Have you ever stopped to think about the incredible risks the Founding Founders took when they rebelled against British authority? They were starting a war with the greatest military power of the time even though they did not have a mighty fighting force themselves. And they were fighting for a type of government that most people thought was impossible. In this video mini-course, Professor Sarah Burns of the Rochester Institute of Technology explains the historical and philosophical context of the American Revolution from the changing role of the British army in the colonies to Radical Whig theory.

On July 4, 1776, our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence to relieve our country of British rule. The colonists were tired of being bossed around by King George. In this seminar you will learn about one of the ways the colonists rebelled against the high taxes from Great Britain--the Boston Tea Party. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to construct support for the Boston Tea Party as a necessary risk taken by the colonists on the road to freedom.Standards5.1.4 D Identify key ideas about government found in significant documents: Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Pennsylvania Constitution

Understanding the constitutional convention is key to better understanding how our government works today. In this lesson student read and watch about the convention. Then, pretend they are a delegate from one of the original states at the convention. Students research about their state and decide what plan would best help their state and how they should vote. Teachers are encourages to hold their own class constitutional convention. 

King George III was not a fair king to those living in the colonies. After the Boston Tea Party, things continued to decline. Eventually, the colonists banded together and wrote the Declaration of Independence. In this seminar you will learn how it was written and who the key players in the writing of the Declaration were. By the end of this seminar you will be able to construct support for why the Declaration of Independence was written and how why this was a responsible risk taken by the founding fathers.Standards5.1.4 D Identify key ideas about government found in significant documents: Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Pennsylvania Constitution5.1.4 C Explain the principles and ideals shaping local and state government.

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In this unit, students will take a look at the historical vision of the American Dream as put together by our Founding Fathers. They will be asked: How, if at all, has this dream changed? Is this dream your dream? First students will participate in an American Dream Convention, acting as a particular historical figure arguing for his or her vision of the American Dream, and then they will write an argument laying out and defending their personal view of what the American Dream should be.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and annotate closely one of the documents that they feel expresses the American Dream.
Students participate in an American Dream Convention, acting as a particular historical figure arguing his or her vision of the American Dream.
Students write a paper, taking into consideration the different points of view in the documents read, answering the question “What is the American Dream now?”
Students write their own argument describing and defending their vision of what the American Dream should be.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

What has been the historical vision of the American Dream?
What should the American Dream be? (What should we as individuals and as a nation aspire to?)
How would women, former slaves, and other disenfranchised groups living during the time these documents were written respond to them?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

In this lesson, students will learn about audience appeal and analyze how Jefferson chose his arguments and his language to appeal to his particular audience.

In this lesson, students will think about what rights the Founders felt that the government should guarantee to its citizens. They'll read and analyze the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

Fractured Union is a 60-minute video that examines the complex and often tumultuous relationships between our founding fathers. Historical interpreters — portraying Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Mason — offer students, in grades 9-12, a close look at the presidents engaged in heated discussions. Commentaries from leading historians show why the first presidents’ perspectives led to heated debates. Our guest historians include: Stuart Leibiger — Associate Professor and Department of History Chairman at La Salle University and author of Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic; Peter Henriques — Associate Professor Emeritus of History at George Mason University and a member of the editorial board for the George Washington Papers and of the Mount Vernon committee of George Washington Scholars; Ed Lengal — Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia and Associate Editor of “The Papers of George Washington”; and William Ferraro — Assistant Editor of “The Papers of George Washington”.

This resource is an engaging way to get your students in U.S. History or U.S. Government thinking about the founding principles of the U.S. Consitutiton. After learning about the basics of the Enlightenment Period and guided principles used in the creation of the U.S. government, students can think critically about topics and create a short satiracal video on TikTok. 

George Washington was the first President of the United States of America. He is often referred to as the “Father of Our Country”. In this seminar you will learn about his life and what led to him becoming president. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to construct support for choosing George Washington as our first President and explain what events in his life made him a leader.Standards5.1.4 D Identify key ideas about government found in significant documents: Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Pennsylvania Constitution5.1.4 C Explain the principles and ideals shaping local and state government.

In this project, you will explore a real-world problem, and then work through a series of steps to analyze that problem, research ways the problem could be solved, then propose a possible solution to that problem. Often, there are no specific right or wrong solutions, but sometimes one particular solution may be better than others. The key is making sure you fully understand the problem, have researched some possible solutions, and have proposed the solution that you can support with information / evidence.Begin by reading the problem statement in Step 1. Take the time to review all the information provided in the statement, including exploring the websites, videos and / or articles that are linked. Then work on steps 2 through 8 to complete this problem-based learning experience.