the components of argument: claim, evidence and reasoning. They then practice their reasoning skills, thereby connecting evidence to support a claim. Next, students engage in a pre-writing activity in which they use the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, and English Bill of Rights (and their contexts) as evidence and develop reasoning for a claim about the Declaration of Independence. Students then use this information to write an argument about the development of ideas found in the Declaration of Independence.
Exploring a variety of events, students consider the changing relationship between Great Britain and her colonies in North America after the French and Indian War. Through a teacher-led investigation, students review the significance of the Navigation Acts, the period of salutary neglect, French and Indian War, and the Proclamation of 1763. Students then investigate a specific event that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to create a class timeline of the road to the revolution. In doing so, they explore MLA citation and apply it to their research. Students then consider the point at which tensions became irreversible and apply ideas from Enlightenment philosophers in supporting their ideas through a fishbowl discussion.
Next, students incorporate historical thinking into an exploration of how colonial leaders gained widespread support for revolution. Using a mock break-up letter, which the teacher “finds” in the classroom, students draw connections to why the colonies wanted to declare independence. They then consider the timeline created in the previous lesson to identify the point at which the differences between the colonies and Great Britain became irreconcilable. Employing the historical reading skills learned earlier in this unit, students engage in a historical analysis of several artifacts related to building support for independence, including excerpts from Paine’s Common Sense. After a gallery walk and corroboration of the artifacts, students consider the role that propaganda played in answering the lesson question in writing: How did the colonists make a case against British rule? By the end of this series of lessons, students are prepared to answer the second focus question.
The unit then focuses on the structure and substance of the Declaration of Independence. Students explore quotes from participants in the Second Continental Congress, and use them to identify hopes and fears of colonists as they sought independence. Through a teacher-led exercise, students explore how the Declaration of Independence was organized as an argument. Students then engage in an activity in which they explain the meaning of the various sections of the Declaration of Independence and connect it to what they have already learned. Through a class discussion, students consider ideas about government and human nature, the role of the people in government, and the experiences that led colonial leaders to adopt the Declaration of Independence. Students then watch a brief video about the vote on the Declaration and engage in a visible thinking routine (connect, extend, challenge). The lesson ends with an assessment of student learning in which they explain a quote from John Adams in 1818 reflecting on the Declaration of Independence.
The final lesson in this unit targets the final focus question: “How have ideas from the Declaration of Independence inspired others to seek social and political change?” Students apply a research-based approach to question development (the Question Formulation Technique) to support them in identifying questions about the impact of the Declaration of Independence. Through a group reading activity, they seek the answers to their questions. In doing so, students learn about others in the United States and beyond who have used the words and ideas in the Declaration to advocate for political and/or social change. The unit concludes with students answering the question: “Why do you think the Declaration of Independence has inspired so many?”
Why Include Fifth Grade and High School Content in the Middle School Curriculum?
Although much of the historical content can be found in the fifth-grade content expectations, the American Revolution is of profound importance in the study of American history and American government for three reasons. First, it severed the colonial relationship with England and ultimately led to the creation of a new country. Secondly, the Founders relied upon existing political philosophy to create the basis of our system of government. Finally, during this period of history, people changed long-established social and political relationships, the effects of which continue to influence American political thought and public opinion today.
While the civics middle school content expectations only address world politics and global issues, the high school civics expectations contain too many expectations to teach effectively in a semester. Accordingly, we have included many of the high school and elementary standards to provide a bridge for students and create a strong foundation in order to promote “the growth and development of all learners for the purpose of creating and sustaining an informed citizenry in a democratic society.” (Michigan Teacher Certification). However, since not every aspect of each high school content expectation is addressed in this unit, teachers should not expect students to master the expectations as written. Rather, assessment should focus on those portions that are included in the unit, and mastery at a high school level should not be required.
Literacy
This unit focuses significant attention to building students’ literacy skills. Students will encounter a variety of multimedia and print texts. The lessons contain numerous before, during, and after reading activities, which provide scaffolds to support students in their comprehension and analysis. The unit also includes the opportunity to reinforce citation using the MLA format. Finally, argumentation figures prominently in this unit as students review the components of argument (claim, evidence, and reasoning). Pre-writing activities provide support for students in constructing an argument. Students also analyze the structure of arguments with a specific focus on the Declaration of Independence.
Challenges in Teaching this Unit
1. Scope of Content and Vocabulary
Teachers should spend time familiarizing themselves with the lessons prior to implementation in their classroom. Materials may need to be prepared and organized, so it is suggested that teachers prepare at least a day ahead of time. It is also important to recognize that this unit contains a lot of content for both teachers and students alike. This unit addresses events and ideas from 1215 to the present, so teachers should use timelines and other devices to root students in the historical context of the time. While care has been taken to identify the salient content from fifth grade and repurpose it to scaffold students in their learning, teachers should be mindful that students may not come to class with the requisite prior knowledge. Also, the social studies vocabulary consists of Tier 3 (low frequency, context-specific) words and may be difficult, especially for ELL students. The lessons contain word cards to support students’ vocabulary development.
2. Emphasis on Critical Thinking
This unit will help teachers set the bar for learning expectations. However, since it is the first unit in the course, students used to “doing school” will be challenged in new ways and teachers may struggle from student push back because many students are used to finding answers in a textbook. Since the goal of the course is not only mastery of content, but also to develop students’ critical thinking skills, as well as grit and resilience in the face of challenges, teachers will need to remind students that this learning may feel a little different. Students may become impatient as a result. Such challenges provide an opportunity to develop students’ character. Yet, teachers should be aware that some of the document analyses may be difficult for students and they may need extra scaffolds to have a successful learning experience. This will depend on students’ individual learning edge.
The lessons should be thought of as puzzle pieces that students will be putting together to create a picture, rather than isolated incidents or events. The emphasis is on understanding enduring political ideas, while providing historical context for students. Since the lessons build on each other toward a deeper understanding of the answers to the focus questions, it is recommended that teachers remind students of the learning targets (focus questions) throughout the unit. This will enable students to become more in charge of their own learning.
The emphasis on civic ideas also provides an opportunity to connect the past to today. It is recommended that teachers use current events that relate to ideas about government or the desire for self-determination, which may take time.
3. Interdisciplinary Nature of the Unit
This unit’s interdisciplinary nature may provide another hurdle for teachers, especially if school structures do not facilitate integration across subject areas. In particular, MLA format may be difficult to teach early in the year and they may not be familiar with it. Social studies teachers should not get too bogged down with citation format, but use it as an introduction that can be returned to in English class later in the year. This unit also revisits argumentation and the use of evidence and reasoning to support a claim. These provide good opportunities to collaborate with an English Language Arts teacher.
4. Pacing the Lessons
This unit will take approximately six weeks of instruction. The lessons are not necessarily designed to be done in a day. Rather, each lesson presents a conceptual whole and may take 1-3 days to complete. It is incumbent upon teachers to determine natural breaks in lessons that will fit with their class schedule. The numbering system within each lesson is designed to highlight potential breaks.
5. Assessment and Grading
The emphasis in this unit is on formative assessment and every lesson has a way to gauge student learning. However, the unit provides no specific set of resources for a cumulative unit assessment for several reasons: a) assessments are best when they reflect classroom teaching; b) we are unsure which portions of the lessons teachers will use; c) it is important that teachers have a say in what they emphasize for assessment because they know their students best. The focus questions provide a great source for essay questions. Teachers looking for multiple-choice items should use the knowledge and skills required to answer the focus questions as the basis for developing items. Finally, we make no recommendation as to how to grade student learning due to the multiple district-level approaches.
6. Not a Script
The lessons were written for a specific audience: new teachers or permanent substitute teachers. As such, they provide step-by-step instructions. Experienced teachers are encouraged to make these lessons their own. Instructional decisions should be based on the focus questions, key concepts, and content expectations and your students.
