James Madison University – College of Education
Social Studies Lesson Plan #3
Name: Rachel Deavers
Subject/Class: Service Learning Government
Grade Level: 12
Topic: Preparing
for Veterans Day 2011 with We The People & Newseum critical viewing techniques
NCSS Themes:
II. Time, Continuity, & Change
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways
human beings view themselves in and over time, so that the learner can:
e. Demonstrate an understanding that people in different time and places view the
world differently
V. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of
interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions, so that the learner can:
e. identify and describe examples of tensions between and individual’s beliefs and
government policies and laws;
g. show how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote
the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so.
IX. Global Connections
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global
connections and independence, so that the learner can:
b. give examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among
individuals, groups, and nations
f. investigate concerns, issues, standards, and conflicts related to universal human
rights, such as the treatment of children, religious groups, and effects of war.
X. Civic Ideals & Practices
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the
ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic, so that the
learner can:
d. identify and practice selected forms of civic discussion and participation
consistent with the ide-als of citizens in a democratic republic;
h. explain how public policies and citizen behaviors may or may not reflect the
stated ideals of a democratic republican form of government;
j. recognize and interpret how the “common good” can be strengthened through
various forms of citizen action.
Essential Questions/Big Ideas: What is liberty/ freedom and why is it important? What
are the characteristics of a good public speaker?
SOLs/Standards addressed:
GOVT.17 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of personal character traits
that facilitate thoughtful and effective participation in civic life by
e) practicing patriotism
GOVT.18 The student will demonstrate that thoughtful and effective participation in
civic life is characterized by
d) performing public service;
e) keeping informed about current issues;
GOVT.19 The student will explain the meaning of citizenship in the United States and
how it relates to American civic life by
a) explaining how citizenship confers full membership in the American constitutional
system;
b) recognizing that American citizenship is defined by shared political and civic beliefs
and values;
Learning Outcomes/Objectives:
1.0 Students will understand the concept of liberty and its influence on American
culture:
1.1 by interviewing veterans and hearing their stories and views on the
importance of liberty
1.2 by evaluating the importance of liberty in their own lives and through the
U.S.
1.3 by understanding that liberty is a fundamental belief in the United States and
is celebrated through patriotic celebration
2.0 Students will be able to communicate effectively:
2.1 by arguing their opinion
2.2 by writing a speech for Millbrook High School’s Veterans Day program.
Assessment alignment chart: How will you know they know the objectives listed
above?
Formative: reactions at the end of class, informal questioning as I circulate around the
room
Summative: collected 1 page speeches for homework
Objective
Assessment
I will collect their liberty speeches on the
1.0 Students will understand the second day of class. I will also circulate
concept of liberty and its
influence on American culture:
2.0 Students will be able to
communicate effectively
around during the station activity to ask
students questions about what they see
and hear as part of the liberty stations.
Because this class can only have 15
students, listening to their oral reactions
at the end of class can also be a way to
assess every student’s learning during
that day’s lesson.
By their speeches which they will give in
class and perhaps at the school-wide
Veterans Day celebration.
Background Content Outline:
As part of our service learning government class, my students plan and implement a
school-wide Veterans Day celebration including members of the entire school and the
other two high schools in our community. Veterans from all over the community are
invited to attend. We provide them with breakfast and then a school-wide assembly to
celebrate their sacrifices to our country. In the past, we have had as many as 150
veterans attend this event. Over the summer, students in my class are required to choose
and read a book (of their choice) that is a true story of a veteran or a group of soldiers.
They must answer several reflective essay questions about the book and interview a
veteran (family member or member of the community).
This class period will be one of the first classes of the year in which we begin to discuss
the importance of the event and brainstorm. It will be within the first week of school. Up
until this point, students will be studying the founding of U.S. government, but during
Veterans Day planning days, we take a break from the regular government curriculum to
work on this event.
Today we will debrief their summer assignments and begin to understand the concept of
“liberty” or “freedom” and what that means to American society because our theme for
this event will be “Defenders of Freedom.” We will discuss the importance of citizenship
and what makes the men & women who fought for our country great citizens of the
United States.
While we have several objectives (see above) that do follow SOLs and NCSS standards,
there is no specific content outline because student discussion and the books they read
and interview they conducted will guide the content.
DEAN CHART
Concept word
D=define
E=examples
A=attributes
Liberty/
Freedom
Bill of Rights
United States of
Able to dream
and achieve,
State of being
free; having
N=nonexamples
Tyranny
Veteran
life, liberty,
pursuit of
happiness
Any person
who was at one
point in the
armed services
of the United
States of
America
America
George H.W.
Bush
Ulysses S.
Grant
freedoms of
Regimes like
religion, press,
China, Vietnam
expression, etc.
In the military
civilian
(Marines, Air
Force, Coast
Guard, Navy,
Army, Reserves)
Doesn’t have to
have been in a
war
Instructional Plan:
1. Students enter the room, take their seats and get out materials before the bell.
2. Teacher takes attendance and has the directions on the screen: look at the
summer assignments you were given back and read the sentences I
highlighted. Think about each one, “why do you think your teacher
highlighted those sentences?” I will have highlighted sentences in their essays
that were profound, having to do with the responsibilities of being a citizen
and the importance of what veterans did to preserve liberty.
3. Have each student read highlighted sentences from their essays to stimulate
class discussion of the topic “what is liberty”. The teacher will conduct the
discussion and include on the white board main point students make.
(Alternative idea is to put student’s words in a Wordle and have it to show the
students if they submitted electronic versions of their essays.)
4. Several “liberty” stations will be set up around the room. They will be: a)
America in video, focusing on many of the great patriotic music videos that
are on the web, b) America in art and print, focusing on patriotic images, c)
America in person, with several veterans from the community who will be
there to talk with the students. If we have enough veterans from each major
U.S. conflict, I will have a station for each major war that is represented by
the veterans in attendance. Students will rotate from station to station (we will
do this in the school library for more space) and as students go from station to
station they will keep a journal of their thoughts about liberty. (This will
probably end the day’s lesson, especially as the students get to the veterans
station as they love to talk to these gentlemen when I have them come to class,
but further debrief will occur the next day.)
5. With about 10 minutes left in class, student will stand to share one thought
from their “liberty journals” as the “profound thought of the day” as the
teacher questions them using techniques from the We the People program.
For homework, they will write a 1 page speech that they would give at the
Veterans Day celebration about the topic of “liberty”.
Materials Needed for the Lesson:
Several laptop computers for the liberty stations
Veterans to be guest speakers for the liberty stations
Graded student summer assignments
White board
Wordle (if time or access permits)
Videos and images of patriotic events, wars, etc. that will illicit an emotional
response from students
Bibliography/Resources Used:
Broglie, M. (6/27/11). We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution. Content
Academy History K-12.
Lecture conducted from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
(6/29/11). Newseum Presentation on Political Cartoons. Content Academy
History K-12.
Lecture conducted from James Madison University.
Woolever, T. (6/28/11).Using Technology. Content Academy History K-12. Lecture
conducted from
James Madison University.
Adaption/Differentiation:
ELL/struggling
readers
ADHD
Gifted
Students have the opportunity to choose the book they want to read
that will fit their reading style and interests for the summer
assignment. The lesson is also focused on interpreting video and
print images and listening to stories, rather than reading.
Students will be up moving most of the time. The images and
stories will be creating emotional reactions for the students which
should act to keep them highly engaged in the activities.
This is an opportunity for learners to ask questions of “living
historians”—the veterans. They will also be writing a speech to
give at the veterans day celebration which can be as creative as they
want it to be.
Explanation of Instructional Strategies Used:
The Veterans Day event that we conduct at Millbrook every year teaches students more
than any textbook ever could. In the past, I’ve invited veterans to come speak to my
students with little structure. The strategies I’ve implemented in this lesson, many from
the JMU content academy, will help students understand the importance of what they will
be doing for these men and women that we will honor. It will also attach what we are
doing to their intrinsic desire to serve and learn. The speeches that they write may
actually be used on stage on November 10th when we conduct our ceremony and I can
imagine that many of them will thrive under this sense of competition as well. I will use
Newseum images and have them critically view these pieces of information as well as
speak to veterans who can perhaps add to the information in the images. Several of the
veterans groups bring posters with them as well and these images and maps can be added
to the collection that students will view in the stations.
Note: Attached is the Service Learning Summer Assignment Students will create before
class.
Service Learning Government Summer Assignment
Mrs. Deavers, Millbrook High School, deaversr@frederick.k12.va.us
Welcome to the most exciting class at Millbrook High School! Next year, you will be
learning government WHILE serving your community! I can think of no better way to
learn than having to learn while DOING.
One of the most exciting parts of our class will be to plan the annual Veterans Day
celebration in November. We will be inviting these distinguished members of our society
to Millbrook for a celebration that YOU will plan and conduct from beginning to end! In
preparation for this amazing opportunity you will have this upcoming school year, I
would like you to do three things this summer to increase your appreciation and
understanding of our veterans and their service:
1. Read a non-fiction book about veterans or war in general. Choose a book
with a good personal story about a veteran or a group of veterans. The goal is
for you to be able to imagine or understand some of what these men and
women sacrificed for our nation. Please answer the essay questions attached
after you have read the book. (Some suggestions for books to read are
included below.)
2. Conduct an interview with a veteran in your family or the community (if you
do not personally know someone who is a veteran, contact the local American
Legion or VFW posts or me. I can give you some names and contact
information.). Find out what life was like in the military (either during
wartime or peace time). Find out what lessons they think you can learn from
them. Then, find a way to thank them for their service. Please fill out the
interview reflection form after you have spent time with a veteran.
3. Make a list of needs that you see in our community—be observant. (You can
drive down the street and see a need. You can also contact the Frederick
County web site or county officials for ideas.) What needs to be done to make
Winchester/ Frederick County a better place to live? Who in our community
needs help? How can we, as students & citizens, help those people? What
does the government need to do to fix these problems? These questions
should be answered in a well-written opinion essay, 1-2 pages, typed, doublespaced, with 1” margins.
Please have all of these assignments ready to turn in on
the FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!
Possible Books for #1 Above:
*There are MANY other books you can select!!
The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw **Highly recommended!!!!
My War, Andy Rooney
Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose **Highly recommended
Citizen Soldiers, Stephen Ambrose
D-Day, Stephen Ambrose
It Doesn’t Take a Hero, Norman Schwarzkopf
It Took Heros: A Calvary Chaplain’s Memoir of Vietnam, Claude Newby
The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
Veterans Book Essay Questions
Title of Book:
__________________________________________________________________
Author: ________________________________ Copyright
Date:_________________________
Please answer the following questions about veterans in the book you selected. Please
type those answers, double-spaced, with 1” margins. Be sure to use quotes from the book
you have read and document those quotes properly. REMEMBER that plagiarism is
taking someone else’s words and not giving them credit. Make sure you document so
that you are not plagiarizing! That can be a very serious offense!
1. After reading this book, how would you define the words “sacrifice” and
“service?” What scenario or story from the book you read demonstrates those
two words?
2. Why do you think the person or people in your book fought so hard for our
nation? What ideals or principles did they value more than their own lives?
Would you offer your life for those principles? Why or why not?
3. Who do you think suffers most from war—the veteran or the soldier who dies in
war? Why?
4. What does the United States owe to its veterans, in your opinion? What do you
think the author of the book would say in response to that question?
Please read and sign the following (this sheet is the cover page for your typed essays).
DEAVERS’ HONOR CODE:
I have not given nor received help on this assignment from anyone or anything
that is not permitted by the teacher. I have fully read and studied this material, and I
have documented quotes and ideas that are not my own.
Student Signature
__________________________________________________________________
Veteran Interview Reflection
You may write on this sheet or type your answers.
Give a BRIEF summary of your veteran’s military service and experiences:
What were the major lessons he/ she learned through their time in the military?
What lessons do they think YOU, as a member of the youngest generation, can learn as a
result of their experiences?
What did you do to thank this veteran? (Be creative! Do more than just say “thank you.”
Remember, this is SERVICE learning. Find a way to serve them to say “thank you.”)