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Draft / Field Test Edition
March 2006
NYC Department of Education
City Hall Academy
Teacher Resource Materials
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor
Carmen Fariña
Deputy Chancellor for
Teaching and Learning
Laura Kotch
Executive Director
Curriculum and Professional
Development
Anna Commitante
Executive Director,
City Hall Academy
52 Chambers Street
New York, New York 10007
Tel • 212-374-6707
Fax • 212-374-0766
http://schools.nycenet.edu/cityhallacademy/
Unit of Study
(4th & 7th Grade)
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:
FOUNDING WOMEN
March 2006
City Hall Academy is an educational resource center for administrators, teachers
and students in New York City. The academy is dedicated to the dissemination of
best practices in all content areas. City Hall Academy programs demonstrate
teaching and learning models that are academically rigorous, highly engaging,
standards-based and nurture independent inquiry. The Academy facilitates
professional dialogue around the complex issues confronting education in the 21st
century. It serves as a teaching and learning laboratory inspiring a commitment to
excellence and high achievement for all.
Administrative Staff
Anna Commitante (Executive Director)
Regina Shoykhet (Assistant Director)
Angela Hargraves (Special Assistant)
Janet Ramirez (Research Assistant)
IT Staff
Arlene Francis (Instructional Technology Specialist)
Eric Caban (Instructional Technology Assistant)
Jason Dispinziere (Instructional Technology Assistant)
Jose Tajes (Service Technician)
Resident Teachers
Lila Amarasingham (7th grade)
Stephanie Douglas (7th grade)
Norah Lovett (High School)
Julie Schultz-Sterne (4th grade)
Mark Semioli (4th & 7th grade)
Nancy Welch (4th grade)
Source cover art:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/1789/women.html
TABLE OF CONTENTS
March 2006
Our Essential Beliefs................................................................................................................................... 1
Interdisciplinary Models: Literacy and Social Studies as Natural Partners .......................................... 3
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model – An Overview .................................................................................. 5
Action Plan................................................................................................................................................... 7
Teacher Background.................................................................................................................................... 9
Interdisciplinary Unit of Study One-Page Planning Matrix (4th & 7th Grade)...................................... 15
Interdisciplinary Unit of Study Planning Matrix (By Section) (4th & 7th Grade).................................. 16
Additional Materials for Unit Planning................................................................................................... 19
What Does Inquiry Look Like in the Social Studies Classroom? ........................................................... 21
Social Studies Skills .................................................................................................................................. 22
Social Studies Curriculum Map................................................................................................................ 23
Needs of the Learners ............................................................................................................................... 24
Learning and Performance Standards ..................................................................................................... 25
How Can We Evaluate Student Work? .................................................................................................... 26
Balanced Literacy Overview ..................................................................................................................... 27
Parts of a Workshop .................................................................................................................................. 29
Reading Workshop..................................................................................................................................... 31
Writing Workshop ..................................................................................................................................... 32
Shared Reading.......................................................................................................................................... 33
Read Aloud ................................................................................................................................................. 35
Guided Reading ......................................................................................................................................... 37
Cambourne’s Conditions for Learning ..................................................................................................... 39
Principles of Learning ............................................................................................................................... 40
Encouraging Accountable Talk ................................................................................................................. 42
The LearningWalkSM ................................................................................................................................. 43
Correlation to NYS Social Studies Standards (4th & 7th Grades) ........................................................... 44
Correlation to NYS/NYC ELA Standards ................................................................................................ 45
Correlation to Blueprint for Teaching & Learning in the Arts .............................................................. 46
Correlation to Science Standards (4th & 7th Grades) ............................................................................... 47
Templates................................................................................................................................................... 49
Brainstorm Web Template........................................................................................................................ 51
Essential Question Template.................................................................................................................... 52
Focus Question Planner ............................................................................................................................ 52
Weekly Planning Template (4th Grade).................................................................................................... 54
Curriculum Unit Resources ...................................................................................................................... 55
Thinking About Art Template .................................................................................................................. 56
Text Selection Planner to Facilitate Interdisciplinary Connections ...................................................... 57
Picture Book Planning Template.............................................................................................................. 58
Cause-Effect Template .............................................................................................................................. 62
Note-Taking Template .............................................................................................................................. 63
What Does It Mean to SUMMARIZE? ..................................................................................................... 64
What’s the Point?....................................................................................................................................... 65
Paraphrase Activity Sheet ........................................................................................................................ 66
Opinion/Proof Think Sheet ....................................................................................................................... 67
Student Interest Survey............................................................................................................................ 68
Student Post-Visit Survey......................................................................................................................... 70
Student Post-Visit Reflection.................................................................................................................... 71
Post-Residency Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 72
Lesson Plan Structure............................................................................................................................... 73
Content Venn Diagram – General Topic of Study................................................................................... 74
Interdisciplinary Unit of Study Planning Matrix Template................................................................... 75
Video Viewing Guide ................................................................................................................................. 76
Sample 4th & 7th Grade Lesson Plans....................................................................................................... 77
Technology Resources @ CHA................................................................................................................. 127
Resources.................................................................................................................................................. 141
Teacher & Student Resources Used to Develop the Unit (including Works Cited) ............................ 142
Professional Resources ............................................................................................................................ 145
Internet Resources................................................................................................................................... 150
Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................................... 151
March 2006
March 2006
OUR ESSENTIAL BELIEFS
Quality Professional Development…
Is Differentiated – addresses individual and organizational growth
Allows Choice – provides time, space and opportunities for
experimentation, risk-taking and practice
Fosters Responsibility – for teachers’ own learning
Creates Ownership
Nurtures Accountable Conversations
Is Interactive and Hands-On
Results in Clearly Articulated Outcomes – Backward planning process
Values Clear Sense of Purpose and Shared Vision
Makes Connections over Time
Builds a Collaborative Culture
Encourages Reflective Practice
Respects Existing Beliefs & Practices
Is Non-Critical and Supportive
1
Curriculum Resource Guide 2006
March 2006
2
March 2006
INTERDISCIPLINARY MODELS: LITERACY AND SOCIAL STUDIES AS NATURAL PARTNERS
What is interdisciplinary curriculum?
An interdisciplinary curriculum can best be defined as the intentional application of methodology,
practices, language, skills, and processes from more than one academic discipline. It is often
planned around an exploration of an overarching theme, issue, topic, problem, question or concept.
Interdisciplinary practices allow students to create connections between traditionally discrete
disciplines or bodies of content knowledge/skills, thus enhancing their ability to interpret and apply
previous learning to new, related learning experiences.
Planning for units of study with social studies themes as the core, allows teachers to not only make
important connections from one content or discipline to another but also to acquire and apply
understandings of concepts, strategies and skills that transcend specific curricula. An example
would be point of view. We can look at point of view as historians or we can approach point of view
as readers or writers. But essentially the understanding of point of view is the same, regardless of
whether it occurs in a literacy class or a history class.
When teachers actively look for ways to integrate social studies and reading/writing content (when
and where it makes the most sense), the pressure of there not being enough time in the school day to
get all the content covered is removed. We must also begin to think about hierarchy of content and
make smart decisions as to what curricular content is worthy of immersion and knowing versus that
which requires only exposure and familiarity (issues of breadth vs. depth).
With these thoughts in mind, teachers can begin to construct and design curriculum units that allow
students to make use of content and process skills useful in all learning situations.
“We have found activities designed around a unifying concept build on each other, rather than
remaining as fragmented disciplines. We’ve discovered that perhaps it is not necessary to have a
social studies period, a reading period, a language arts period, separate and isolated each day. In
fact, we advocate wrapping the disciplines together. Creating a connection of ideas as well as of
related skills provides opportunities for reinforcement. Additionally, sharp divisions among
disciplines often creates duplication of skills that is seldom generalized by our students. However…
when concepts are developed over a period of time… young people are more likely to grasp the
connections among ideas and to develop and understand broad generalizations.” (Social Studies at
the Center. Integrating, Kids Content and Literacy, Lindquist & Selwyn 2000)
Clearly this type of curricular organization and planning has easier applications for our elementary
schools where one teacher has the responsibility for most content instruction. Understanding that
structures for this kind of work are not the standard in most middle schools (unless we’re talking
about middle schools with Humanities programs), with all content teachers working and planning
together regularly, similar interdisciplinary planning is possible.
Indeed, for schools immersed in reading and writing workshop structures, there are many units of
study that cultivate seamless integration with social studies content. Listed below are some units of
study that work well within a social studies theme framework:
• Non-fiction Reading & Writing
• Feature Article
• Editorial
• Historical Fiction
• Close Reading of Short Text
• Essay Writing
• Response to Literature (Non-fiction)
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For more information and research around integrated or interdisciplinary planning and teaching, see
the work of:
Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Interdisciplinary Design & Implementation, and Mapping the Big
Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment
Robin Fogarty
How to Integrate Curricula: The Mindful School
David B. Ackerman
Intellectual & Practical Criteria for Successful Curriculum Integration
Davis N. Perkins
Knowledge by Design
Grant Wiggins &
Jay McTighe
Understanding by Design
Harvey Daniels &
Steven Zemelman
Subjects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to Content Area Reading
Stephanie Harvey
Nonfiction Matters. Reading, Writing and Research in Grades 3-8
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THE SCHOOLWIDE ENRICHMENT MODEL – AN OVERVIEW1
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model is a research-based plan for school restructuring designed by
Joseph Renzulli. Originally developed as a program for Gifted & Talented students, the plan has
successfully been implemented in very diverse school settings in an attempt to improve and enrich
the learning of all students.
While the Schoolwide Enrichment Model consists of many interacting dimensions and components,
those most visible in the interdisciplinary practices at City Hall Academy are:
1
•
Instructional practices that improve the academic performance of all students in all areas of
the regular curriculum and to blend standard curriculum activities with meaningful
enrichment learning. Enrichment Learning & Teaching seeks to provide students with
increased opportunities for active engagement with their learning. Enrichment learning &
teaching also respects and takes advantage of each learner’s unique strengths, abilities and
learning styles.
•
The development of the talent potentials of young people by assessing their strengths,
abilities and interests (see publication Total Talent Portfolio, Renzulli & Purcell). Through
the use of the Total Talent Portfolio, teachers are able to collect, classify, review, analyze,
and ultimately decide on which illustrative documents, performance behaviors, learning
preferences and identified talents/skills/interests, best reflect each individual learner.
•
The promotion of continuous, reflective, growth-oriented professionalism of school
personnel to encourage teachers to take ownership of curriculum design, planning and
delivery. By building a culture of collegiality and collaboration, in addition to developing and
sustaining meaningful professional development, teachers are constantly learning, informing
and improving their practice.
•
The introduction and implementation of Enrichment activities that are infused throughout
the traditional curriculum. By reviewing and analyzing the enclosed Interdisciplinary
Unit of Study Planning Matrix, a teacher’s attempt to plan and organize teaching and
learning around the three types of enrichment activities can be clearly articulated.
•
To nurture an open, respectful, and collaborative learning community. When teachers
work, think and plan in an environment and culture that promotes reflection,
thoughtfulness, professionalism, caring, inquiry, risk-taking and enthusiasm for learning,
these attitudes and ethics toward teaching and learning are transferred to the students they
interact with every day.
Adapted from Total Talent Portfolio. A Systematic Plan to Identify and Nurture Gifts and Talents, Jeanne
Purcell & Joseph Renzulli (1998).
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As this overview represents a summary of a very large and impressive body of work, we encourage
you to consult the following sources:
The Enrichment Triad Model, J. Renzulli (1977)
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model. A How-to Guide for Educational Excellence, Renzulli & Reis
(1997)
Schools for Talent Development. A Practical Plan for Total School Improvement, Renzulli (1994)
Developing the Gifts & Talents of All Students in The Regular Classroom. An Innovative Curricular
Design Based on the Enrichment Triad Model, M. Beecher (1995)
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ACTION PLAN
Planning for an Inquiry Unit in Social Studies
•
Select the unit or topic (this can be a unit of study as identified by the New York State Core
Curriculum Guide for your grade). Examples: Colonial America, The American Revolution, The
Harlem Renaissance, The Civil War, etc.
•
Engage in a brainstorming session and chart the results in a “web.”
•
Decide on Essential Questions. An essential question can be defined as a question that asks
students to think beyond the literal. An essential question is multi-faceted and is open to
discussion and interpretation. The essential question for the City Hall Academy unit of study on
The American Revolution: Founding Women is “What Does it Mean to be Free?”
•
Develop a series of Focus Questions or Guiding Questions. These questions can be
developed with students before beginning a unit of study. Think about your goals and
objectives for students when formulating the Focus or Guiding Questions. For example, one
of the goals of our unit was to promote student awareness of the complexities of the first
encounters between Native Americans and the early explorers and settlers. Therefore, one of
our focus questions was, “What were the successes and failures of the first encounters?”
•
Use the Interdisciplinary Unit of Study Planning Matrix2 (p. 10-11). Feel free to adapt this
model to suit your needs and purposes.
•
Select and plan for lessons and activities that introduce, build and engage students with content
knowledge, concept, skill, etc. that address your Focus Questions in some way.
•
Plan extension activities that challenge students to deepen their understanding through inquiry
and application, analysis, synthesis, etc. of knowledge, concept, and skill (Process Training
Lessons) to address the specific skills that you want students to acquire.
•
Suggest a variety of culminating activities for independent or small group investigations that
allow students to create, share, or extend knowledge while capitalizing on student interests that
will allow for independent interest-based inquiries.
•
Begin to assemble appropriate, multi-dimensional and varied resources such as:
o human resources (guest speakers, experts, artists, performers, etc.)
o books (all genre of quality literature – non-fiction, historical fiction, trade books,
poetry, etc. that relate to your unit theme)
o magazines, articles, encyclopedias, atlases, quality textbooks, etc.
o Videos, DVD’s, music, art, artifacts, posters, internet, etc.
2
•
Research and review appropriate on-line and multi-media resources that relate to your unit
theme. Compile a list.
•
Research possible Field Trips and relationships with cultural institutions, arts museums and
organizations, CBO’s, etc.
Adapted from Margaret Beecher, Developing the Gifts & Talents of all Students: An Innovative Curricular
Design Based on the Enrichment Triad Model.
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•
Make a list of student outcomes. Consider what content the students will learn, processes
for that learning (what they will do) and the desired student affective understandings.
•
Decide on various types of assessments to meet the needs of all learners.
•
Choose an appropriate celebration or culminating activity to validate and honor student
learning and projects.
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TEACHER BACKGROUND
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: FOUNDING WOMEN
Marching toward Independence
Prior to the two decades preceding the American Revolution, the Thirteen colonies had a peaceful, if
distant, relationship with England. Differing viewpoints about colonial rights versus Great Britain’s
rights caused little trouble before the 1750s. England grew rich from colonial trade, while the
colonists followed their own interests and developed new ways of life. However, the French and
Indian War changed that.
French and British raiding parties clashed along the western frontier of North America, fighting for
control of the entire western frontier. Both the British and French believed the loss of colonies
would hurt them politically and economically. The French wanted complete control of the frontier
lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. By 1754, the British and French became engaged in what
was known in America as the French and Indian War and in Europe as the Seven Years’ War. When
France and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France lost most of its land to Great Britain.
Great Britain began to take firmer control of its colonies. It closed the frontier to explorers, keeping
the colonists along the Atlantic and protecting the Native Americans from losing their land. British
leaders needed to settle war debts and to protect newly won lands. King George was young and not
well educated. Few members of Parliament understood colonial issues and ideas. Amassing an
empire left Great Britain with huge debts and many in England thought the colonists should help
pay those debts.
Parliament passed the Revenue Act, also known as the Sugar Act in 1764. It raised money by
placing a duty on molasses from the West Indies. The Sugar Act differed from earlier acts because
this one was to raise money, not to control colonial trade with Britain. (Colonial merchants had been
able to avoid the impact of earlier trade acts by smuggling goods into the colonies and bribing
officials.) The colonists were opposed to the Sugar Act. They did not want to be taxed to help pay
Britain’s debts.
In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act requiring stamps to be placed on all legal documents
(wills, marriage licenses, etc.). Stamp taxes were not new, but colonists resented that Parliament
ordered it. They accepted Great Britain’s right to tax trade within the empire, but drew the line at
internal taxes - those levied directly on the colonists. The Stamp Act was an internal tax because it
had nothing to do with trade. To the colonists, this was more taxation without representation.
Parliament also introduced the Quartering Act (1765), ordering the colonies to provide British troops
with food and places to live.
Great Britain’s actions stunned many colonists. They could not believe that Parliament wanted to
govern them without their consent. Colonists began to speak about British tyranny and to question
the authority of Parliament in colonial affairs. Delegates from nine colonies met to form the Stamp
Act Congress in October 1765. They wrote letters to the King and Parliament declaring loyalty, but
also that only elected representatives in the colonial assemblies had the right to tax the colonies. At
this point, they did not mention independence.
Resistance to the Stamp Act quickly spread. The Sons of Liberty insisted Parliament repeal the
Stamp Act. Merchants signed non-importation agreements. Threats of being “tarred and feathered”
by the Sons of Liberty convinced colonial merchants to cooperate in the boycotts. Colonial women
stopped buying British cloth, and wove their own. Violence erupted.
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News of the protests in the colonies were debated in Parliament. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
but also then passed the Declaratory Act which stated that Parliament could make laws to control
the colonists.
The Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, imposed duties on certain goods the colonies imported from
Great Britain. Knowing that the duties would have to be enforced, Parliament made an example of
New York, the headquarters for British troops. Because New York refused to obey the Quartering
Act, their assembly was not allowed to pass any more laws until the colony complied with the act.
The colonists were shocked by Great Britain’s open challenge to their right to self-govern. Sons of
Liberty in New York and New England vowed to protect this right and once again colonists raised
the cry of “no taxation without representation.”
In 1768, British officials moved 4,000 armed troops into Boston, angering many of the colonists. The
colonists claimed that the soldiers would take away American liberties and collect unlawful taxes.
One evening a mob of men and boys threw snowballs and ice at some British soldiers. The soldiers
panicked and fired. Five colonists died in what the colonists called the Boston Massacre. Paul
Revere stirred up colonial reaction with an engraving of the scene that exaggerated what had really
happened.
Colonial boycott of British goods caused Britain’s colonial trade to drop by 1/3. By taxing British
imports such as glass and paint, Parliament inadvertently encouraged the Americans to develop
their own industries. British merchants urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts and Britain
agreed, dropping all the Townshend duties except the tax on tea. For a time, the colonists and the
British seemed willing to put aside disagreements and British goods flowed into colonial ports.
Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773, which allowed the East India Company to sell tea
directly to the colonists instead of going through the colonial merchants, but the import tax on tea
still had to be paid. Even with the import tax, the East India Company could lower their tea prices
below what was charged by colonial merchants and smugglers. Britain thought they were helping
both the company and the colonies. The colonists felt that the unfair price advantage given to the
company would drive colonial tea merchants out of business. Colonial resentment of the Tea Act
astonished Parliament. The colonists refused to buy tea and sometimes shipped it back to Britain.
On the evening of December 16, 1773 a group of colonists calling themselves “Sons of Liberty” dressed
up as Native Americans and threw 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor. This event became known
as the Boston Tea Party.
The colonists did not have to wait long for British reaction to the Boston Tea Party. British leaders
felt they had to bring the American colonies under control. In March 1774, Parliament passed a
series of laws, called the Coercive Acts, which the colonists thought were unbearable. They called
these acts the Intolerable Acts.
Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia in 1774 at the First Continental Congress. The
delegates disagreed because some wanted to move cautiously, while others wanted to take bold
actions. Some were still loyal to the British empire and respected the British government. Sam
Adams led the delegates to take a stronger stand. The congress urged people to arm themselves and
ready their militia. They sent a letter to King George III asking him to stop punishing Boston and
restore peace between the colonies and Britain. The delegates also agreed to end colonial trade with
Great Britain until Parliament repealed the Intolerable Acts.
By the time the delegates returned home, most of them not only questioned Parliament’s right to tax
them, but also its right to rule them. This was a revolutionary point of view. The delegates still
avoided declaring independence. They hoped the king would listen to them. King George merely
ridiculed them and sent more troops to the colonies.
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Tensions mounted during the winter and spring of 1774-1775. Parliament refused to repeal the
Intolerable Acts. Minutemen organized in many towns and villages. Women continued to boycott
British goods. By April 1775, Boston was ready to explode. British General Gage had orders to seize
colonial military supplies in Concord and to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock. When some
colonists found out about Gage’s orders, Adams and Hancock fled from where they were hiding in
Lexington. 700 British soldiers tried to leave Boston unnoticed but lost their element of surprise. On
the morning of April 19, 1775 the colonists saw the red coats and bayonets. In the confusion a shot
rang out. The British opened fire. By the time the British reached Concord, the countryside
swarmed with minutemen. The British searched Concord for military supplies, but the colonists had
already moved them. By the time the redcoats were ready to return to Boston, 274 redcoats were
dead or wounded.
The Second Continental Congress formed the Continental Army, with George Washington as
commander. The delegates encouraged the colonial governments to draw up new constitutions so
that if war came, the colonies would have governments in place. They wrote the Olive Branch
petition asking King George III to repeal the Intolerable Acts. King George declared the colonies in
rebellion. Parliament ordered a blockade of all the colonial ports and sent 30,000 German
mercenaries (Hessians) to help control the colonists. These actions strengthened the colonial will to
fight for their freedom.
While the Second Continental Congress debated in Philadelphia, American soldiers streamed into
Boston. They wanted to strike back at the British for the attacks at Lexington and Concord.
Mistakenly called the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Americans moved on the British at Breed’s Hill, just
outside of Boston. Although it was a British victory, fierce fighting by the colonists surprised the
British.
Though battles had taken place, the colonists still had not committed themselves to a war with
Britain in the early months of 1776. Thomas Paine published Common Sense, which sold more than
120,000 copies in two months. It said that the time had come for the colonies to part with the British
king, persuading many to give up their loyalty to the king in favor of American independence.
Then, by early July 1776, after delegates to the Second Continental Congress had long
disagreements and debates, they voted for independence. The Declaration began by saying that it
was “necessary” for Americans to cut their political ties with Great Britain, and then it summarized
the principles to which Americans were committed. The document explained that people form
governments to protect their rights. If a government fails to protect these rights, the people have the
duty to overthrow the government. The Declaration of Independence severed the ties of the
American colonies with Great Britain. The shots at Lexington and Concord were now considered to
be the first shots of revolution.
British advantages at the beginning of the war seemed overwhelming. Great Britain had four times
as many people than lived in the 13 colonies. Its army was well trained, and its navy ruled the seas.
The king and Parliament were in firm command of British actions and decisions. The American
government was divided among 13 colonial assemblies. They did not think of themselves as united
under a single government. George Washington and an army of poorly equipped, short-term soldiers
were pitted against the entire British empire.
The Americans had some advantages. They fought on familiar ground, while British lines of
communication were stretched to the breaking point, it took up to a month for British troops,
supplies, and orders to travel across the Atlantic, few British citizens volunteered to serve in the
army and the king and Parliament misjudged the Americans. They did not realize the Patriots’
commitment to the revolution. Americans were fighting for a different form of government, a
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republic in which the citizens elect representatives to manage the government. Women took on
additional burdens of home and business. They ran family farms and kept businesses going. They
raised money to feed and clothe the army. Thousands of women stayed with their husbands in
military camps and a few fought on the battlefields.
The Continental Army had many problems, such as too few soldiers, low morale, lack of money,
gunpowder, and supplies. General Washington held them together by insisting upon organization
and discipline. Washington planned a daring strike against the British in New Jersey. They decided
to capture Trenton, which was guarded by 900 Hessians. During the night of December 25, 1776,
Washington led his soldiers across the Delaware River in brutal conditions. The Hessians were
completely surprised. They surrendered without a fight on December 26th. Washington had scored a
quick victory, proving to the Patriots that the Continental Army was still alive.
One of the advantages for the Americans was the great amount of land the British had to capture to
win. The British tried three different strategies to defeat the Americans. First, they attempted to
capture Washington and destroy the Continental Army. Second, they devised a plan to conquer New
York, thus dividing the New England and mid-Atlantic colonies. Finally, the British tried to gain
control of the Southern states. All three of these strategies failed.
American victory at Saratoga was a turning point of the war. France began to openly send money
and supplies. No major battles were fought for more than a year after Saratoga. Washington’s army
camped at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778 and the hardships at Valley Forge revealed
the problems the Continental Congress had in getting money for the war.
France wanted to embarrass the British by helping the Americans win. They had been sending
supplies to the Patriots. Benjamin Franklin persuaded the French to sign a treaty recognizing
American independence and in June 1778 France declared war against Britain. Britain then had to
fight in both North America and Europe. The American Revolution became a world conflict. France
sent money and supplies that were desperately needed. Spain and the Netherlands allied with
France against the British and also sent aid.
The French fleet arrived off Chesapeake Bay in September 1781, cutting off a British Fleet sailing
south to help British General Cornwallis. On September 28, 1781 the French and American troops
surrounded Yorktown. The British could not retreat by sea and they surrendered on October 19th.
The British still controlled New York City and did not leave Charles Town until 1782, but except for
a few minor skirmishes, the Revolutionary War had ended.
Ben Franklin headed a delegation to negotiate peace with Great Britain and the Treaty of Paris was
signed on September 3, 1783. Americans had won the right to form their own government. Now
they had to decide what shape their new republic would take.
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AMERICAN REVOLUTION TIMELINE
Feel free to enlarge and reproduce the timeline for your students.
1609 – Henry Hudson arrives in what is now called New York Harbor.
1624 – The first Dutch colonists arrive in New Amsterdam.
1626 – The first eleven enslaved Africans arrive in New Amsterdam.
1664 – The British take New Amsterdam and rename it New York.
1763 – The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War and gives England all of North
American.
1764 – Britain passes the Sugar Act, the Sugar Act taxes sugar and prohibits the colonies from
issuing paper money.
1765 – Sons of Liberty is formed.
1765 – Britain passes the Stamp Act.
1765 – The Quartering Act is passed and forces colonists to provide housing for soldiers.
1766 – St. Paul’s Chapel is completed.
1768 – A meeting at Fraunces Tavern creates the New York Chamber of Commerce.
1768 – English troops arrive in Boston to enforce the new laws.
1770 – The Boston Massacre takes place.
1773 – The Tea Act allows East India Tea Company to sell tea for less than American merchants.
1773 – The Boston Tea Party takes place.
1773 – Mercy Otis Warran’s play, The Defeat, is published.
1773 – Phyllis Wheatley publishes Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral .
1774 – England closes the port of Boston.
1774 – The New York Tea Party takes place.
1775 – The American Revolution begins on April 19th.
1776 – Phyllis Wheatley honors George Washington’s appointment as commander–in–chief with a
poem, “Ode to George Washington”.
1776 – George Washington’s army arrives in New York City.
1776 – New Yorkers use statue of King George III for musket balls.
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1776 – Margaret Corbin takes the place of her husband on the battlefield of Fort Washington after
he is killed.
1776 – An immense British fleet anchors in New York Harbor.
1776 – Washington is defeated in Brooklyn and escapes with his troops to Harlem.
1776 – Washington, in an attempt to secure New York, is defeated by the British again at Fort
Washington.
1776 – New York falls under British control and will remain so for 7 years.
1776 – A fire breaks out in New York City and burns down one third of the city.
1778 – Deborah Sampson enlists in the American army as Robert Shirtliffe.
1779 – Margaret Corbin is awarded a military pension.
1781 – The Revolution is won by America.
1783 – The United States and England sign a peace treaty.
1783 – A large exodus of Loyalists and free blacks takes place in New York City.
1789 – George Washington becomes the first president of the United States. New York City serves
as temporary capital.
1791 – Mercy Otis Warren publishes The History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the
American Revolution.
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INTERDISCIPLINARY UNIT OF STUDY 1-PAGE PLANNING MATRIX (4TH & 7TH GRADE)
Focus Questions
1. What were the causes of the
American Revolution?
2. Who were the key players?
3. What was the role of women at
this time?
4. What resources were available
to the Patriots? Loyalists?
5. How did the American
Revolution change women’s
roles?
6. How did the war change lives in
the colonies for everyone?
Content:
The student will:
• Understand the causes and
effects that led up to the
American Revolution
• Describe the experiences and
the roles of women at this
time
• Comprehend the impact of
war on all aspects of life
Process:
The student will:
• Construct an annotated
timeline of the era
• Develop analytical thinking
skills; synthesize; make
evaluative judgments
• Acquire a context of the times
of early NY
Attitudes and Attributes:
The student will:
, Gain an appreciation for the
role that women played in
events leading up to, during
and after the American
Revolution
independent thinking
I. Initial activities that introduce, build and
engage students with content knowledge,
concept, skill
Disciplines
Literacy

Math/
Science

Read diary excerpts of colonial women
Read letters of Abigail Adams and others
Read women’s spy letters
Read Midnight Ride of Paul Revere – Longfellow
Read Phillis Wheatley poetry
Introduce Anne Rinaldi author study
Explore an Interest Center for American Girl series
(Felicity)
Explore an Interest Center for American Revolution
Study (causes/battles/key players)
Read important political documents
Recite Revolutionary/Colonial Ballads
Read picture books of colonial/revolutionary era
Choose an historically accurate colonial character to
research
Study natural resources for homes/food/clothing
Identify various colonial medicines
Simulate the spread of disease (dysentery, inoculation)
Investigate weapons and tools used during the
revolution
Examine colonial currency
Archaeologist visit
Examine sequence of Revolutionary events
Triangle Trade – penny simulation (cross-grade
teaching opportunity)
Introduce how spies operated during the revolution
Explore content area work station on electricity
Examine blueprints and scale models
II. Extension activities that challenge students
to deepen their understanding through inquiry
and application, analysis, synthesis, etc. of
knowledge, concept, skill

Social
Studies
•
Explore the Intolerable Acts and identify other causes
of the American Revolution
Introduce daily life during the colonial era
Preview Colonial schoolroom activity (simulation)
Examine women as indentured servants/Roles of
black women/Native American women
Use “name splash” to select a colonial woman to
further research
Read about women soldiers/spies
Identify famous women of Revolutionary era
Guest visits (archaeologist, historian, notable women)
Read about how women ‘fought’ the war
Exposure to Patriots vs. Loyalist views
Walking tour of historic lower Manhattan
Visits to Fraunces Tavern, Morris Jumel Mansion,
Gracie Mansion

Examine political cartoons of the times
View Portraits of Colonial Era (Stuart, Peale)
Study images of George Washington and other key
figures
Learn about clothing design & patterns
Observe designs on currency
Examine flags of the Revolutionary era
View quilt designs of colonial era
Listen to songs of revolutionary era
Learn colonial dances
Observe narrative trends in visual art
Decipher meanings of colonial signs

Collect internet images relating to colonial women
Research and catalogue images
Watch video segments about the Revolutionary era

•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Arts
Technology

Unit of Study: The American Revolution: Founding Women
Essential Question: What does it mean to be free?

Compare and contrast lives of women based on their
diaries and letters
Practice letter writing skills as primary
communication
Make inferences from colonial letters about daily life
Write narrative poetry and ballads
Analyze poetry of Wheatley for political content and
write essay
Participate in historical fiction books clubs
Compare and contrast important political documents
(Declaration of Independence and others)
Evaluate parts of a picture book
Research a colonial character and engage in letter
writing between colonial characters
Write point of view letters (as a patriot or loyalist)
Investigate and replicate patterns in clothing/
architecture/furnishings/artifacts
Preserve food employing colonial techniques
Read and replicate colonial recipes
Research a medicinal herb garden and tell how each herb
was used
Deduce how diseases are transmitted
Create a PSA about colonial disease prevention
Compare and contrast weapons of then and now
Compare currency from different colonies
Participate in bartering simulation
Calculate exchange rate of currency
Create a timeline of Revolutionary events
Design a map of the colonies identifying
patriot/loyalist/neutral
Conduct invisible ink experiment
Practice writing in code
Conduct an experiment using electricity
Create scale models of Revolutionary landscapes (forts,
ships)
Compare & contrast the intolerable acts and evaluate effects
Describe/illustrate aspects of daily life
Recreate colonial chores by churning butter carding wool (“A
Day in the Life of a Colonial Woman”)
Compare and contrast school then and now
Analyze and create a poster that highlights roles of women
Analyze and investigate artifacts that reveal roles of women
Debate with views of both Patriot & Loyalist
Design a one page fact sheet for tour of lower Manhattan
Reflective writing about Morris Jumel mansion, Fraunces
Tavern, Gracie Mansion trips
Create Lists→5 most important causes of American
Revolution
Compare and contrast with one other revolution (French,
etc)
III. Culminating activities for independent or
small group investigations that allow students
to create, share or extend knowledge while
capitalizing on student interests

Design a monument to women
Create a large scale map noting important battles of
the American Revolution
Plan and plant an herb garden using plants and herbs
from the time
Design a new school wide currency
Create a medicinal herb dictionary or illustrated book

Presentation & dramatization of ‘Day in the Life’ roles
Conduct a letter-writing campaign to public official re:
commemorative tile honoring women’s roles in the
Revolution
Create a colonial survival brochure
Write and illustrate a children’s book (about a
Revolutionary topic)
Compile a colonial recipe book noting contributions of
all groups (women, blacks, etc.)
Hold a job fair to highlight non-traditional occupations
for women
Deliver an oral presentation on the importance and
significance of the Declaration of Independence today
Resources Needed
Design political cartoon from Patriot or Loyalist point of
view
Sketch colonial portraits
Compare & contrast the many images of George Washington
Design colonial currency
Design flag commemorating women
Create a quilt design
Perform songs and dances of the Revolutionary era
Create puppets of colonial figures
Create paper dolls of colonial women
Create narrative paintings about an aspect of the American
Revolution
Design colonial store signs reflecting occupations of women

Take digital pictures on archaeological walk
Photograph historical sites of lower Manhattan
Use images and word processing to create
presentations about Revolutionary Women
Make inferences about daily life from video segments
“What would you recommend?” - Based on video
segments, decide courses of action for key
Revolutionary battles
Practice effective internet research

Plan an event for Women’s History Month highlighting
women of the American Revolution
Letter-writing campaign petition for a commemorative
sidewalk tile
Create mystery boxes
Design a child-friendly brochure for the Morris Jumel
Mansion
Write a chapter for an American History textbook
about the role of women
Design a commemorative poster about women during
the revolution
Invite visitors to the “Day in the Life” simulation
Create a tri-fold exhibit panel to highlight important
contributions of women
Reproduce one-page fact sheet for lower Manhattan
tour and distribute to schools
Design a commemorative sidewalk tile
Create a new flag design for new nation – USA 3000
Invent a new dollar bill for the new nation
Devise a postage stamp to honor women of the
American Revolution
Design colonial women postcards
Perform a puppet show
Design a Power Point presentation on colonial women
Create digital archives of women during the American
revolution
Invent colonial women digital postcards

Andi Stix binder – American Revolution
The American Revolution by M. Metzger
Timeline of American Revolution
Events and Outcomes Series – American
Revolution
Moments in History – American
Revolution
If You Lived At the Time of the American
Revolution
Letters of John and Abigail Adams
Outrageous Women
Archaeologist visit
Trip to Fraunces Tavern
Morris Jumel Mansion
Museum of the City of New York
New York Historical Society
Brooklyn Historical Society
The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by Dorothea
Jensen
Guns for General Washington: A Story of
the American Revolution by Seymour Reit
Fishing Becca: A Story about Peggy
Shepper and Benedict Arnold
The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin
The Secret Soldier by Ann McGovern
A History of Us. Book 3 by Joy Hakim
Foreign-Born Champions of the American
Revolution by Jeremy Thornton
The American Revolution Ed. By E.D
Hirsch, Jr.
America in the Time of George Washington
Important People of the Revolutionary War
by Diane Smolinski
If You Were There When They Signed The
Constitution by Elizabeth Levy
Samuels Choice by Richard Belleth
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
A Ride into Morning by Ann Rinaldi
Glorious Days, Dreadful Days by Phillipa
Kirby
Profiles Revolutionary War: Photo History
Activity Book.
Student Assessment
Rubric for Writing Assignments
Scoring Rubric for designs of dollar bills or flags
Checklist of Criteria for oral and dramatic
presentations
Rubrics for group work & accountable talk
Student self-scoring self evaluation cards
Post unit assessment
Grades/evaluations of written reports
Trip & guest presenter reflections
Close observation of student work and group
dynamics
Student conferences
15
March 2006
INTERDISCIPLINARY UNIT OF STUDY PLANNING MATRIX (BY SECTION)
Focus Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What were the causes of the
American Revolution?
Who were the key players?
What was the role of women at this
time?
What resources were available to
the Patriots? Loyalists?
How did the American Revolution
change women’s roles?
How did the war change lives in
the colonies for everyone?
Content:
The student will:
• Understand the causes and effects
that led up to the American
Revolution
• Describe the experiences and the
roles of women at this time
• Comprehend the impact of war on all
aspects of life
Process:
The student will:
• Construct an annotated timeline of
the era
• Develop analytical thinking skills;
synthesize; make evaluative
judgments
• Acquire a context of the time
I. Initial activities that introduce, build and engage
students with content knowledge, concept, skill, etc.
Disciplines
Literacy
Math/
Science
Social
Studies
The student will:
• Gain an appreciation for the role
that women played in events leading
up to, during and after the American
Revolution
The Arts
Technology
4th & 7th Grade

Read diary excerpts of colonial women
Read letters of Abigail Adams and others
Read women’s spy letters
Read Midnight Ride of Paul Revere – Longfellow
Read Phillis Wheatley poetry
Introduce Anne Rinaldi author study
Explore an Interest Center for American Girl series (Felicity)
Explore an Interest Center for American Revolution Study
(causes/battles/key players)
Read important political documents
Recite Revolutionary/Colonial Ballads
Read picture books of colonial/revolutionary era
Choose an historically accurate colonial character to research
Study natural resources for homes/food/clothing
Identify various colonial medicines
Simulate the spread of disease (dysentery, inoculation)
Investigate weapons and tools used during the revolution
Examine colonial currency
Archaeologist visit
Examine sequence of Revolutionary events
Triangle Trade – penny simulation (cross-grade teaching
opportunity)
Introduce how spies operated during the revolution
Explore content area work station on electricity
Examine blueprints and scale models
Explore the Intolerable Acts and identify other causes of the
American Revolution
Introduce daily life during the colonial era
Preview Colonial schoolroom activity (simulation)
Examine women as indentured servants/Roles of black
women/Native American women
Use “name splash” to select a colonial woman to further research
Read about women soldiers/spies
Identify famous women of Revolutionary era
Guest visits (archaeologist, historian, notable women)
Read about how women ‘fought’ the war
Exposure to Patriots vs. Loyalist views
Walking tour of historic lower Manhattan
Visits to Fraunces Tavern, Morris Jumel Mansion, Gracie Mansion
Examine political cartoons of the times
View Portraits of Colonial Era (Stuart, Peale)
Study images of George Washington and other key figures
Learn about clothing design & patterns
Observe designs on currency
Examine flags of the Revolutionary era
View quilt designs of colonial era
Listen to songs of revolutionary era
Learn colonial dances
Observe narrative trends in visual art
Decipher meanings of colonial signs
Collect internet images relating to colonial women
Research and catalogue images
Watch video segments about the Revolutionary era
16
March 2006
Unit of Study: The American Revolution: Founding Women
Essential Question: What does it mean to be free?
Disciplines
Literacy
Math/
Science
II. Extension activities that challenge
students to deepen their understanding
through inquiry and application, analysis,
synthesis, etc. of
Compare and contrast lives of women
based on their diaries and letters
Practice letter writing skills as primary
communication
Make inferences from colonial letters
about daily life
Write narrative poetry and ballads
Analyze poetry of Wheatley for political
content and write essay
Participate in historical fiction books
clubs
Compare and contrast important
political documents (Declaration of
Independence and others)
Evaluate parts of a picture book
Research a colonial character and
engage in letter writing between
colonial characters
Write point of view letters (as a patriot
or loyalist)
Investigate and replicate patterns in
clothing/
architecture/furnishings/artifacts
Preserve food employing colonial
techniques
Read and replicate colonial recipes
Research a medicinal herb garden and
tell how each herb was used
Deduce how diseases are transmitted
Create a PSA about colonial disease
prevention
Compare and contrast weapons of then
and now
Compare currency from different
colonies
Participate in bartering simulation
Calculate exchange rate of currency
Create a timeline of Revolutionary
events
Design a map of the colonies identifying
patriot/loyalist/neutral
Conduct invisible ink experiment
Practice writing in code
Conduct an experiment using electricity
Create scale models of Revolutionary
landscapes (forts, ships)
III. Culminating activities for
independent or small group investigations
that allow students to create, share, or
extend knowledge while capitalizing on
student interests
Presentation & dramatization of ‘Day
in the Life’ roles
Conduct a letter-writing campaign to
public official re: commemorative tile
honoring women’s roles in the
Revolution
Create a colonial survival brochure
Write and illustrate a children’s book
(about a Revolutionary topic)
Compile a colonial recipe book noting
contributions of all groups (women,
blacks, etc.)
Hold a job fair to highlight nontraditional occupations for women
Deliver an oral presentation on the
importance and significance of the
Declaration of Independence today
Design a monument to women
Create a large scale map noting
important battles of the American
Revolution
Plan and plant an herb garden using
plants and herbs from the time
Design a new school wide currency
Create a medicinal herb dictionary or
illustrated book
Resources Needed
Andi Stix binder – American
Revolution
The American Revolution by M.
Metzger
Timeline of American
Revolution
Events and Outcomes Series –
American Revolution
Moments in History – American
Revolution
If You Lived At the Time of the
American Revolution
Letters of John and Abigail
Adams
Outrageous Women
Archaeologist visit
Trip to Fraunces Tavern
Museum of the City of New York
New York Historical Society
Brooklyn Historical Society
The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by
Dorothea Jensen
Guns for General Washington: A
Story of the American
Revolution by Seymour Reit
Fishing Becca: A Story about
Peggy Shepper and Benedict
Arnold
The Secret of Sarah Revere by
Ann Rinaldi
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry
Griffin
The Secret Soldier by Ann
McGovern
A History of Us. Book 3 by Joy
Hakim
Foreign-Born Champions of the
American Revolution by Jeremy
Thornton
The American Revolution Ed.
By E.D Hirsch, Jr.
America in the Time of George
Washington
Important People of the
Revolutionary War by Diane
Smolinski
If You Were There When They
Signed The Constitution by
Elizabeth Levy
Samuels Choice by Richard
Belleth
Black Heroes of the American
Revolution by Burke Davis
A Ride into Morning by Ann
Rinaldi
Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
by Phillipa Kirby
Profiles Revolutionary War:
Photo History Activity Book.
17
Disciplines
Social
Studies
The Arts
Technology
March 2006
II. Extension activities that challenge
students to deepen their understanding
through inquiry and application, analysis,
synthesis, etc. of
Compare & contrast the intolerable acts
and evaluate effects
Describe/illustrate aspects of daily life
Recreate colonial chores by churning
butter carding wool (“A Day in the Life
of a Colonial Woman”)
Compare and contrast school then and
now
Analyze and create a poster that
highlights roles of women
Analyze and investigate artifacts that
reveal roles of women
Debate with views of both Patriot &
Loyalist
Design a one page fact sheet for tour of
lower Manhattan
Reflective writing about Morris Jumel
mansion, Fraunces Tavern, Gracie
Mansion trips
Create Lists→5 most important causes
of American Revolution
Compare and contrast with one other
revolution (French, etc)
Design political cartoon from Patriot or
Loyalist point of view
Sketch colonial portraits
Compare & contrast the many images
of George Washington
Design colonial currency
Design flag commemorating women
Create a quilt design
Perform songs and dances of the
Revolutionary era
Create puppets of colonial figures
Create paper dolls of colonial women
Create narrative paintings about an
aspect of the American Revolution
Design colonial store signs reflecting
occupations of women
Take digital pictures on archaeological
walk
Photograph historical sites of lower
Manhattan
Use images and word processing to
create presentations about
Revolutionary Women
Make inferences about daily life from
video segments
“What would you recommend?” - Based
on video segments, decide courses of
action for key Revolutionary battles
Practice effective internet research
independent or small group investigations
that allow students to create, share, or
extend knowledge while capitalizing on
student interests
Plan an event for Women’s History
Month highlighting women of the
American Revolution
Letter-writing campaign petition for a
commemorative sidewalk tile
Create mystery boxes
Design a child-friendly brochure for the
Write a chapter for an American
History textbook about the role of
women
Design a commemorative poster about
women during the revolution
Invite visitors to the “Day in the Life”
simulation
Create a tri-fold exhibit panel to
highlight important contributions of
women
Reproduce one-page fact sheet for lower
Manhattan tour and distribute to
schools
Design a commemorative sidewalk tile
Create a new flag design for new nation
– USA 3000
Invent a new dollar bill for the new
nation
Devise a postage stamp to honor women
of the American Revolution
Design colonial women postcards
Perform a puppet show
Design a Power Point presentation on
colonial women
Create digital archives of women during
the American revolution
Invent colonial women digital postcards
18
Student Assessment
Rubric for Writing Assignments
Scoring Rubric for designs of
dollar bills or flags
Checklist of Criteria for oral and
dramatic presentations
Rubrics for group work &
accountable talk
Student self-scoring self
evaluation cards
Post unit assessment
Grades/evaluations of written
reports
Trip & guest presenter
reflections
Close observation of student
work and group dynamics
Student conferences
March 2006
From the Social Studies Department….
Additional Materials
for
Unit Planning
19
March 2006
20
March 2006
WHAT DOES INQUIRY LOOK LIKE IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM?3
Knowledge does not simply pass from one source to another. We cannot “make” students understand.
People learn when they look for answers to their own questions; when they make their own
connections; see patterns for themselves. They learn in order to accomplish their own authentic goals.
Teacher’s Role
The teacher is a mediator and facilitator for student learning. S/he may present a problem or
question to students and ask questions such as: How can you approach this problem? What resources
will you need? What steps will you take? How will you know if you are successful? S/he helps
students think through a management strategy and monitor their own behavior. When the project is
over, the teacher helps students reflect on their work and processes.
Scaffolding the Learning
Throughout a learning experience, the teacher must scaffold the learning for students. Mini-lessons
are planned around student needs to help move them towards successful completion of a task or
understanding of a concept. You cannot tell students to write a research report if they have no
understanding of note-taking. Breaking tasks into manageable sub-skills (while keeping the context
real and meaningful!) helps students achieve success.
Students’ Role
Students should be active participants in their learning. They must learn how to ask questions for
themselves, take initiative, and assess their own learning. They must learn independence (from the
teacher) and dependence on others (in group projects).
Assessment
Assessment should be a tool for instruction, not a justification for a grade. It should also reflect what
students know, not just what they don’t know. A teacher needs more than one method of assessment
to determine what students know. Assessment can come through formal and informal measures;
tasks chosen by students and by teachers; speaking, writing, and other types of presentation.
3
Elise Abegg, Department of Social Studies, NYC DOE
21
March 2006
SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
Comprehension Skills
• making connections
• comparing and contrasting ideas
• identifying cause and effect
• drawing inferences and making conclusions
• paraphrasing; evaluating content
• distinguishing fact and opinion
• finding and solving multiple-step problems
• decision making
• handling/understanding different interpretations
Research and Writing Skills
• getting information; using various note-taking strategies
• organizing information
• identifying and using primary and secondary sources
• reading and understanding textbooks; looking for patterns
• interpreting information
• applying, analyzing and synthesizing information
• supporting a position with relevant facts and documents
• understanding importance
• creating a bibliography and webography
Interpersonal and Group Relation Skills
• defining terms; identifying basic assumptions
• identifying values conflicts
• recognizing and avoiding stereotypes
• recognizing different points of view; developing empathy and understanding
• participating in group planning and discussion
• cooperating to accomplish goals
• assuming responsibility for carrying out tasks
Sequencing and Chronology Skills
• using the vocabulary of time and chronology
• placing events in chronological order
• sequencing major events on a timeline; reading timelines
• creating timelines; researching time and chronology
• understanding the concepts of time, continuity, and change
• using sequence and order to plan and accomplish tasks
Map and Globe Skills
• reading maps, legends, symbols, and scales
• using a compass rose, grids, time zones; using mapping tools
• comparing maps and making inferences; understanding distance
• interpreting and analyzing different kinds of maps; creating maps
Graph and Image
• decoding images (graphs, cartoons, paintings, photographs)
• interpreting charts and graphs
Analysis Skills
• interpreting graphs and other images
• drawing conclusions and making predictions
• creating self-directed projects and participating in exhibitions
• presenting a persuasive argument
22
March 2006
SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM MAP
Grade
Suggested Unit of Study
K
Self and family
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Local Community Study
Community study
(includes comparison of communities past to present and comparison of urban, suburban, rural)
China
Africa
Country of choice
NYS Native
Americans
Colonization/
(compare to
American
Exploration
A New Nation
Immigration
tribes
Revolution
throughout
continent)
Culture and
Challenges of
Industrial
Native
Growth and
19th Century
Geography of the
urbanization in
American
Americans since
Migration and
Western
Government
the 19th Century
Westward
the USA, Canada
Hemisphere
in the USA,
and Latin
Expansion
America
Canada and
Latin America
Geography
Seventh
Exploration/
Colonization
Eighth
A Nation
Building
(Reconstruction
to late 1800s)
Three in-depth studies of Eastern Hemisphere countries (past to present)
American
Revolution
Immigration/
Industrialization
Ninth
Ancient WorldCivilizations &
Religions
Tenth
An Age of Revolution
(1750-1914)
Eleventh
Twelfth
Forming a Union
United States
Constitution and
Government
America Grows
Civil War
World War I
World War II
The Nature of
Mankind: Fear &
Pride
The Changing
Face of
Democracy
(1960s to
present)
Expanding Zones of
Exchange and
Encounter
Crisis and
Achievement
Including World Wars
(1900-1945)
Civil War and
Reconstruction
Participation in Government
Global Interactions
(1200-1650)
The First Global Age
(1450-1770)
The 20th Century
Since 1945
Global Connections
and Interactions
Industrialization,
Urbanization and
the Progressive
Movement
Prosperity and
Depression: At
Home and
Abroad
(1917-1940)
Triumphs and
Challenges in
American
Democracy
(1950-present)
Economics and Economic Decision Making
23
March 2006
NEEDS OF THE LEARNERS
Affective
(Emotional and Social needs)
Cognitive
(Academic and critical thinking)
24
Psychomotor
(Physical development, small and gross motor
development)
March 2006
LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
New York State
Social Studies
Learning Standards
Circle the one(s) that
apply to this specific unit
and add specifics below.
History of the
United States and New
York State
World History
Geography
Economics
Civics, Citizenship,
and Government
NYC
New Performance
Standards in ELA
Circle the one(s) that
apply to this specific unit
and add specifics below.
□
E-1: Reading
□
□
E-2: Writing
□
E-3: Speaking,
Listening & Viewing
□
E-4: Conventions,
Grammar & Usage for
the English Language
□
E-5: Literature
E-6: Public Document
Specific Focus:
Sample list of strategies that Social Studies and ELA have in common.
Check all that apply and add new strategies below
E7: Functional
Documents
Specific Focus:
□
□
□
□
□
Present information clearly in a variety of oral, written, and project-based forms that may include
summaries, brief reports, primary documents, illustrations, posters, charts, points of view,
persuasive essays, oral and written presentations
Use details, examples, anecdotes, or personal experiences to clarify and support your point of view
Use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading ( the “writing process”) to
produce well constructed informational texts
Observe basic writing conventions, such as correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, as well
as sentence and paragraph structures appropriate to written forms
Express opinions (in such forms as oral and written reviews, letters to the editor, essays, or
persuasive speeches) about events, books, issues, and experiences, supporting their opinions with
some evidence
Present arguments for certain views or actions with reference to specific criteria that support the
argument; work to understand multiple perspectives
Use effective and descriptive vocabulary; follow the rules of grammar and usage; read and discuss
published letters, diaries and journals
Gather and interpret information from reference books, magazines, textbooks, web sites, electronic
bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such sources as charts,
graphs, maps, and diagrams
Select information appropriate to the purpose of the investigation and relate ideas from one text to
another; gather information from multiple sources
Select and use strategies that have been taught for note-taking, organizing, and categorizing
information
Support inferences about information and ideas with reference to text features, such as vocabulary
and organizational patterns
Add you own strategies:
25
March 2006
HOW CAN WE EVALUATE STUDENT WORK?
Sample of student projects
• exit projects
• student-made maps and models
• student-made artifacts
• mock debates
• class museums and exhibitions
• student peer evaluation
• student-made books
• I-movies; photo-essays
• graphic timelines
• creating songs and plays
• writing historical fiction and/or diary entries
• creating maps and dioramas
• student-created walking tours (leading tools, too!)
• tables, charts and/or diagrams that represent data
• student-made power points, web-quests
• monologues
Sample assessment tools
• higher level analytical thinking activities
• portfolios of student work
• student criteria setting and self-evaluation
• teacher observations
• checklists and rubrics
• conferences with individuals or groups
• group discussions
• anecdotal records
• teacher-made tests
• listening to student presentations
• observing role play and simulations
• looking at completed “trips sheets”
• rubrics for student exhibitions
• use of rubrics and checklists
• reflective journal entries
• student writing (narrative procedures, etc.)
• video and/or audio tapes of student work
• studying student work
26
March 2006
BALANCED LITERACY OVERVIEW4
Balanced literacy usually means that teachers:
4
•
Provide time each day (usually at least half an hour) for independent reading.
During independent reading (which is the heart of a reading workshop), children usually
read books of their own choosing. Children generally read silently, although K-1 children
may read quietly to themselves. Teachers guide children to choose books that they can read
with at least 95 percent accuracy, fluency (when children read these texts smoothly), and
with comprehension.
•
Provide time each day (usually at least half an hour) for children to work on their
writing. During each day’s writing workshop, children rehearse, plan, draft, revise, and
edit writing on topics that are usually chosen by the child. During the year in a writing
workshop, the children will work on a variety of writing, including probably personal
narratives, essays or feature articles, short fiction, poems, procedural (or how-to) writing,
and other nonfiction of various sorts. During the writing workshop, children do not usually
write about books, but, instead, they write their own books! At the end of a month-long unit
of study, children’s writing is “published.” Publishing can be as simple as having a class of
older children meet with younger children to read aloud their finished work.
•
Provide time each day for systematic phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, and
word study instruction. This work must involve explicit instruction, demonstration,
opportunities for practice, and assessment.
•
Explicitly teach children habits and strategies of effective reading and writing,
and then coach them so they can apply those strategies during independent
reading and writing. Explicit instruction is usually provided through the ten-minute-long
minilesson, which occurs at the start of both the reading and writing workshops. Teachers
are encouraged to design minilessons in which they demonstrate a strategy and provide
children with assisted practice using that strategy. For example, the teaching point of one
minilesson might be that after readers have developed theories about the characters in their
books, they read on, expecting their theories to be confirmed or altered. Although a
minilesson might contain a few minutes of shared reading, reading aloud, or interactive
writing, none of these activities would in and of themselves qualify as a minilesson because
minilessons are meant as a time for explicit and direct instruction.
•
Assess and coach readers and writers through individual and, sometimes, small
group conferences. These conferences generally begin with research and assessment.
Teachers move among children during the reading and the writing workshops, holding threeto five-minute-long conferences or longer small group meetings with them as they read and
write.
•
Read aloud each day. Research confirms the importance and value of reading aloud to
students of all ages. This will probably be an interactive read-aloud, with teachers pausing
as they read to suggest to children to respond to the text in partnership conversations or to
talk together as a class to grow some ideas in response to the reading. Generally, teachers
From NYCDOE, Literacy Department, www.nycenet.edu/teachlearn/literacy/index.html
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March 2006
read aloud and children listen but do not follow along in their own copies of the read aloud
book. Most teachers try to read aloud several times a day, and, at least three times a week,
to create opportunities for accountable talk around the read aloud. This component of
balanced literacy generally takes place outside the reading workshop, but teachers will want
to consider how the read aloud can support or lead the reading work students do
independently. For example, if the class is engaged in the unit of study on character (and
students are thinking about the characters as they read independently), the teacher might be
wise to read aloud a chapter book which contains strong characters who change over the
course of the text. This would offer the class opportunities for deep talk about characters.
Some teachers find it helpful to place post-its in the text ahead of time to remind themselves
where they plan to pause and think aloud and where they want to nudge their students to
turn and talk about the text.
•
May engage in shared reading, shared writing, and interactive writing…all of
which are brief components of many K-2 balanced literacy programs. Some teachers
extend these structures into upper elementary classrooms. Shared reading technically refers
to a time (perhaps fifteen minutes) when children and the teacher join together in reading a
single copy of an enlarged text (as in a big book or a poem which has been enlarged through
chart paper or by means of an overhead projector). Shared writing happens less frequently
and involves teachers and children co-authoring one text, which the teacher then writes in
front of the class. Interactive writing involves the teacher and children co-authoring a very
brief text (usually a sentence or two is enough) by a process in which the teacher recruits
individual children to approach the chart paper and to contribute a particular letter or word
to the co-constructed message. As one child threads his or her way through the group, the
teacher engages all the others by saying something like, “Pretend to write me, only do it with
your finger/pencil on the rug/paper.”
•
May put other options in place that are a part of some balanced literacy
classrooms. These include literature circles or book clubs, guided reading groups, and
thematic studies. These should probably be launched only after the other structures are in
place.
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PARTS OF A WORKSHOP
THE MINILESSON
The minilesson is a whole class lesson that provides explicit instruction in reading or writing
strategies. For example, teachers might teach readers what they can do before, during or after
reading; they might teach strategies for dealing with tricky words, or ways to think between texts, or
strategies for finding the main idea in a text. Teachers might teach writers strategies for generating
particular kinds of writing, for finding ones angle, for elaborating upon the heart of a text, for
anticipating readers’ questions…Teachers certainly teach minilessons on using commas and
quotation marks, on paragraphing, and on effective spelling strategies. Usually minilessons fit under
the umbrella of a particular unit-of-study.
The fact that workshop teaching begins with a minilesson means that teachers have an opportunity
(and an obligation) to explicitly teach students skills and strategies that they can then draw upon
often when they read and write for their own important purposes. In New York City, many teachers
have found it helpful to structure these ten minute lessons in a predictable fashion. After the class
gathers, the teacher offers a rationale for today’s lesson, putting it into context, usually by
referencing yesterday’s minilesson. Then the teacher explicitly names exactly what it is he or she
hopes to teach, making care that the teaching point is transferable to other days and other texts.
Then the teacher teaches, usually (but not always) through demonstration which might begin with
the teacher saying, “Watch me while I….Did you notice how I….”. Then the teacher provides
students with a very quick chance to practice the strategy, usually using a whole-class text and
talking with a partner about what they would do. Last, the teacher links the lesson to students’
ongoing independent work.
WORK TIME
Students During Reading and Writing Time
• Independent Reading and Writing
Students have an opportunity to read and write independently, drawing upon and practicing
the repertoire of strategies they will have learned.
•
Reading Partnerships/Partnership Conversations
Readers and writers are given specific time for partnership conversations. Teachers often
direct these conversations, linking them to the day’s lesson. For example, if the lesson was on
the importance of writing with detail, teachers may suggest that during the last ten minutes
of the writing workshop, partners meet to share the details they used that day, and to
imagine new details they could have used. If the reading minilesson was on reading dialogue,
readers might read sections of their books aloud to partners, showing each other how they
keep track of who is speaking.
•
Small Group Work
During the reading and writing workshop, teachers frequently convene clusters of readers or
writers for small group work which during the writing workshop, may take the form of a
writing strategy lesson and during reading, might be either a strategy lesson or a guided
reading group. During the reading workshop, students may also work in small groups which
may take the form of book clubs, literature circles, or literacy centers.
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Teacher during Reading and Writing time
While students work independently, the teacher confers with students individually or provides small
group instruction (which may take the form of strategy lessons or guided reading). During these
interactions, the teacher assesses students’ needs and provides additional instruction to support
students’ continued learning.
Please note: Literature circles or book clubs, guided reading groups, and thematic studies are parts of
a workshop that should probably be launched only after the other structures are in place.
SHARE
At the end of the workshop (after writing time), teachers often gather students in a share session in
which they tend to follow-up on the minilesson. Sometimes the share session functions almost as a
separate and smaller minilesson. Sometimes the share session sets up and angles the partnership
work.
CELEBRATION
As a unit of study comes to a close the teacher and class come together to celebrate student work.
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READING WORKSHOP
Many teachers find it helpful to teach language arts through both reading and writing workshops, which
exist alongside other components of balanced literacy. The reading and writing workshops are designed
similarly: both structures provide explicit direct instruction time, as well as opportunities for students to
pursue their own important goals and to receive assessment-based instruction.
The reading workshop begins with a ten-minute minilesson in which the teacher explicitly teaches readers
a strategy or quality of good reading. The content of any one day’s minilesson must be applicable to the
learners’ ongoing work, and after the minilesson is over and students have time to read, they practice
strategies they’ve been taught not only on that day, but on earlier days.
During work time (or reading time), students work on their own reading. In many classrooms, each child
has a bin or baggie of books that the child keeps on hand as he or she reads. It is important that students
choose books they can read with accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and interest. For this reason, most
teachers organize their classroom libraries into levels (usually indicated by dots on the books’ spines), and
they steer students towards reading “just-right” books. Of course, over time it is important for students to
progress up the gradient of difficulty, which teachers help them do.
Students read independently for long stretches of time. While they are reading, teachers assess and
teach. This teaching happens in one-to-one conferences, in small group strategy lessons, and in guided
reading groups.
As students read independently, they often mark sections of the text that they later discuss. As the year
progresses, students will be asked to mark different things. Perhaps at one point, the teacher may point
out that often in a story, a main character encounters trouble and then gathers resources to respond to
that trouble. In this class, students may be using stick-ums to mark sections of their stories that indicate
the trouble the main character encounters. Later in the year, this same teacher may teach students that
often when we read, we notice that there are patterns in a book (such as an object may reoccur). In this
class, students may be using stick-ums to mark places in the text where they see a pattern.
After reading independently, students meet with either a partner or (later in the year) with a small
reading club or reading center in order to talk about whatever they’ve noticed in their books. During
these conversations, students use the principles of accountable talk so they can talk and think deeply
about their texts.
Usually teachers find it helpful to plan a yearlong curriculum for the reading workshop. Early in the
year, students are often encouraged to read fiction books and to read in ways that allow them to retell
those books. That is, the emphasis in the first unit tends to be on a basic sort of comprehension. Soon
teachers may want to encourage students to talk, think, and sometimes write more deeply about texts;
they may do this by teaching a unit of study on Developing Theories As You Read, on Thinking About
Character, or on any one of a number of different things. Before long, teachers will probably want to
support nonfiction reading, and, therefore, they may ask all students to spend reading time reading
nonfiction texts, with teachers teaching strategies of nonfiction reading through minilessons. Some
teachers find that students relish the opportunity to share their reading not only with a partner but also
with a cluster of classmates, and therefore they organize literature circles or book clubs.
More information on the reading workshop can be found in Calkins’s The Art of Teaching Reading,
Daniels’s Literature Circles, Zimmermann and Keene’s Mosaic of Thought, Taberski’s On Solid Ground, or
Collins’s Growing Readers: Units of Study in a Primary Classroom.
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WRITING WORKSHOP
Many teachers find it helpful to teach language arts through both a reading workshop and a writing
workshop, which exist alongside other components of balanced literacy. The reading and writing
workshops are designed similarly: both structures provide time for explicit and direct instruction, as
well as time for students to pursue their own important goals and to receive assessment-based
instruction.
The writing workshop begins with a ten-minute minilesson in which the teacher explicitly teaches a
strategy or quality of good writing. The minilesson is not a time to assign topics or exercises, but,
instead, a time to show students something they can do often as they write. For example, during a
minilesson the teacher might teach students several strategies for generating writing topics, and
these strategies would then be listed on a chart. From that day forward, whenever a student was
writing and needed to generate a new topic, he or she could use the strategies listed on that chart.
Of course, students develop a vast repertoire of skills and strategies for generating topics, planning
texts, revising drafts, spelling tricky words, editing for correctness, and lots of other things.
After the minilesson, students disperse to their workplaces and begin to write. Usually all the
students in a classroom will be writing the same “kind of” writing, but not on the same topic. That
is, all the first graders in one classroom might be writing How-To books, but one child may be
teaching “how to make an omelet” and another, “how to rollerblade. ” The materials on which
students write will differ depending on their age and experience level. Primary writers tend to write
in booklets of three to four pages, with each page containing space for a picture and text. These
children might write three booklets a week. They store their writing in folders. Older students tend
to collect entries in a writer’s notebook, and then draft and revise their writing on single sheets of
paper that are kept in folders. Because older students spend time planning and revising their
writing, they are apt to make one or two finished pieces in a month (with each piece growing from
many pages of entries and drafts).
While students are writing, teachers confer with them individually or lead strategy lessons for small
informal groups of writers who might need similar help.
In many classrooms, each writer has a partner, and in the middle and/or at the end of the workshop,
students meet with their partners or with the entire class. When these meetings are at the end of
the workshop, they are called “teaching share-sessions. ”
Usually teachers find it helpful to plan a yearlong curriculum for writing, dividing the year into
month-long units of study. Each unit ends with a writing celebration, which provides writers with a
chance to go public. Before writing is published, students edit their writing and receive instruction
from the teacher who helps each child lift the level of his or her own editing. Units of study may
focus on a genre or structure (e. g., narrative writing, expository writing, book reviews, poetry,
feature articles) or on some facet of the writing process (e. g., revision, editing, reading-writing
connections).
More information about the writing workshop is available from Fletcher’s Writing Workshop: The
Essential Guide, Calkins’s The Art of Teaching Writing or Units of Study for Primary Writing: A
Yearlong Curriculum, Graves’s Writing: Teachers and Children at Work, Harwayne’s Lasting
Impressions: Weaving Literature into the Writing Workshop, Ray’s The Writing Workshop: Working
Through the Hard Parts (And They’re All Hard Parts), or from any book written by Donald Murray.
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SHARED READING
What is Shared Reading?5
Shared Reading is a collaborative learning time where the teacher and children come together to
read and reread enlarged texts. There are several purposes to Shared Reading. The first is to create
a reading community where each child is an active participant and is empowered with the feeling,
“Of course I can read!” It is also a time for children to be exposed to a variety of authors and
illustrators and to determine how to create meaning from a text.
Another purpose for Shared Reading is to model and engage children in the use of effective reading
strategies, which they can use when they are reading independently. This will also be a time when
we can investigate how words work and how to analyze words in text.
It is important to note the difference in purpose between Shared Reading and the Read Aloud. The
enlarged text used in Shared Reading supports the process of actively engaging the children in the
actual print as they read the text together and learn and practice effective reading strategies.
We begin most Shared Reading lessons by “warming up” with a familiar text. By reading a known
text, the children become more actively engaged right from the beginning. Doing so also helps to
create a sense of the group as a reading community. As Shared Reading progresses, it is important to
remember to revisit known texts every day. This creates a collection of texts that children can
return to and reread as well as enabling students to discover new things about the texts as they are
revisited.
Suggested lessons for Shared Reading to follow: The lessons include suggested texts, but others may
be substituted. In making substitutions, you’ll want to read through the lesson to determine which
factors to consider: Is it the topic that’s important, or just that it’s about a familiar experience? If
we’re using pictures to activate meaning, is there a strong picture-word connection in the book we’re
considering? If we’re working on making predictions, can we be pretty sure the text is new to most
children?6
CHOOSING THE TEXT
It is important in shared reading that all students are able to see the text as the teacher reads it
aloud. This can be accomplished using photocopies, overhead transparencies, multiple copies of a
book, or by copying text on to chart paper. We know that one of the most frustrating things for
struggling middle school readers is that they are capable of sophisticated thinking, yet have
difficulty independently negotiating grade level text. In shared reading these students can
experience reading a text slightly above their independent level with fluency by following along,
freeing them to concentrate on the specific reading or writing strategy being modeled. To facilitate
this, we want to choose high interest texts that are just a little harder than what students are
reading on their own, and which are models of the strategies we want to teach.
INTRODUCING THE TEXT
When beginning a shared reading it is important to focus students on the specific purpose of that
day’s lesson. Our introduction should be brief and to the point, letting students know what strategy
is to be modeled and why it is important. For example, if our purpose is to model comprehension of
nonfiction texts through personal connections, we might say: “One thing readers do to understand a
piece of nonfiction better is to relate it to their own life. To show you what I mean, I’m going to read
5
6
Instructional Guide: Literacy, Grades K-2. New York City Department of Education, 2000-2001
Essential professional reading on this topic includes: Read It Again! Revisiting Shared Reading, by Brenda
Parkes
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March 2006
this example to you and think aloud about my own personal connections. Watch how I use adhesive
note tags to mark them, since I’m going to ask you to do the same in your independent reading
later.”
PRACTICE
While it is often a good idea to allow a short time for questions, shared reading is not the place to
have a lengthy class discussion. Following a lesson, teachers should reinforce the strategy that has
been modeled by giving students a chance to practice it right away. Teachers can distribute multiple
copies of the same text that was used in the lesson, if available, or a similar text that allows for
practice of the strategy. The ultimate goal however is for students to have opportunities to apply the
strategy in their independent reading in an ongoing way.
FOLLOW UP
Artifacts from shared reading lessons can become part of the print-rich environment we strive to
create in our classrooms. For example, teachers can record strategies modeled, or characteristics
students have noticed about particular kinds of text, on chart paper. It’s important that these charts
come out of the actual lessons. If they just appear fully formed on the wall some day, they won’t be
as useful or as meaningful to students.
Once the class has moved on to new strategies in future lessons, it is important to remind students of
strategies that have already been modeled. During independent work time and share sessions, we
can find opportunities to reinforce past lessons by drawing attention to students using
comprehension strategies we have taught them, or incorporating writing techniques we have
modeled before into their notebook entries.
The strategies that we model during shared reading should become internalized tools for students to
use not only throughout middle school, but for the rest of their lives as readers and writers.
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READ ALOUD
Read aloud each day. Research confirms the importance and value of reading aloud to students of all
ages. This will probably be an interactive read aloud, with teachers pausing as they read to suggest
to children to respond to the text in partnership conversations or to talk together as a class to grow
some ideas in response to the reading. Generally, teachers read aloud and children listen but do not
follow along in their own copies of the read aloud book. Most teachers try to read aloud several times
a day, and, at least three times a week, to create opportunities for accountable talk around the read
aloud.
This component of balanced literacy generally takes place outside the reading workshop, but
teachers will want to consider how the read aloud can support or lead the reading work students do
independently. For example, if the class is engaged in the unit of study on character (and students
are thinking about the characters as they read independently), the teacher might be wise to read
aloud a chapter book which contains strong characters who change over the course of the text. This
would offer the class opportunities for deep talk about characters.
Some teachers find it helpful to place Post-it® Notes in the text ahead of time to remind themselves
where they plan to pause and think aloud, and where they want to nudge their students to turn and
talk about the text.
Upper Grades
“For a long time,” Nancie Atwell writes in In the Middle (Heinemann, 1998, 2nd ed.), “I thought of
reading aloud as something teachers in the elementary grades did to entertain young children. But
from my (middle school) students’ responses to texts I read aloud in minilessons, I learned this
wasn’t at all true. Hearing literature brings it to life and fills the classroom with an author’s
language. The teacher’s voice becomes a bridge for kids, taking them into territories they might never
have explored because they don’t yet have schemas for a genre, subject, author, or period. Read alouds
point kids toward new options in their choices of books and authors. They show kids how they might
approach problems in their own writing. And they provide a communal reading experience in which
we enter and love a book together.” (Italics added.)
As Atwell indicates, read aloud is an instructional strategy we often overlook when teaching
adolescents. It is important to remember though that some struggling upper grade students have few
significant adult role models in reading and writing. In reading carefully-chosen, high-interest text
aloud with expression and enthusiasm, we model for students the positive role reading and writing
can play in their lives. Read aloud also offers us critical opportunities to model and reinforce
important strategies, and ways of questioning, thinking, and talking about books. Discussion and
questioning may occur before, during, and/or after reading.
An interactive read aloud is when we read an engaging text to students, preferably in a classroom
meeting area, and facilitate a book talk. The New York City Performance Standards suggest that
accountable book talks are essential, not just for meeting the speaking and listening standards but
also for coaching students in how to respond to literature. Unlike shared reading, which is normally
done with a short text or excerpt, in an interactive read aloud we usually use a longer text that we
are reading to students over time.
Preparing for the Interactive Read Aloud
As educators we know that any good lesson requires careful preparation, and an interactive read
aloud is no exception. It is important to look over the read aloud text in advance, and decide on two
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or three best places to pause and facilitate discussion; stopping too often breaks up the continuity of
the text and may hinder comprehension. Ideas for discussion should be prepared in advance. Some
teachers find it useful to actually put adhesive note tags with prepared questions or thoughts in the
text at points where they want to stop. Depending on the strategy we want to model in the book talk,
the interactive read aloud could take place as part of the minilesson, or during the ongoing read
aloud time at the end of the two-hour block.
Questions for an Interactive Read Aloud
Since the idea of a book talk is to deepen comprehension, it makes sense to base our questions on the
seven comprehension strategies Keene and Zimmermann describe in Mosaic of Thought. Our
questions should not be of the yes or no variety, but be open- ended enough that students must
interpret and think critically. For example, we may choose to model activating prior knowledge by
stopping during a nonfiction read aloud and saying: “This section about all the stress and hard work
in the life of a ballet dancer reminds me of a time I had to practice really hard before a big basketball
game. I remember my body aching just the way they describe a dancer’s feeling after class—tired,
but energized. What’s a time you’ve had that feeling?”
The types of questions that we use in the interactive read aloud should also be models for reading
behaviors we want students to emulate, such as using evidence from the text to validate their
thinking. If we want to facilitate a discussion that pushes students to draw inferences from a text,
we might stop our read aloud of Roald Dahl’s memoir Boy, and say: “It seems to me that Roald Dahl
was a pretty sneaky kid, and he likes to make fun of mean people. Here he comes up with a plot to
put the mouse in the candy jar of the grouchy old lady, who he describes as ‘a small skinny old hag
with a moustache on her lip and a mouth as sour as a green gooseberry.’ How would you describe
Roald’s personality, and what parts from the story show it?”
Follow-Up Questions
One of the greatest challenges for upper grade students in having successful discussions about their
reading is to make the book talk last. In an interactive read aloud, we want to ask follow-up
questions that push them to go deeper in their thinking, not just respond with a “very good.” If in
response to a question about which ideas are most important in a text on the dangers of smoking, a
student mentions peer pressure, we might ask for an explanation. “It’s interesting you bring up peer
pressure,” we could say, “when the article also talks about things like life expectancy among
smokers, and tips for how to quit. Why do you think peer pressure is a more important idea?”
Since the interactive read aloud is a book talk that happens in short bursts as we make our way
through a text, it’s important to not let these conversations go overly long—two or three minutes at
each stopping point is a good rule of thumb. Not every interaction needs to be mediated by the
teacher either—if a student jumps in with a relevant comment or question for his or her classmate,
it’s best at that moment to facilitate rather than lead the discussion. The interactive read aloud
should ultimately function as a sort of training ground for students to learn how to have successful
book talks on their own.
Recommended books on interactive read aloud include:
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques by Jim Burke
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GUIDED READING7
One classroom structure for providing instruction suited to the unique needs of individual groups of
students is the guided reading lesson. While on the surface it may seem similar to a traditional
reading group—small numbers of students gathered together reading the same piece of text – guided
reading is significantly different.
The strongly scaffolded support of guided reading can serve as a bridge for struggling students to
move into more independent reading. As literacy experiences progress from read-aloud to shared
reading, and on to guided reading, partner and independent reading, students are asked to take on
more responsibility for the actual reading of the text.
While teacher support continues to be critical in guided reading, the student is expected to read the
text more independently than in a shared reading experience. The purpose is to support them in
developing effective strategies they will continue using to make sense of new material when reading
independently.
STEPS OF A GUIDED READING LESSON
Introducing the text and setting the purpose of the lesson (3-5 minutes): We begin by pulling
together a particular group of students to explain the purpose of the lesson and introduce the text.
Introductions to books should be brief, and make the text more accessible to students by:
• walking them through key parts of the text;
• encouraging them to make predictions;
• posing appropriate questions and pointing out anticipated challenges;
• activating their prior knowledge, to get them “ready” for the story.
Before asking them to read the text independently, we give students a task – something to look for or
think about while reading that addresses a common instructional need of the individuals in the
group.
Individual Reading Time (8-10 minutes): It’s important to remember that in guided reading we read
with students, rather than to them. In addition, it is not meant to be a “round robin” activity. Once
the text has been introduced and the purpose of the lesson set, students begin reading
independently. During this time, we have individual conferences with students in the group,
coaching them in use of the particular strategy addressed in the lesson. Many teachers also use
guided reading as an opportunity to give specific instruction in word-solving strategies that will help
students attain the fluency necessary to ensure good comprehension. Even if this is not the focus of
the lesson, we may want to address these issues during individual conferences.
Share session, and making the bridge to independent reading (2-3 minutes): When students have
finished reading, the group briefly shares what they have noticed. There is some discussion of the
text to assess comprehension—confirming or revising predictions; personal responses that will
perhaps include surprises, short retellings, favorite parts, lingering questions, or challenging words.
We should encourage students to support their ideas with references to the text.
7
Instructional Guide: Literacy, Grades 3-5. New York City Department of Education, 2000-2001
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Before ending the guided reading lesson, we want to provide students with a transition to
independent reading of their own texts. “You’ve done a good job figuring out the meaning of
unfamiliar words by looking at other words and sentences around them,” we might say; “When you
go back to your own book and come across vocabulary you don’t know, try using the same strategy.”
FORMING GROUPS FOR GUIDED READING
Typically, in a guided reading lesson we work with a small group of four to six students. In some
classrooms, short term guided reading groups are formed by pulling together a few reading
partnerships. Students should be of similar reading ability. In other words, they are capable of
reading approximately the same level of text pretty accurately, and have demonstrated similar
strengths and/or needs in their reading.
When forming groups, we can look at the item skills analysis from students’ standardized test scores,
our notes on reading and writing conferences, and other informal assessments to identify areas
where individual students need support. Our guided reading lessons should be designed to address
the particular instructional needs of students in the group.
Students should be regrouped frequently. Doing so allows us to meet individual needs more
effectively and efficiently. As well, taking the time to point out what particular reading strategies
students are using well as readers boosts their self-esteem. If we can help children feel like insiders
in the world of reading, they are more likely to work to improve their literacy skills, rather than cope
with feelings of inadequacy by claiming to “not care.” (Smith, 1988) Changes in grouping are based
on continuous assessment and a good deal of that assessment can actually take place within the
context of the guided reading session. The information we gather from these informal assessments
should shape our decisions about issues to address in later lessons.
Choice of Text
Choice of text will depend on the purpose of a particular lesson (i.e., model a specific strategy).
• Texts chosen for a first reading with students should be new to them.
• Texts should be at a level that presents some new challenges, but not so difficult that it is
frustrating for the students.
Short stories, typed transcripts from picture books, poems, and nonfiction articles make good guided
reading texts. With teacher support in guided reading, students can learn and practice effective
reading strategies with more sophisticated text than they would read independently. Since the text
is more complex and above the level you would typically want students in the group to be reading
independently, using a shorter text ensures that you will have an opportunity to complete it in a
lesson or two. Though new to the students, the text used in a guided reading lesson should be very
familiar to the teacher and carefully chosen with specific teaching objectives in mind.
SO, WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE KIDS?
Of course, for guided reading to be a truly successful part of your reading program, all of this must
go on while the other students in the class are involved in meaningful literacy activities. In the
workshop model, guided reading takes place during the extended block of independent reading time.
Students who are not involved in a guided reading group are engaged in independent or partner
reading. The teacher typically spends the first ten to twenty minutes working with one or two
guided reading groups and the balance of the time conferring with individuals or partners.
Note: Essential professional reading on this topic includes: Guided Reading, by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell.
38
March 2006
CAMBOURNE’S CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING
In the 1960’s, researcher Brian Cambourne studied the conditions under which young children
acquire language. Cambourne found that children tend to learn most effectively when these eight
essential conditions exist in learning environments. In the years since his initial research,
Cambourne’s findings have come to be known collectively as the Conditions for Learning. Educators
have studied and replicated the Conditions for Learning and found that they are consistent and
flexible enough to apply to all subjects and to all learners.
CONDITIONS CLASSROOMS DESCRIPTIONS
Immersion – Students who are learning to read and write need to be deeply involved in both
written and oral language. Immersion refers to the print rich environment that makes this possible.
There is a wide variety of meaningful text including charts, labels, books, texts, and student work.
The teacher and students refer to the charts and labels as part of their daily life as readers and
writers.
Demonstration – Students need clear and powerful examples of effective reading and writing
strategies. Teachers model these strategies in a variety of contexts so that students can see what
fluent readers, writers and speakers do. Is it not enough for the teacher to employ these strategies.
The teacher must make them explicit by repeating them in a variety contexts and at different times.
Expectation – Effective literacy teachers have high expectations for all students. Teachers must
communicate both implicitly and explicitly that their students can be fluent readers and writers.
Students also need to expect that they will be fluent readers, writers and speakers. Together,
teachers and students build a classroom culture centered around high expectations.
Responsibility – In successful literacy classrooms, everyone shares the responsibility for success.
Thoughtful teachers are careful not to create dependent students who rely on the teacher for
correction and decision-making. As students begin to take responsibility for their learning, they
make more informed choices during independent reading and writing.
Approximation – Literate classrooms provide a risk-free environment for students to take small
steps when practicing new learning strategies. Effective teachers give students time to practice and
master skills as they are taught. Making mistakes is part of this learning process, and students
need opportunities to learn from these mistakes.
Use – Students need multiple opportunities to practice new strategies. The more opportunities
students get to use new skills, the larger their repertoire of usable skill becomes. The opportunity to
practice new skills and strategies also helps students build upon their prior knowledge.
Response – In effective classrooms, students get accurate and supportive feedback from the teacher.
Teachers need to help students build on their prior knowledge and provide timely, focused feedback.
Students also need to learn how to respond effectively. As students develop a self-assessment
process, they learn how to respond constructively to the work of their peers.
Engagement – On-going and continuous opportunities to read, write and speak provide multiple
opportunities for students to practice and gain fluency. This active involvement helps students
understand that they can be readers, writers and speakers; thus supporting their fluency and
independence. Note: Engagement is a critical factor and should be present in all parts of the
teaching/learning process. If the learner is not engaged, then there is little opportunity to construct
new understandings… and less chance for the learner to apply her/his learning independently.
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March 2006
PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING8
The Principles of Learning are condensed theoretical statements summarizing decades of learning
research. The statements are linked to several explanatory points about particular features of each
principle. Some of the features are further elaborated by a series of indicators that schools and
classrooms are functioning in accord with the principle. They are designed to help educators analyze
the quality of instruction and opportunities for learning that they offer to students.
Organizing for Effort
An effort-based school replaces the assumption that aptitude determines what and how much
students learn with the assumption that sustained and directed effort can yield high achievement for
all students. Everything is organized to evoke and support this effort, to send the message that
effort is expected and that tough problems yield to sustained work. High minimum standards are
set and assessments are geared to the standards. All students are taught a rigorous curriculum,
matched to the standards, along with as much time and expert instruction as they need to meet or
exceed expectations.
Clear Expectations
If we expect all students to achieve at high levels, then we need to define explicitly what we expect
students to learn. These expectations need to be communicated clearly in ways that get them "into
the heads" of school professionals, parents, the community and, above all, students themselves.
Descriptive criteria and models of work that meets standards should be publicly displayed, and
students should refer to these displays to help them analyze and discuss their work. With visible
accomplishment targets to aim toward at each stage of learning, students can participate in
evaluating their own work and setting goals for their own effort.
Fair and Credible Evaluations
If we expect students to put forth sustained effort over time, we need to use assessments that
students find fair; and that parents, community, and employers find credible. Fair evaluations are
ones that students can prepare for: therefore, tests, exams and classroom assessments—as well as
the curriculum—must be aligned to the standards. Fair assessment also means grading against
absolute standards rather than on a curve, so students can clearly see the results of their learning
efforts. Assessments that meet these criteria provide parents, colleges, and employers with credible
evaluations of what individual students know and can do.
Recognition of Accomplishment
If we expect students to put forth and sustain high levels of effort, we need to motivate them by
regularly recognizing their accomplishments. Clear recognition of authentic accomplishment is a
hallmark of an effort-based school. This recognition can take the form of celebrations of work that
meets standards or intermediate progress benchmarks en route to the standards. Progress points
should be articulated so that, regardless of entering performance level, every student can meet real
accomplishment criteria often enough to be recognized frequently. Recognition of accomplishment
can be tied to opportunity to participate in events that matter to students and their families.
Student accomplishment is also recognized when student performance on standards-based
assessments is related to opportunities at work and in higher education.
8
The contents of this section belong to the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsurgh.
These materials are protected by United States Copyright law. © 2004 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
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March 2006
Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum
Thinking and problem solving will be the "new basics" of the 21st century. But the common idea
that we can teach thinking without a solid foundation of knowledge must be abandoned. So must
the idea that we can teach knowledge without engaging students in thinking. Knowledge and
thinking are intimately joined. This implies a curriculum organized around major concepts that
students are expected to know deeply. Teaching must engage students in active reasoning about
these concepts. In every subject, at every grade level, instruction and learning must include
commitment to a knowledge core, high thinking demand, and active use of knowledge.
Accountable TalkSM
Talking with others about ideas and work is fundamental to learning. But not all talk sustains
learning. For classroom talk to promote learning it must be accountable – to the learning
community, to accurate and appropriate knowledge, and to rigorous thinking. Accountable talk
seriously responds to and further develops what others in the group have said. It puts forth and
demands knowledge that is accurate and relevant to the issue under discussion. Accountable talk
uses evidence appropriate to the discipline (e.g., proofs in mathematics, data from investigations in
science, textual details in literature, documentary sources in history) and follows established norms
of good reasoning. Teachers should intentionally create the norms and skills of accountable talk in
their classrooms.
Socializing Intelligence
Intelligence is much more than an innate ability to think quickly and stockpile bits of knowledge.
Intelligence is a set of problem-solving and reasoning capabilities along with the habits of mind that
lead one to use those capabilities regularly. Intelligence is equally a set of beliefs about one's right
and obligation to understand and make sense of the world, and one's capacity to figure things out
over time. Intelligent habits of mind are learned through the daily expectations placed on the
learner. By calling on students to use the skills of intelligent thinking—and by holding them
responsible for doing so—educators can "teach" intelligence. This is what teachers normally do with
students they expect much from; it should be standard practice with all students.
Self-management of Learning
If students are going to be responsible for the quality of their thinking and learning, they need to
develop—and regularly use—an array of self-monitoring and self-management strategies. These
metacognitive skills include noticing when one doesn't understand something and taking steps to
remedy the situation, as well as formulating questions and inquiries that let one explore deep levels
of meaning. Students also manage their own learning by evaluating the feedback they get from
others; bringing their background knowledge to bear on new learning; anticipating learning
difficulties and apportioning their time accordingly; and judging their progress toward a learning
goal. These are strategies that good learners use spontaneously and all students can learn through
appropriate instruction and socialization. Learning environments should be designed to model and
encourage the regular use of self-management strategies.
Learning as Apprenticeship
For many centuries most people learned by working alongside an expert who modeled skilled
practice and guided novices as they created authentic products or performances for interested and
critical audiences. This kind of apprenticeship allowed learners to acquire complex interdisciplinary
knowledge, practical abilities, and appropriate forms of social behavior. Much of the power of
apprenticeship learning can be brought into schooling by organizing learning environments so that
complex thinking is modeled and analyzed, and by providing mentoring and coaching as students
undertake extended projects and develop presentations of finished work, both in and beyond the
classroom.
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March 2006
ENCOURAGING ACCOUNTABLE TALK
What is accountable talk?
Accountable talk is classroom conversation that has to do with what students are learning. We know
that students love to talk, but we want to encourage students to talk about the ideas, concepts, and
content that they encounter in school every day. Accountable talk can be whole class or small group
in structure. A teacher may often get students started, but real accountable talk occurs with student
ownership and minimal teacher input. The teacher may function as a facilitator initially, but as
accountable talk becomes an integral part of the school day, students assume more responsibility for
their own learning.
What does it look like?
Small groups of students are engaged in focused discussions around specific topics, questions, ideas
or themes. Students are actively engaged and practicing good listening and speaking skills.
Accountable talk is usually qualified by the use of appropriate rubrics.
What are rubrics?
Rubrics in accountable talk are scoring tools that list criteria for successful communication. Rubrics
assist students with self-assessment and increase their responsibility for the task.
Sample Student Accountable Talk Rubrics
Have I actively participated in the discussion?
Have I listened attentively to all group members?
Did I elaborate and build on the ideas or comments of others?
Did I stay focused on the assigned topic?
Did I make connections to other learning?
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March 2006
THE LEARNINGWALKSM
The LearningWalk is the Institute for Learning's signature tool for getting smarter about teaching
and learning. The LearningWalk is an organized visit through a school's halls and classrooms using
the Principles of Learning to focus on the instructional core. It incorporates distinct practices and
skills.
The organization of a LearningWalk, in particular the composition of participants, will vary
according to the learning needs of the participants and/or of the school staff. LearningWalks may be
led by administrators or by teacher leaders.
During LearningWalks, participants spend five to ten minutes in each of several classrooms looking
at student work and classroom artifacts, and talking with students and teachers. One of the
hallmarks of the LearningWalk is that observation of the instructional core is filtered through the
eyes and voices of students. By means of these observations, walkers collect evidence about learning
as well as teaching, about how the teacher's work impacts student learning.
Between classroom visits, participants gather in the hall to discuss what they learned in the last
room by making factual statements and generating questions they may have about what they
observed which, if asked of teachers, might stimulate them to think more deeply about practice. At
the end of the LearningWalk, participants work with the leader of the walk to refine observations
and questions, to look for patterns within the school, and to think about next steps for the school,
particularly next steps for professional development.
A first LearningWalk is always preceded by comprehensive staff orientation about the Principles of
Learning and about LearningWalks and always followed by feedback to staff.
True LearningWalks are always part of the work and culture of a Nested Learning Community,
never stand-alone events used to showcase or evaluate the work of teachers and students. They are
part of a recursive process of constantly improving and refining instruction through professional
development and study, LearningWalks and other classroom visits.
Though a LearningWalk itself is a professional development experience for the walkers, true
LearningWalks are always bookended by and defined by other professional development
opportunities – e.g., study groups, studying student work--for the teachers whose rooms will be
visited.
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March 2006
CORRELATION TO NYS SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS (4TH & 7TH GRADES)
The following unit of study outline will support:
Grade 4
The Revolutionary War in New York State
• The significance of New York State’s location and its relationship to the locations of
other peoples and places
• Geographic features that influenced the War
• How Native American Indians in New York State influenced the War
• Loyalists and patriots in New York State
• Leaders of the Revolution
• Effects of the Revolutionary War
The following unit of study outline will support:
Grade 7
Background Causes of the American Revolution
• Economic factors
1. Growth of Mercantilism: triangular trade
2. Rise of an influential business community in the colonies
3. Cost of colonial wars against the French
• Political factors
1. Periods of political freedom in the colonies
2. Impact of the French and Indian War: Albany plan of Union
3. How the political thought of the Enlightenment influenced prominent colonial
leaders
• New social relationships between European powers and the American colonies:
development of a new colonial identity
The Shift from Protest to Separation
• New British attitude toward colonies following victory over France
1. Colonies could not protect themselves
2. Colonies were not paying a fair amount toward their support
• New British policies antagonized Americans
1. Various acts of Parliament, i.e. The Quebec Act
2. New tax policies and taxes, i.e. The Stamp Act and others
3. Other Acts of repression, i.e. Zenger case and others
• Public opinion was shaped in different forums
1. Political bodies
2. Public display and demonstrations
3. Print media
• Wide variety of view points evolved
1. Complete separation
2. More autonomy for the colonies
3. No change in the status quo: the Loyalist opinion
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March 2006
CORRELATION TO NYS/NYC ELA STANDARDS
The enclosed unit of study outline will support:
Reading
Identify purposes for reading
Read and comprehend informational materials
Maintain a reading log or response journal
Make informed judgments about media
Select books independently
Compare and contrast a variety of informational texts
Consider differences among genres
Respond to non-fiction, poetry, art, etc.
Participate in formal and informal book talks
Make and support assertions about text
Writing
Respond to non-fiction, poetry, art, etc.
Produce writing with a controlling idea
Consider point of view in writing
Maintain a writing portfolio/notebook
Produce work in at least one genre that follows the conventions of the genre
Make and support assertions about text
Compare and contrast a variety of informational texts, materials
Maintain reading log/ response journal
Listening/Speaking
Share reading/writing/viewing experiences
Participate in formal and informal book talks
Participate in group meetings
Participate in one-on-one conferences
Make presentations
Make informed judgments about media
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March 2006
CORRELATION TO BLUEPRINT FOR TEACHING & LEARNING IN THE ARTS
Arts Making
Create drawings, prints, or paintings that demonstrate experimentation with various tools
and techniques
Create art that demonstrates experimentation with elements of composition
Create graphic designs that demonstrate integration of text, image, color, line shape and
clarity of message
Create graphic designs that demonstrate application of design principles
Literacy in Arts
Interpret and analyze art and media
Respond to works of art in writing
Participate in class discussions articulating the power of art
Make inferences based on visual evidence
Examine a work of art as a primary document
Making Connections Through Visual Arts
Recognize the societal, cultural and historical significance of art
Discuss ideas conveyed in a work of art
Research prints, paintings, of NYC from early 17th century
Recognize the value of art as historical document
Community & Cultural Resources
Visits to museums (African Burial Ground, South St. Seaport, etc.)
Visits to local historical sites
Use on-line arts resources
Invite artists to visit classroom
Investigate origins of preservation history
Music Literacy
Listen and respond to music
Learn about music, instruments, dance of Africa
Work with teaching artists, performing artists to develop critical thinking (listening &
viewing skills)
46
March 2006
CORRELATION TO SCIENCE STANDARDS (4TH & 7TH GRADES)
4TH GRADE
•
Demonstrates understanding of organisms and environments
•
Demonstrates understanding of change over time
•
Demonstrates understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts
•
Asks questions about natural phenomena; objects and organisms; and events and discoveries
•
Evaluates different points of view using relevant experiences, observations, and knowledge;
and distinguishes between fact and opinion
•
Collects and analyzes data using concepts and techniques in Mathematics Standard 4
•
Demonstrates scientific competence by completing an experiment
•
Demonstrates scientific competence by completing a systematic observation
•
Demonstrates scientific competence by completing non-experimental research using print
and electronic information
7TH GRADE
•
Demonstrates understanding of structure and function in living systems
•
Demonstrates understanding of regulation and behavior and response to environmental
stimuli
•
Demonstrates understanding of population and ecosystems and the effects of resources and
energy transfer on populations
•
Demonstrates understanding of evolution, diversity, and adaptation of organisms
•
Demonstrates understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts
•
Demonstrates understanding of health
•
Demonstrates understanding of impact of technology
•
Demonstrates understanding of impact of science
•
Identifies problems; proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the accuracy, design,
and outcomes of investigations
•
Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas
•
Represents data and results in multiple ways
•
Explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students
•
Demonstrates scientific competence by completing a controlled experiment
•
Demonstrates scientific competence by completing secondary research
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March 2006
48
March 2006
TEMPLATES
49
March 2006
50
March 2006
BRAINSTORM WEB TEMPLATE
Social Studies / History
Math
Dance/Music/Drama & Visual Arts
Language Arts
Physical Education/Health
Science/Technology
Field trips/Culminating Activities
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March 2006
ESSENTIAL QUESTION TEMPLATE
Essential Question
Focus Questions
•
•
•
•
Student Outcomes
Think about what you want the student to know and be able to do by the end of this unit.
Content
Process
Skills
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Possible student projects/products:
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March 2006
FOCUS QUESTION PLANNER
Unit of Study: _________________________________
What is the
Focus Question?
What learning
experience will
address the
question?
What resources
will you need?
Books?
Websites?
Primary
Documents?
Art Materials?
Focus: ____________________________
What specific
content will be
covered?
What skills or
strategies will
this activity
focus on?
Is this an
independent
and/or small
group activity?
How will you
differentiate this
How will the
activity to meet
students exhibit
the needs of a
their knowledge?
range of
learners?
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March 2006
WEEKLY PLANNING TEMPLATE (4TH GRADE)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Focus
Social Studies
Reading connected
to the Social Studies
curriculum
Writing Connected
to the Social Studies
Curriculum
Readers’ Workshop
Writers’ Workshop
Art Connection
54
Day 4
Day 5
March 2006
CURRICULUM UNIT RESOURCES
Teacher
Background References
Mapping the Big Picture
Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Students’
Literature
Classroom
Materials
Web sites & Technology
Supports
Interdisciplinary Curriculum:
Design & Implementation
Heidi Hayes Jacobs
http://www.curriculumdesigners.com
Doing History
Levstik and Barton
Social Studies Alive!
Teachers Curriculum
Institute
55
March 2006
THINKING ABOUT ART TEMPLATE
Your Name: ________________________________________
Your School: __________________________________
Name of image: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Look carefully at the picture and fill in the chart below.
What I See
What I Think
Template from Looking to Write by Mary Ehrenworth. Used by permission of author.
56
What I Wonder
March 2006
TEXT SELECTION PLANNER
TO FACILITATE INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
Text Title: __________________________________________________________________
Author: ___________________________________
Text Genre: _________________
Choose a text. Read text carefully and decide how the text can best be used with your
students. [please circle your choice(s)]:
Read Aloud
Shared Reading
Paired Reading
Independent Reading
Small Group Reading
Student Outcomes: Decide what you want the students to know or be able to do as a
result of interacting with this text.
●
●
●
Social Studies Outcomes: What are the specific Social Studies outcomes to be
connected with this text?
●
●
●
ELA Outcomes: What are the specific ELA outcomes? (e.g. main idea, cause/effect,
visualizing)
●
●
●
What will students do to interpret this text?
●
●
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March 2006
PICTURE BOOK PLANNING TEMPLATE
BOOK SYNOPSIS
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March 2006
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ideas:
_________
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Story
Board
March 2006
_________
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Group
Names
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SOURCES:
Page _____
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March 2006
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March 2006
CAUSE-EFFECT TEMPLATE
Causes
Problem
62
Effects
March 2006
NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE
Chapter Title: ______________________________________________________________
Big Idea:
Using only 2 to 3 sentences, tell what the chapter/section is about.
What I Learned (Details):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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March 2006
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SUMMARIZE?
Name ____________________________
Date _______________________________
Text _________________________________________________________________________
1. Read the text and underline/highlight the key words and ideas. Write these in the blank area below
where it says “Words to Help Identify Main Idea.”
2. At the bottom of this sheet, write a 1-sentence summary of the text using as many main idea words
as you can. Imagine you only have $2.00, and each word you use will cost you 10 cents. See if you
can “sum it up” in twenty words!
Words to help identify main idea:
Write the $2.00 sentence here:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
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March 2006
WHAT’S THE POINT?
LOOKING FOR THE MAIN IDEA
Name________________________
Text ____________________________________
As I read, I note the following:
1) ____________________________________
______________________________________
To sum up points 1-4, I think that this
text is mostly about…
______________________________________
______________________________________
2) ____________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
3) ____________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
4) ____________________________________
______________________________________
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March 2006
PARAPHRASE ACTIVITY SHEET
Name ________________________________________
Date _______________________________________
Text _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Actual Text Reads…
In my own words…
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March 2006
OPINION/PROOF THINK SHEET
Name ________________________________________
Date _______________________________________
Text _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
What I think
Evidence
I think the author is stating that…
I know this because…
67
March 2006
STUDENT INTEREST SURVEY
The American Revolution: Founding Women
Pretend you could invite any person in the world to be your teacher. Who would it be and
why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pretend you found a time machine and could go back to any period in history. What period
would you go to and why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Are you a collector? List the things you collect.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How do you learn best? Place a check in the box next to the 3 ways you like to learn.
By listening
By myself (reading, thinking, research)
Talking in group discussions
Drama and role playing (acting)
Playing educational games
Projects
By working with an expert
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March 2006
STUDENT INTEREST SURVEY
The American Revolution: Founding Women
What I know about what New York City was like before 1775:
What I think I know:
What I hope to learn:
Name:
____________________________________
School:
____________________________________
Date:
____________________________________
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March 2006
STUDENT POST-VISIT SURVEY
1. In what ways was your experience at City Hall Academy different from your
regular school experience?
2. What did you learn about about women in the time of the American Revolution?
3. What was the best thing you did/learned at City Hall Academy?
4. If you could tell other students about City Hall Academy, what would you say?
Name _________________________
70
School ________________
March 2006
STUDENT POST-VISIT REFLECTION
Please take a few moments to reflect about your experience at City Hall Academy.
Tell us what you learned, what you liked about the experience, your favorite activities, etc.
Name _________________________
School ________________
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March 2006
POST-RESIDENCY EVALUATION
Dear Teachers:
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer the following questions. It helps us to plan more
effectively for future residencies.
•
Which approaches learned here might be useful to you in your teaching of social studies?
•
Has your planning process changed? If yes, how?
•
Were the strategies for arts integration meaningful? Strategies for integration of other
content? Please explain.
•
How might you use the ideas/methodologies of the SEM?
•
Was the technology support and integration ideas practical/do-able? Please explain.
•
How might you plan to include project-based work in the future?
•
Do you foresee incorporating some of the ideas and practices of student centered independent
inquiry in your classroom? Please explain.
•
Are there any other comments that you’d like to share with us?
Name _________________________
School ________________
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March 2006
LESSON PLAN STRUCTURE
Unit of Study/Theme _______________________
Date ___________________
The Teaching Point: What concept/skill/strategy will you be teaching today?
Why/Purpose/Connection: How does this relate to earlier learning? What is the purpose for
learning this?
Materials/Resources/Readings: What will you use to teach the concept/skill/strategy?
Model/Demonstration: The active teaching part. What will you do? Read aloud? Short shared
text? Process demonstration? Think aloud?
Differentiation: How will you address student learning styles?
Guided Practice: This is when students practice the new learning with teacher guidance.
Independent Exploration: This is an opportunity for students to practice and apply the new
learning independently.
Share/Closure:
Selected students share with purpose of explaining, demonstrating their
understanding and application of teaching point.
Assessment:
How will you assess student learning? How does student response to this
lesson/activity inform future instruction?
Next Steps: How will you follow up and connect today’s learning to future learning? How might
this lead to further student investigation?
Other Notes/Comments:
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March 2006
CONTENT VENN DIAGRAM – GENERAL TOPIC OF STUDY
Subject 1
BOTH
Name _________________________
Subject 2
School ________________
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March 2006
Interdisciplinary Unit of Study
Planning Matrix Template
Focus Questions
1.
Disciplines
2.
3.
Unit of Study:
Essential Question:
I. Initial activities that
introduce, build and engage
students with content
II. Extension activities that
challenge students to deepen
their understanding through
inquiry and application,
analysis, synthesis, etc. of
independent or small group
investigations that allow
students to create, share or
extend knowledge while
capitalizing on student interests
Resources Needed
Literacy
4.
5. colonies different from
that of other of
Content:
The student will:
Describe le
Math/
Science
Social Studies
Process:
The student will:
Learn
use multiple/varied resources
The student will:
independent thinking
The Arts
Technology
75
March 2006
VIDEO VIEWING GUIDE
What did you hear?
What did you see?
What did you realize?
What do you wonder?
76
March 2006
SAMPLE 4TH & 7TH GRADE
LESSON PLANS
The American Revolution:
Founding Women
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March 2006
This unit of study has been developed with, by, and for classroom teachers.
Feel free to use and adapt any or all material contained herein.
Contributing Teachers
Lila Amarasingham
Stephanie Douglas
Norah Lovett
Karen Rosner
Julie Schultz-Sterne
Mark Semioli
Nancy Welch
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THEMATICALLY LINKED MINI-LESSONS:
HISTORICAL SCRIPT WRITING – WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Students will write a(n) historically accurate script based on the life of a key female figure in the
American Revolution.
Materials:
Books on the American Revolution, the internet, journals
Time:
Approximately 10-15 45-minute class periods
Suggested Lessons
Setting the Historical Context
Lesson 1: Where were all the women?
Break the class into learning groups. Provide a basket of books pertaining to the American
Revolution to each group. Give students 15-20 minutes to skim books and then ask each group to
generate a list of ten important people in the American Revolution. Compare lists, and create one
master list. How many people on the list are men? Why are the women underrepresented?
Acknowledging that there were obviously women alive at the time of the American Revolution, ask
students to reflect in their journals what their role may have been.
Lesson 2: A Woman’s place is in the home
Students will discuss and analyze colonial beliefs about women.
In groups students will discuss and analyze the following points of view.
• A woman’s place is in the home.
• Women are mentally inferior to men.
• It is bad for a woman’s looks to think too much.
• Wives are the property of their husbands.
Ask students to discuss with their group how it would feel for colonial women to live in such a
restricted society.
Read Aloud: Ch. #3 (Deborah Samson) from OUTRAGIOUS WOMEN OF COLONIAL AMERICA by
Mary Rodd Furbee and discuss ways in which she defied the generally held opinions of colonial
America. Discuss how Deborah Samson transcended her prescribed role.
Lesson 3: Who were the women of the American Revolution?
Provide students with a list of key female figures in the American Revolution. (Sybil Ludington,
Abigail Adams, Deborah Samson. Patience Lovell Wright, Phyllis Wheatley, Lydia Darragh,
Margaret Corbin, Mercy Otis Warren , etc….) Ask if they have ever heard of any of these women.
Discuss the different roles women played in the American Revolution from spy, water carrier, camp
follower, nurse, farmer, writer, seamstress, soldier and messenger. Discuss how the roles of women
differed from the roles of men
Lesson 4: Researching a historical event or woman
Begin research by deciding on six/seven key Revolutionary War events that involve women. Select a
painting or a drawing that illustrates that event. Glue the illustration to cardstock and on the
backside of the cardstock, write a brief description of the historical event. For simplicity and clarity
each description should be written or printed in a different color. Next, cut the cardstock in to either
four or five puzzle like pieces and distribute to the class. Give students four or five minutes to
reassemble the painting, an activity that not only establishes groups but determines what event a
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student will research, and eventually create into a scene from a play. Some suggested events or
women to study are the Edenton Tea Party, camp followers, the espionage of Lydia Darragh, the
midnight ride of Sybil Ludington, Nancy Morgan Hart, Deborah Samson, woman soldier and the
story of Molly Pitcher.
Now that students have their assignment the research begins and it is the job of the student,
working within the context of a group to learn as much as they can about the event or person.
Students may use books or the internet to obtain factual information about their woman or event.
Information can be organized on the following research sheet.
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RESEARCH ORGANIZER ON
HISTORICAL SCRIPT WRITING – WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Name __________________________________
Name of Woman or event being researched ____________________________
Who is this woman? (What is her background, where is she from, what kind of life was she leading?)
Why was the woman or event important?
Why do you think this woman or event is important to know about?
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Crafting the Script
In this section students learn the ins and outs of playwriting.
Lesson 5: Narrowing the focus
At this point students have been researching a select event or person for a couple of days. It is now
time for them to decide how they want to portray this event or person. To do this they must narrow
their focus. In other words, rather than writing Sybil Ludington’s entire life story they may want to
focus on one pivotal event such as her midnight ride. However, selecting the event must involve a
group consensus.
Lesson 6: Setting
1. Go to a place that is unfamiliar to you, somewhere you have never been or where you go only
rarely. Sit (or stand or walk around) and observe the place carefully. What objects are there
and what do they look like? Can you smell anything? Are there any sounds? Is it cold or
warm? What kind of atmosphere does the place have? Do not write anything down, not even
notes. Just observe with all your senses and try to get a really good feel for the place.
2. Return to the classroom Spend a little time picturing the unfamiliar place you just left. Try
to remember what it looked like, what sounds and smells there were, and so on. Don't write
anything yet; just try to recapture the place in your mind.
3. When you feel you've remembered about as much of your unfamiliar place as you're going to,
begin to write about it. Try to recapture all the things you observed and remembered using
words. Be as precise as you can without being too wordy. Try to describe the place in such a
way that another person reading your words could get a sense of the place.
4. Some time later (the amount of time doesn't really matter -- it can be the same day or a few
days later), return to the rotunda and read the description you wrote. How well did you
capture the place? What details did you miss? Did you put in anything that wasn't really
there? Think about why you might have missed things -- were they unimportant details? Did
they detract from the overall feeling you got about the place? And think about why you might
have added extra details -- did they better capture how you felt about the place than what
was actually there?
5. Revise your description as necessary, deciding whether you prefer to create a completely
accurate description or one that best captures the way you feel about the place.
Lesson 7: Creating an evocative and historically accurate setting
Now that students have practiced creating a setting, it is now time for them to create one that is
historically accurate and evokes the American Revolution.
1. Begin by asking students where and when their scene is going to take place. For example
does it take place in a house, or a battlefield? Is it night or day?
2. Once they have determined where the scene takes place it is now time to gather information
on those particular settings. Students can obtain information about period houses from
books, the internet and our fieldtrip to Morris Jumel mansion
3. Using the technique from the previous lesson, it is time for them to recapture their
observations in words.
Lesson 8: Using inference and artistic license to develop character
In this lesson we will use artistic license as a way of expanding character development.
1. Begin lesson by writing George Washington on a piece of chart paper. Under his name write
some bulleted facts about GW.
2. Say these are some known facts about GW that have been documented and known as true.
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George Washington
• First President of the USA
• Married to Martha Washington
• Had dogs named Tartar, True Love, and Sweet Lips
• 6ft tall and 200 lbs
• Had all his teeth pulled out when he was 57.
3. What we don’t know about GW are the small details of his everyday life, such as what he
said to Martha over dinner, what he was thinking when he got his teeth pulled or how he felt
when he became president.
4. We can use inference to help us make an educated guess as to how he felt to have his teeth
pulled, and artistic license to create a scene based on that fact.
5. Explain that artistic license is.“ the liberty taken by a writer or artist in deviating from
conventional form or fact to achieve an effect.” In other words an artist (writer) is permitted
to use their imagination to create a better or more interesting story.
6. Now allow the students to use artistic license on their own by writing a piece of historical
fiction that elaborates on one of the above facts.
Lesson 9: Developing dialogue using 18th century speech
Do you think the English language has always sounded the way it does today? Would the characters
in your play talk the same as people do today? Why or why not? Using the attached worksheet study
colloquial 18th century speak. Putting yourself into the shoes of an 18th century person practice
talking in this manner with classmates.
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HOW TO SPEAK, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STYLE
I. Use Contractions
Tis = It is
Tis a fine cold day.
Twas = It was
Twas a pity you didn’t do your homework.
Twill = It will
Twill be sure to rain.
II. Call Men Sir and Women Madame or Mistress
Address people according to their relationship with you:
Husband
Neighbor
Brother
Sister
Wife
Friend
Cousin Aunt/Uncle
Young Children / Papa, Mama
Older Children / Father, Mother
III. Greeting
How do you do. Good evening, morning etc….
IV. Your most obedient servant…..
V. Some common eighteenth Century Verbs
to amuse
to astonish
to conclude
to endeavor
to expect
to propose
to protest
to repent
to retire (leave room)
to want (to lack)
to weep
VI. Some common folk expressions
to put on airs
to make the best of a bad bargain
to beat about the bush
not worth a button
poor as a church mouse
to be in the dark
to fit like a glove
to be true blue
as clear as day
to be in a pickle
to forgive and forget
Eighteenth Century Proverbs
Actions speak louder than words.
Beggars must not be choosers.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
No news is good news.
It never rains but pours.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.
Birds of a feather flock together.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
A man’s home is his castle.
Money does not grow on trees.
He that dances must pay the fiddler.
Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
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Lesson 10: Using role play to create realistic dialogue
1. Now that students have practiced using 18th century speak, it is their turn to develop
dialogue that is both informative and believable. Ask students to step out of themselves and
become the person from history that they are researching. Ask them to stand like that person
and walk like that person. Spend a few minutes letting them walk around the room in
character with out talking.
2. Now assuming a character yourself, invite them to a tea party where it is their job to
introduce themselves and carry on a conversation in character.
3. Debrief. What have they learned about dialogue from this activity?
Lesson 11: Understanding the Structure of dialogue within a play
1. Begin with a shared reading of the American Girl short story FELICITY’S DANCING
SHOES. Teacher will read story out loud as students follow along. The reading should be
very dramatic, particularly when it comes to dialogue.
2. Ask students who the characters in the short story are. (Felilicity, Annabelle, Elizabeth and
Mrs. Mandaly)
3. How do you know when a character is speaking? (quotations marks)
4. Now show them page 1 of the student play A SPY AT YORKTOWN, by Sue Macy. Who are
the characters in this play? Tell them the characters in a play are known as a cast. How can
you tell when a member of the cast is speaking? (Their names are bold and followed by a
colon. What they say follows the colon.
Phillips: That was a clever bit of strategy, sir tricking Lafayette into thinking we had
already crossed the river.
Cornwallis: Yes William, they walked right into our trap.
5. Ask students to rewrite FELICITY’S DANCING SHOES using dramatic form.
Lesson 12: Deciding on a Cast of Characters
Now that the groups have selected the event they are going to turn into a script, they must decide on
characters for their play. These characters can be real or fictitious, but they MUST at least be based
on composites of people who lived at the time of the American Revolution.
Lesson 13: Writing Original Dialogue
1. List the characters that are going to be in your play on the CAST page.
2. Decide on who is going to speak first and write that name in marker followed by a colon.
3. Brainstorm what this character will say with the group. If you agree write it down.
4. Decide who will speak next and follow the same procedure
Lesson 14: Writing stage directions
1. Plays are meant to be performed on stage by actors. The actors not only need to know their
lines of dialogue, they must know where to move on stage or how to act in a particular
circumstance. In other words the actors need DIRECTIONS, called stage directions in
drama.
2. Stage directions are indicated through italics. Because it is difficult for students to handwrite
in italics I suggest that all stage directions be highlighted as an alternative.
3. Ask students to reread their scene dialogue and add stage directions where necessary.
Remind them that every line does not need a direction.
The Production:
When the script or scene is finished it should be performed, as that is the purpose of drama. It can be
performed, either with live actors or stage, or using puppets. Scenery, costumes and props should be
as historically accurate as possible.
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MOMENT IN TIME ART LESSON –REVOLUTION: FOUNDING WOMEN
Focus Question: How do artists and writers represent one moment in time?
The following lessons were developed to help students write biographical remarks to accompany the
colonial women puppets they have created. Students will explore several types of narrative paintings
from, or representing, colonial times. They also will read several short texts. The art work and
writing demonstrate how both the artist and the writer singled out one moment in time; the artist
“freezes time” while the writer selects one moment in a story and writes about it in depth.
Teaching Points:
Students will discover how artists and writers focus on one moment in a story
Students will learn that artists and writers make creative choices when they add, subtract
and focus in on small details from a larger story
Students will understand that as artists and writers, they too can make creative choices that
will affect their audiences
Materials: (see attachments)
I. Images
A. On view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Grant Wood
B. On view at the National Gallery of Art
Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley
II. Selected texts
Excerpt from a 4th Grade Student’s Memoir
Excerpt from “Boy” by Roald Dahl
Lesson 1
Shared reading with the following excerpt from a 4th grade student’s writing notebook:
I spent all weekend at my cousin Isabela’s house. We went to her
room and she said, “Let’s jump on the bed.” I was thinking that it
would be a lot of fun to jump on the bed but we might get into trouble
if someone came in. But I really wanted to jump on the bed. I kept
thinking about it. I kept thinking how we could start with little
jumps and then go a little higher and higher. We could pretend that
we were in the circus. Then my mind told me to do it. Isabela and I
started to jump on the bed. It was so much fun, until we got caught.
I was really angry at my mind for making me jump on that bed.
The following questions will enable students to understand that (1) the writer has selected a very
brief moment of time to write about and (2) brief as it is, the writing makes a strong impact on the
reader:

How long did the writer spend with her cousin?
It took us several minutes to read this. How much real time has elapsed from the
beginning to the end of this writer’s entry?
If you were going to select one part of this story to paint, what part would you pick?
What is the pivotal point in the story? (Then my mind told me to do it.).
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Using the Smartboard© or a large reproduction, with smaller copies for students, examine Brook
Watson and the Shark by the colonial artist, John Singleton Copley.
Ask students:
What’s going on in this painting? What makes you say that? (The attachment with
information for the teacher, while it contains the “right answer” should not guide the
conversation)
Is there more to this story? What might have happened before? What might have
happened afterward?
Note that both the 4th grade student and the artist have slowed down or stopped time to highlight
one moment in a larger story. Students try their hand at writing a small moment.
Lesson 2
Working in groups of 3 or 4, students examine a narrative painting. They are directed to:
spend 1-2 minutes quietly observing either:
Washington Crossing the Delaware (a depiction of December, 1776 event) by Emanuel Leutze
(1851)
OR
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (a depiction of April, 1775 event) by Grant Wood (1931)
discuss what the painting is about
fill in the chart (see resources for full-size chart)
Share:
Each group reports back to the whole class. First, all responses to the paintings should be reported.
Then all groups should share their responses to the text.
Students are asked to compare the artist’s role in representing a moment in time, to the writer’s role.
Are they the same? What’s different?
Work of Art / Artist OR
Name of Text / Author
Event Depicted by Artist OR
Described by Author
What’s the larger story?
Lesson 3
Working in groups of 3 or 4, students examine an excerpt of a personal narrative from Roald Dahl’s
memoir Boy. They are directed to:
spend 3-5 minutes quietly reading
discuss what the memoir is about
fill in the chart
Share:
Students discuss the effect of learning a part, rather than the whole, of story. Do the artist and
writer get their points across? Is their work engaging?
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This lesson is used as preparation for the students’ own writing. Students will prepare biographical
remarks about the colonial women their puppets represent. They compare the drafts of their writing
to what they have discussed about representing a moment in time.
Each student should judge his/her own written work by asking the following questions:

Am I telling the whole story of this founding mother’s life or one moment in time?
Is the one moment in time very special, dramatic, mysterious, or exciting?
Will the audience be interested in what I wrote?
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Resources for Moment in Time Art Lesson
Images referred to in lesson and related websites
The following excerpt on the painting may be found
at
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-?Object=46188+0+none
Watson and the Shark's exhibition at the Royal
Academy in 1778 generated a sensation, partly
because such a grisly subject was an absolute
novelty, In 1749, fourteen-year-old Brook Watson
had been attacked by a shark while swimming in
Havana Harbor. Copley's pictorial account of the
traumatic ordeal shows nine seamen rushing to help
the boy, while the bloody water proves he has just
lost his right foot. To lend equal believability to the
setting Copley, who had never visited the
Caribbean, consulted maps and prints of Cuba.
John Singleton Copley
Watson and the Shark
1778
National Gallery of Art
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pimage?46188+0+0
Emanuel Leutze
Washington Crossing the Delaware
1851
(Depiction of an event that occurred on
December 25, 1776)
Grant Wood
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
1931
(Depiction of an event that occurred on
April 18, 1775)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.
asp?dep=2&viewmode=0&isHighlight=1&item=97.3
4
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.
asp?dep=21&viewmode=0&isHighlight=1&item=50.
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Text referred to in lesson
Excerpt from Roald Dahl’s memoir, Boy
It was my first term and I was walking home alone across the village green after school when
suddenly one of the senior twelve-year old boys came riding full speed down on his bicycle about
twenty yards away from me. The road was on a hill and the boy was going down the slope, and as he
flashed by he started backpedaling very quickly so that the free-wheeling mechanism of his bike
made a loud whirring sound. At the same time, he took his hand off the handlebars and folded them
casually across his chest. I stopped dead and stared after him. How wonderful he was! How swift
and brave and graceful in his long trousers with bicycle-clips around them and his scarlet cap at a
jaunty angle on his head! One day, I told myself, one glorious day I will have a bike like that and I
will wear long trousers with bicycle-clips and my school cap will sit jaunty on my head and I will go
whizzing down the hill pedaling backwards with no hands on the handlebars!
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EXAMINING CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION & MOCK TRIAL
Teaching Point 1:
• Students will examine two primary sources of the Boston Massacre and compare and
contrast what they observe from the images.
• Students will draw inferences from their examination of the two images.
Why/Purpose/Connection:
• To provide students with exposure to the Boston Massacre using primary documents open to
diverse interpretations.
• To provide students with a foundational and organizational background for their Boston
Massacre mock trial.
Materials/Resources/Readings:
• Image of Paul Revere’s rendition of Boston Massacre
• Image of Henry Pelham’s recreation of Boston Massacre
• Copies of Paul Revere painting of Boston Massacre
• Copies of Henry Pelham’s recreation of Boston Massacre
• Various images of optical illusions
• Copies of “Boston Massacre: Murder or Self-defense?”
Mini-lesson (model/demonstration):
• Students gather in meeting area
• Teacher presents images of various optical illusions and elicits responses from students
• Teacher demonstrates that two people can be looking at the same thing, but, many times,
may see entirely different things
• Teacher asks the following questions:
o Why do people see different things?
o What are some factors that affect what people see?
o Can there be more than one interpretation of one event or occurrence?
• Teacher charts their responses
Student Exploration/Practice:
• Students are divided into table groups
• Teacher distributes copies of Paul Revere’s engraving and Henry Pelham’s recreation of the
Boston Massacre to each table
• Each student is also provided with their own worksheet and are expected to complete it
during their activity
• In groups, students examine the engraving and are to respond to the questions on their
worksheet
• Students complete worksheets and prepare to report back their findings
• Teacher confers with students during the activity
Share/Closure:
• Students reconvene in meeting area
• Teacher projects or displays both images side-by-side
• Students share their responses in whole class format
• Teacher charts responses in two-column chart, focusing on the differences between the two
recreations
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Assessment:
• This activity provides the teacher with an opportunity to assess student’s ability to decode
and interpret images
• This activity also allows students to compare and contrast ideas that are found in each
artist’s rendering of the Boston Massacre
Next Steps:
• This activity prepares the class to question the events surrounding the Boston Massacre as a
significant cause of the American Revolution
• This activity also provides significant content knowledge for the student to use in their mock
courtroom trial about the Boston Massacre
Homework:
• Write a paragraph answering the following question:
o Which recreation did you find more convincing or accurate? Explain why
Teaching Point 2:
• Students will examine documents related to the events leading up to the American
Revolution and, more specifically, the Boston Massacre, and reenact a mock trial of the
parties involved.
• To provide students with a broad perspective of the causes and the course of events of the
American Revolution through the prism of the Boston Massacre and its surrounding events.
• Legal packets that include the following:
o Image of Paul Revere engraving
o Image of Henry Pelham’s recreation
o Timeline of the history of British-North American Colonial relations from 1763-1775
o Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre
o Henry Pelham’s recreation of the Boston Massacre
o Captain Thomas Prescott’s Account of the Boston Massacre
o Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre
o Facts of case/Courtroom rules (adapted from History Comes Alive Teaching Unit: The
American Revolution, Scholastic Professional Books)
• Teacher explains to students that they will be engaging in a mock trial of the Boston
Massacre
• Teacher hands out Facts of Case/Courthouse Rules document to each student
• Teacher reviews the content of this document with students
• Teacher answers questions from students
• Students will be divided into three groups, with the class size determining the number that
will be in each group
o Group 1–Defense: This group will defend the British soldiers and argue that the
soldiers were justified in shooting the protesters since they were breaking the law
and the soldiers felt threatened. This is the self-defense theory.
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Defendants: Capt. Thomas Preston and his soldiers
Attorney: Judge Adams
Witnesses: British soldier involved in firing upon colonists
o Group 2–Prosecution: This group will defend the colonists and argue that they were
merely protesting when the British initiated their attack upon them
Plaintiff: John Green, wounded member of Patriot mob
Attorney: John Hancock
Witness: Edward Payne, wounded member of Patriot mob
o Group 3–Judges: This group comprises the judges who will ultimately decide the
case. This group will prepare questions for the two groups and query the attorneys
during their presentations
Teacher explains the procedures below to the students:
o Opening Arguments (3-5 minutes)
o Witness testimony (2 questions each from attorneys)
o Closing arguments (3-5 minutes to sum up arguments for and against)
o Deliberations and verdict by judges
Teacher explains that each group will be given research materials in a packet and there will
be other available resources at their tables
Teacher stresses that both sides must use the maps to illustrate events before, during, and
after the Boston Massacre
Students are given the rest of the class time to prepare for the trial
Share/Closure:
• Students reconvene in meeting area and recap what they have accomplished so far in their
preparation of their presentations
• Each group is asked to identify 3-5 “knowledge gaps” in their presentations
• Individual groups members will be assigned specific tasks in order to fill those gaps for the
next class session
Assessment:
• Provides teacher with an authentic view of student’s ability to organize and synthesize
information
• Provides teacher with an authentic view of student’s ability to look for patterns from various
sources of information
Next Steps:
• The students will have made the necessary preparations for the mock trial of the Boston
Massacre on the following day.
Homework:
• Individual students are to fill the knowledge gaps that were identified in the whole class
share. Each student will be given a specific task to fulfill for homework based on the
knowledge gaps in their trial preparation.
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Teaching Point 3:
• Students will reenact the trial of the Boston Massacre using all available evidence to support
their point of view.
• This activity provides an opportunity for students to explore the various aspects of the
Boston Massacre through the examination of primary documents and other available
evidence.
• Legal packets that include the following:
o Image of Paul Revere engraving
o Image of Henry Pelham’s recreation
o Timeline of the history of British-North American Colonial relations from 1763-1775
o Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre
o Henry Pelham’s recreation of the Boston Massacre
o Captain Thomas Prescott’s Account of the Boston Massacre
o Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre
o Facts of case/Courtroom rules (adapted from History Comes Alive Teaching Unit: The
American Revolution, Scholastic Professional Books)
• Gavel
• Declaration of Independence
• Chairs/Desks rearranged like courtroom
• Before trial begins, teacher reviews the trial procedures with students:
o No talking in the courtroom
o All participants refer to judges as “your honor”
o All witnesses must be sworn in under oath, etc.
• Trial activity ensues according to schedule laid out by teacher
• The trial should follow this procedure:
o Plaintiffs introduce their case
o Plaintiffs present and question witnesses
o Plaintiffs present closing arguments
o Judges ask questions of Plaintiffs
o Defendants introduce their case
o Defendants present and question witnesses
o Defendants present closing arguments
o Judges ask questions of Defendants
o Judges convene and render a decision
Share/Closure:
• Teacher debriefs the students on the Boston Massacre mock trial reviewing its causes, how it
illustrates British-colonist relations and its impact
• Students respond in whole class format
• Teacher informs students that in the real trial, the British soldiers were found innocent
thanks to the defense of their lawyer, John Adams
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Assessment:
• Teacher will get an authentic view of student’s ability to participate in group planning and
discussion, assume responsibility for carrying out tasks and cooperate to accomplish team
goals.
Next Steps:
• Teacher can now capitalize on the three organized partnerships for future mock trials and/or
other large group-related activities.
Homework:
• You be the Jury: In a paragraph, explain if you think the British soldiers were guilty or not
guilty. Explain your reasoning
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RESOURCES USED FOR
EXAMINING CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION & MOCK TRIAL LESSONS
http://www.bostonmassacre.net/images/location1.jpg
http://www.discoverboston.com/images/tours/0072.JPG
http://www.bostonmassacre.net/images/bm_map0.gif
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/images/guidebook/
maps/mapofbostonlarge.jpg
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/images/2cris2378b.jpg
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nell/nellfp.jpg
http://www.universityofthepoor.org/schools/artists/image
s/massacre2.jpg
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The Boston Massacre: Murder or Self Defense?
1. Describe what you see in each of these paintings.
2. What are the similarities in the two paintings?
3. What are the differences in the two paintings?
4. Who are the protagonists (“the good guys”)? How can you tell?
5. Who are the antagonists (“the bad guys”)? How can you tell?
6. What attitude did each of the artists have to those involved in the Boston Massacre? Why do you
think so?
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The Boston Massacre
Was Captain Preston to Blame?
Captain Preston's Account
• Captain Preston claimed he ordered his men to load their weapons.
• Captain Preston claimed he heard the crowd yelling fire.
• Captain Preston claimed they were attacked by heavy clubs and snowballs.
• Captain Preston claimed a soldier was hit by a stick and then fired.
• Captain Preston claimed the other soldiers fired in response to the colonist attack.
• Captain Preston claimed he reprimanded his men for firing into the crowd without orders.
Eyewitness Statements in Support of Captain Preston's Statement
• Witnesses including Peter Cunningham claimed they heard Captain Preston order his men
to load their weapons.
• Witnesses including Richard Palmes claimed they asked Captain Preston if he intended to
fire and he said no.
• Witnesses including William Wyatt claimed the crowd was calling for the soldiers to fire.
• Witnesses including James Woodall claimed they saw a stick thrown and hit a soldier, which
prompted him to fire, quickly followed by several other soldiers.
• Witnesses including Peter Cunningham claimed an officer other than Preston was behind
the men and that he ordered the soldiers to fire.
• Witnesses including William Sawyer claimed the crowd threw snowballs at the soldiers.
• Witnesses including Matthew Murray claimed they did not hear Captain Preston order his
men to fire.
• William Wyatt claimed that Captain Preston reprimanded his men for firing into the crowd.
• Edward Hill claimed that Captain Preston made a soldier put away his weapon instead of
allowing him to continue to shoot.
Eyewitness Statements Opposed to Captain Preston's Statement
• Witnesses including Daniel Calef claimed that Captain Preston ordered his men to fire.
• Henry Knox claimed the soldiers were hitting and pushing with their muskets.
• Joseph Petty claimed he did not see any sticks thrown at the soldiers until after the firing.
• Robert Goddard claimed he heard Captain Preston curse his men for not firing when ordered.
• Several soldiers including Hugh White claimed they heard the order to fire and believed they
were obeying his commands.
The facts are unclear. There is some evidence that seems to point to Captain Preston's innocence.
Many people close to him did not hear him give the order to fire despite his order to load the
muskets. In the confusion of a crowd throwing snowballs, sticks and insults at the soldiers, it would
be easy for them to think they received an order to fire. In fact, as noted in the testimony, many in
the crowd were calling them to fire. Because of the lack of evidence, it is not hard to see why the jury
found Captain Preston innocent. The effect of this verdict was much greater than the Crown could
ever have guessed. The leaders of the rebellion were able to use it as proof of Britain's tyranny. For
example, Paul Revere created a famous engraving that he entitled, "The Bloody Massacre
perpetrated in King Street". This was not the only instance of unrest and violence before the
revolution, but the Boston Massacre is often pointed to as the event that presaged the Revolutionary
War. Like the Maine, Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, and the Gulf of Tonkin, the Boston Massacre became
the rallying cry for the patriots.
Source: http://americanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa041401b.htm
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Who Was To Blame For The Deaths of the Colonists During The Boston Massacre?
Captain Prescott was the leader of the British army in Boston. The question is did he give the order to
fire on the crowd of colonists during the Boston Massacre?
Captain Prescott says the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
He ordered his men to load their weapons.
He heard the colonists yelling fire.
He was attacked by heavy clubs and snowballs.
He saw a soldier hit by a stick and then the soldier fired.
His soldiers fired after he was attacked.
He would punish his men who fired without orders
Eyewitness statements supporting Captain Prescott:
•
•
•
•
Peter Cunningham claimed that he heard the Captain tell his soldiers not to load their
weapons.
William Wyatt heard the colonists in the crowd calling for the soldiers to fire.
William Sawyer saw the colonists throw three snowballs at the soldiers.
James Woodall saw a stick thrown and hit a soldier, which caused him to fire. Then, the
other soldiers decided to fire their guns at the crowd.
Eyewitness statements NOT supporting Captain Prescott
•
•
•
•
Daniel Calef heard Captain Prescott order his men to fire.
Henry Knox saw the soldiers hitting and pushing with their muskets.
Robert Goddard heard Captain Prescott curse his men for not firing when ordered.
Several British soldiers said they heard the order to fire and believed they were obeying
his commands.
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Eyewitness Accounts of the "Boston Massacre”
The British point of view:
The American Point of View:
Excerpt from the report of Captain Thomas
Preston:
From an anonymous source:
...In my way there I saw the people in great
commotion, and heard them use the most cruel
and horrid threats against the troops. In a few
minutes after I reached the guard, about 100
people passed it and went towards the custom
house where the king's money is lodged. They
immediately surrounded the sentry posted
there, and with clubs and other weapons
threatened to execute their vengeance on him.
I was soon informed by a townsman their
intention was to carry off the soldier from his
post and probably murder him... I immediately
sent a noncommissioned officer and 12 men to
protect both the sentry and the king's money,
and very soon followed myself to prevent, if
possible, all disorder, fearing lest the officer
and soldiers, by the insults and provocations of
the rioters, should be thrown off their guard
and commit some rash act. They soon rushed
through the people, and by charging their
bayonets in half-circles, kept them at a little
distance. ..The mob still increased and were
more outrageous, striking their clubs or
bludgeons one against another, and calling
out, come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you
lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, G-d damn
you, fire and be damned, we know you dare
not, and much more such language was used.
At this time I was between the soldiers and
the mob, parleying with, and endeavouring all
in my power to persuade them to retire
peaceably, but to no purpose. They advanced
to the points of the bayonets, struck some of
them and even the muzzles of the pieces, and
seemed to be endeavouring to close with the
soldiers. On which some well behaved persons
asked me if the guns were charged. I replied
yes. They then asked me if I intended to order
the men to fire. I answered no, by no means,
observing to them that I was advanced before
the muzzles of the men's pieces, and must fall
a sacrifice if they fired ...While I was thus
speaking, one of the soldiers having received a
severe blow with a stick, stepped a little on
THE HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON,
PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE
FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS
OF THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT WHICH
WITH THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT WERE
THEN QUARTERED THERE; WITH SOME
OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THINGS
PRIOR TO THAT CATASTROPHE
...Whether the boys mistook the sentry for one of
the said party (a group of unruly soldiers who had
been about the area earlier), and thence took
occasion to differ with him, or whether he first
affronted them, which is affirmed in several
depositions,-however that may be, there was
much foul language between them, and some of
them, in consequence of his pushing at them with
his bayonet, threw snowballs at him, which
occasioned him to knock hastily at the door of the
Custom House. From hence two persons
thereupon proceeded immediately to the mainguard, which was posted opposite to the State
House, at a small distance, near the head of the
said street. The officer on guard was Capt.
Preston, who with seven or eight soldiers, with
firearms and charged bayonets, issued from the
guardhouse, and in great haste posted himself
and his soldiers in front of the Custom House,
near the corner aforesaid. In passing to this
station the soldiers pushed several persons with
their bayonets, driving through the people in so
rough a manner that it appeared they intended to
create a disturbance. This occasioned some
snowballs to be thrown at them which seems to
have been the only provocation that was given.
Mr. Knox (between whom and Capt. Preston
there was some conversation on the spot)
declares, that while he was talking with Capt.
Preston, the soldiers of his detachment had
attacked the people with their bayonets and that
there was not the least provocation given to Capt.
Preston of his party; the backs of the people being
toward them when the people were attacked. He
also declares, that Capt. Preston seemed to be in
great haste and much agitated, and that,
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one side and instantly fired, on which turning
to and asking him why he fired without orders,
I was struck with a club on my arm, which for
some time deprived me of the use of it, which
blow had it been placed on my head, most
probably would have destroyed me.
On this a general attack was made on the men
by a great number of heavy clubs and
snowballs being thrown at them, by which all
our lives were in imminent danger, some
persons at the same time from behind calling
out, damn your bloods-why don't you fire.
Instantly three or four of the soldiers fired, one
after another, and directly after three more in
the same confusion and hurry. The mob then
ran away, except three unhappy men who
instantly expired, in which number was Mr.
Gray at whose rope-walk the prior quarrels
took place; one more is since dead, three others
are dangerously, and four slightly wounded.
The whole of this melancholy affair was
transacted in almost 20 minutes. On my
asking the soldiers why they fired without
orders, they said they heard the word fire and
supposed it came from me. This might be the
case as many of the mob called out fire, fire,
but I assured the men that I gave no such
order; that my words were, don't fire, stop your
firing. In short, it was scarcely possible for the
soldiers to know who said fire, or don't fire, or
stop your firing.
according to his opinion, there were not then
present in King street above seventy or eighty
persons at the extent. The said party (British
soldiers) was formed into a half circle; and within
a short time after they had been posted at the
Custom House, began to fire upon the people.
Captain Preston is said to have ordered them to
fire, and to have repeated that order. One gun
was fired first; then others in succession and with
deliberation, till ten or a dozen guns were fired;
or till that number of discharges were made from
the guns that were fired. By which means eleven
persons were killed and wounded, as above
represented.
see the complete text
Source: http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/eyewit-boston.htm
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Deposition of Robert Goddard
The Soldiers came up to the Centinel and the Officer told them to place themselves
and they formd a half moon. The Captain told the Boys to go home least there should
be murder done. They were throwing Snow balls. Did not go off but threw more Snow
balls. The Capt. was behind the Soldiers. The Captain told them to fire. One Gun
went off. A Sailor or Townsman struck the Captain. He thereupon said damn your
bloods fire think I'll be treated in this manner. This Man that struck the Captain
came from among the People who were seven feet off and were round on one wing. I
saw no person speak to him. I was so near I should have seen it. After the Capt. said Damn your
bloods fire they all fired one after another about 7 or 8 in all, and then the officer bid Prime and
load again. He stood behind all the time. Mr. Lee went up to the officer and called the officer by
name Capt. Preston. I saw him coming down from the Guard behind the Party. I went to Gaol the
next day being sworn for the Grand Jury to see the Captain. Then said pointing to him that's the
person who gave the word to fire. He said if you swear that you will ruin me everlastingly. I was so
near the officer when he gave the word fire that I could touch him. His face was towards me. He
stood in the middle behind the Men. I looked him in the face. He then stood within the circle. When
he told 'em to fire he turned about to me. I lookd him in the face.
Source: http://www.bostonmassacre.net/trial/d-goddard.htm
Deposition of Benjamin Burdick
When I came into King Street about 9 o'Clock I saw the Soldiers round the
Centinel. I asked one if he was loaded and he said yes. I asked him if he would
fire, he said yes by the Eternal God and pushd his Bayonet at me. After the firing
the Captain came before the Soldiers and put up their Guns with his arm and
said stop firing, dont fire no more or dont fire again. I heard the word fire and
took it and am certain that it came from behind the Soldiers. I saw a man passing
busily behind who I took to be an Officer. The firing was a little time after. I saw
some persons fall. Before the firing I saw a stick thrown at the Soldiers. The word fire I took to be a
word of Command. I had in my hand a highland broad Sword which I brought from home. Upon my
coming out I was told it was a wrangle between the Soldiers and people, upon that I went back and
got my Sword. I never used to go out with a weapon. I had not my Sword drawn till after the
Soldier pushed his Bayonet at me. I should have cut his head off if he had stepd out of his Rank to
attack me again. At the first firing the People were chiefly in Royal Exchange lane, there being
about 50 in the Street. After the firing I went up to the Soldiers and told them I wanted to see
some faces that I might swear to them another day. The Centinel in a melancholy tone said
perhaps Sir you may.
Source: http://www.bostonmassacre.net/trial/d-burdick.htm
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March 2006
Deposition of Theodore Bliss
At home. I heard the Bells for fire.t:3 Went out. Came to the Town House. The People
told me there was going to be a Rumpus with the Soldiers. Went to the Custom house.
Saw Capt. Preston there with the Soldiers. Asked him if they were loaded. He said yes.
If with Ball. He said nothing. I saw the People throw Snow Balls at the Soldiers and
saw a Stick about 3 feet long strike a Soldier upon the right. He sallied and then fired.
A little time a second. Then the otherl s l fast after one another. One or two Snow balls hit the
Soldier, the stick struck, before firing. I know not whether he sallied on account of the Stick or
step'd back to make ready. I did not hear any Order given by the Capt. to fire. I stood so near him I
think I must have heard him if he had given an order to fire before the first firing. I never knew
Capt. Preston before. I can't say whether he had a Surtout on, he was dressed in red. I know him to
be the Man I took to be the Officer. The Man that fired first stood next to the Exchange lane. I saw
none of the People press upon the Soldiers before the first Gun fired. I did after. I aimed a blow at
him myself but did not strike him. I am sure the Captain stood before the Men when the first Gun
was fired. I had no apprehension the Capt. did give order to fire when the first Gun was fired. I
thought, after the first Gun, the Capt. did order the Men to fire but do not certainly know. I heard
the word fire several times but know not whether it came from the Captain, the Soldiers or People.
Two of the People struck at the Soldiers after the first Gun. I dont know if they hit 'em. There were
about 100 people in the Street. The muzzles of the Guns were behind him. After the first Gun the
Captain went quite to the left and I to the right.
Source: http://www.bostonmassacre.net/trial/d-bliss.htm
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March 2006
Ye Olde North Courthouse Rules
•
Only one person speaks at a time. There is no other talking in the courtroom while the
trial is in session.
•
There is no yelling in the courtroom. All lawyers and judges must speak in a proper
tone.
•
All participants in the trial must remain in their seats unless they are called upon by
the court clerk (teacher).
•
All lawyers must refer to the judges as “your honor.”
•
All witnesses must be sworn in under oath.
•
All witnesses must tell the truth as they see it. If they do not, they will be expelled from
the courtroom.
•
The lawyers must observe the time limits for their presentations
•
The judges will not question lawyers until ALL the evidence is presented.
Directions:
Using the facts provided below and the other information provided in your legal packets, we
will hold a classroom trial for the soldiers accused of killing Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray,
James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr – all “victims” of the Boston Massacre.
Based on what you have seen and heard, are the soldiers guilty of murder or did they act in
self-defense? As lawyers, prepare to present your case to the judges.
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Edward Garrick v. King George, Boston, 1774
The Facts of the Case: As we have seen by studying Paul Revere’s and Henry Pelham’s
drawings of the Boston Massacre, reasonable minds can disagree on what actually
happened on this fatal day. Based on the testimony of some eyewitnesses, the following
information is believed to be true:
1. Edward Garrick, a wigmakers’ teenage apprentice, started the incident by harassing
Private Hugh White, a British soldier. This type of behavior toward British soldiers
was very common during this time.
2. The British soldiers were under direct orders not to shoot at anyone since no war
had been declared
3. Private White hit Garrick with one end of the musket. Garrick ran away, but soon
returned with more people. Before long, a crowd of hostile people, including Crispus
Attucks, had formed.
4. Private White yelled for reinforcements. Captain Thomas Prescott heard the cry and
arrived with seven more soldiers.
5. The men taunted the soldiers, pelting them with sticks, stones, and snowballs...
6. One soldier, who was hit by a flying object, fired his rifle accidentally.
7. Captain Prescott never gave his soldiers any orders to fire. Instead, he shouted out
“Don’t fire. Hold your fire!”
8. At the same time, people in the crowd called out things like “Come on, you lobster
scoundrels – fire if you dare!”
9. Soon many rifles were going off. By the time it was over, five men had been killed
and many others were injured
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March 2006
Legal Activity Sheet
1. INTRODUCTION: Your honor, today, we _________________________, are here to prove to this
honorable court that our clients,___________________________, are guilty/not guilty of the events
that took place on the 5th of March in the year 1770. What is now called the Boston Massacre is a
terrible event for all involved, but we believe that we will show beyond the shadow of a doubt
that justice will be served.
2. EVIDENCE: What are four reasons why ______________ are guilty/not guilty?
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. EVIDENCE : What are four reasons why _____________________ are guilty/not guilty?
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. RESOURCES: What resources support my position?
a.
b.
c.
d.
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5.
March 2006
RESOURCES: How does each resource support our position?
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
SUMMARY: We, _____________________, believe that the evidence will show that
__________________ are guilty/not guilty of the crimes committed on the 5th day of March in the
year 1770 in the city of Boston. We hope we have convinced you of the truth of our words, your
honor.
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March 2006
Lesson: Fable and Snake
Unit of Study/Theme: American Revolution: Founding Women
Teaching Point:
• Students will discuss Ben Frankin’s fable and snake cartoon, and try to make the connection
as to how Patriots felt toward the British
• Skill: interpreting information
• Strategy: accountable talk using the Socratic Seminar model
• As part of the study of the American Revolution, students will learn about cartoons and
writings of the times that symbolized American anger toward Britain.
• Copies of fable, cartoon, charts (attached) of rules, goals, and discussion starters, completed
template of how discussion will be organized
• Students should be seated in a circle
Mini-lesson (model/demonstration)
• Teacher posts and reads a chart of goals of discussion
• Teacher posts and reads a chart of discussion rules
• Teacher posts and reads a chart of discussion starters
• Teacher explains that the class is going to discuss text on handouts
• Teacher directs students to read the text silently and to note a particular line that speaks to
them.
• When all students look like they have completed a silent reading of text, and viewing of the
cartoon, teacher reads the text aloud with dramatic flare
• Teacher informs students that the discussion will begin with every student having the
opportunity to read the line from the text that is most important to him or her without
raising hands and needing to be called upon, but by taking a turn around the circle. If
students do not want to share they may simply say, “pass,” when it is their turn.
• Teacher designates a starting point on the circle and allows students to read their line.
• When all students have taken a turn, teacher asks this yes or no question, “In this text and
the cartoon, creatures are used to symbolize a point. Do you think there is anything similar
about their messages?”
• Students respond in the same manner as the reading of the lines, by taking turns saying yes
or no or pass. (Beginning a discussion like this is known as a whip, according to Socratic
seminar format.)
• Depending on answers, teacher may follow up this question by saying, “I want to hear form
someone who said no.”
• The rest of the discussion cannot be planned. It must develop according to student
responses. Main things to be aware of is how and when students are answering. The
teacher acts as facilitator to bring discussion back to topic, invite students to support
comments with text or other examples, and urge students who are not talking, or those who
look like they want to talk to add their input.
• Part of the core of the discussion is having students to try to interpret cartoon and fable
(text) through the eyes of a Patriot.
• Close discussion by re-asking the initial yes or no question and assess whether students
changed their answers after having thought deeply through discussion.
• Students can practice discussion starters in further discussions.
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March 2006
Share/Closure:
• Direct students to turn papers over, signifying that discussion of the text is over for now and
invite comments on what this process was like, requiring students to established routines of
raising hands.
Assessment:
• Use Accountable Talk rubric from Institute for Learning, Learning Research and
Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
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March 2006
The Whelp and the English Mastiff
A Ben Franklin Fable
A lion’s whelp was put on board a ship bound to America….It was tame and harmless as a kitten,
and therefore not confined but allowed to walk around the ship. A stately English mastiff, belonging
to the Captain, despising the weakness of the young lion frequently took its food by force and beat
the whelp up. The young lion nevertheless grew daily in size and strength, and the voyage being
long, he became at last a more equal match for the English mastiff, who continued his insults and
eventually received a stunning blow from the lion’s paw.
In the end the English mastiff regretted that he had not rather secured the lion’s friendship than
provoked its enmity.
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March 2006
Goals and Purpose of Discussion Chart for Fable and Snake Lesson
To become a better
Reader
Speaker
Listener
Thinker
Questioner
Rules of Discussion chart:
1. Read actively.
2. Listen respectfully.
3. Speak clearly when you have something to add, as long as no one else is speaking —
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RAISE YOUR HAND
4. support statements with text
5. question each other
Discussion starters chart:
“I agree/disagree with ___________________________.....”
It sounds to me like you are saying_____________________________....”
Can you tell me where you got that idea from the text?”
I would like to add/echo/piggyback on _____________________’s idea….”
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March 2006
Unit of Study/Theme: Revolution: Founding Women
Lesson: Socratic Seminar using Oh Say Bonny Lass (Colonial song)
Teaching Point:
• Using lyrics from the 18th Century Song Oh Say Bonny Lass, students will interpret the text
and engage in accountable talk through a Socratic Seminar (For more information on
Socratic Seminar, see The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminar to Socratic Practice by
Michael Strong, 1997.)
• Students will discuss the lyrics of Oh Say Bonny Lass, which recounts a conversation
between a soldier and his girlfriend, to add to their understanding of the role of women,
particularly camp followers, during the American Revolution.
• Copies of Oh Say Bonny Lass
• Recording of Oh Say Bonny Lass
(suggested CD: Music of the American Revolution available on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0766022390/002-7074260-1403252?v=glance&n=283155
• Charted discussion goals
• Students should be seated in a circle
Mini-lesson (model/demonstration)
• Post and explain rules for engaging in a Socratic Seminar
• Distribute copies of lyrics. At this point, it is not necessary to tell students that the text
represents lyrics of a song.
• Review vocabulary words to facilitate reading. (bonny, lass, laddy, famine)
• Ask students to read the text silently and ask that they note a particular line that speaks to
them.
• Inform students that the discussion will begin with every student having the opportunity to
read the line from the text that is most important to him or her. Without raising hands and
waiting to be called upon, students will take turns around the circle. If students opt not to
share, they may simply say, “pass,” when it is their turn.
• Designate a starting point on the circle and allow students to read their selected line.
• When all students have taken a turn, ask this yes/no question, “Are the words used in this
text something we would hear today?” Students respond in the same manner as the reading
of the lines, by taking turns saying “yes”, “no”, or “pass”.
• After completing whip (Socratic form) ask students to explain their answer. Students will
most likely engage in a discussion about the words/expressions sounding “old” or from the
past.
• Although the rest of the discussion cannot be planned, it can be facilitated by asking some of
the following questions.
1. What is happening in this text?
2. What do you notice?
3. Is there a structure? What is it?
(You want students to note that there is a question-answer structure in the text)
4. Who are the speakers?
5. What do we learn from the “conversation?”
115
•
•
March 2006
After the students discuss the text and explore its meaning, play the recording of Oh Say
Bonny Lass, which is sung as a duet. Ask if any of the students realized that they were
reading lyrics from a song. Point out the structure of the song (question-answer, soldiergirlfriend) if it was not articulated in the discussion.
Launch into a discussion of the roles of women in the American Revolution and discuss role
of camp followers. (see note below)
Extension:
• Students can write letters as the soldier or the girlfriend
• Students can write new verses as one of the speakers
• Students can create their own melody
• Students can create and enact a short scene with dialogue
Assessment:
• Use Accountable Talk rubric from Institute for Learning, Learning Research and
Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
Note on Camp Followers:
Camp followers were people, generally women and children, who followed troops from battle
to battle. Their responsibilities were to cook, carry water, do laundry, mend clothes, and tend to the
sick and wounded. Camp followers came from all social classes and were a necessary aspect of life
during the American Revolution. Some women even took to fighting as their husbands, sons, or
brothers were wounded or killed. Though camp followers performed needed functions, they were
often hard to manage.
For more on camp followers, see Camp Followers of the American Revolution by Walter Hart
Blumenthal, and Revolutionary Mothers by Carol Berkin.
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Oh Say Bonny Lass
O! say, bonny lass, can you lie in a barrack,
And marry a soldier and carry his wallet?
O, say, will you leave both your mammy and daddy,
And follow to the camp with you soldier laddy?
O, yes, I will do it and think nothing of it.
I’ll marry my soldier and carry his wallet.
O, yes, I will leave both my mammy and daddy.
And follow to the camp with my soldier laddy.
O! say, bonny lass, will you go a-campaigning,
Endure all the hardships of battle and famine?
When wounded and bleeding, then will thou draw near me,
And kindly support me, and tenderly cheer me?
O! say, bonny lass, will you go into battle,
Where the drums are beaten, and cannons loud rattle?
O, yes, my bonny lad, I will share all thy arms,
And should thou be killed, I will die in thy arms.
Source: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/song-midis/Oh_Say_Bonny_Lass.htm
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March 2006
Lesson: Book Cover Analysis
Unit of Study/Theme: American Revolution: Founding Women
Teaching Point:
• Good readers prepare to read a story by paying attention to clues on its front and back book
covers.
• Students will make predictions about historical fiction novels they will be reading in class.
• Students will have a model for the book covers they will be designing for their own historical
fiction writing projects.
• Independent reading books – Revolutionary War historical fiction
o The Secret of Sarah Revere
o My Brother Sam is Dead
o The Fighting Ground
o Guns for General Washington
• Student notebooks/pens/pencils
• Teacher’s model sample text (Or Give Me Death)
• Chart paper/Marker
• Analysis Worksheet: What I Know, What I Can Infer, Questions I Have (attached)
• Teacher explains that paying attention to a book’s cover can help us to prepare for what to
expect in the text. It can give us context, offer us background, perhaps offer guiding
questions.
• Teacher begins by asking, “What can we infer/guess from analyzing book’s front and back
cover?” Teacher models the answers as he/she analyzed the different parts.
• Teacher models with Ann Rinaldi’s Or Give Me Death. Teacher ponders title – What is this in
reference to? Prior knowledge can help, and in this instance, a teacher would know the
reference of the title, but students may not. The author is going to make references to
names, events and statements of historical things throughout the story. This makes reading
a little tricky.
• Teacher looks at images. He/she can determine that there will be a female character – a girl
about 15 years old – and that something is set in woodland area.
• Teacher looks at the back cover and refers to the question, “Should you tell the truth when it
will hurt someone you love?” This question is going to figure prominently in this story.
What can we tell by this guiding question? We know that there are hidden secrets in this
family. A character is going to be hurt by a truth.
• Teacher looks at blurb – There’s information about Patrick Henry. What do we know? He
was a famous statesman. His wife was crazy. He had children. Why do you think he locked
his wife in the cellar?
• Teacher uses analysis chart written on chart paper and fills in what we know/what we can
infer/what questions we have from analyzing the book’s front and back cover.
• Students look at and analyze the covers of their own historical fiction independent reading
books and fill in the analysis worksheet.
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March 2006
Share/Closure:
• Students who analyzed same book cover will gather together and choose the top three things
they could ascertain from the book cover. Groups share with the rest of class.
Assessment:
• Charts and group talk can be assessed.
Next Steps:
• Students ponder the question on the back cover of the Or Give Me Death: Should you tell the
truth when it will hurt someone you love? Students write a reflection. Class can have a
follow-up discussion.
• Students will use this analysis sheet for each chapter they read of their independent reading
books.
• Students can start thinking about their own historical fiction writing projects and how they
will design their own book covers.
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Name: ____________________________________________________________
Book Title: ________________________________________________________
Analysis of: ________________________________________________________
What I Know
What I Can Infer
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Questions I Have
March 2006
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
Use the following character descriptions to help students write in the voice of a colonial character.
Note that the colonial region that a character came from has been color-coded. Characters appearing
is red are from New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut). Those
in green are from the Middle States (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware). Those in
blue are from the Southern States (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina & South Carolina, Georgia)
Levi Fletcher, 21, Congregationalist minister from western Massachusetts. Last year he heard
Jonathan Edwards preach a sermon, and he was caught up in the “Great Awakening”. Since then he
has been traveling throughout the colonies speaking at outdoor religious meetings, leaving his young
wife and her brother to manage the family, farm and fruit orchard.
Laura Fletcher, 19, wife of Levi Fletcher who spends his time traveling around the colonies
preaching at religious meetings. Laura has 2 children, 2 and 4, and spends her time managing the
fruit orchard in western Massachusetts that she and Levi inherited from Levi’s father.
Theresa Sutterton, 15, Oliver Sutterton’s daughter, knows that her father’s tailoring business is not
for her. She has always loved the open sea and dreams of leaving Boston to travel to far away places.
In her free time when she is not doing chores, she sneaks down to the docks and writes down her
observations.
Mercy Halloway, 14, cousin of Lucas Halloway and Theresa Sutterton’s best friend. Mercy’s father is
a cooper and her mother passed away in childbirth. Mercy helps her father with the books for his
business, but is more interested in learning his trade.
Simon Saint-Jacques, 30, is a wealthy merchant from Newport, Rhode Island. His parents came to
America from France to escape the Catholic persecution of Protestants. His father was a poor
fisherman, but Simon owns 14 ships and has grown rich on trade with England, the West Indies and
Africa. Simon is married to Mary, his second wife. His first wife, Abigail, died in childbirth.
Mary Perkins Saint-Jacques, 26, Mary is married to Simon Saint-Jacques, a wealthy ship-owner.
Born in England, Mary came to Newport, Rhode Island as an indentured servant at the age of 16.
She worked for Simon’s family as a maid. Simon’s wife, Abigail, taught her how to read and write.
After Abigail died in childbirth, Simon married Mary.
Simon MacLeary, 17, lives in Boston and is an apprentice to the tailor, Oliver Sutterton. Simon can’t
stand the man or his profession, but he is desperately in love with Mr. Sutterton’s daughter, Theresa,
who is 15. Simon keeps his deceased mother’s silver serving platter hidden away for safe keeping.
Katrin van Weert, 16, is an orphan from the upper Hudson Valley of New York. Her parents were
killed and their farm was burned in an Indian raid when she was 7. Since then, she has been living
with her aunt and uncle on their own farm, but she has never gotten along with them.
Matthew Travis, 21, grew up in Manhattan. One of his grandfathers came from England and his
grandmother was a Lenape Indian. His family earned a living by hunting, trapping and trading
beaver fur and running a small farm in the Bronx (Bronchs).
Jonathan Harris, 32, is a printer, bookseller and brewer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He parents
were New Englanders of Puritan families. He is interested in science; his most prized possession is a
brass telescope made in England. He plays the violin and his wife accompanies him on the
harpsichord.
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Rebecca Harris, 29, is married to Jonathan Harris, a printer and bookseller. She is a Quaker whose
grandfather came from England. She plans to open a school of music in Philadelphia when her
children are grown. She learned nursing skills as a girl and is often called upon to help women who
are having babies.
Jupiter Harris, 35, was once a slave belonging to Jonathan Harris’s family in Philadelphia. He
bought his freedom, but still works for the Harrises, helping to run Jonathan’s brewery and earning
extra money as a blacksmith. He parents were both born in Africa and brought to America on a slave
ship.
Peter Van der Hoff, 27, is a tanner. His grandparents came from the Netherlands with the Dutch
West India Company to first settle the colony of New Amsterdam (now New York). He is an expert
equestrian and takes mysterious rides at night.
Celia Van der Hoff, 22, is married to Peter Van der Hoff. As a child, Celia had a terrible riding
accident which seems to have left her unable to have children. She is a voracious reader and follower
of current events. While she lives in New York, her older sister lives in Boston and the two of them
are in constant contact through letters.
Jacob Marten, 40, is a constable in Philadelphia. He was in trouble with the law when he was young
and a family friend in high places took care of it. From that point forward he has lived strictly by the
law and will go to great lengths to uphold it. He has many friends in London.
Lucy Marten, 33, is married to Jacob Marten. Together they have 3 children. Lucy is one of the
finest seamstresses in Philadelphia and often tutors local young girls the finery of the craft. She is
secretly writing a play.
Nathan Levy, 42, is a Common Councilman, even though he is a Jew. England has frowned upon
rights of Jews to hold office, but policy hasn’t been enforced in New York and he has done quite well
for himself. His wife, Sarah Levy, and he have 3 daughters. Sarah’s brothers and father are kosher
meat merchants.
Sarah Levy, 39, is wife of Nathan Levy. They have 3 grown daughters. Her brothers and father are
kosher meat merchants. Sarah must care for her invalid mother and is gone from her own New York
home for days on end.
Lucas Halloway, 30, is a sugar merchant in New York. He hides the fact that he has been losing his
sight over the past year, but concealing it has become more difficult. Up until recently, he’s been
considered the best dart player at his local tavern where he spends a fair amount of time.
Martha Halloway, 24, wife of Lucas Halloway, is a keen observer and records everything in her diary.
Together they have 3 children and live in New York. Martha pays close attention to her husband’s
business dealings. He is a terrible bookkeeper, and while Martha doesn’t dare say anything, she
sneaks in to change his accounting record books for him.
Timothy Crane, 34, is a landowning gentleman. Eighty slaves work his rye plantation situated along
the Hudson River in New York. Timothy is an excellent marksman and enjoys hunting. He takes his
3 sons – age 14, 12 and 9 with him. He is not fond of his brother-in-law’s political leanings.
Deborah Crane, 30, is married to Timothy Crane and they have 3 sons. They own a rye plantation in
New York. Her brother Cyrus is a Patriot, and her husband has forbidden her to speak with him.
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Deborah has befriended their coachman, a slave named Tobias, who gets correspondence to and from
her brother.
Cyrus Bellamy, 32, is a printer in New York. His wife and their two children died a year ago when a
magistrate’s carriage knocked the wheel off of the wagon they were riding it and it overturned. He
has publicly criticized the king and has lost business because of it.
Samuel Warren, 27, is a privateer (a legal pirate!) of epic proportions. He came to New York as a
stowaway when he was 10 and has made a life for himself on the seas ever since. He is extremely
superstitious.
Charles Otis, 20, left his family’s South Carolina rice plantation to settle in Philadelphia because of
his opposition to slavery. His family has disowned him, and he makes his living as a “phiz monger” –
a local artist who paints portraits.
John Hodgins, 26, is a silversmith in Philadelphia, known for his gregariousness as much as his fine
artistry. He and his wife have six children, and each of them plays at least one instrument. There is
always something happening at the Hodgins’.
Elizabeth Hodgins, 24, is married to her childhood sweetheart, John Hodgins, and together they have
six children. There is always something happening in their Philadelphia home, whether it’s a family
musical performance or a quilting bee. The Hodgins also house a boarder, Amelia Warren.
Amelia Warren, 23, is a redemptioner (similar to an indentured servant), working as a domestic. She
is on a quest to make a better life for herself in the colonies and to find her long-lost brother, whom
she believes may be in Philadelphia or New York. Amelia is renting a room in the Hodgins’ home in
Philadelphia.
Mrs. Catherine Edwards, 29, runs her own cosmetic business in Philadelphia, offering “An Admirable
Beautifying Wash for Hands, Face and Neck.” Her husband mysteriously disappeared on a sailing
vessel last year. Some say he ran away with his mistress.
Widow Vanderspiegel, 40, is a widower. She was granted free license from Philadelphia’s Common
Council to run her own retail shop where she has a very successful imported glass business. She
gives a generous amount of money to the church.
Sally Livingston, 15, is a slave for the Livingston family in South Carolina. Her father was sold
south after getting caught trying to escape. She remains on the Livingston’s cotton plantation with
her mother and brother. She has a passion for dressmaking and saves any scraps of fabric she can
find.
Larissa Day owns a large tobacco plantation with 100 slaves in King William County, Virginia. She
is 35 years old, has four children, and has been running the plantation since her husband started
fighting in the Revolutionary War. Some of her ancestors were the first to arrive in Jamestown in
1607.
Sarah Day, 19, is a maid for Larissa Day. She was born in Africa and was brought to Virginia on a
slave ship when she was 7. She worked in the fields until she was 14, when Mrs. Day brought her
into the house as her personal servant. Sarah can not read or write, but has become an excellent
dressmaker.
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March 2006
Ellen MacGillis, 75. Ellen has seen it all. She came to Maryland from Scotland as a bride of 23. She
and her first husband were Catholics seeking religions freedom in America. She has farmed all of
her life, outlived three husbands, and borne 16 children, seven of whom survived.
Jonathan Bartlet, 23, is a night watchman on the docks in Charleston, South Carolina. His job is
very dangerous, since the cargo coming into port includes gold and slaves. He plays his fiddle to calm
his nerves.
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March 2006
IDEAS TO INFUSE TEACHING OF INFERENCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES LESSONS
Day-to-day life
Life of Women
Students are given an image of a colonial kitchen.
From this painting, the students write
descriptions of the different tasks and responsibilities women had in the kitchen.
In addition,
students try to determine for what kinds of tasks the objects in the kitchen were used.
Battlefield
Students are given image of a battlefield scene including women on the scene. From the images,
students infer what women’s roles were on the battlefield as well as what ways they were helping
out in the field.
Looking at artifacts
Students are given a set of colonial images (candle maker, foot warmer, corset) and asked to pretend
that they are archaeologists. Students attempt to figure out what the item was, what it was used
for, and what is says about the people who used it. (See: History’s Mysteries)
Reading Journal Entries
Students are given different journal entries written by people from different classes. From reading
the journals, students are asked to make inferences about what sort of life their colonial character or
a person in this class would live. (Journal entries included in binder)
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126
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TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCES @ CHA
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128
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CLASSROOM TOOLS
Version 7.5
Inspiration® is a visual learning tool that can help students organize their thinking
and understand relationships between concepts. Students and teachers can
brainstorm together to create concept maps, storyboards, cause and effect diagrams
and outlines. Inspiration® can be used in all curriculum areas.
Inspiration
Brainstorming
Webbing
Concept
Mapping
Visual
Learning
Planning
Organizing
Diagramming
Outlining
Prewriting
A graphic organizer:
•
Brainstorming and generating ideas
•
Organizing ideas, facts
•
Planning tool
•
A visual map of ideas
•
Hierarchical structure to support writing
•
Reveal dimensions, illuminate, provide insight
For the Inspiration® quick start Tutorial, go to
http://www.inspiration.com/tutorials/index.cfm?fuseaction=insp
Inspiration® is now also available in Spanish, to learn more, go to
http://www.inspiration.com/espanol/
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CLASSROOM TOOLS
TrackStar is a web-based tool that helps teachers organize and annotate websites
for online research activities.
Tracks allow teachers to organize pre-selected
websites that they have reviewed for reading level and content that is appropriate
and pertinent to a class project. As a result, online research becomes more focused;
students are not aimlessly searching the Internet and they do not have to enter any
webpage addresses!
•
Go online to http://trackstar.4teachers.org
First, let’s review three posted tracks.
Women of the American Revolution
Track # 242428
To view a track
Enter these track numbers
in the box entitled
View a Track and click Go
Features of the Brooklyn Bridge
Track # 188009
Folktales
Track # 140293
At each title page, read the track description. What information does the teacher
provide? Do you have a sense of the activity students were supposed to complete
and why?
•
Click on View in Frames to enter track (Also, check out View in Text, too!)
As you review each track, consider the following:
•
How the window is organized
•
•
The focus of the track
•
•
The number and quality of websites
listed
•
The annotation provided and the
questions posted
How to move around the websites
How would you change/improve this
track
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March 2006
Track Features
Tracks have three (3) features:
1. The Left frame → Titles of all websites students may visit (you can
change/shorten an official site title and provide a title students will readily
identify)
2. The Top frame → The webpage title you’ve created, URL and teacher
annotations (these might include questions, directions etc.)
3. Stage Frame → The webpage
Track Title
Webpage title, URL and annotations
1. Links
Stage Frame:
The Webpage
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March 2006
Creating a Track
¾ Go to the main page http://trackstar.4teachers.org
¾ Under Make a Track, click Create an Account and Start Making Tracks
¾ Complete New User Sign Up and follow directions to create your account
¾ The TrackStar site offers a detailed tutorial on planning, creating and editing
your tracks.
Before you make a track!
Use the Track Star Draft Worksheet (see next page) as a guide to gather all the
information necessary for building your track.
While it might seem time consuming to create the track as a worksheet in Word
first, this process has several advantages:
1. It’s easier to change the order of how you would like the websites listed
within a Word document than after you’ve created a track, you can
easily add URL’s and other information using cut & paste.
2. Creating your track in a Word document allows you to spell check your
work!
3. If TrackStar is not available, you always have a backup list of all the
sites and annotations for students to continue their research.
Once you’ve gathered all the information needed for your track on your worksheet,
you can then easily transfer this into TrackStar.
Time Savers
When you are ready for your students to begin exploring the track you’ve created:
¾ Whether you’re using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator,
show students how to add the TrackStar web address
http://trackstar.4teachers.org to Favorites. This will save a lot of time
and remove the frustration of having to type and remember the webpage
address.
¾ DO NOT create more than two (2) links to the same website within one
Track. TrackStar places a hold on your track if you do and the site will not
be accessible!
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March 2006
TrackStar Draft Worksheet
Track Title:
Track Description:
Link Title:
Link URL:
Annotations:
1)
2)
Link Title:
Link URL:
Annotations:
1)
2)
Link Title:
Link URL:
Annotations:
1)
2)
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CLASSROOM TOOLS
eBooks
The newest books in the New York Public Library don’t take up any shelf space!!
They are electronic books – over
4,000 titles’ worth – and the library’s
1.8 million cardholders can point and
click through the collection at
http://ebooks.nypl.org
choosing from among best sellers,
nonfiction, romance novels and selfhelp guides.
Patrons borrow them for set periods,
downloading them for reading on a
computer, a hand-held organizer,
tabletPC or other device using free
reader software. When they are due,
the files are automatically locked out
– no matter what hardware they are
on – and returned to circulation,
eliminating late fees.
By Tim Gnatek
New York Times
December 9, 2004
eBooks, for on-screen reading, are the digital versions of print books and include
downloadable eAudio titles for listening.
To enjoy these digital books you will need:
¾ A valid library card with PIN (Personal Identification Number).
¾ To download & install free ebook software on your device.
What is a PIN and how do you get one?
A PIN is a 4-digit number that provides an extra level of security when using
your library card to reserve books, renew items by phone or look up your personal
information in the catalog.
You will be asked to choose a PIN when you register for your branch library
card. If you do not remember choosing one, try using the last 4 digits of your
telephone number. If this number does not work, please visit any branch library so
that staff can enter a PIN into the computer for you. You can also try calling your
local branch to learn whether they will accept change requests over the phone.
Visit http://www.nypl.org/hours to access listings of all borough branch hours
and locations.
To review system requirements and instructions for downloading eBook
software, visit: http://ebooks.nypl.org and click on this icon. →
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CLASSROOM TOOLS
Teacher Created Materials
Each Resource Kit comes complete with the following:
A notebook of 60 curriculum-based student projects and support
materials such as
• Student activity pages
• Detailed lesson plans
• Project-specific rubrics and • Management tips for the
scoring sheets
classroom or computer lab
100 ‘How-To’ cards with answers to all your questions about your
software. The full-color cards are designed with Windows® instructions
on one side and Macintosh® on the other.
A multimedia CD-ROM with
― Project templates for each of the 60 projects to be used “as-is” or
modified to meet specific needs.
― Over 200 project-specific resources such as photos, clip art, audio
and video clips…
To learn more, visit
http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/technology/techTools
or call NYC vendor, Steve Sussman @ 917-612-4354
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March 2006
INTERNET CLASSROOM TOOLS
Answers.com
http://www.answers.com
Answers.com is a free, ad-supported, reference search service, created to provide you with
instant answers on over a million topics. As opposed to standard search engines that serve
up a list of links for you to follow, Answers.com displays quick, snapshot answers with
concise, reliable information. Editors take the content from over 100 authoritative
encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries and atlases, carefully chosen for breadth and quality.
Answers.com has incorporated citation functionality with the goal of educating and helping
users cite their work. Clicking on the "Cite" button
(which can be found next to each
copyright at the bottom of each Answer Page), will direct you to a fully-formatted citation,
ready for students to include in their bibliography. They can even choose from MLA,
Chicago and APA styles.
Bartleby.com
http://www.bartleby.com
Bartleby.com publishes thousands of FREE online classics of reference, literature and
nonfiction. The editors of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine voted it a 2002 “Best Literary
Resource” for Net excellence. The magazine’s review of Bartleby.com proclaims: “Never
judge a book by its cover. Bartleby might not look like much – just a whole lot of text – but
this online library is one of the Net’s true gems. Read literary masterpieces by Dickens,
Dostoyevsky, Twain, and many others, as well as the Emancipation Proclamation and other
landmarks of nonfiction. You’ll find scientific papers, philosophical treatises, historical
memoirs, and reference tomes. Everything is free, and late fees have been waived.”
Citation Machine
http://citationmachine.net/
Citation Machine is an interactive Web tool designed to model the proper format for citing
information property from print and electronic resources. If you cannot find how to cite the
specific type of reference you seek or have a question about how to cite a particular resource
that is unique in some way, consult your teacher or the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers: 6th Edition or Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association: 5th Edition.
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March 2006
Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/
A multi-source dictionary search service produced by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC, a
leading provider of language reference products and services on the Internet. To use the
dictionary or thesaurus, simply type a word in the blue search box that appears at the top
of every page and then click the Search button. This will perform a search for the word in
the following dictionaries hosted on the site:
The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English
Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin
Company. All rights reserved.
The Free On-line Dictionary of
Computing, © 1993-2001 Denis
Howe
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Webster's Revised Unabridged
Dictionary, © 1996, 1998
MICRA, Inc.
WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997
Princeton University
Jargon File 4.2.0
CIA World Factbook (1995)
U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census
Hitchcock's Bible Names
Dictionary
Bureau
Acronym Finder, © 1988-2001 Mountain Data
On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic
Systems
Medical Publishing ® CancerWEB
You can also sign-up for the ‘Word of the Day’ email or browse the other multi-lingual
dictionaries featured on the site.
**Note: This site is FREE, but there are pop-up Advertisements**
Kidsreads.com
http://www.kidsreads.com
A great site for kids to find information about their favorite books, series and authors. The
site is chock-full of kid-friendly reviews of the newest titles, interviews with the coolest
authors and special features on great books. And for even more reading fun there are trivia
games, word scrambles and awesome contests! Checkout these other sites, also a part of
The Book Report Network:
http://www.bookreporter.com
http://www.readinggroupguides.com
http://www.teenreads.com
http://www.authorsontheweb.com
PuzzleMaker
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/chooseapuzzle.html
Puzzlemaker is a puzzle generation tool for teachers, students and parents. Create
and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your word
lists. The site offers 10 puzzle types: Word Search, Word Search with a Hidden
Meaning, Number Blocks, Criss-Cross Puzzle, Math Square, Double Puzzle,
Cryptograms, Letter Tiles, Mazes and Fallen Phrases.
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March 2006
TrackStar
http://trackstar.4teachers.org
TrackStar is a web-based tool that helps teachers organize websites for online research
activities. Simply collect websites, enter them into TrackStar, add annotations for your
students, and you have an interactive, online lesson called a Track. Create your own Track
or use one of the hundreds of thousands already made by other educators. Search the
database by subject, grade, or theme. If you would like to create your own Track, click on
the Tutorial button for in-depth instructions.
Visual Thesaurus
http://www.visualthesaurus.com
The Visual Thesaurus is a dictionary and thesaurus with an interactive interface. Typing
any word produces a dynamic word map with a web of ‘floating’ related words. Students
can, with relative ease, begin to explore definitions, the semantic relationships between
words, parts of speech and follow a trail of related meanings-even expand that search
online to find webpages or images. You can find synonyms, antonyms, hear words
pronounced correctly and with the full Online Edition license, students can also explore
word meanings in five other languages. You can explore a trial version of this product
online at http://www.visualthesaurus.com.
To purchase this tool, you should contact Erika Banks:
ebanks@thinkmap.com
(212) 285-8600 x244
Wired Safety
http://www.wiredsafety.org/
Wired Safety is an all-inclusive, free resource focusing on Internet safety, help and
education for Internet users of all ages. In addition to providing up-to-date information on
‘hot net topics’, this site also offers a wide variety of educational and help services to the
internet community at large. Volunteers find and review family-friendly Web sites, filter
software products and Internet services. This site is a ‘must stop’ for parents and teachers
concerned about keeping children safe online.
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INTERNET CLASSROOM TOOLS
United Streaming
New York State Public Television Educational Services
unitedstreaming is a digital video-on-demand service brought to you by Discovery Education. With
unitedstreaming, you get:
• The largest and most current K-12 digital video/video clip library available today
• The only standards-based video-on-demand application shown to increase student
achievement
• Practical teacher and student learning resources
• Access to a wide variety of producers – Discovery Channel School, United Learning,
Standard Deviants, Weston Woods, and many more
• Unparalleled options for customization and local control
• New content and features continuously added throughout the year
FREE for New York K-12 & Adult Ed teachers and their students!
• Stream or download over 2,600 instructional videos for the classroom – more than 26,000
concept clips
• Database searchable by keyword, subject, grade level, or NYS curriculum standard
• Teacher support materials, student activities and handouts correlated to the videos
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RESOURCES
141
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TEACHER & STUDENT RESOURCES USED TO DEVELOP THE UNIT
(INCLUDING WORKS CITED)
Adams, Colleen. Early Leaders in Colonial New York, Rosen Classroom Books, 2003.
Appleby, Joyce, Alan Brinkley, James McPherson and the National Geographic Society. The
American Journey, Gencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Barrett, Tracy. Growing up in Colonial America, Millbrook Press,1995.
Carter, Alden R. The American Revolution, Grolier Publishing, 1992.
Copeland, Peter. Life in Colonial America, Dover Publications,2002.
Davis, Burke. Black Heroes of The American Revolution, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1976.
Day, Nancy. Your Travel Guide to Colonial America, Runestone Press March 2001.
Draper, Allison Stark. What People Wore in Early America, PowerKids Press, 2001.
Everett Fisher, Leonard. The Shoemakers, Benchmark Books, 1967.
Fischer, Laura. Picture the Past: Life in New Amsterdam, Heinemann Library, 2003.
Fisher, Leonard Everett. The Limners: America’s Earliest Portrait Painters, Benchmark Books 2000.
Furbee, Mary Rod. Outrageous Women of Colonial America, Jossey-Bass 2001.
George, Lynn. A Time Line of the American Revolution, Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.
George, Lynn. A Time Line of the American Revolutionary War, Rosen Publishing Group, 2002.
Gilbert, Martin. American History, Rand McNally & Company, 2004.
Glasthal, Jacqueline. The American Revolution (History Comes Alive Teaching Unit, Grades 4-8),
Teaching Resources, 2003.
Gourley, Catherine Welcome to Felicity’s World: Growing Up in Colonial America, American Girl,
2005.
Gourley, Catherine. Welome to Felicity's World 1774, Pleasant Company Publications, 1999.
Ichord, Loretta Frances. Hasty Pudding, Johnny Cakes and other Good Stuff: Cooking in Colonial
America, Millbrook Press, 1998.
Jeremy, Thornton. Famous Women of the American Revolution, PowerKids Press, 2003.
Jordan, Shirley. The American Revolution: Moments in History, Perfect Learning Corp., 1999.
Kalman, Bobbie. Travel in the Early Days, Crabtree Publishing Company, 2000.
Kay, Moore. ...If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution, Scholastic Inc., 1997.
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March 2006
Kneib, Marta. A Historical Atlas of the American Revolution, Rosen Publishing Group, 2004.
Lilly, Melinda. Quakers in Early America Rourke Publishing, 2002.
Mark, Thomas. Work in Colonial America, Welcome Books, 2002.
Marston, Daniel. The American Revolution 1774-1783 (Essential Histories), Routledge, 2003.
Masoff, Joy. American Revolution 1700 -1800, Scholastic, 2000.
Masoff, Joy. Colonial Times 1600 – 1700, Scholastic, 2000.
McGovern, Ann. ...If You Lived in Colonial Times, Scholastic, 1964.
Meltzer, Milton. The American Revolutionaries, Harper Collins, 1987.
Meltzer, Milton.American Revolutionaries: A History in their Own Words, HarperTrophy, 1993.
Miller, Brandon M. Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land, Lerner Publications Co., 2003.
Miller, Brandon Marie. Good Women of a Well Blessed Land: Women’s Lives in Colonial America
Lerner Publications 2003
Minks, Louise. First Books: America at War and American Revolution Franklin Watts, 1993.
Moore, Kay. If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution, Scholastic Paperbacks 1998.
Nichols, Joan Kane A Matter of Conscience: The Trial of Anne Hutchinson, Steck-Vaughn 1992
Rees, Celia. Sorceress, Candlewick, 2003.
Rees, Celia. Witch Child, Candlewick, 2002.
Rodd Furbee, Mary . Outrageous Women of Colonial America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.
Ross, Stewart. Documenting History: The American Revolution, Franklin Watts, 2001.by Stewart
Ross
Samuel, Charlie. Entertainment in Colonial America, PowerKids Press, 2003.
Samuel, Charlie. Entertainment in Colonial America, Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.
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INTERNET RESOURCES
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: FOUNDING WOMEN
Encyclopedia Brittanica Profiles – 300 Women Who Changed the World
http://search.eb.com/women/
American Women’s History: A Research Guide
http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women.html
The Learning Page – Women Pioneers in American Memory
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/women/women.html
National Women’s History Project – March is Women’s History Month
http://www.nwhp.org/
Women’s History in America – Presented by Women’s International Center
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm
African-American Women – On Line Archival Exhibits at Duke University
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/collections/african-american-women.html
Amazing Women in War and Peace
http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets.html
Women in the American Revolution
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/
Preserving History – The Women of the American Revolution
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/plains/1789/women.html
Please note: Web addresses and information contained in the Web sites may be subject to change
without notice. All information was accurate as of the date of printing of this publication.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
City Hall Academy would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations for
providing us with valuable materials and resources:
•
City Hall Academy Resident Teachers and Staff.
•
Department of Social Studies/DOE, especially Elise Abegg, Kyle Haver.
•
Department of Literacy/DOE, especially Medea McEvoy.
•
Department of Mathematics/DOE, especially Linda Curtis Bey, Elaine Carman, Lisa
Emonds.
•
Arts Department/DOE, especially Sharon Dunn, Karen Rosner.
•
Department of Physical Education/DOE, especially Lori Benson.
•
Office of Instructional Technology/DOE, especially Troy Fischer.
•
Tina Volpe, Consultant.
•
Dr. Joseph Renzulli, and Barry Oreck (Consultants, SEM).
•
Gotham Center of New York City History, especially Julie Maurer.
•
Studio-in-a-School, especially Vicky Biehm and JoBeth Ravitch.
•
New-York Historical Society/Gilder Lehrman Institute.
•
Brooklyn Historical Society.
•
Channel 13, especially John Rubin.
•
Teaching Matters, Inc., especially Leslie Lieman.
•
Teacher Created Materials, especially Andie Stix.
•
Joe Cross, Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma Native American Storyteller.
•
Eric Sanderson, Mannahatta Project.
•
African Burial Ground Archaeology team, especially Dr. Jean Howson of Howard University.
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