Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
DRAFT
UNIT TOPIC: More Money, More Power, More Problems: From Exploration to CONCEPTUAL LENS: Identity and Profit
The Founding of a New Nation
UNIT OVERVIEW: This unit will focus on the time period of the Age of Exploration through the forming of the American nation. Europeans had a variety of
reasons for exploration and seeking new places west of the European and African continents. Whether it was the glory of finding new
lands and riches to claim for their financers, the adventure of discovery, or the opportunity to spread their religious beliefs Although the
explorers, no matter what their nationality, identified with the nation that financed their explorations, Europeans ultimately identified
themselves as peoples who were “civilized” and thus were obligated to bring civilization to any area they discovered. The English
exploration of North America during the17th century occurred for various reasons. Some groups were pious, self-disciplined people who
wanted to escape religious persecution while other groups were set up as business ventures. Both reasons, piety and profits, went handin-hand.
While all major nations involved in the exploration of the new world, particularly North America, did so for differing reasons, England's
ultimate goal was to colonize and gain increased economic and political power. Their success at colonizing lands that would become the
United States was due primarily because of its use of charter companies which sought personal economic gain and, that wanted to
advance England's national goals. The private investors financed the new concept of charter companies and monarchies, usually the King,
provided each project with a charter or grant which typically conferred economic rights as well as political and judicial authority. This unit
will highlight the fact that the colonies generally did not show quick profits and the English investors often turned over their colonial
charters to the settlers. The political implications of turning over charters to the settlers turned out to be enormous. The investors and
English governments generally left the colonists alone to build their own lives, their own communities, their own economy and their own
identity, which soon became less English and more American and as a result, to start rebelling against what they saw as repressive and
abusive behavior from England and start building upon principles they had begun to cultivate in the colonies. Principles that would
become the foundations of a new nation with a new government would be incorporated into a new form of government with the
development of the new nation known as the United States.
SCOS OBJECTIVES
ADDRESSED
Content Standards for the Unit (These should appear in your Content/Concept Web)
AH1.H.2.1, AH1.H.2.2, AH1.H.3.1, AH1.H.3.2, AH1.H.3.4, AH1.H.7.1, AH1.H.7.2, AH1.H.7.3, AH1.H.8.2, AH1.H.8.3
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AH1.H.2.1 Analyze key political, economic, and social turning points from colonization through Reconstruction in terms of causes
and effects (e.g., conflicts, legislation, elections, innovations, leadership, movements, Supreme Court decisions, etc.).
AH1.H.2.2 Evaluate key turning points from colonization through Reconstruction in terms of their lasting impact (e.g., conflicts,
legislation, elections, innovations, leadership, movements, Supreme Court decisions, etc.).
AH1.H.3.1 Analyze how economic, political, social, military and religious factors influenced European exploration and American
colonial settlement (e.g., Reformation, mercantilism, improvements in navigation technology, colonization, defeat of Spanish
Armada, Great Awakening, etc.).
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AH1.H.3.2 Explain how environmental, cultural and economic factors influenced the patterns of migration and settlement within
the U.S. before the Civil War (e.g., economic diversity of regions, mercantilism, cash crops, triangular trade, ethnic diversity,
American Indian beliefs about land ownership, Lewis & Clark expedition, farming, Industrial Revolution, etc.).
AH1.H.3.4 Analyze voluntary and involuntary immigration trends through Reconstruction in terms of causes, regions of origin and
destination, cultural contributions, and public and governmental response (e.g., Puritans, Pilgrims, American Indians, Quakers,
Scotch-Irish, Chinese, Africans, indentured servants, slavery, Middle Passage, farming, ideas of the Enlightenment, etc.).
AH1.H.7.1 Explain the impact of wars on American politics through Reconstruction (e.g., Issues of taxation without
representation, Proclamation of 1763, Proclamation of Neutrality, XYZ Affair, Alien & Sedition Acts, War Hawks, Hartford
Convention, slavery Compromises, scalawags, carpetbaggers, etc.).
AH1.H.7.2 Explain the impact of wars on the American economy through Reconstruction (e.g., colonial debt, salutary neglect,
protective tariffs, inflation, profiteering, Hamilton’s economic plan, embargo, etc.).
AH1.H.7.3 Explain the impact of wars on American society and culture through Reconstruction (e.g., salutary neglect, slavery,
breakup of the plantation system, carpetbaggers, scalawags, KKK, and relocation of American Indians, etc.).
AH1.H.8.2 Explain how opportunity and mobility impacted various groups within American society through Reconstruction (e.g.,
Lowell and other “mill towns”, Manifest Destiny, immigrants/migrants, Gold Rush, Homestead Act, Morrill Act, Exodusters,
women, various ethnic groups, etc.).
AH1.H.8.3 Evaluate the extent to which a variety of groups and individuals have had opportunity to attain their perception of the
“American Dream” through Reconstruction (e.g., plantation society, transcendentalism, 49ers, etc.).
The Skill Standards for this Unit (These should NOT appear in your Content/Concept Web)
 AH1.H.1.1.2 Interpret data presented in time lines and create time lines
 AH1.H.1.2.3 Analyze data in historical maps
 AH1.H.1.2.4 Analyze visual, literary and musical sources
 AH1.H.1.3.1 Identify issues and problems in the past
 AH1.H.1.3.2 Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past.
 AH1.H.1.3.3 Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and multiple causation.
 AH1.H.1.3.4 Evaluate competing historical narratives and debates among historians.
 AH1.H.1.3.5 Evaluate the influence of the past on contemporary issues.
 AH1.H.1.4.3 Obtain historical data from a variety of sources
 AH1.H.1.4.4 Support interpretations with historical evidence
UNIT WEBBING
History
Civics & Government
Economics & PFL
Geography &
Environmental
Culture
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
DRAFT
Literacy
List Clarifying Objectives
List Clarifying Objectives
List Clarifying Objectives
List Clarifying
Objectives
List Clarifying
Objectives
AH1.H.2.2, AH1.H.8.3
AH1.H.2.1, AH1.H.7.1,
AH1.H.3.1, AH1.H.3.4
AH1.H.7.2, AH1.H.8.2
AH1.H.7.3,
AH1.H.3.4
Concepts & Content
Concepts & Content
Concepts & Content
AH1.H.3.1,
AH1.H.3.2,
AH1.H.3.4
Concepts & Content
Exploration
 Eastern Coast of
the North
American
Mainland
Turning Point
 Defeat of the
Spanish Armada
Colonization
 Jamestown
 Massachusetts
Bay Colony
Opportunity
 Jamestown
 Massachusetts
Bay Colony
Conflict
 Protestant
Reformation
 Bankruptcy of
Taxation
 Colonial Acts
 No Taxation w/o
Representation
 Royal Governors
Accumulation of wealth for
European nations as a result
of exploration
Treaty of Tordesillas
Growth of Commerce
Concepts &
Content
The Columbian
Exchange
Diseases ravage
the natives of the
new world
Proprietary Colonies
Middle, New England
and Southern
Colonies
England’s Hugh War Debts
Movement
Decisions
 Marbury v. Madison
 Salutory Neglect
Hamilton’s Plan
Region
Christopher
Columbus
Stamp Act
Expansion
Plantation Society
Representation
 Self- Government
 Parliament
 Royal Governors
 Continental Congress
Sugar Act
Charter Companies
Power
 King George
 Parliament
Laws
Tea Act
Mercantilism
Trade
Settlement
Forced slave labor
Indenturing
servants
Various racial,
ethnic and religious
groups (Germans,
Scotch –Irish,
Catholics, Africans,
etc.)
Interaction
Wealth
Culture
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT

GENERALIZATION
S AND GUIDING
QUESTIONS
the East India
Tea Company
French & Indian
War
1. Turning points may
have impacts over
large periods of
time and relevance
to contemporary
events, problems
and issues.

DRAFT
Compromise
Proclamation of 1763
Diversity
Cultural
Development
1. Turning points are key
events that often mark
significant historical,
geographical, political,
economic, or social change.
 Why is the French and
Indian War often
considered a turning point
in American History? (F)
2. A nation’s government and
its political leaders often
assume more authority
during periods of conflict,
rebellion or warfare.
3. Individuals and groups may
feel justified to protest and
rebel against a government
when it no longer
demonstrates the will or
ability to protect and serve
its citizens.
1. A nation may choose to
colonize other regions of
the world to expand its
economic and political
power.
2. Nations may have
difficulty financing war
efforts and overcoming
the economic challenges
that results from war.
 How might debt from
wars affect a nation’s
economic and political
actions? ( C )
 In what ways can
economic goals affect
government actions and
individual rights? (C)
1. Nations and
individuals
motivated by
power, wealth,
and a desire for
resources may
experience
exploration and
settlement from
different
perspectives.
1. Forces that
push or pull
various groups
of people to
move to a
particular place
or region may
factor into the
cultural
development
of that place or
region.
2. Diverse
individuals
and groups
that settle into
a particular
region shape
the cultural
identity of
that region.
3. Diverse groups
of immigrants
can contribute
DRAFT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
 Why did the American
colonists feel their rights
were not being considered
by those in government in
England? (F)
 In what instances do the
political decisions of a
democratic government
restrict or violate the rights
of its people? ( C )
 When the government
elected to serve the people
no longer behaves with the
people’s best interest in
mind, are the people
justified if they rebel? (P)
2. Life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness often
influence an individual or
groups determination to
seek opportunities for
improvement.
 What were the reasons
for the Puritans settling
in the new world? (F)
 Why do individuals or
groups often see
relocation as a means
for greater opportunity
and self-improvement?
(C)
 Does freedom
3. Unreasonable actions by
governments often bring
people into conflict with
those in authority and can
result in armed violence
and protest.
 How did the bankruptcy
status of the East India
Tea Co. lead to a call for
independence? (F)
DRAFT
to the cultural,
social,
economic and
political
development
of a nation.
DRAFT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
guarantee opportunity
or improved quality of
life? (P )
DRAFT
DRAFT
CRITICAL
CONTENT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
Students should know:
1. The major nations that explored the new world and why
2. The economic benefits that European nations experienced by exploring the new world and eventually North
America
3. The impact mercantilism had on exploration
4. The major reasons France, Spain, and England each explored North America
5. Where France, Spain, and England each primarily staked geographic claims to land in North America
6. The different economies of the American colonies
7. Salutary Neglect and how it worked in the American English colonies
8. Middle, New England and Southern colonies (identify)
9. Results of the French and Indian War (debt)
10. Ways England tried to get colonies to help foot the debt caused by the French and Indian War
11. Taxation without Representation
12. Various Acts passed by England (Stamp, Sugar, Navigation, Tea, etc.)
13. Cultural characteristics of various groups in various areas of the colonies
14. Reasons for various groups settling where they did in the colonies (Pilgrims, Puritans, Catholics, Germans,
Scotch-Irish, Africans, etc.)
15. Patriots, loyalists, fence straddlers
16. Identifying characteristics of being American
17. Turning points during the time period of the unit (i.e., defeat of the Spanish Armada, establishment of the
Church of England, English winning the French and Indian War, Tea Act, etc,)
18. Key individuals involved in exploring the new world for Spain
19. Key individuals involved in exploring North America for France and England
20. Key individuals involved in the colonial era protests against English treatment of the colonies
21. Why some colonists identified themselves as American, British or as a part of some other ethnic or religious
group
22. Key leaders involved in the winning the Revolutionary War
23. Reasons why the Articles of Confederation did not work
24. The conflict and compromise that led to the U.S. Constitution
25. Key political documents of the time period between Exploration and the U.S. Constitution
26. The reasons for the Bill of Rights
27. Perspectives of both the Anti-Federalists and Federalist
DRAFT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
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28. Reasons for the structure of the U.S. government under the Constitution
KEY SKILLS
PERFORMANCE TASK
(S)
Students should be able to do:
1. AH1.H.1.1.2 Interpret data presented in time lines and create time lines
2. AH1.H.1.2.3 Analyze data in historical maps
3. AH1.H.1.2.4 Analyze visual, literary and musical sources
4. AH1.H.1.3.1 Identify issues and problems in the past
5. AH1.H.1.3.2 Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past.
6. AH1.H.1.3.3 Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and multiple causation.
7. AH1.H.1.3.4 Evaluate competing historical narratives and debates among historians.
8. AH1.H.1.3.5 Evaluate the influence of the past on contemporary issues.
9. AH1.H.1.4.3 Obtain historical data from a variety of sources
10. AH1.H.1.4.4 Support interpretations with historical evidence
11. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
12. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the
key supporting details and ideas.
13. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
14. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
15. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.
16. CC Hist/SS Lit Stand: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge
or to compare the approaches the authors take.
WHAT?:
England, along with several other nations around the globe, has charged the American colonists with treason and willful and
deliberate intention to break contracts with financial investors, the King and the government of the Mother Country. You are an
attorney who is preparing to deliver the closing argument to the jury selected to determine if the colonists indeed breached
contracts with the parties involved and if the protests and ultimate rebellion of the American colonists were justified.
WHY?:
 In order to understand that individuals and groups may feel justified to protest and rebel against a government when it no
longer demonstrates the will or ability to protect and serve its citizens.
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
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DRAFT
In order to understand that a nation’s government and its political leaders often assume more authority during periods of
conflict, rebellion or warfare.
HOW?:
As a lead defense attorney, your job will be to defend the “rebellious” actions of the American colonists during the era between
the ending of the French and Indian War and the final establishment of the United States government, in a powerful closing
argument. Detail your evidence, provide data to support your claims and use visual images, charts and graphs to emphasize your
arguments. Summarize your closing argument with a powerful statement or quote that will serve as an emotional clincher in your
request that the jury find the American colonists justified on all counts against them.
The charges against the American colonists are as follows:
 The colonists committed treasonous acts of rebellion with protests, boycotts, secret committees, petitions to the King,
refusal to abide by the laws of the English crown, etc.
 The colonists committee crimes against the English government by refusing to obey and follow the laws passed by
Parliament, pay taxes due to the crown, follow the authority of the royal governors and representatives of the crown sent
to govern in the colonies.
 The colonists committee crimes against English authority by committing such as acts as smuggling, negotiating, trading and
selling with the native American Indians, the French, and others who were in competition with the crown for export and
trade.
 The colonists failed to perform their duties as British subjects when they refused to quarter soldiers within their homes.

Performance Task Criteria
 Content: The written argument reflects thorough and accurate research of the historical events.
 The concepts of identity and profit are clearly portrayed as major catalysts and facilitators of outcomes behind
decisions made and events that evolved to lead to the final call for independence and the ultimate development of
a new nation known as the United States.
 The oral delivery of the closing argument shows accurate interpretation of historical data. The argument is reasons
and the conclusions drawn use historical evidence collected from a variety of sources.

Process
 The closing argument flows logically from a written outline prepared by the student.
 The closing argument is reasonable based on the historical interpretations and perspectives of events, people and
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
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DRAFT
decisions occurring between the colonists and England during the established time period.
The visual evidences used to provide support present accurate representations.
Any slides or images are easy to read and understand.
Any primary documents used to support the points of the closing arguments are appropriate choices for each
argument being made.
Any data used is presented in clear formatted tables or charts and display the user’s ability to select and use
appropriate and accurate data as well as the ability to cite source.
Note: Use any rubric to design and organize criteria by which to evaluate the closing argument.
Possible Points or %
(Final Numbers = 100)
Content/Process Elements for the Performance
SCORING
GUIDE
A=93-100,
B=92-85,
C=84-77,
D=76-70,
F=69 & below
The Content Elements
 Content: The written argument reflects
thorough and accurate research of the historical
events.


The concepts of identity and profit are clearly
portrayed as major catalysts and facilitators of
outcomes behind decisions made and events
that evolved to lead to the final call for
independence and the ultimate development of
a new nation known as the United States.
The oral delivery of the closing argument
shows accurate interpretation of historical data.
The argument is reasons and the conclusions
drawn use historical evidence collected from a
variety of sources. The final conclusions
provoke deeper thinking and reflection about
25
10
25
Self-‐Assessment
(Final
Numbers =
100)
Teacher
Assessment
(Final
Numbers =
100)
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
DRAFT
how the events, actions and decisions of both
the politics and economics played a significant
role in propelling the American colonists
toward demanding independence and forming
their own government to rule the new nation
once independence was won.
The Process Elements
 The closing argument flows logically from a
written outline prepared by the student.
10

The closing argument is reasonable based on
the historical interpretations and perspectives of
events, people and decisions occurring between
the colonists and England during the
established time period.
10

The visual evidences used to provide support
present accurate representations.
10

Any slides or images are easy to read and
understand.

Any primary documents used to support the
points of the closing arguments are appropriate
choices for each argument being made.

Any data used is presented in clear formatted
tables or charts and display the user’s ability to
select and use appropriate and accurate data as
well as the ability to cite source.
5
5
DRAFT
LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
Suggested Learning Experiences
Generalizations
DRAFT
Know
(The
numbers
Refer back to
the Critical
Content
section of
unit.)
Key Skills
(The
numbers
Refer back
to The Key
Skills
Section of
this unit.)
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT

Briefly research the purpose of a closing argument in a
trial.

View some dynamic closing arguments and analyze key
components such as tone, use of persuasion.

View some dynamic closing arguments and interpret
words and phrases as they are used in a the arguments,
including determining technical, connotative, and
figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word
choices shape meaning or tone.

Use primary and secondary source documents and
be able to determine the central ideas or information
of those primary or secondary sources while making an
accurate summary that makes clear the relationships
among the key details and ideas.

Create a graphic organizer to show cause and effect
relationships between the actions and decisions of the
English government officials in the colonies and the
final rights established in the Bill of Rights.

Work with a partner to create cause and effect charts
that show the flow of events and decisions (immediate
and long-term) that occurred as a result of the rules
and laws handed down to the colonists in America.

Practice listing pros and cons of various situations and
Acts in the American colonies.

Writer a justification highlighting reasons why the
colonists should have been allowed to freely rule
themselves by the early 1700s.
DRAFT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
DRAFT
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Write a persuasive argument.

Use the lens of profit to reflect on two or more
consequences of both European exploration and
American colonization.

Use the lens of identity to reflect on two or more
reasons why the American colonists were justified
in their position that they no longer identified
themselves as English subjects.

Analyze historical artifacts and images of the time
period beings studies as a way to extract
information and draw conclusions.

Use data from the time period being studies to draw
conclusions.

With a partner work on putting data into a
presentable format (table, chart or graph).
DRAFT

TEACHER
RESOURCES
AND
NOTES
Work with timelines to determine chronology and
accurate flow of events.
Resources:
Approved print or web based resources for the course
Supplemental textbooks and resource materials
Internet
Magazines and other periodicals
Teacher Designed or approved Webquest
Teacher Notes:
By the time this unit is taught students should have been taught certain skills that will be needed to be successful
with the learning experiences.
DRAFT
Unit Plan Template – Table Format
Make sure that you have taught students how to:
•Know the difference between primary and secondary sources.
•Analyze primary and secondary source documents to interpret historical meaning and perspective.
•Write a persuasive argument and essay.
DRAFT