#4008. Tale of Two Countries

History, level: Senior
Posted Sat Apr 17 18:53:47 PDT 2010 by Joy K Hunt (Joy K Hunt).
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Materials Required: computers, access to libraries
Activity Time: 3 weeks
Concepts Taught: comparable analogies of history

Student Teacher's Name: Joy K Hunt Date: 4/4/2010_____

Grade Level 11 Topic/Unit: Social Studies School: Wayne District: DPS

Content
We will cover history, both US history and world history. Students will be challenged to make comparable analogies of historical events.

Benchmarks

1. Students will demonstrate clear understanding of the United States role in past conflicts with another country.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of who, when, why, and how the United States was involved in a conflict.
3. Students will ultimately be able to determine how the conflict was resolved and make sound judgments about who won and/or benefited from the conflict.

Learning Resources and Materials
Internet & Library Access
Assigned Websites (based on country selection)
Assigned DVD (based on country selection)
US War History Outline
Movie Outline Question Sheet
US History Textbook

Development of Lesson
Introduction
Day 1-5
Students will be provided an overview of six United States wars. Students will use the US War History Outline to input information covered. Throughout class and at the end of class students will be allowed a Q & A period for clarification.

Day 6 (Second Week)
Students will select a country out of a list of six that the United States has been in conflict with.
-Great Britain
-Mexico
-Japan
-Vietnam
-North Korea
-Iraq
Students will be provided an internet access code to view a movie affiliated with the country
*for students w/out at-home internet access a DVD will be provided.
*for students w/out DVD player access at-home will be provided in school time view movie.
Students will be instructed to answer 12 questions on the Movie Outline Question Sheet while watching the movie. The sheet will assist students in understanding areas of the war in greater detail. Students will be grouped together by movie selection to construct a group power point presentation about their country of conflict. Each group will provide the class with a question sheet to be answered with the information provided in the power point only. This will assist students with understanding of wars not covered in their individual movie.

Day 7-10
Students will spend the day meeting in their groups. By day 9 all students should have reviewed their assigned movie.

Day 11 (Third Week)
Students will be given their final assignment on the history of US conflicts. This assignment will be a 2-3 page paper providing a critical analysis of the United States and the country they went to war with (based on country selected). Students will use information obtained in lecture, while watching the movie and during the group project. Students will also be provided additional websites for resources. Paper will be due in one week.
Students will begin group presentations.

Day 12-14
Students will continue group presentations.

Day 15
Exam over cumulative information about the United States war history will be taken.

Methods/Procedures
Student's homework will consist of them creating questions to be answered throughout the day to assist with understanding. Students will be grouped together to ensure peer learning about the US and conflicts. Students will continuously build on their knowledge throughout this lesson plan. The learning process for students will include direct instruction, peer groups, and individual self teaching.

Accommodations/Adaptations
Students will be provided in class work time to develop their group projects. Students will also be provided computer access time to further research and prepare for their writing assignment. Students will be provided the three teaching techniques (lecture, peer, individual) to help acclimate them to the topic. With each technique an evaluation of the student's performance will be conducted to ensure understanding.

Assessment/Evaluation
Review of student's homework questions will help determine if students are keeping up with the material and retaining enough information to successfully perform assigned task. Students grading of the group assignment will reflect general knowledge about US conflicts. Students' performance on their final test and paper will reflect knowledge on more specifics areas of US conflicts.

Closure
The final paper will be play as a strong determinant of how well the student's understand this area of US history.

The success of this paper will determine the future pace of this lesson plan.

Teacher Reflection
None as of yet.