Lesson Plan Class/Subject: 7th Grade Social Studies-Reading/Revolutionary Experiences Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: -Students will discover different

accounts and experiences of the Revolutionary War. -Students will think critically about how different experiences of the Revolution may be downplayed in textbooks and other narratives. -Students will determine why their novels are of significance to the concept of freedom as it pertains to the Revolutionary War. Content Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspect of a text that reveal an authors point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g. how setting shapes the characters or plot) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.9 Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history Materials/Resources/Technology: -The Fighting Ground by Avi -Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson -Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi -Revolutionary Experiences worksheets Teachers Goals: -To impart the importance of avoiding a single lens narrative; to stress that there are multiple viewpoints to everything and we must be able to acknowledge them -To encourage students to take the lead in their own education; to facilitate participation in small group discussions on their novels -To have students think critically about freedom with relation to the Revolutionary War and the events that led up to it 8:00-8:05 Start of Class: The instructor will take attendance and ask students to sit with their reading groups. The locations of where the groups sit will have been predetermined over the past few weeks of group work. 8:05-8:15 Introduction of Lesson: The instructor will begin handing out the Revolutionary Experiences worksheets while giving directions. Students should have finished reading their respective novels by Monday; they had been given time in class each week to briefly discuss assigned readings with

their groups. Today, they will be working in their groups to talk about the overall plots of the novels and what these novels mean when it comes to understanding the Revolutionary War. The instructor will also give a brief overview of how class will go for the rest of the week (Wednesday they will present their novel to the class and on Thursday they will begin an individual project that will use the information they write about today). 8:15-8:40 Lesson Instruction: Students will already be sitting with their groups. Groups were previously Assigned based on reading level; students below grade reading level were assigned to read The Fighting Ground by Avi, students at grade reading level were assigned Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and students above reading level were assigned Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi.

In their groups, students will complete the Revolutionary Experiences worksheets that will guide their discussion of the assigned novels. These worksheets and the answers students write down will help them in presenting their novels to the rest of the class, as well as in completing an assignment using the computer program Comic Life later in the week to give a depiction of what it might be like to live during the Revolutionary era from the viewpoint of someone similar to the main character in their novels. The instructor will move amongst the groups to join in their discussions, assist them in filling out their worksheets, and keeping students on task while doing group work. 8:40-8:50 Assessments/Checks for Understanding: After completing their Revolutionary Experiences worksheets/discussions, we will return to the full group for a small discussion of the significance of reading different perspectives of the Revolution. Questions will include: Why did we read novels that all had different views of the Revolution? Is it important that we look at a variety of historical experiences of the same event? Why? Why do you think that we dont always get some of the viewpoints given

in the novels in our textbooks? Is it fair that some of these groups are represented more than others in the textbooks? What did you learn about the Revolution that you might not have learned about had you not gotten the chance to read your book?

8:50

Closure/Wrap-Up/Review: Textbooks dont always offer a variety of viewpoints or experiences when it comes to historical events. It is important that we remember that the Revolution along with other historical, cultural, political, economic, and social events are experienced by a wide variety of people from different backgrounds. Each group experiences these events differently, and, sometimes, unequally. The Revolutions message of freedom begins to take on new meanings when we look at the views of less represented groups of the population in the Colonies. Self-Assessment: -Are students answering the questions? Are they asking their own because they need more clarification on the topic, or because they do not understand the material? When they participate in the activity-discussion, are they voicing appropriate responses?

Name______________________________

Revolutionary Experiences In class, weve been reading the novels The Fighting Ground by Avi, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi in smaller groups. Today, in your groups, you will discuss the implications of these novels as to what it meant for the Revolutionary War. Not everyone experienced the Revolution the same way, and the main characters in these novels speak to this. The questions here and the answers your group comes up with will help you present your novel to the rest of your peers and in our Comic Life project at the end of the week. Please be sure to write your groups answers down; complete sentences arent needed so long as you can read your own notes. This will be collected at the end of the week with the Comic Life projects.

Novel Assigned: ____________________________________

1. Discuss, briefly, the summary of your novel. Make a short list of important things that happened over the course of the plot.

2. Who is the main character of your novel? What kind of background (cultural, economic, ethnic, etc.) does he or she have?

3. Did this characters background have an effect on what they did during the Revolution? How did the main character participate in the events leading up to and during the Revolution?

4. What was the daily life of your main character like?

5. Why is it important that we learn about how this character experienced the Revolution?

6. Are the experiences of people and groups similar to the main character documented in textbooks? Why do you think they are or arent?

7. How does this novel represent freedom? Was the main character free? Were they held back from doing what they wanted by some outside force?

8. What does this novel tell you about the Revolutionary War?