Lesson Plan - Chapter 11: A Peoples' History of the United States

Lesson Theme:

A People's History of the United States

Topic, Grades, & Time:

Topic: Chapter 11: Robber, Barons, and Rebels
Grades: 11th Grade
Time: ~5 days or ~250 minutes (depending on school activities) & 146 minutes outside of class

Materials and Sources:

Sources: Zinn, H. (2005). A people’s history of the United States: 1942-Present. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Materials (practitioner): (1a) text (print ); (1b) text (digital ); (2) desktop/laptop/tablet; (3) access to internet; (4) assignments; & (5) coffee/tea (optional)
Materials (student): (1a) text (print); (1b) text (digital); if 1b (2) laptop/tablet; (3) access to internet; (4) assignments; & (5) note-taking gear

Covered Standards:

Rationale:

Chapter 11 focuses on between 1877 and 1900; a defining change in American life was the introduction of new machines, where human craftsmanship and energy were subsumed as people were turned into virtual machines in vast factories. However, Chapter 11 asserts that beneath this apparent progress during this time, a few businessmen profited while most Americans struggled for even their meager share of prosperity. Chapter 11 highlights how new waves of immigrants joined the Irish, Black Americans, and Native Americans on the losing end of the struggle for rights and a fair share. In addition, Chapter 11 attests that class tensions threatened to erupt in post-Civil War America. According to Chapter 11, the governments in Washington and the state capitals were complicit in this attempt to preserve the class status quo.

Measurable Outcomes:

Students will, through literacy, be able to understand key ideas and details.
Students will, through literacy, be able to understand craft and structure.
Students will, through literacy, be able to understand the integration of knowledge and ideas.
Students will, through literacy, comprehend a range of reading and level of text complexity.
Students will, through literacy, be able to understand text types and purposes.
Students will, through literacy, be able to produce a production and distribution of writing.
Students will, through literacy, research to build and present knowledge.
Students will, through literacy, demonstrate a presentation of knowledge and ideas.
Students will, through literacy, demonstrate a range of writing.

Sequence:

0-5 mins - Administration (i.e. attendance, announcements, etc.)
5 - 25 mins (practitioner) - Check on student progress (time may vary, due to class size and time spent on each student).
5 - 45 mins (students) - Work on the required assignments. Please refer to Introduction Page.
45 - 50 mins - Exit question (check on progress of each student, time varies).

Behavioral Expectations:

Universal design for learning and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) will curb any behavior issues regarding student choice of sequence.
Student's will be engaged 80-90% of the class time.
Students' will be engaged due to the collaboration component of the lesson.

Assessment(s):

Formative:

Oral inquiry throughout the lesson will check for comprehension and understanding, acting as a pre-assessment.

Summative:

Chapter 11 Task Overview

Differentiation:

Multiple Levels of Questions: Primary use: readiness & learning profiles. All questions presented will advance problem-solving skills and responses. This strategy will ensure that all students will be accountable for information and thinking at a high level and that all students will be challenged. In addition, all text will have the ability to utilize text-to-speech technology and visual-audiobook with close-caption capability.
Activity: Chapter 11 Task Overview