Secondary History Lesson Plans
Objectives:
- Plan, write and edit a fictitious archaeological report (from
a futuristic perspective) describing the excavation of a late
20th-century site. It should focus on a certain location and
objects, and should be written as if the student were the archaeologist
who "excavated" the site and found the objects.
- Use both conventional resources and the Internet (if possible
or desired) to research a current-day location and several objects
associated with that location to be included on the report.
- Examine the location and objects and imagine how they might
be interpreted from a perspective 1,000 years in the future.
- Consider his or her own time and surroundings from an "outsider's"
point-of-view, demonstrating to better imaginative and objective
thinking.
- Experience a challenging, enjoyable and memorable excursion
into the field of archaeology.
BY: Johnelle Hinkle, Bethany Tindall, Jon Rogers
Objectives:
The lesson plan prepares students for the AP United States
History examination, as well as the History and Social Science
Standards of Learning test for United States History. Students
participate in a guided lecture on the history of the Constitution
and its implications, then prepare and submit a 1-2 page position
paper, using their own views supported with facts from the lecture
and reading materials. Assessment is based on student participation
in class, proper use of computer lab facilities, submission of
a 1-2 page paper with clear thesis supported by factual evidence,
as well as attention to grammatical and mechanical skills.
Objectives:
If the lesson plan is properly completed, students will play
a complete game of Civilization II and afterwards write an historical
account of the fictitious society they created with the program.
The account will not be a mere chronology of events, but rather
an insightful account of decisions made by the student during
the game and an evaluation of the causes and consequences of those
decisions.
BY: Braden Gardner, Jennifer Snyder, Veronica Salcedo,
David Fox
Objectives:
- The targeted Standards of Learning in Social Studies for
this 11th grade U.S. History lesson plan is SOL 11:6, "students
will analyze the causes and effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction."
- Working in groups, students will use Adobe Illustrator to
produce a creative and historically accurate picture book focusing
on one of three issues: slavery, secession, or individual leaders.
BY: Audrey Rackley, Julie Glover, Brian Batchelor
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the 1980s, and
use web based documents to answer the question, how did American
attitudes towards materialism change during this decade.
SOL 11.17 The student will develop skills for historical
analysis, including the ability to
- analyze documents, records, and data (such as artifacts,
diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical
accounts, etc.);
- evaluate the authenticity, authority, and credibility of
sources;
- formulate historical questions and defend findings based
on inquiry and interpretation;
- communicate findings orally, in brief analytical essays,
and in a comprehensive paper.
After reading the chapters in their texts, students will answer
a document based question using materials found on the web.
Students will evaluate documents for their historical accuracy
and biases, using those sources they deem most accurate and useful.
Mastery of the material will be evaluated in a short paper written
by each student in which they analyze materialism in the 1980s.
BY: Brian Swets, Christoph Fehrenbach
Objectives:
- The students will have go the History Channel's web site
(historychannel.com) and conduct basic research into the life
of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Students will also write an essay
displaying FDR's involvement in the American war effort.
The essay will include a bibliography with proper internet citations.
- Students will need to show they have done basic research
on the essay through citing the web site and also use a search
engine to find a site on how to cite an internet source.
Objectives:
This lesson will allow students to:
- Select 5 countries (on one continent) to research.
- Using resources available on the World Wide Web, research
those countries in order to obtain information that will be included
on a "travel brochure" which advertises a tour of those
countries.
- Using a word processing program, plan and create a fake travel
brochure advertising a tour of those countries. The brochure
will include a tour schedule, brief country histories, cultural
and geographical information, and "tourist" points
of interest.
Objectives:
If the lesson plan is properly completed, students will use
the Gettysburg Multimedia software to:
- Complete a simulation of the Gettysburg campaign, and gather
information from that game in order to create and deliver a military-style
briefing of the battle, including tactical information about
both sides in the conflict.
BY: Jennifer Zecher
Objectives:
- Define GNP.
- Students will be able to explain why the GNP is not
a totally accurate measure of a nation's output.
- Students will be able to identify four streams of expenditures
that go into computing the GNP.
- Explain NNP, NI, and PI.
- Design a spreadsheet with the U.S. economic indicators from
1960-1995.
- Convert the spreadsheet into a line graph or any other type
of graph.
By: Audrey Rackley, Julie Glover, Brian Bachelor
Objectives
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the causes and
consequences of events in the Great Depression, emphasizing:
SOL 11.10
The student will analyze and explain the Great Depression,
with emphasis on :
- causes and effects of the Stock Market Crash
- the impact of the Depression on the American people
- the impact of New Deal economic policies
- the impact of the expanded role of government in the economy
since the 1930's
After reading the chapters in their texts on the stock market
crash of 1929, and presidential attempts to alleviate the country's
economic woes, students will use their knowledge to create their
own New Deal in small cooperative learning groups. Mastery of
the material will be evaluated in a short paper written by each
group in which they summarize their New Deal Policy.
BY: Jennifer Zecher
Objectives:
- Students will search a minimum of five internet sites on
their holocaust related topics.
- Students will write a research report of 1,000 words based
on their findings.
- Use spell and grammar check for the final draft of the essay.
- Exchange ideas with their classmates and develop a sense
of cooperation in the classroom.
BY: Jennifer Zecher
Objectives:
- Students will analyze major historical events of the 20th
century in terms of the Nazi Holocaust and other examples of
genocide. (Virginia SOL-9.11)
- Write an essay of no more than 500 words, which includes
historically correct references.
- Use spell and grammar check for the final draft of the essay.
- Incorporate descriptions of real events of WWII within the
lives of the fictional characters from the novels.
- Exchange ideas with their classmates and develop a sense
of cooperation in the classroom.
BY: Brian Swets, Christoph Fehrenbach
Objectives:
SOL (9.10)
- Causes and effects of World War II
- The Nazi holocaust and other examples of genocide
- Economic and military power shifts since 1945, including
the rise of Germany and Japan as economic powers
The students will be able to answer, in essay form, one
of these four questions ...
- What are the causes and effects of World War II?
- Describe the experiences of Jews taken from a Polish ghetto
using examples from the Holocaust museum and/or the movie Schindler's
List.
- Discuss a monument or exhibit seen on the field trip and
its significance to World War II.
- ake up a character from Schindler's List or Life is Beautiful
and discuss the effect the war had on their lives concerning
topics such as, but not necessarily: family, business, lifestyle,
or faith.
BY: Karla James
Objectives:
- The purpose of the lesson is to demonstrate how the introduction
of new inventions and new industries boosted the American economy
and gave rise to new businesses and new wealth.
- SOL 9.9: The student will analyze and explain the effect
of the Industrial Revolution in terms of : How scientific and
technological changes brought massive social and cultural change.
BY: Laura Podesta
Objectives: "The student will explain [how] interest groups...
influence the policy agenda and decision making of government
institutions." -- SOL 12.10 The students will be given several
weeks to research a piece of legislation, an interest group in
favor of the bill, and one against it. The teacher will take the
students to the school library to introduce them to the internet
(particularly http://www.legislate.com, and http://www.vote-smart.org),
as well as some of the various books and journals available. The
students will write a short research paper (5-8 pps.) on their
findings.
BY: Bethany Tindall, Johnelle Hinkle, Jon Rogers
Objectives:
The lesson plan prepares students for the exam that will take
place at the end of the unit on the legislative branch of the
federal government. This exam will include information on the
differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives
as well as the representatives from Virginia that sit in each
house. Working in pairs, students will research and collect
requested information about their assigned Virginia representative
to the United States Congress.
BY: Brian Eliff
Objectives:
- Primary - To gain an understanding of varying opinions and
political views throughout the nation during a presidential campaign.
- Secondary - To integrate technology into a lesson\
- "The student will describe campaigns for national, state,
and local elective office, including the influence of media coverage..."
VA SOL 12.11
BY: Rita Morgan
Objectives:
- The students will create, in collaborative groups, an original
political campaign complete with a party, ideology, slogan, poster,
and brochure, using Microsoft Word and drawing program.
- The student will use a variety of graphics, color, text,
style, and such on their computer poster and brochure.
- The student will apply persuasion principles of political
campaigns, party ideology, and American individualism to their
original campaign.
VA S.O.L. Objectives:
- 12.10 The student will explain and give current
examples of how political parties, interest groups, the media,
and individuals influence the policy agenda and decision making
of government institutions.
- 12.11 The student will describe campaigns for
national, state, and local elective office, including . . . the
influence of media coverage, campaign advertising, and public
opinion polls.
BY: Michael Brooks
Objectives:
Students will explain and give current examples of how political
parties, interest groups, the media, and individuals influence
the policy agenda and decision making of government institutions.
BY: Christina Fischer
Objective:
Have the students discover the background to the Russian Revolution
on their own. The overarching goal is for them both the comprehend
the important dates and names of the Russian Revolution and understand
how to retrieve information on their own.
BY: Brian Gardner, Jennifer Snyder, Veronica Salcedo, David
Fox
Objectives:
- The targeted Standards of Learning for this eleventh grade
United States History Class lesson plan are SOLs 11:1-11:13
- Working in pairs students will use Power point to produce
a slide show reviewing and emphasizing the key points from each
section of the SOL, ultimately presenting it before the class.
Objectives:
- This lesson will allow students to:
On a daily basis and over a given time period, research and record
prices for four stocks of the student's choice.
- Graph those prices over time with a line chart.
- Record times and prices at which the student would buy/sell
shares of the stock, given a certain amount of money with which
to work.
- Calculate how much money the student would have made or lost
on the market had he/she actually purchased shares of those stocks
at those times.
- Produce records and graphs that describe the changes in stock
values over time as well as the amount of money the student would
have made/lost over that time.
- Produce a brief report detailing why students chose to buy
and sell what they did, when they did.
BY: Bethany Tindall, Johnelle Hinkle, Jon Rogers
Objectives:
This lesson will introduce students to the causes and circumstances
surrounding initial events of WW1 by having them complete the
following objectives:
Students will explore the website http://www.worldwar1.com,
sponsored by the History Channel.
Students will complete a questionnaire (enclosed) by searching
the aforementioned site and correctly answering the given questions
about its contents.
BY: Audrey Rackley, Julie Glover
Objectives
SOL 11.11
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the origins
and effects of World War II, with an emphasis on:
- the rise and aggression of totalitarian regimes in Germany
and Italy
- appeasement, . ..and war debates in Europe. . . prior to
the outbreak of war
- impact of mobilization for war. . . abroad
Students will recognize the events leading to out break of
World War II by marking the alliances and territorial advances
in a map of pre-was Europe. Mastery of lesson material will be
evaluated with students both individually, and in turn (on the
projected map) marking the territorial advances and alliances
happening prior to the war, as the lecture is given. Comprehension
will be evaluated in a map quiz, in which students will accurately
label locations (countries & alliance groups) on a blank map.
Students will also be able to color in areas of territorial expansion.
BY: Brian Swets, Christoph Fehrenbach
Objectives:
SOL (9.10): The students will have an in-depth understanding of
World War II, including its causes; major people, places, and
events; and the larger social implications of a world war.
Students will also be expected to effectively use technology to
present what they have learned, and each student will have to
take an active individual part in the presentation to the class.
To demonstrate proficiency in the stated objectives, the students
will present projects utilizing the PowerPoint program to their
classmates. Seven groups of three students each will cover
the following topics:
- Long Term Causes of World War II, from the Treaty of Versailles
to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party.
- Immediate causes of World War II, from Hitler's installation
as Chancellor to the appeasement meetings.
- Hitler's conquering of Europe, from the invasion of Poland
to the Battle of Britain.
- America's isolationist stance, from strict neutrality to
the Atlantic Charter.
- American entrance to the war in the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor
to V-J Day.
- American entrance to the war in Europe, up to V-E Day.
- Long term effects of World War II, especially the Cold War.
During this lesson, the teacher will act more like a resource
and a guide than a teacher. Students will be expected to
justify their choices through their presentation. The teacher
will be around to answer questions and assist students in getting
started on the project, but the teacher will not tell students
what to do. After having finished the class unit on World
War II, it is expected that the students will have the background
knowledge to include at least three main points in their project.
To receive an "A", students must go above and beyond
the basic expectations.