Collaboration Lesson Plan

School:
TAG Teacher:
Reg.Ed.
Teacher(s)
Date:
Subject:
Standards:

Manning Oaks
Shelly Neal
Joshua Scott
11/14/2016
Social Studies
SS5H1 Describe how life changed in America at the turn of the
century.
c. Explain how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
expanded Americas role in the world; include the SpanishAmerican War and the building of the Panama Canal.

Essential
Question:

How does propaganda influence peoples views or ideas?

Procedures: Compare/Contrast

Background Activity
Students will learn that the way reporters employ language and evidence
can result in vastly different accounts of the same event.
Materials: * Maine movie * Journal document * Times document
* Warm up organizer
Plan of Instruction:
Step 1: Hook
Put the following headlines on the board:

* Search for Missing Bride Continues

* Cold Feet Suspected in Case of Missing Bride
* Bride Missing! Recent Fight With Grooms Family
Have each student respond in writing:
* How do these headlines differ?
* Consider the wording and how a reader might respond to each article.
Step 2: 8 minutes: Discussion
* What does each headline imply?
* If these were all articles, which would you have wanted to read first?
* Which do you think would have been the most reliable story? Why?
* Why might different newspapers choose to present the same event so
differently?
Step 3: Transition
Today we are going to be comparing two newspaper accounts of an event
that happened in 1898. First we will watch a short movie that introduces
the event to you.
Step 4: 3-8 minutes: Show movie
Show Maine movie and discuss.
Step 5: 20 minutes: Read, analyze, discuss
Each student reads the Journal document and fills out the first three
questions on the organizer.
Check-up ask students to share answers in whole-class discussion. Ask
students to quote from the article to support their answers. Students read

Times document and fill in first three columns of organizer.

In pairs or small groups, students check their answers and then answer
the fourth column question together.
Step 6: 10 minutes: Whole class discussion
* Do you know what happened to the Maine?
* What evidence do you have for your answer? Give an example where the
reporter uses solid evidence to support a claim made in the article.
* Do you think these articles would have been received differently by their
readers in 1898? How so?
* What effect might the Journal article have had on its readers?
* What effect might the Times article have had on its readers?
* How significant do you think the Maine explosion was to the American
people at this time? Why?

Assessment of Learning:
Step 7: Assessment
Writing prompt: Which account is more believable? Why?
First section: Compare the evidence used by both papers to support their claims that
the Maine was blown up by attack or by unknown causes. Which uses stronger
evidence? Use at least three specific examples/phrases/words from the articles to
support your position.
Second section: Does this difference in accounts matter? Why or why not?