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Sample Lesson Plans

Below is a representative sample of some of my most effective lesson plans. Each of these lessons were taught to American history classes at either the middle and secondary level in fall 2003. My personal input regarding the relative success of the sample lesson can be found at the conclusion of each plan. Please feel free to comment on these plans via the guest book link located on my homepage or via e-mail.

Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3

Unit Title: The Civil War Lesson Title: Elections of 1858 & 1860

Date of Lesson: Tuesday 09-23-03 Periods: 3, 5, 8

Standards: 1, 3, 5

Objectives:

1. Students will illustrate different party platforms and show how they were tearing the nation apart over the issue of slavery in the territories by creating campaign posters for the 1860 election.

2. Students will evaluate the impact of the 1860 election upon the nation through a mock debate session following presentation of campaign posters.

Materials: Poster paper, Markers, Transparency, Lincoln/Douglas activity

Anticipatory Set:

Ask students to define a party platform. Student will likely be unclear about this concept. Ask students to imagine what a platform looks like. They will inevitably use a preconceived notion of something that an individual stands on. Use this analogy to discuss that a party platform is built of the issues that a candidate stands on during an electoral race. Each plank represents an issue that is the foundation of that candidate's platform. Ask students to point out some of the current political issues of today and briefly discuss the contemporary political parties.

Procedure:

Break class into groups randomly. Assign a candidate from the 1860 presidential election to each group.

Groups will then be asked to create a campaign poster for a chosen candidate in the election of 1860. The posters will consist of a picture of the candidate, a slogan to catch the attention of the voters, the political party that the candidate represents and the important issues in their candidate’s platform. Students will have to be familiar with the platform of their political party. Tell students to be creative, their poster should be aimed at persuading undecided voters to select their candidate for president in 1860.

Line up campaign posters and compare. Use this to lead into a discussion about the election of 1860 and its results. Have them present their candidate and defend his position against that of the other candidates. Encourage political debate. Use the transparency to illustrate how Lincoln was able to win the election over Douglas. Discuss how this election was an embodiment of sectionalism and how the results of the election affected the nation.

Hand out homework assignment and explain what need to be done.

Closure/Assessment: Check for understanding using creative questioning regarding the platforms and candidates discussed in class today. Re-teach if necessary.

Assignment: Map activity and questions

Personal Notes: Because of the creative nature of this lesson, students enjoyed it a great deal. I was impressed with the students ability to recall the platforms of each political party on the corresponding unit test based largely on the impressions left from the campaign posters and slogans they created. Furthermore, this lesson gave the students a realistic understanding of politics and presidential campaigns while also reinforcing chapter content.

Unit Title: The Civil War Lesson Title: Choosing sides

Date of Lesson: Monday 09-29-03 Periods: 3, 5, 8

Standards: 1, 3

Objectives:

1. Students will learn the importance of Border States during the Civil War.

2. Students will gain a sense of what it might feel like to be caught in the middle of a conflict between citizens of the same country through a journal assignment.

Materials: Vocabulary Activity

Procedure:

Anticipatory set: As class begins today, pass out a card to each student. Each card will have the name of a state written on the opposite side. Students will create journal entries in class today. I will ask them to imagine that they were caught in the middle of this conflict and living in the states corresponding to the cards they were given. In other words, they will take on the role of an individual alive during the events of 1861 in the state that they received. They will discuss how they feel being drawn into this conflict. They are to reflect upon their loyalties; what side do take and why? Do they have relatives on the opposing side? If they are in the South, do they feel a strong loyalty to the Confederacy or do they still have loyalty to the United States? If they are in the North, do they wish to see the seceding states return to the Union or are they relieved to see them leave? Students should get a better feeling for the conflicting loyalties of the individuals throughout the nation: the idea is that this was a war of brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor and friend against friend. Ask students to write a second entry, only this time as an individual on the opposing side.

As a class we will discuss the student’s responses. Use this as a way to introduce the material that we will be covering in class today.

Discuss Federalism worksheet completed in class Friday. Review student’s responses to the questions. Clarify the theory of "States Rights" used by the South to justify secession. Point out the importance of a strong Federal Government during a war.

Discuss Border States. Students should get a sense of why these states were so important to both sides.

Closure/Assessment: Ask students "what have we learned today". Verbally quiz them on important ideas if responses are not satisfactory.

Assignment: Guided Reading Activity 16-1

Personal Notes: Seldom do we ask our students to actually take on the role of the people they are studying, this lesson intended to do just that. Once again students were able to use a great deal of creativity, yet still apply critical concepts and ideas. Students had the opportunity to think as though they were caught in the middle of this conflict, then asked to look at the same issue through opposing eyes.

Michael Bornhorst Class: Economics

Franklin Academy High School Unit Title: Money

Date of Lesson: 10-30-03 Lesson Title: Origins of Money

Standards: 4

Purpose: To increase student understanding of the origin and functions of money in an economy.

Objectives:

1. Students will apply the concepts of "the functions of money in an economy" to a hypothetical situation in written form.

2. Students will demonstrate the functions of money and how an item becomes money in an economy through role playing.

Anticipatory Set:

Ask students to define money in writing. What are its critical attributes? To clarify, ask students to take out some money if they have it with them. Ask them if money consists only of bills and coins. How did people obtain goods before paper currency?

Input:

1. Some students will share their responses to the anticipatory question. Mostly likely, the students will recognize that without established currency, people would need to trade goods and services for other goods and services. Explain the Barter System.

2. Using two student volunteers, demonstrate how this system works. Provide students with a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs. One student will trade his/her bread with the other for some eggs. Explain Double Coincidence of Wants.

3. Using four student volunteers, demonstrate how the system can become complicated when a double coincidence of wants does not occur. Add three new items to the economy (milk, apples, bricks). A fifth student will have to make several trades to get what he/she wants in exchange for the good he/she possess. Use this example to demonstrate why money is needed in an economy. Remind students that our model economy only had five goods while the actual global economy consists of several million.

4. Explain evolution of money from the system. Based on this explanation, ask students why money has value. Show confederate note. Ask if this is money? (answer: no, it has no value because it is not accepted for goods and services today. The fact that it has face value printed on it and has the appearance of US currency means nothing in lieu of this fact.)

5. Continue to explain the properties and functions of money in an economy using real life examples and student input. Check for understanding with each new concept.

Closure/ Assessment:

Divide students in five small groups. Tell students to imagine that they wake up tomorrow and all paper currency is worthless. Provide them with one of the previously used items in the model economy to become the new source of money. Students will describe the characteristics that this new item must have in order to be considered money. Does the item they have selected fulfill all the criteria?

Personal Notes: This lesson was taught to a 12th grade economics class. Having the students participate in a role play of the barter system added to student interest and attentiveness. The concept of money is one that each and every person believes they comprehend, yet when asked to define money or discuss what gives it value, most people have difficulty; I tested this theory by teaching this very lesson to a graduate class on lesson design and found that even teachers struggle with the concept. In the closing activity, I ask students to look at an item, an apple for example, and tell me what characteristics it must have to become a form of money in an economy based on the information we had just covered during class. I was astounded with how effectively students had absorbed the information in such an easily applicable way.