Goals & Objectives
Students will learn about the Great Awakening movement in the United States, and the extent of its effect on the colonial population
Students will differentiate between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening
Students will analyze various documents in connection with the Great Awakening and in the process obtain critical thinking and close reading skills
Students will differentiate between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening
Students will analyze various documents in connection with the Great Awakening and in the process obtain critical thinking and close reading skills
California State Content and Common Core Standards
8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.
1. Describe the relationship between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening and the development of revolutionary fervor.
CSS6-8:2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CSS6-8:4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
1. Describe the relationship between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening and the development of revolutionary fervor.
CSS6-8:2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CSS6-8:4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Lesson Introduction
The teacher will play the following youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA (Embedded BELOW) and ask students what their reactions are. Students will listen and respond appropriately with comments on what they think of the video. They should feel inspired and amazed by the video which directly relates to their generation. In a sense, the teacher will say they feel “awakened”, or at least impacted in a profound way. The teacher will relate that back to the Great Awakening era saying this is how the colonists felt whenever they heard the religious sermons of speakers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary will be largely determined upon the context of the document based questions students will be analyzing and discussing. It will include important terms and figures such as:
The Great Awakening
George Whitefeld
Jonathan Edwards
Conversion
Sermon
Exaltation
Ministry
& Other various terms students will find confusing in the reading
The Great Awakening
George Whitefeld
Jonathan Edwards
Conversion
Sermon
Exaltation
Ministry
& Other various terms students will find confusing in the reading
Content Delivery
Students will be handed a copy of all nine documents and asked to do a variety of activities that will not only allow them to analyze the documents, but use them as a mechanism by which to increase their critical thinking skills. This will be done through a variety of Tasks:
Task 1: Scaffolding Activity: As an introduction to all of the document based questions the teacher will project the documents onto the projector and go over key things to look for in each document, as he/she skims over it with the rest of the class. The instructor makes sure to point out to always pay attention to the title, the way things are written, and the source of the article/primary source. The teacher will employ a very specific method he shares with the class to take notes on the document. He will highlight key points, put a question mark next to something he has a question on, put an exclamation point next to something he is surprised or really likes, and circle anything that does not make sense to him. The teacher will then instruct the class to do the same thing to the other 8 documents in groups of 4.
Task 2: Having now been acclimated with the activity, the teacher will ensure he or she goes around answering any students’ questions they have as they dissect the document in a group setting, highlighting, circling, underlining, as well as using other notation methods.
Task 3: Having now worked in a group together, the instructor will shuffle the groups up to have new groups of 4 and have students answer guided questions on each of the documents, in an effort for them to understand each document on an individual level.
Task 2: Having now been acclimated with the activity, the teacher will ensure he or she goes around answering any students’ questions they have as they dissect the document in a group setting, highlighting, circling, underlining, as well as using other notation methods.
Task 3: Having now worked in a group together, the instructor will shuffle the groups up to have new groups of 4 and have students answer guided questions on each of the documents, in an effort for them to understand each document on an individual level.
Task 4: Being that the students are now well versed in the readings, close reading it to answer the questions, they will examine it one last time in an effort to complete a given worksheet to the students. The instructor will make sure students have adequate time as they follow the following guided worksheets. The students will work in pairs for this activity. The activity will allow them to think about the document in a new way, in essence placing them in categories with one another, rather than seeing them as individual documents. Seeing how the categories are related to one another will prepare them for the impending critical thinking question.
Task 5: Having now been adequately prepared, students will answer the following question: The Great Awakening was a religious movement that taught colonial Americans to challenge religious authority. This would help prepare them for the coming American Revolution.” Assess the validity of this statement. Explain why or why you do not agree with it, and to what extent. Students will do this portion of the activity alone.
Student Engagement
Students will be adequately engaged in the activity as they go through a five-step scaffolding process intended to make them think more critically about the primary sources they are reading.
Students will listen attentively as they see how to analyze the documents and perform notations on them during Task 1.
Students will work in groups together during Task 2 to take notes on the documents using the methods prescribed to them during Task 1. This will require a close reading.
In a new group of 4, students will work together to answer the guided questions provided for them during Task 3. This will require a second close reading.
With a partner, students will work together to complete the guided worksheet. This will require them read the notes from Task 3, as well as perhaps a more in-depth look at the documents at large.
Finally, alone, students will use all the skills obtained from all four Tasks to answer the critical thinking question aimed at the activity. They will use the methods of inquiry to answer the question, using the guided worksheet, guided questions, and notations as a means by which to tackle the question. They will answer the question with at least three paragraphs, using the documents as a source by which to support their appropriate claims and warrants.
Students will listen attentively as they see how to analyze the documents and perform notations on them during Task 1.
Students will work in groups together during Task 2 to take notes on the documents using the methods prescribed to them during Task 1. This will require a close reading.
In a new group of 4, students will work together to answer the guided questions provided for them during Task 3. This will require a second close reading.
With a partner, students will work together to complete the guided worksheet. This will require them read the notes from Task 3, as well as perhaps a more in-depth look at the documents at large.
Finally, alone, students will use all the skills obtained from all four Tasks to answer the critical thinking question aimed at the activity. They will use the methods of inquiry to answer the question, using the guided worksheet, guided questions, and notations as a means by which to tackle the question. They will answer the question with at least three paragraphs, using the documents as a source by which to support their appropriate claims and warrants.
Lesson Closure
The instructor will conclude the lesson by giving students a chance to discuss with a new partner what they have learned during the entire lesson.
This will include answering the following questions:
1) What note-taking skills will you use in the future?
2) Did Task 3 and 4 prepare you for Task 5?
3) How could the Great Awakening have led to the American Revolution? What ideas could have been transferred from the religious revival to the political revolution?
This will include answering the following questions:
1) What note-taking skills will you use in the future?
2) Did Task 3 and 4 prepare you for Task 5?
3) How could the Great Awakening have led to the American Revolution? What ideas could have been transferred from the religious revival to the political revolution?
Assessment
Informal assessments can constantly be done during the activity as the instructor walks around the room simply asking students what they have come up with in their notes, guided questions, guided worksheets, and answer to the DBQ prompt at large. The instructor will control the pace of the lesson if students need more time on an appropriate activity. The lesson can span from one period to potentially four.
Being that so much is done on paper during the activity, formal assessments are done in the form of paper. Groups are assessed based on their notations as well as their responses to the guided questions. Pairs will be assessed based on their performance in the guided worksheets. Finally, everyone will be assessed individually based on their responses to the last question: the DBQ prompt. Using all the skills they have acquired throughout the course of the lesson, can students dissect the documents and use inquiry as a means by which to tackle a rather complicated assessment question? Their responses to the analytic question will inform the instructor whether the guided tasks were sufficient in adequately preparing students for said activity.
Being that so much is done on paper during the activity, formal assessments are done in the form of paper. Groups are assessed based on their notations as well as their responses to the guided questions. Pairs will be assessed based on their performance in the guided worksheets. Finally, everyone will be assessed individually based on their responses to the last question: the DBQ prompt. Using all the skills they have acquired throughout the course of the lesson, can students dissect the documents and use inquiry as a means by which to tackle a rather complicated assessment question? Their responses to the analytic question will inform the instructor whether the guided tasks were sufficient in adequately preparing students for said activity.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
Being that the bulk of the reading is done in groups, English learners and striving readers will feel some sense of preparation before they tackle the overarching assessment question. The lesson is done using a variety of scaffolding methods in order to directly accommodate these said students, primarily through a variety of tasks. Each task is harder than the task before it, and is meant to employ the “I do it”, “We do it”, “You do it in groups”, “You do it in pairs”, and “You do it” method. As always, the teacher should always be prepared to offer English learners, striving readers, and students with special needs extra help and assistance in tackling the cumulative lesson question.