Mr. Woolsey's Classroom



LESSON 2: DAYS 1, 2, 3, 4: WHO WERE THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND WHY WERE THEY IMPORTANT?

DAY 1: Research

Standards: SS 1.3, SS 1.4, ELA 1.1, ELA 3.2

Materials:

-Delegates flash cards

-laptop cart

-project sheets

-history frame

-biography graphic organizer

-biography information print out

Objectives: TLW…

-evaluate the validity of Shays’ Rebellion by responding to the Thomas Jefferson quote in class

-describe an important delegate at the Continental Convention through research and filling out a biographical organizer

Introduction:

- Have students take a Delegate flash card on their way in the door

- Pick up their laptop and log in. Once logged in close lid until use later.

- Have the following quote from Thomas Jefferson projected on the board:

In a letter to William S. Smith, November 13, 1787, Jefferson again spoke of the rebellion in western Massachusetts:

“Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”

-Give students five minutes to write a brief response at the bottom of their history frame to the following question (also projected on the board): Was Shays’ Rebellion a good thing or a bad thing for the new nation?

Teaching Strategies and Accommodation:

- Pass back vocab quiz. Go over answers.

- Resulting from the increasingly apparent weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania an May 25, 1787.

-The initial task was to fix the Articles, but it soon became apparent that a new constitution would be created. Today we are going to learn about the important men who helped create our constitution

- Use project sheet to explain the task

- Students will work individually to research their delegate with the computers and biography information print outs

- Pass out biography graphic organizer. Students will use organizer to collect and arrange information as they research.

- Have students first use their textbooks, the biography information print out, and then go to following website to work silently by themselves researching their delegate:

Or (founding fathers menu -> about the founding fathers)

- Walk around giving guidance and checking what students are filling in on their organizers

Conclusion:

- HW: complete the biography graphic organizer if it is not done and come to class tomorrow with an outline of your biographical spot light. Remind them that the “Biographical Spotlight” should include the following information about the delegate: name, dates, what state they represented, their occupation (s), their important contribution to the Constitutional Convention, and one or two fun facts

- Our next class, we will work on writing a draft of our “Biographical Spotlight”

-There will also be a vocabulary quiz re-take first thing on Tuesday. If you do better, increases your grade; if you do worse, your grade stays the same. The only way is up – so study!

Assessment:

- I will collect and assign a homework grade to students’ history frames to assess their work regarding Shays’ Rebellion and their evaluation of its validity

- I will use students’ biography graphic organizers to gauge whether or not they know information about their delegate that would enable them to describe that founding father

Self-Reflection:

DAY 2: Drafting

Standards: SS 1.3, ELA 1.2

Materials:

-vocab quiz re-take

-biography graphic organizer

-biography information print out

- (Period 6) Geography: N. v S. Video and Questions

Objectives: TLW…

-describe an important delegate at the Continental Convention through research and filling out a biographical organizer

-explain the importance of an individual delegate by writing a “Biographical Spotlight”

Introduction:

- 2 minutes to study

- Quiz re-take

Teaching Strategies and Accommodation:

- Have students fill out biography graphic organizers using biographical readings

- Today we will be outlining and writing a first draft of our “Biographical Spotlight”

- Once everyone has completed the quiz, explain what is needed for the spotlight and number the boxes on the organizer in order of how they should appear on the spotlight: (1) delegate’s name , (2) dates , (3) what state they represented, (X) prior public experience, (4) their occupation (s), (5) their important contribution to the Constitutional Convention, and (6) one or two fun facts

- With the whole class, help scaffold their outlining and drafting by going through the biography graphic organizer and numbering each box one through six in order that they should use that information in their spotlight (see previous note)

-Have students work individually on their drafts. Go around to make sure students understand what they are doing and are organizing their spotlights in clear and understandable manners

- (Period 6) With 20 minutes remaining, hand out video questions and start the video. Biographical Spotlight drafts are due tomorrow

Conclusion:

- Our next class we will have the laptop cart to write out the spotlight and Letter to the Editor, so make sure you bring both of your drafts!!!

-HW is to make sure that the daft is complete so tomorrow it can be typed up

- Monday off for MLK Day, but Tuesday individual students will be presenting individual delegates to the whole class!

Assessment:

- I will assess students’ progress and understanding by observing them work on their rough drafts and through interactions with them as they work

Self-Reflection:

Day 3: Typing, Peer-Editing

Standards: SS 1.3, SS 1.4, ELA 1.1

Materials:

-biography graphic organizer

-computer cart

-biography info print out

-biography spotlight drafts/letter to the editor drafts

-formative assessment checklist

Objectives: TLW…

-explain the importance of an individual delegate by writing a “Biographical Spotlight”

-summarize and paraphrase the biography and significance of a founding father through research and writing a “Biographical Spotlight”

Introduction:

- Have students grab laptops on their way in and log in

- as computer starts up, get out rough draft. Today we are typing our “Biographical Spotlights”

Teaching Strategies and Accommodation:

- Remind the class what is needed for the spotlight: (1) delegate’s name , (2) dates , (3) what state they represented, (4) prior public experience, (5) their occupation (s), (5) their important contribution to the Constitutional Convention, and (6) one or two fun facts

- have students check their drafts to make sure this information is present

-Have students work individually typing their spotlights. Go around and make sure students are on task

- check student work to make sure they are including necessary information (use formative assessment checklist)

- When students finish have them partner up with someone. Switch chairs. Proofread the other student’s spotlight. Look for misspellings and things that are confusing or don’t make sense.

- After the writing has been proofread and corrected, have the students return to their original desks.

-They can either look for a picture to include with the spotlight (citation needed!) or work on their “Letter to the Editor” if it has not been completed

- Print spotlight and letter when completed

- For students who complete both of these tasks have them take the “Which Founding Father Are You” test (?page=FoundingFatherShort.cfm) and then “Real or Fake?” quiz (?page=RealOrFake.cfm)

Conclusion:

- Monday off for MLK Day, but Tuesday individual students will be presenting individual delegates to the whole class! Tell students to make sure they are prepared on Tuesday to tell their classmates about their founder. Information to be included will be who they were, what state they represented, what important contribution they made to the Constitutional Convention, and at least one fun fact.

Assessment:

- I will assess students’ understanding of their delegates by carousing the classroom and checking on their biographies, making sure they are including all pertinent information

Self-Reflection:

Day 4: Class Presentation: Peer-Teaching

Standards: SS 1.3, SS 1.4, ELA 1.1, ELA 1.2

Materials:

- Rossiter Picture for intro

- Completed “Biography Spotlight”

- Worksheet: Other Delegate information

- Paper sheets with delegate’s pictures for students to use in their presentations

- Markers for students to write on papers for presentation

Objectives: TLW…

-demonstrate their knowledge by coherently explaining information about their delegate to peers

-describe important Founding Fathers by filling in their worksheets during their classmate’s presentations

- appraise and compare delegates by completing the exit slip

Introduction:

-Picture: “Signing of the Constitution” by Thomas P. Rossiter ()

- What do you see in this picture? How does it represent what the Framers were doing?

- Look at the picture behind Washington (rising sun): What does that suggest about what they had created at the convention?

Teaching Strategies and Accommodation:

- Get out Biographical spotlight

- Directions: You and a partner are going to present the delegate you worked on to your classmates. Use the paper I have provided, your biographical spotlights, and markers to create a poster to use in your presentation. Have students with same delegate pair up. You have 10 minutes to create your poster

- Both students (or all three) will have to speak when presenting the information to class

- Pass out worksheet: Other delegate information

- First Presentation:

- The first student should present the delegate’s name, what state they represented, at least one fun fact

- The second should present what important contribution they made to the Constitutional Convention and any other fun facts they have.

-Student audience should be filling in their worksheet with the information provided

- I will help make explanations more concise by restating what the presenters tell their classmates. If they are missing information I will first ask them questions to try to pull it out of them, and if still nothing, I will give the information.

-maybe project the worksheet on the board and I will fill it in as they present

- Order of presentation is thus: Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, George Mason, William Paterson, Edmund Randolph, Roger Sherman, and George Washington

Conclusion:

- With knowledge of who was at the Convention, next the compromises made at the convention will be examined. It was, after all, called a “bundle of compromises”!

- Exit Slips: If you could choose two delegates who were most influential in the creation of the U.S. Constitution, who would they be? Why did you choose those two?

Assessment:

- I will use student presentations (and potentially my own clarifying questions) to assess student understanding of the materials they are describing

- I will assess student ability to describe important Founding Fathers by checking that they complete their worksheets

- I will use exit slips to assess student understanding of the importance of individual delegates

Self-Reflection:

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