Civil War Battle Expert Project

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This project is intended to be an activating project for the Civil War.  Students will each be assigned a battle to research and essentially become the expert on the battle through the creation of a technology based project as well as a battle poster.  After the completeion of the posters they should be displayed within the classroom in chronological order.  This will allow the classroom to see the turning of the tide during the Civil War.  Image retreived from History.com on 2/27/19.https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history 

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Shelly McGowan, Zachary Potteiger, Michael Sterner

English Language Arts, Grade 11, American Dreamers

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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.

Material Type: Unit of Study

English Language Arts, Grade 11, The American Short Story

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In this unit, students will explore great works of American literature and consider how writers reflect the time period in which they write. They will write two literary analysis papers and also work in groups to research and develop anthologies of excellent American stories. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Students read and analyze stories from several 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American authors. After researching a time period, they select stories from that period to create an anthology. The readings enhance their understanding of the short story, increase their exposure to well-known American authors, and allow them to examine the influence of social, cultural, and political context. Students examine elements of short stories and have an opportunity for close reading of several American short stories. During these close readings, they examine the ways that short story writers attempt to explore the greater truths of the American experience through their literature. 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. If you were to write a short story about this decade, what issues might you focus on? What defines a short story? Just length? To what extent do these stories reflect the era or decade in which they were written? To what extent are the themes they address universal? CLASSROOM FILMS History.com has short videos on the Vietnam War (“Vietnam” and “A Soldier's Story”).

Material Type: Unit of Study

Analyzing a Famous Speech

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After gaining skill through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as: What makes the speech an argument?, How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?, and Why are the words still venerated today?

Material Type: Assessment, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Melissa Weeks Noel

Model Diplomacy

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Model Diplomacy is the Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) free multimedia simulation program. It engages students through role-play and case studies to understand the issues, institutions, and challenges of creating and implementing U.S. foreign policy. It is an adaptable interactive resource that promotes independent research, critical thinking, effective communication, and collaborative approaches to problem solving. Model Diplomacy places students in the position of policymakers deliberating hypothetical scenarios based on real issues. Content is informed by CFR experts.

Material Type: Assessment, Case Study, Module, Simulation, Student Guide, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Council on Foreign Relations