Lesson Plan

 

Teacher Name: Julie Churchill

Lesson Title: Cause of the Civil War

Subject(s) and Grade Level: 8^th Grade US History

 

Standards:

MTT Domain-Competencies

 

Content TEKS

113.24. Social Studies, Grade 8.

(7)   History. The student understands how political, economic, and social factors led to the growth of sectionalism and the Civil War. The student is expected to:

(C)  analyze the impact of slavery on different sections of the United States

(13)  Economics. The student understands why various sections of the United States developed different patterns of economic activity. The student is expected to:

(A)  identify economic differences among different regions of the United States;

(B)  explain reasons for the development of the plantation system, the growth of the slave trade, and the spread of slavery; and

(C)  analyze the causes and effects of economic differences among different regions of the United States at selected times in U.S. history.

(30)  Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

(A)  differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about the United States;

(B)  analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions;

(D)  identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference which influenced the participants;

(E)  support a point of view on a social studies issue or event;

(F)  identify bias in written, oral, and visual material;

(G)  evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author; and

(31)  Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

(C)  transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate; and

(D)  create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information.

(32)  Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:

(A)  use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and

(B)  use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.

Content and Cognitive Goals:

 

1.       Understanding the five main causes of the Civil War :

• Slavery
• States Rights
• Tariffs
• Cultural Differences
• Economical Differences

taking into account the varying opinions of both the northern and southern people.

2.       Understanding the varying opinions of both the northern and southern people leading up to the Civil War

3.      Students will research, analyze and present their knowledge on a single cause of the Civil War.

 

Learning Connections:

 

1.       Understand how the environment and resources impacted settlers and lead to different lifestyles in the different regions of the U.S. before the Civil War

2.       Analyze differences (economically and socially) between different sections of the country

3.       Understand the Northern views of slavery and the economic system in the South.

4.       Understand the Southern views on states rights and the intrusion of Northern values into their society.

5.       Research information on a single cause. Validate that information and make a decision on what knowledge to share with classmates.

6.       Students are able to transfer information from one medium to another

7.       Students are able to read and analyze primary sources

8.      Develop a teach piece that affectively shares your knowledge of a single cause to a class. Include an evaluation piece that checks for understanding.

 

Procedures for Learning Activities/Tasks:

 

Address Bloom's Taxonomy:

In this lesson we hit the three highest levels.

Analysis Students will have to analyze the information they gather, make inferences to determine how it applies to their topic, and put their points into an order that makes the topic easy to explain and teach to their peers.

Synthesis Students will plan, create and design an audio and visual presentation on their topic for the class. They will be integrating information from several sources to prepare the presentation. Students will also compose 5 questions to ask their peers at the end of the presentation to check for understanding.

Evaluation Students will use their presentation to explain their topic to their peers. The presentation will summarize one of the five causes of the Civil War. Once the presentation is completed students will support their presentations by answering questions from peers to better explain what they did.

 

Assistive and Diverse Learners

We anticipate that there will be several students involved in this lesson that have ADD or ADHD. These are the two most common types of learners that we have to accommodate in this class. With all the group work and the variety of technical opportunities these students should not have major learning problems. However, we are anticipating that these students may have more trouble working around the stress generated by other group members. So the teacher will be talking with these students daily to check and make sure that things are going well, and to make sure they are focused on their task so they can successfully complete them.

 

Teaching/Instructional Strategy:

 

The teacher will allow the students to divide up into 5 groups. These groups will work together to decide what projects they will be doing and who will be doing what. The teacher will be very involved in the groups. She will be talking to them on a daily basis to check for understanding and progress. She will also be observing how the dynamic of the group is work. In the computer lab, the teacher will use the NetOps program to keep track of all the students. This will be projected to the screen allowing the teacher to continually move around the room answering questions, assisting in research and redirecting off task students.

 

Student Work Samples:

 

Students will develop skills in researching, validating and assessing primary sources. Student will create two presentation pieces and audio clip and a visual presentation that can be a flipbook, cartoon or movie. They will then present the project to the class teaching them about one of the five Causes of the Civil War. At the close of their presentation, there will be a question and answer session allowing the student to clarify their cause for their peers.

 

Technology Connection:

 

Students will use internet searching techniques to locate primary sources in several forms. Students will then use microphones, headphones and online libraries to develop an audio presentation on their topic. The group will them develop a visual product that may incorporate audio, still images and video to use in the class presentation. Assistive devices such as text-to-speech and enlarged text will be used as needed.

 

Technology Management Strategy:

 

In the computer lab, the teacher will use the NetOps program to keep track of all the students. This will be projected to the screen allowing the teacher to continually move around the room answering questions, assisting in research and redirecting off task students. The teacher will also be assisting students in the development of their projects so she will be honing her skills in the programs used prior to the lesson. A seating chart will also be used to assign seating by groups and equipment needs. This seating will also be used as a monitoring and discipline tool.

 

Materials:

 

Research - Internet, word processor and primary sources in the library

Audio Project - Digital recording device, Microphone for recording on the computer, Audacity and Internet

Visual Project

Video - Camcorder, 1394 card& cable, MovieMaker, internet, scanner and camera

Flipbook - ACTIVStudio, Scanner, camera, and internet

Cartoon - PhotoStory, scanner and internet

Presentation - ACTIVBoard, Projector, Computer, Website w/RSS feed to post podcasts

 

Assessment:

 

Informal:

Students will be observed over the course of the project by the teacher who will be looking at the group dynamitic and their ability to work together.

Formal:

Students will be graded on their presentation based on the rubric provided. Students will also grade their group members twice during the process using the group rubric.

 

Reflection:

 

Please rate the following indicators using a scale of 1-5.

(1=Poor, 5= Excellent, NA if not applicable)

__________ Technology instruction was effective and students/educators achieved curricular goals.

__________ Technology instruction was effective and students/educators or I achieved targeted goals.

__________ Technology instruction was effective and I achieved my professional goals.

__________ Students/educators were motivated by the use of technology.

__________ Technology was critical to the success of this lesson.

__________ Varying abilities of students/educators was supported through the use of the technology.

__________ Equipment was sufficient for the number of students/educators completing the activity.

__________ Equipment and software functioned properly.

__________ Overall rating of lesson.

 

Reflection Time: Use the following questions to reflect on your lesson.

Questions to Ponder: Was this lesson worth doing? In what ways was the lesson effective? What evidence do you have for your conclusion? How would you change this lesson for teaching it again? Did your students/educators find the lesson meaningful? Did the lesson motivate your students/educators to go beyond what was required? Did you achieve your goals met/in progress in the required criteria?

 

Since this lesson was developed of the summer, we have not had a chance to implement it. We are looking forward to using this lesson in the 2007-2008 school year.

Participant Signature: Date: July 14, 2007

Coach Signature: Date: July 14, 2007