US History 1
Standard Grouping:
(Abbreviate)
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9
Theme/Topic
Culminating Project Time-frame
Essential Question: (Summative
Assessment)
Possible Activities/Lessons/formative
Assessments
Why do people
migrate to new
lands?
Write: Kimberly's history and the current growth.
Also, students will compare on Google Earth the
growth in the last twenty years.
WHST9-10: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9,
10
Students will read
1 month
two articles (Fon
and Smith) on why
the English
colonized the
Americans.
Students will then
write an informative
essay on why
people migrated to
the English
American colonies.
Write: An autobiography and why their family lives
(migrated) in Idaho.
Write: Article for a website on the early Spanish
colonization of the Americas.
Create: Read from “The American Vision”
textbook and create a graphic organizer to list the
reasons for each English colonies founding. Then,
students will write a letter to a friend to persuade
them to come live in the Americas.
Compare/Contrast: Read from “The American
Vision” textbook: Northern/Southern colonies
(Venn Diagram)
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 9
WHST9-10: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10
Why do people
rebel?
Students will create 1 month
a persuasive
speech on why a
colonist should join
their Patriot or
Loyalist cause.
Before the speech,
students must
provide a written
copy, which can be
revised.
Debate: Students will debate, as colonists,
against the teacher, the King. Topic: What are the
rights and grievances of the colonists? Present
their arguments to the King.
Watch: “The Secret Structure of Great Talks”.
Students will write about what makes a great talk
and use an example from the video.
Read and Discuss: “Common Sense”, “Declaration
of Independence”, and “Sons of Liberty: Patriots or
Terrorists” Focus on the topic “Why do people
rebel?” and student will use evidences to back
US History 1
their argument.
Persuade: Write a plea from the Patriots to the
French. Why the French should join the Patriot
side? Share with the class.
Why do people
rebel? (continued)
Write: Read from “The American Vision” textbook
and write a speech for Congress on why women
and/or blacks should have more rights following
the Revolutionary War.
RH9-10: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8,
9
How are
governments
created?
WHST9-10: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10
Create the “Big
3 weeks
Picture”. Students
will create a movie
about the causes
and effects of the
Constitutional
Convention, and
what happened at
the writing.
Students must
create a storyboard,
outline of script,
script, main
characters, title of
film. Then, film the
video or present to
the class as a skit.
Teacher walks into the room and tells the students
to learn “How are governments created?”. The
teacher sits down and watches what the students
do for the next ten minutes. Then, discuss what
happened, comparing the ideas of Locke and
Hobbes.
Create: Students will write a mock constitution.
What would their government be? Structure?
Laws? Organization?
Following this activity compare their ideas with
other constitutions of the world at:
https://www.constituteproject.org/#/
Read and Analyze: Read from “The American
Vision” textbook the biographies of James
Madison and Roger Sherman (pg 107).
Read and Write: Write a letter to the editor, as an
Anti-Federalist, on why the Constitution will fail.
Then, read Federalist Papers #10, #51, #51, then
write a response to the letter on why this new form
of government will succeed.
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9
Why do people
form political
parties?
Students will read
George
Washington's
3 weeks
Compare/Contrast: Read from “The American
Vision” textbook about the differences between
Hamilton and Jefferson. Create a chart showing
US History 1
WHST9-10: 1, 4, 7, 9,
10
farewell speech and
write about whether
Why do people
or not they believe
form political
political parties
parties? (continued) should exist.
the differences and any similarities.
Create: A political cartoon that represents one of
the Bill of Rights.
Analyze: Students read teacher created
scenarios and determine which Bill of Right is
being infringed upon.
Read, analyze, and create: Read “Why the U.S.
Has a Two Party System”. Students will analyze
and write their opinion about the subject.
Read and debate: Students will read arguments
for/against the War of 1812. Students will be
divided into groups and will debate whether or not
the U.S. should declare war on Great Britain.
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7
WHST9-10: 1, 4, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10
Can average
citizens change
society?
(Average citizens
are not politicians,
they are the come
people.)
Students will write a 2 weeks
speech. They will
choose a reform
cause of their
choice in today's
world. They will
present the speech
to the class,
persuading them to
join their cause, and
the ills of the
problem.
Research and Create: Students will be given a
reform movement of the 1800's. They will
research the reform movement. Then, they will
create a speech to persuade people to join their
cause.
Lesson: Andrew Jackson from PBS. Why is
Andrew Jackson Important?
This lesson is designed to provide students with an
overview of the changes Andrew Jackson effected in
the American presidency. Among the topics discussed
are the rise of political parties, the adoption of more
democratic modes choosing the president, the so-called
"spoils system," and Jackson's use of the veto.
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/andrewjackson/edu/middle
school1.html
US History 1
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9
WHST9-10: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10
RH9-10:1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8,
9, 10
WHST9-10: 2, 4, 7, 9,
10
Why did people
migrate west?
Students will write a 3 weeks
child’s storybook
about a topic (i.e.
gold rush, Oregon
Trail, Mormon Trail)
of why people
moved to the West.
Students will read
these stories to
elementary
students, after
revising their
storybooks.
What keeps nations Students will
1 month
united?
explore a small
reading portion of
Uncle Tom's Cabin,
by Harriet Beecher
Stowe. Then, they
will watch a video
about the book's
effects on the
nation, and will read
a secondary source
discussing if indeed
this book could
have caused the
Civil War. Students
will then write an
essay discussing:
Did Uncle Tom's
Cabin help start the
Civil War? Students
Read and Analyze: Students will read the stories
of Hiram and Sara Pierce, and Alfred Doten. After
reading they will summarize and compare the two
different stories of why they went west.
Read and Create: Students will read about the
adventure on the Oregon Trail. As groups the
students will recreate a supply list for the trip,
create five separate journal entries, from
beginning of the trail to the end, detailing what
possibly could have happened on their journey.
Lesson: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplan/abraham-lincoln-1860-election-and-futureamerican-union-and-slavery#sect-introduction
Students will explore Abraham Lincoln's rise to
political prominence during the debate over the
future of American slavery and compare him to
his. In addition, the Republican Party platform of
1860 will be compared with the platforms of the
two Democratic factions and the Constitutional
Union Party to determine how the priorities of
Lincoln and his party differed from the other
parties in 1860, and how these differences
eventually led to the dissolution of the Union.
Students create a chart to organize the topics.
Read and Conclude: Students will read an
interview with John Brown. Then, students
answer: What conclusions can you draw about
John Brown from the interview?
US History 1
must use textual
evidence and
connect readings.
What keeps nations
united? (continued)
Read and Write: Students will read four primary
sources for/against secession. Sources: E.B.
Heyward; Wlliam Howard Russell; Anonymous
Northern Merchant (New York Tribune, November
22, 1860); Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.
Determine why those in favor of secession
believed that the South could survive on its own.
Determine why those against secession believed
they could not keep making concessions to the
South.
US History 1
RH9-10: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10 How is modern
warfare different?
WHST9-10: 2, 4, 7, 8, 9,
10
Students will write a 1 month
newspaper about a
Civil War battle. In
the newspaper
students will discuss
the causes and
effects of the battle,
and the use of new
technologies used
in this battle. Also,
students will write
an editorial of why
the war needs to
end quickly.
Read and analyze: Students will read the origins of
the Confederate Battle Flag and discuss the
importance of this symbol. Students will identify
important representative symbols in our current
world.
Analyze Charts: Students will look at the ten
deadliest Civil War battles. They will analyze and
compare these charts with those of other previous
U.S. wars. Students should understand how
warfare was changing. Extend the learning by
having them research why the Civil War was so
deadly and how war was changing (i.e. new
ideology, technologies, etc.)
Read and Discuss: “The Gettysburg Address”,
“Response to a Serenade”, and the “Central Act”.
Discuss the meaning of each article and the
importance it has on the U.S. and the Civil War.
Watch and Write: Students will watch the video on
the photography of the Battle of Antietam. They
will describe their feelings of what they have seen
and the impact that these picture would have on
the nation at that time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSILLYhYdTY
Reconsturction
3 Weeks
To help struggling students:
-Students can come in for help before and after
school.
-Notes of each unit are published online.
-Summaries of each unit are provided to the
students.
US History 1
-Dictionaries are available at all times.
-Diagrams are readily available (Venn Diagrams,
Compare/Contrast, etc.)
-”The American Vision” textbook provides brief
summaries of each unit, and some are in Spanish
too.
-Students take online open-book quizzes during
each unit to check their knowledge of the material.