Rationale:
· The central point of this lesson is intended to showcase what the students have learned about empires as a form of government throughout the unit by completing a structured five paragraph essay that highlights their increase in knowledge about empires utilizing their notes, graded assignments, and a few key documents that I will provide them with in case the students have heeded my warning about saving all their assignments and handouts for a final assignment at the end of the unit.
· I am using this particular strategy because it allows me to scaffold the essay for my students, many of which are very uncomfortable completing writing assignments of this length and pinpointing for my students exactly what information topics I would like them to address. By being as specific as possible about what information I want included in the essay is intended to make this final assessment easier on the students than having to create a five paragraph essay about empires on their own. I believe that if the assignment is not buttressed in this manner there is a strong likelihood that a significant number of my students simply will refuse to complete the assignment; this strategy is intended to make completing this essay and demonstrating their knowledge as painless as possible for my pupils.
· In a more conventional academic setting I would have given the essay as a homework assignment to be completed over the weekend, but as I cannot assign homework, the students will utilize class time to complete their assignment and allows the students to have access to me to ask any questions about how or what to write.
· The central point of this lesson is intended to showcase what the students have learned about empires as a form of government throughout the unit by completing a structured five paragraph essay that highlights their increase in knowledge about empires utilizing their notes, graded assignments, and a few key documents that I will provide them with in case the students have heeded my warning about saving all their assignments and handouts for a final assignment at the end of the unit.
· I am using this particular strategy because it allows me to scaffold the essay for my students, many of which are very uncomfortable completing writing assignments of this length and pinpointing for my students exactly what information topics I would like them to address. By being as specific as possible about what information I want included in the essay is intended to make this final assessment easier on the students than having to create a five paragraph essay about empires on their own. I believe that if the assignment is not buttressed in this manner there is a strong likelihood that a significant number of my students simply will refuse to complete the assignment; this strategy is intended to make completing this essay and demonstrating their knowledge as painless as possible for my pupils.
· In a more conventional academic setting I would have given the essay as a homework assignment to be completed over the weekend, but as I cannot assign homework, the students will utilize class time to complete their assignment and allows the students to have access to me to ask any questions about how or what to write.
· SWBAT demonstrate in writing what they have learned about empires as a form of government and their own opinion regarding empires as a desirable political structure or not.
· Literacy Objective- SWBAT define the following vocabulary terms: Introduction, Thesis Statement, Body Paragraph, and Conclusion.
· Literacy Objective- SWBAT articulate the components of and complete a structured five paragraph essay.
· Literacy Objective- SWBAT define the following vocabulary terms: Introduction, Thesis Statement, Body Paragraph, and Conclusion.
· Literacy Objective- SWBAT articulate the components of and complete a structured five paragraph essay.
· Students will be assessed in a summative fashion through their successfully completing a heavily structured five paragraph essay that expresses what the students have learned concerning the positive and negative aspect of empires as a form of government over the course of the unit, as well as articulating the students' own opinion’s regarding the desirability of empires as the political framework for ruling a nation.
· HS.6. Analyze ideas critical to the understanding of history, including, but not limited to: populism, progressivism, isolationism, imperialism, communism, environmentalism, liberalism, fundamentalism, racism, ageism, classism, conservatism, cultural diversity, feminism, and sustainability
· HS.9. Identify historical and current events, issues, and problems when national interests and global interest have been in conflict, and analyze the values and arguments on both sides of the conflict.
· HS.11. Gather and analyze historical information, including contradictory data, from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including sources located on the Internet, to support or reject hypotheses.
Time: This lesson is should take two-three standard fifty minute class periods to complete.
· Structured Essay Assignment Handout
· History of Empires Handout
· A copy of The White Man’s Burden
· Tea-Party Roles Handout
· iPad
· History of Empires Handout
· A copy of The White Man’s Burden
· Tea-Party Roles Handout
· iPad
· My anticipatory set for the lesson will be to ask the students to go around the room and each articulates to me a separate fact or tidbit concerning empires that they learned throughout the course of this unit. Once this process is complete I will thank the students for sharing and begin inform my pupil’s the purpose & goals for this lesson.
· The students will be made aware of the purpose & goals of the lesson prior to my beginning any instruction. These will be written on the board so I and the students can refer back to them should we lose focus or get off track. It will also inform the many late arrivals in my class of what we will be doing today if I do not have an opportunity to engage them as soon as they enter the classroom.
· I will inform the students that the purpose of this lesson if to review the components of a five paragraph essay as well as learn or recite the definitions of key vocabulary terms related to the essay.
· The students will be told that the goal of this lesson is to write a structured five paragraph essay that expresses what the students have learned concerning the positive and negative aspect of empires as a form of government over the course of the unit, as well as articulating the students own opinion’s regarding the desirability of empires as the political framework for ruling a nation.
· I will the proceed to go through the list of vocabulary words with the students; I know that they have been exposed to these terms multiple times and in various courses at the school, but it is always important to ensure that your students not only have heard the terms before, but know what they mean.
· The definitions for these terms can be found on their structured essay assignment handout, so I do not feel that it necessary to also project these terms and definitions on the screen behind me.
· After ensuring that my students are confident in their definitions I will distribute the student packets containing vital sources from throughout the term in case my students have not kept all of them throughout the course of the term. Once the students all have packets I will move on to introduce the objective of the lesson by having students volunteer to read segments of the assignment handout aloud. After each section has been read aloud I will check for understanding from the students as to what the expectations for the essay writing activity.
· This will ensure that my students know exactly what sort of information I would like inserted into their essay at specific points, so that they focus on the content of their essays, and not worrying about what they should write about. This will make such a major writing assignment much more palatable to my student population.
· After I have checked for understanding, I will also remind the students very gently that this is not an assignment that they can forgo without any significant repercussions. This essay is in my assessment device for gauging how much they have learned about empires throughout the course of this unit, and I am giving it in lieu of a test. It doesn't matter if you turn in an A assignment, but there is a huge difference between receiving a less than perfect grade and receiving a zero simply for not even attempting the assignment. I hate to use this type of motivation, but I know for some of my pupils it is the only way to get through to them. However, if they can offer me an alternative assignment that would satisfy the requirements for showing me what they have learned about empires in another form then I they can come and pitch me their assignment idea.
· The students will be made aware of the purpose & goals of the lesson prior to my beginning any instruction. These will be written on the board so I and the students can refer back to them should we lose focus or get off track. It will also inform the many late arrivals in my class of what we will be doing today if I do not have an opportunity to engage them as soon as they enter the classroom.
· I will inform the students that the purpose of this lesson if to review the components of a five paragraph essay as well as learn or recite the definitions of key vocabulary terms related to the essay.
· The students will be told that the goal of this lesson is to write a structured five paragraph essay that expresses what the students have learned concerning the positive and negative aspect of empires as a form of government over the course of the unit, as well as articulating the students own opinion’s regarding the desirability of empires as the political framework for ruling a nation.
· I will the proceed to go through the list of vocabulary words with the students; I know that they have been exposed to these terms multiple times and in various courses at the school, but it is always important to ensure that your students not only have heard the terms before, but know what they mean.
· The definitions for these terms can be found on their structured essay assignment handout, so I do not feel that it necessary to also project these terms and definitions on the screen behind me.
· After ensuring that my students are confident in their definitions I will distribute the student packets containing vital sources from throughout the term in case my students have not kept all of them throughout the course of the term. Once the students all have packets I will move on to introduce the objective of the lesson by having students volunteer to read segments of the assignment handout aloud. After each section has been read aloud I will check for understanding from the students as to what the expectations for the essay writing activity.
· This will ensure that my students know exactly what sort of information I would like inserted into their essay at specific points, so that they focus on the content of their essays, and not worrying about what they should write about. This will make such a major writing assignment much more palatable to my student population.
· After I have checked for understanding, I will also remind the students very gently that this is not an assignment that they can forgo without any significant repercussions. This essay is in my assessment device for gauging how much they have learned about empires throughout the course of this unit, and I am giving it in lieu of a test. It doesn't matter if you turn in an A assignment, but there is a huge difference between receiving a less than perfect grade and receiving a zero simply for not even attempting the assignment. I hate to use this type of motivation, but I know for some of my pupils it is the only way to get through to them. However, if they can offer me an alternative assignment that would satisfy the requirements for showing me what they have learned about empires in another form then I they can come and pitch me their assignment idea.
· At this juncture in the lesson I will instruct the students to begin sorting through their graded assignments and notes to look for details that they would like to include in their essay. As the student peruse their graded work and notes, I will be circulating throughout the room remind the students of key assignments and documents that will be of help to them.
· I will also remind my pupils that if they find that they are missing an assignment with data that they need to successfully complete their essay that they should ask their fellow students for help. It is possible that their colleagues may have kept better notes or track of their assignments and they are encouraged to use one another as resources. This is a point that I have been trying to make to the students over and over again throughout the unit.
· Also during this period of the lesson, I will circulate throughout the classroom helping students who are having trouble beginning their assignment or assist students in looking through their notes, documents, and returned assignments for pertinent details to include in their essays.
· Invariably there will also be a slew of questions from students who were not paying attention to the instructions when we went through the assignment as a class, so I will go around to each student and ensure that indeed they understand what they are writing about and what information is expected to be included certain paragraphs.
· Additionally I will be providing feedback concerning the examples of positive and negative aspects of empires by circulating through and checking in with each individual student, especially those students who look befuddled and ask for my assistance.
· I will also be making my iPad available to the students to do any internet research that they feel they may need to do to complete the assignment if they are missing key notes and assignments from throughout the course.
· If some students finish before the majority of their peers they will be instructed to work on any missing assignments, because at this juncture there is not a single student enrolled in my class that is not missing at least on assignment. I feel that this is a positive reward for them, giving them class time to complete missing assignments to boost their grades.
· I will also remind my pupils that if they find that they are missing an assignment with data that they need to successfully complete their essay that they should ask their fellow students for help. It is possible that their colleagues may have kept better notes or track of their assignments and they are encouraged to use one another as resources. This is a point that I have been trying to make to the students over and over again throughout the unit.
· Also during this period of the lesson, I will circulate throughout the classroom helping students who are having trouble beginning their assignment or assist students in looking through their notes, documents, and returned assignments for pertinent details to include in their essays.
· Invariably there will also be a slew of questions from students who were not paying attention to the instructions when we went through the assignment as a class, so I will go around to each student and ensure that indeed they understand what they are writing about and what information is expected to be included certain paragraphs.
· Additionally I will be providing feedback concerning the examples of positive and negative aspects of empires by circulating through and checking in with each individual student, especially those students who look befuddled and ask for my assistance.
· I will also be making my iPad available to the students to do any internet research that they feel they may need to do to complete the assignment if they are missing key notes and assignments from throughout the course.
· If some students finish before the majority of their peers they will be instructed to work on any missing assignments, because at this juncture there is not a single student enrolled in my class that is not missing at least on assignment. I feel that this is a positive reward for them, giving them class time to complete missing assignments to boost their grades.
· The students will be allowed to utilize the rest of the class period to finish their assignments, since school policy dictates that I cannot assign them homework unless I have given them significant amount of time in class to complete their assignment. After this point however, they will be responsible finish the essay at home over the weekend.
· The students learning of the entire unit will be displayed through their successfully completing the structured essay or an alternative assignment.
· If the students have finished their essays by the last day I am allotting for them to work on their assignments in class, I will have them clean up their spaces, turn in their assignments, and then go around the room and have students share with me what they feel was the most important fact or concept that they learned about imperialism during this unit. To help probe for their understanding of the issues surrounding imperialism and it's current role in the world today I will prod the students along by asking them if they can think of any modern day examples of imperialism. I will go around the room until I have spoken to everyone; if I am met with deafening silence I will provide one or two examples to spark their cognitive process. After the class has debriefed for a while about imperialism in the past and present I will thank all the students for their hard work during this unit and remind anyone who has not yet completed their essays that they are now considered homework.
· Class Dismissed.
· The students learning of the entire unit will be displayed through their successfully completing the structured essay or an alternative assignment.
· If the students have finished their essays by the last day I am allotting for them to work on their assignments in class, I will have them clean up their spaces, turn in their assignments, and then go around the room and have students share with me what they feel was the most important fact or concept that they learned about imperialism during this unit. To help probe for their understanding of the issues surrounding imperialism and it's current role in the world today I will prod the students along by asking them if they can think of any modern day examples of imperialism. I will go around the room until I have spoken to everyone; if I am met with deafening silence I will provide one or two examples to spark their cognitive process. After the class has debriefed for a while about imperialism in the past and present I will thank all the students for their hard work during this unit and remind anyone who has not yet completed their essays that they are now considered homework.
· Class Dismissed.