Sample Lesson
Sample Lesson
Welcome to History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals. This document
contains everything you need to teach the sample lesson “Defining and
Debating America’s Founding Ideals.” We invite you to use this sample
lesson today to discover how the TCI Approach can make history come
alive for your students.
Contents
Overview: Sample Lesson 2: Defining and Debating
America’s Founding Ideals
2
Student Text
5
Procedures12
Notebook Guide
17
Guide to Reading Notes
19
Assessment21
Differentiating Instruction
22
Enhancing Learning
24
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Establishing an
American Republic
1492–1896
Expanding American
Global Influence
1796–1921
1 What Is History?
19 Foreign Policy: Setting a Course
of Expansionism
2 Defining and Debating
America’s Founding Ideals
3 Setting the Geographic Stage
4 The Colonial Roots of America’s
Founding Ideals
5 Americans Revolt
History Alive! Pursuing American
Ideals centers on the five founding
ideals from the Declaration of
Independence: equality, rights,
liberty, opportunity, and democracy.
Each generation has struggled with
these ideals. Some have made little
progress toward achieving them.
Others have made great progress.
This program invites students to
become engaged in this struggle,
from establishing an American
republic to the making of modern
America.
Sample Lesson:
2 Defining and Debating
America’s Founding Ideals
6 Creating the Constitution
7 An Enduring Plan of Government
8 Changes in a Young Nation
21 Acquiring and Managing
Global Power
22 From Neutrality to War
23 The Course and Conduct of
World War I
24 The Home Front
25 The Treaty of Versailles: To Ratify
or Reject?
9 A Dividing Nation
10 The Civil War
11 Reconstruction
The Roaring Twenties and
the Great Depression
1914–1944
26 Understanding Postwar Tensions
Industrialism and Reform
1840–1920
12 Change and Conflict in the
American West
13The Age of Innovation
and Industry
14Labor’s Response to
Industrialism
15 Through Ellis Island and Angel
Island: The Immigrant Experience
16 Uncovering Problems at the Turn
of the Century
17 The Progressives Respond
18 Progressivism on the
National Stage
2
20 The Spanish-American War
27 The Politics of Normalcy
28 Popular Culture in the
Roaring Twenties
29 The Clash Between Traditionalism and Modernism
30 The Causes of the
Great Depression
31 The Response to the
Economic Collapse
32 The Human Impact of the
Great Depression
33 The New Deal and Its Legacy
Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Overview
World War II and
the Cold War
1917–1960
34 Origins of World War II
35 The Impact of World War II
on Americans
36 Fighting World War II
Tumultuous Times
1954–1980
47 The Age of Camelot
The Making of
Modern America
1980–Present
48 The Great Society
55 A Shift to the Right
Under Reagan
49 The Emergence of a
Counterculture
56 Ending the Cold War
37 The Aftermath of World War II
50 The United States Gets Involved
in Vietnam
38 Origins of the Cold War
51 Facing Frustration in Vietnam
39 The Cold War Expands
52 Getting Out of Vietnam
40 Fighting the Cold War at Home
53 The Rise and Fall of
Richard Nixon
The Search for a Better Life
1945–1990
54 Politics and Society in the
“Me” Decade
57 U.S. Domestic Politics at the Turn
of the 21st Century
58 U.S. Foreign Policy in a Global Age
59 9/11 and Its Aftermath: Debating
America’s Founding Ideals
41 Peace, Prosperity, and Progress
42 Two Americas
43 Segregation in the Post–World
War II Period
44 The Civil Rights Revolution:
“Like a Mighty Stream”
45 Redefining Equality: From Black
Power to Affirmative Action
46 The Widening Struggle
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Overview (continued)
Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
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Defining and Debating
America’s Founding Ideals
What are America’s founding ideals, and why are
they important?
2.1 Introduction
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed.
—Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 1776
In these two sentences, Jefferson set forth a vision of a new nation based
on ideals. An ideal is a principle or standard of perfection that we are always
trying to achieve. In the years leading up to the Declaration, the ideals that
Jefferson mentioned had been written about and discussed by many colonists.
Since that time, Americans have sometimes fought for and sometimes ignored
these ideals. Yet, throughout the years, Jefferson’s words have continued to
provide a vision of what it means to be an American. In this chapter, you will
read about our nation’s founding ideals, how they were defined in 1776, and
how they are still being debated today.
5
An early edited draft of the Declaration of Independence
The Granger Collection, New York
On a June day in 1776, Thomas Jefferson set to work in a rented room in
Philadelphia. His task was to draft a document that would explain to the world
why Great Britain’s 13 American colonies were declaring themselves to be
“free and independent states.” The Second Continental Congress had appointed
a five-man committee to draft this declaration of independence. At 33, Jefferson
was one of the committee’s youngest and least experienced members, but his
training in law and political philosophy had prepared him for the task. He
picked up his pen and began to write words that would change the world.
Had he been working at home, Jefferson might have turned to his large
library for inspiration. Instead, he relied on what was in his head to make the
declaration “an expression of the American mind.” He began,
In many ways Thomas Jefferson, shown
here with his fellow committee members
Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, was
an odd choice to write the Declaration of
Independence. Not only was Jefferson
young and inexperienced, he was also a
slaveholder. For all his fine words about
liberty and equality, Jefferson proved
unwilling to apply his “self-evident” truths
to the men and women he held in bondage.
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
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2.2 The First Founding Ideal: Equality
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
When Jefferson wrote these words, this “truth” was anything but self-evident, or
obvious. Throughout history, almost all societies had been divided into unequal
groups, castes, or social classes. Depending on the place and time, the divisions were described in different terms—patricians and plebeians, lords and
serfs, nobles and commoners, masters and slaves. But wherever one looked,
some people had far more wealth and power than others. Equality, or the ideal
situation in which all people are treated the same way and valued equally, was
the exception, not the rule.
Defining Equality in 1776 For many Americans of Jefferson’s time, the ideal
of equality was based on the Christian belief that all people are equal in God’s
eyes. The colonists saw themselves as rooting this ideal on American soil. They
shunned Europe’s social system, with its many ranks of nobility, and prided
themselves on having “no rank above that of freeman.”
This view of equality, however, ignored the ranks below “freeman.” In
1776, there was no equality for the half million slaves who labored in the
colonies. Nor was there equality for women, who were viewed as inferior to
men in terms of their ability to participate in society.
In 1848, a group of women used the
Declaration of Independence as a model for
their own Declaration of Sentiments on
women’s rights. They declared that “all men
and women are created equal.” Achieving
equality, however, has been a tremendous
struggle. This photograph shows a woman,
some 70 years later, still marching for the
right to vote.
For much of our history, African Americans
were treated as less than equal to whites.
No one knew that better than these Memphis
sanitation workers when they went on strike
in 1968. Their signs reminded the nation that
each person in our society should be treated
with equal respect.
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Debating Equality Today Over time, Americans have made great progress in
expanding equality. Slavery was abolished in 1865. In 1920, a constitutional
amendment guaranteed all American women the right to vote. Many laws today
ensure equal treatment of all citizens, regardless of age, gender, physical ability,
national background, and race.
Yet some people—both past and present—have argued that achieving
equal rights does not necessarily mean achieving equality. Americans will not
achieve equality, they argue, until we address differences in wealth, education,
and power. This “equality of condition” extends to all aspects of life, including
living standards, job opportunities, and medical care.
Is equality of condition an achievable goal? If so, how might it best be
achieved? These and other questions about equality are likely to be hotly
debated for years to come.
Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
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2.3 The Second Founding Ideal: Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
The idea that people have certain rights would have seemed self-evident to
most Americans in Jefferson’s day. Rights are powers or privileges granted to
people either by an agreement among themselves or by law. Living in British
colonies, Americans believed they were entitled to the “rights of Englishmen.”
These rights, such as the right to a trial by jury or to be taxed only with their
consent, had been established slowly over hundreds of years. The colonists
believed, with some justice, that having these rights set them apart from other
peoples in the world.
Defining Rights in 1776 Jefferson, however,
was not thinking about specific legal or political rights when he wrote of “unalienable
rights.” He had in mind rights so basic and
so essential to being human that no government should take them away. Such rights
were not, in his view, limited to the privileges won by the English people. They were
rights belonging to all humankind.
This universal definition of rights was
strongly influenced by the English philosopher John Locke. Writing a century earlier,
Locke had argued that all people earned certain natural rights simply by being born.
Locke identified these natural rights as the
rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke
further argued that the main purpose of governments was to preserve these rights. When
a government failed in this duty, citizens had
the right to overthrow it.
Debating Rights Today The debate over
what rights our government should preserve
began more than two centuries ago, with the
writing of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill
of Rights, and continues to this day. The
Constitution (and its amendments) specifies
many basic rights, including the right to
vote, to speak freely, to choose one’s faith, and to receive fair treatment and
equal justice under the law. However, some people argue that the government
should also protect certain economic and social rights, such as the right to
health care or to a clean environment.
Should our definition of rights be expanded to include new privileges? Or
are there limits to the number of rights a government can protect? Either way,
who should decide which rights are right for today?
This celebration of the Bill of Rights was
painted by Polish American artist Arthur Szyk
in 1949. It includes a number of Revolutionary
War–era symbols, such as flags, Minutemen,
and America’s national bird, the bald eagle.
Szyk wanted his work to promote human
rights. “Art is not my aim,” he maintained,
“it is my means.”
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“That among these [rights] are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.”
By the time Jefferson was writing the Declaration,
the colonists had been at war with Britain for more
than a year—a war waged in the name of liberty, or
freedom. Every colony had its liberty trees, its liberty
poles, and its Sons and Daughters of Liberty (groups
organizing against the British). Flags proclaimed
“Liberty or Death.” A recently arrived British immigrant to Maryland said of the colonists, “They are all
liberty mad.”
Defining Liberty in 1776 Liberty meant different
things to different colonists. For many, liberty meant
political freedom, or the right to take part in public
affairs. It also meant civil liberty, or protection from
the power of government to interfere in one’s life.
Other colonists saw liberty as moral and religious
freedom. Liberty was all of this and more.
However colonists defined liberty, most agreed
on one point: the opposite of liberty was slavery.
“Liberty or slavery is now the question,” declared a
colonist, arguing for independence in 1776. Such talk
raised a troubling question. If so many Americans
were so mad about liberty, what should this mean for
the one fifth of the colonial population who labored
as slaves? On the thorny issue of slavery in a land of
liberty, there was no consensus.
Every year, millions visit the Liberty Bell in
Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic
Park. The huge bell was commissioned by the
Pennsylvania Assembly in 1753. Its every peal
was meant to proclaim “liberty throughout all
the land.” Badly cracked and battered, the
bell is now silent. But it remains a beloved
symbol of freedom.
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Debating Liberty Today If asked to define liberty today, most Americans
would probably say it is the freedom to make choices about who we are, what
we believe, and how we live. They would probably also agree that liberty is not
absolute. For people to have complete freedom, there must be no restrictions
on how they think, speak, or act. They must be aware of what their choices are
and have the power to decide among those choices. In all societies, there are
limits to liberty. We are not, for example, free to ignore laws or to recklessly
endanger others.
Just how liberty should be limited is a matter of debate. For example, most
of us support freedom of speech, especially when it applies to speech we agree
with. But what about speech that we don’t agree with or that hurts others, such
as hate speech? Should people be at liberty to say anything they please, no matter how hurtful it is to others? Or should liberty be limited at times to serve a
greater good? If so, who should decide how, why, and under what circumstances
liberty should be limited?
Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
2.4 The Third Founding Ideal: Liberty
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“That among these [rights] are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Something curious happened to John
Locke’s definition of natural rights in
Jefferson’s hands. Locke had included
property as the third and last right in his
list. But Jefferson changed property to
“the pursuit of Happiness.” The noted
American historian Page Smith wrote of
this decision,
The change was significant and very
American . . . The kings and potentates,
the powers and principalities of this world
[would not] have thought of including
“happiness” among the rights of a people
. . . except for a select and fortunate few. The great mass of people were
doomed to labor by the sweat of their brows, tirelessly and ceaselessly,
simply in order to survive . . . It was an inspiration on Jefferson’s part to
replace [property] with “pursuit of happiness” . . . It embedded in the
opening sentences of the declaration that comparatively new . . . idea that a
life of weary toil . . . was not the only possible destiny of “the people.”
—Page Smith, A New Age Now Begins, 1976
The Granger Collection, New York
Horatio Alger, author of Strive and Succeed,
wrote more than 100 “dime novels” in the late
1800s. Many of these inexpensive books were
about opportunity. They showed how a poor
boy might achieve the American dream of
success through hard work, courage, and
concern for others.
The destiny that Jefferson imagined was one of endless opportunity, or the
chance for people to pursue their hopes and dreams.
Defining Opportunity in 1776 The idea that America was a land of opportunity
was as old as the colonies themselves. Very soon after colonist John Smith first
set foot in Jamestown in 1607, he proclaimed that here “every man may be
master and owner of his owne labour and land.” Though Jamestown did not live
up to that promise, opportunity was the great lure that drew colonists across
the Atlantic to pursue new lives in a new land.
Debating Opportunity Today More than two centuries after the Declaration of
Independence was penned, the ideal of opportunity still draws newcomers to
our shores. For most, economic opportunity is the big draw. Here they hope to
find work at a decent wage. For others, opportunity means the chance to reunite
families, get an education, or live in peace.
For all Americans, the ideal of opportunity raises important questions. Has
the United States offered equal opportunity to all of its people? Or have some
enjoyed more opportunity to pursue their dreams than have others? Is it enough
to “level the playing field” so that everyone has the same chance to succeed in
life? Or should special efforts be made to expand opportunities for the least
fortunate among us?
Defining and Debating America’s Founding Ideals
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2.5 The Fourth Founding Ideal: Opportunity
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“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
In these few words, Jefferson described the basis of a democracy—a system
of government founded on the simple principle that the power to rule comes
from the consent of the governed. Power is not inherited by family members,
as in a monarchy. Nor is it seized and exercised by force, as in a dictatorship.
In a democracy, the people have the power to choose their leaders and shape
the laws that govern them.
Defining Democracy in 1776 The colonists were familiar with the workings
The right to vote is so basic to a democracy
that most Americans today think little about it.
For much of our history, however, that right
was denied to women and most African
Americans. Their “consent” was not considered important to those who governed.
of democracy. For many generations, the people had run their local governments. In town meetings or colonial assemblies, colonists had learned to work
together to solve common problems. They knew democracy worked on a small
scale. But two questions remained. First, could democracy be made to work in
a country spread over more than a thousand miles? In 1776, many people were
not sure that it could.
The second question was this: Who should speak for “the governed”? In
colonial times, only white, adult, property-owning men were allowed to vote
or hold office. This narrow definition of voters did not sit well with many
Americans, even then. “How can a Man be said to [be] free and independent,”
protested citizens of Massachusetts in 1778, “when he has not a voice allowed
him” to vote? As for women, their voices were not yet heard at all.
Debating Democracy Today The debate over who should speak for the governed was long and heated. It took women more than a century of tenacious
struggle to gain voting rights. For many minority groups, democracy was denied
for even longer. Today, the right to vote is universal for all American citizens
over the age of 18.
Having gained the right to vote, however, many people today do not use
it. Their lack of participation raises challenging questions. Why do so many
Americans choose not to make their voices heard? Can democracy survive if
large numbers of citizens decide not to participate in public affairs?
The stars on the official American flag symbolize the 50 states that make up our country.
The faces on this painting symbolize the many
peoples who have come together to create a
democratic society in the United States.
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2.6 The Fifth Founding Ideal: Democracy
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“Ideals are like stars,” observed Carl Schurz, a German American politician in
the late 1800s. “You will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but
like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your
guides, and, following them, you reach your destiny.” In this book, the ideals
found in the Declaration of Independence will serve as your guiding stars.
You will come upon these ideals again and again—sometimes as points of
pride, sometimes as prods to progress, and sometimes as sources of sorrow.
Living up to these ideals has never been a simple thing. Ideals represent
the very highest standards, and human beings are far too complex to achieve
such perfection. No one illustrates that complexity more clearly than Jefferson.
Although Jefferson believed passionately in the Declaration’s ideals, he was a
slaveholder. Equality and liberty stopped at the borders of his Virginia plantation. Jefferson’s pursuit of happiness depended on depriving the people who
labored for him as slaves the right to pursue happiness of their own.
Soon after the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, it appointed a committee to design an official seal for the United States.
The final design appears on the back of the one-dollar bill. One side shows
an American eagle holding symbols of peace and war, with the eagle facing
toward peace. The other shows an unfinished pyramid, symbolizing strength
and endurance. Perhaps another reason for the unfinished pyramid was to show
that a nation built on ideals is a work in progress. As long as our founding ideals
endure, the United States will always be striving to meet them.
The front of the Great Seal features a bald
eagle and a shield with 13 red and white
stripes, representing the original 13 states.
The scroll in the eagle’s beak contains our
national motto, E Pluribus Unum, which means
“Out of Many, One.” The motto refers to the
creation of one nation out of 13 states.
Summary
Throughout their history, Americans have been inspired and guided by the ideals
in the Declaration of Independence—equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and
democracy. Each generation has struggled with these ideals. The story of their
struggles lies at the heart of our nation’s history and who we are as Americans.
Equality The Declaration of Independence asserts that “all men are created equal.” During
the past two centuries, our definition of equality has broadened to include women and minority groups. But we are still debating the role of government in promoting equality today.
Rights The Declaration states that we are all born with “certain unalienable Rights.” Just
what these rights should be has been the subject of never-ending debates.
Liberty One of the rights mentioned in the Declaration is liberty—the right to speak, act,
think, and live freely. However, liberty is never absolute or unlimited. Defining the proper
limits to liberty is an unending challenge to a free people.
Opportunity This ideal lies at the heart of the “American dream.” It also raises difficult
questions about what government should do to promote equal opportunities for all Americans.
Democracy The Declaration of Independence states that governments are created by people
in order to “secure these rights.” Governments receive their “just powers” to rule from the
“consent of the governed.” Today we define such governments as democracies.
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
2.7 In Pursuit of America’s Ideals
Overview and Objectives
Suggested time: This lesson will take approximately two 50-minute periods.
Overview
Students learn about the significance of the founding ideals in the Declaration of
Independence and are introduced to the Essay Writing Program.
Preview Students respond to and discuss a “Survey on American Ideals.”
Reading Students read about and discuss the origins and significance of the five founding
ideals: equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy.
Activity In a Writing for Understanding activity, students examine 18 placards, which contain
images and quotations spanning American history, to discover the influence of the five founding
ideals of the Declaration of Independence. Students then write a five-paragraph essay on the
question, Have Americans lived up to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
Processing The five-paragraph essay functions as this lesson’s Processing assignment.
Objectives
Students will
• investigate the Essential Question: What are America’s founding ideals, and why are they
important?
• read and analyze primary and secondary sources to understand the meaning and significance
of the five founding ideals.
• write a five-paragraph essay analyzing how well Americans have lived up to the ideals in the
Declaration of Independence.
• learn and use the Key Content Terms for this lesson.
Vocabulary
Key Content Terms equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, democracy
Social Studies Terms ideal, self-evident, social class, natural rights, monarchy, dictatorship
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Procedures
1 Before class, prepare materials.
• Post Information Master A: Ideals and Definitions in the classroom or make copies to be
distributed to the class.
• Arrange Placards A–R: Introduction to History about 3 to 4 feet apart, either on the classroom
walls or someplace with more room, such as a hallway or the cafeteria.
2 Distribute a copy of the Notebook Guide to each student. Give students time to complete
the Preview assignment in their notebooks.
3 Discuss student responses to the Preview assignment. Have volunteers share their
responses with the class or have students pair up and share with a partner. This Preview is not
designed to lead students to any predetermined conclusions but to encourage discussion and
debate.
4 Review the five ideals and their definitions on Information Master A. Tell students
that each question on the “Survey on American Ideals” relates to one of the five ideals on
Information Master A. Review each ideal. Explain that an ideal is different from an idea: an
idea can be just about anything that pops into one’s head, whereas an ideal is something truly
outstanding that one strives for.
5 Explain the purpose of this lesson. Tell students that in this lesson they will learn about the
five ideals, including where they came from and why they are so important to Americans.
Students will also begin the Essay Writing Program for this course by writing a five-paragraph
essay in response to the question, Have Americans lived up to the ideals expressed in the
Declaration of Independence?
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Preview
1 Introduce the Essential Question. In your presentation, project Draft of the Declaration of
Independence. Have students locate the photograph and Essential Question at the beginning
of this lesson. Ask,
• What do you see here?
• What are some observations you can make about the document?
• Why are parts of the document scratched out? What do the scratches tell you about the
document?
• What document is this?
• Where in the document can you find references to each of the five founding ideals: equality,
rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy? (Note: All of these ideals are referred to in the
quotation in Section 1, The First Founding Ideals: Equality. They can also be located on Draft of
the Declaration of Independence.
2 Read aloud the Essential Question: What are America’s founding ideals, and why are
they important? Discuss, explain, or clarify the question as appropriate.
3 Introduce the Key Content Terms and social studies terms for this lesson. Preteach the
boldfaced vocabulary terms in the lesson, as necessary, before students begin reading.
4 Have students read Sections 1-7 of the Student Text and complete the corresponding
Reading Notes. Use the Guide to Reading Notes to review the answers as a class. (Note: You
might want to assign the reading as homework.)
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Reading
1 Introduce the activity. Tell students that they will examine a series of images and quotations
that span American history, from colonial times to today. Each image and quote relates to
the ideals of the Declaration of Independence: they demonstrate either a belief in an ideal,
a struggle for an ideal, or a con­flict over an ideal. The placards provide an overview of the
importance of the ideals throughout American history. They also preview the content students
will study in this course. Explain that after they examine the images and quotations, they will
write their five-paragraph essays.
2 Put students in mixed-ability pairs.
3 Distribute Student Handout A: Discovering American Ideals in Primary Sources and
review the directions.
4 Monitor students as they work on Student Handout A: Discovering American Ideals
in Primary Sources. Before students begin working independently with their partners, you
might want to model how to complete the notes for one placard. To encourage students to
work quickly and with purpose, consider imposing a time limit for each placard and for the
entire activity. If class time is limited, students do not need to complete all the placards. Tell
students that after a specified time, they will become an “expert” on the most recent placard
they completed. As such, they might be asked to share their expertise with the class.
5 Use a human timeline to debrief the activity. After the specified time, ask students to
complete their notes for their current placard and then have them remove the placard from
the wall. Assign one student from each pair to be the “expert” for that placard. Everyone
else should sit down. Tell the student experts to organize themselves in chronological order,
holding the placards in front of their chests so everyone in class can see them. Have the
experts per­form the following tasks, as appropriate:
• Ask students to step forward if their placard relates to equality in any way. Repeat this for
each remaining ideal: rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy. Discuss why some ideals
appear more often than others.
• Ask students to step forward if their placard illustrates events or ideas that moved the nation
toward the ideals in the Declaration. Ask several students to explain how it shows this.
• Ask students to step forward if their placard illustrates events or ideas that moved the nation
away from the ideals in the Declaration. Ask several students to explain how it shows this.
• Ask students to step forward if they believe their placard shows that Amer icans do live up to
the ideals in the Declaration. Ask several students to explain how it shows this. Repeat with
examples of how Americans do not live up to the ideals in the Declaration.
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | TGuide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Writing for Understanding
that during the course of the year, they will learn and practice the elements of writing a
five-paragraph essay. They will write four essays in conjunction with four particular lessons
and will practice key elements of essay writing throughout the rest of the year. Project
Information Master B: Writing an Essay About American Ideals Today and introduce the essay
requirements. (Note: The results of this assignment can be used as a baseline to measure
individual students’ writing abilities at the start of the year.)
7 Distribute Student Handout B: Graphic Organizer for a Five-Paragraph Essay. Explain that
this graphic organizer will help students organize their thoughts and ideas for their essays.
Briefly review the graphic organizer with students and make sure they understand what to do
for each step. Give stu­dents time to complete their graphic organizers.
8 Have students use notes from their graphic organizer to write a draft of their essays.
Have students complete their drafts either in class or for home­work. (Note: Depending on
how much time you want to spend on this first essay, you may want to teach or reinforce
specific steps in the writing process, such as revising and editing. The Writing Toolkit has
specific handouts you can use to guide this process.)
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
6 Introduce the Essay Writing Program and the first writing assignment. Tell students
N O T E B O O K
G U I D E
What Is History?
What is history, and why should we study it?
K e y
C o n t e n t
T e r m s
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these
Key Content Terms in your answers:
evidence
point of view
primary source
historical interpretation
Section 3
What are the four reasons for studying history? List
and rank them from 1 to 4—number 1 represents the
reason that is most important and number 4 represents
the reason that is least important. Write a brief explanation of why you chose your top ranking.
secondary source
P R O C E S S I N G
R E A D I N G
N O T E S
Read Sections 2 to 3. After reading each section, complete the following activities in your notebook.
Section 2
Copy the following table into your notebook. Use the
information from the reading to write a definition for
each term in the table. Then explain how each term
was represented during the in-class activity.
Definition
Evidence
Primary source
Secondary source
In-Class
Activity
Create a timeline of your life from the time you were
born to the age you are now.
1. Draw a timeline, with a mark for each year of your
life.
2. Use one color to write the three most important
events of your life on the timeline. Label each event
with your age and a brief description of what happened and why it was important.
3. Ask family members what they think are the three
most important events of your life. Use a different
color to place those events on the timeline. Label
each event with your age and a brief description of
what happened and why they think it was important.
4. Beneath the timeline, write a reflection that
describes the similarities and differences between
the events you chose and those your family chose.
Explain why you think you and your family members interpreted the past similarly or differently.
Point of view
Historical
interpretation
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
17
What Is History?
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Notebook Guide
G U Í A
D E
E S T U D I O
¿Qué es la historia?
¿Qué es la historia y por qué debemos estudiarla?
P a l a b r a s
C l a v e
A medida que completes las Notas de la lectura, usa
estas Palabras clave en tus respuestas:
evidencia
punto de vista
fuente primaria
interpretación histórica
fuente secundaria
N O T A S
Sección 3
¿Cuáles son las cuatro razones para estudiar historia?
Anótalas y ordénalas del 1 al 4; 1 representa la más
importante y 4 representa la menos importante. Escribe
una explicación breve de por qué elegiste ese orden.
P R O C E S A R
D E
L A
L E C T U R A
Lee las Secciones 2 a 4. Después de leer cada sección,
completa las siguientes actividades en tu cuaderno.
Sección 2
Copia la siguiente tabla en tu cuaderno. Usa la información de la lectura para escribir una definición para
cada término de la tabla. Después, explica cómo se
representó cada término durante la actividad en clase.
Definición
Evidencia
Fuente primaria
Fuente secundaria
Actividad en
clase
Crea una línea cronológica de tu vida desde que
naciste hasta la edad que tienes ahora.
1. Dibuja una línea cronológica con una marca para
cada año de tu vida.
2. Usa un color para escribir los tres sucesos más
importantes de tu vida en la línea cronológica.
Rotula cada suceso con tu edad y una breve descripción de lo que sucedió y por qué fue importante.
3. Pregúntale a los miembros de tu familia cuáles creen
que son los tres sucesos más importantes de tu vida.
Usa un color diferente para ubicar esos sucesos en
la línea cronológica. Rotula cada suceso con tu edad
y una breve descripción de lo que sucedió y por qué
creen que fue importante.
4. Debajo de la línea cronológica, escribe una reflexión que describa las similitudes y diferencias entre
los sucesos que elegiste tú y aquellos que eligió tu
familia. Explica por qué crees que tú y los miembros de tu familia interpretaron el pasado de modo
similar o diferente.
Punto de vista
Interpretación
histórica
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
18
¿Qué es la historia?
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Spanish Notebook Guide
G u i d e
t o
R e a d i n G
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Guide to Reading Notes
n o t e s
Following are possible answers for each section of the Reading Notes.
Section 1
1. These ideals are found in the following phrases:
Equality: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal.”
Rights: “That they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights.”
Liberty: “That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity: “That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Democracy: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed.”
2. The Declaration expresses important ideals that have inspired and
challenged Americans for more than 200 years.
3. The ideals were familiar to Americans of the time and had been written
about and discussed in the years leading up to the Declaration.
Sections 2 to 6
Ideal and Excerpt from the
Declaration of Independence
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Influence of the Ideal
in 1776 and Today
Definition
The ideal situation in which
all people are treated the
same and valued equally
1776: Christianity taught that all people are
equal in God’s eyes. The colonists rejected
the inequality found in Europe. Still, some
held slaves, and women were treated
unequally.
Today:Progress has been made in expanding equality, but some argue that “equality
of condition” needs to be provided to all.
Rights
“They are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable
Rights.”
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
19
Powers or privileges granted
to people either by an
agreement among themselves
or by law
1776: Jefferson argued in favor of natural,
or universal, rights belonging to all
humankind.
Today: Americans have many rights that
are found in the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. However, some people still argue
for an expansion of rights.
defining and debating america’s Founding ideals
1 t o
R e a d i n G
Ideal and Excerpt from the
Declaration of Independence
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
n o t e s
Influence of the Ideal
in 1776 and Today
Definition
Liberty can mean different
things:
• political freedom
• civil liberty
• moral and religious
freedom
• the opposite of slavery
Opportunity
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed.”
The chance for people to
pursue their hopes and
dreams
1776: Liberty was extremely important to
the colonists, and they fought for freedom
from Great Britain. However, one fifth of
the population was enslaved.
Today: Americans agree that liberty
provides the ability to make choices and
that limits must be placed on those choices.
Americans debate about where to set those
limits.
1776: Americans held a strong belief in
opportunity from the early colonial period.
Opportunity encouraged new settlers.
Today: Opportunity still brings newcomers,
but some wonder whether true opportunity
is available to all.
A system of government
based on the consent of the
governed
1776: Americans used democracy on a local
level throughout the colonial period. Yet
some wondered whether democracy could
work on a larger scale and who should speak
for “the governed.”
Today: All citizens over the age of 18 can
now vote, yet not everyone participates.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
20
defining and debating america’s Founding ideals
2 Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
G u i d e
To protect the integrity of assessment questions, this
feature has been removed from the sample lesson.
These videos will help you learn more about our print and
online assessment tools.
Creating Printable Assessments (2:33 min)
Creating Online Assessments (2:25 min)
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Overview | Student Text | Procedures | Notebook Guide | Guide to Reading Notes | Assessment | Differentiating Instruction | Enhancing Learning
Assessment
English Language Learners
Provide an alternative Preview assignment.
• Before beginning the Preview, bring students’ attention to Information Master A. Ask them to
write each word and its definition on one of five separate cards, which you provide or which
they make from notebook paper.
• On index cards, create a class set of simple, clear symbols for each word. Have students
match the symbols with the words and then have them draw the symbols on their cards.
• Put students into mixed-ability pairs. Ask each pair of students to rank the ideals according to
how important they are to Americans. Ask, Which ideal is most important? Least important?
(Note: There are no right or wrong answers. Students should base their rankings on their own
beliefs and experience.)
• Discuss and debate the following questions, using student cue cards: Which of these ideals
does America stand for most? Least? Do you think some Americans would fight and die for
any of these ideals? If so, which ones? Which ones would you be willing to die for? Allow
some students to respond nonverbally by choosing cards, pointing, or using short phrases.
Encourage students who are more fluent to respond in complete sentences.
Learners Reading and Writing Below Grade Level
Option 1 Create a visual of Student Handout B: Graphic Organizer for a Five-Paragraph Essay.
Review the graphic organizer and provide a concrete example for each step. Have students
brainstorm additional evidence in small groups or as a class. List student responses on the
visual and edit as necessary.
Option 2 Instead of completing the entire graphic organizer on Student Handout B: Graphic
Organizer for a Five-Paragraph Essay, have students write a thesis statement and complete
the steps for body paragraph 1. Modify the requirements on Information Master B, and have
students write a paragraph that answers this question: Have Americans lived up to the ideals
expressed in the Declaration of Independence? Tell students their paragraph must include (1) a
strong topic sentence that states their view and tells the reader what the paragraph is about, (2)
at least two pieces of evidence supporting their view, and (3) at least two sentences explaining
how their evidence supports their topic sentence.
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Differentiating Instruction
Concentrate on those placards with the strongest visual components. Make sure all students can
view the placards well enough to complete the activity.
Advanced Learners
On April 3, 1917, William Tyler Page, a clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote “The
American Creed” (reprinted below) as part of an essay writing contest. Provide “The American
Creed” for students to read. Define a creed as a statement of belief. Ask students to use
what they learned in this lesson about the Declaration’s ideals to write their own creed for all
Americans. Then ask them to think beyond the Declaration to how Americans act and behave
today. Have them write a second creed that answers this question: What does America really
stand for? Require students to write a paragraph explaining the difference between their two
creeds.
The American Creed
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the
people; whose just powers are derived from the con­sent of the governed, a democracy in a
republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable;
established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American
patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its
laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
—William Tyler Page, clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, 1917
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Learners with Special Education Needs
Primary Sources for Civic Learning
You may wish to have students investigate primary source documents relevant to this lesson.
The “Our Documents” initiative is a cooperative effort of the National Archives and Records
Administration, National History Day, and the USA Freedom Corps. At its Web site, www.
ourdocuments.gov, you can download images and transcripts of the 100 milestone documents
chosen for the initiative, along with teaching tools and resources. The documents most relevant
to this lesson are the following:
The Declaration of Independence, 1776 On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered an engrossed, or
handwritten, copy of the Declaration on parchment. It is now one of our treasured Charters of
Freedom on display at the National Archives.
Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782 It took three committees to
develop the winning design for the Great Seal, which is still in use today. The seal appears on
official government buildings and on the back of the one-dollar bill.
Using Technology
Use a word-processing program to convert Student Handout B: Graphic Organizer for a FiveParagraph Essay into a template that students can use to guide their writing practice while
composing their essays. Before the activity, copy the template to a flash drive and save it in
a folder on the computers students will use. In class, use a pro­jector to demonstrate how
students can use the template to write and edit their five-paragraph essays.
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Enhancing Learning
www.justicelearning.org/
The innovative site, Justice Learning: Civic Education in the Real World, takes an issues-based
approach to the sometimes-contradictory values and ideals of American democracy. Use the
“Constitution Guide” to start your exploration of the site; here, each article of the Constitution
is explained in detail. Expand your investigation by clicking on the “Issues” link to explore how
the ideals expressed in the Constitution have been applied to such issues as affirmative action,
education, voting rights, and women’s rights. Each issue has links to New York Times articles
and National Public Radio audio files that will further expand your understanding of
the Constitution
Reading Like a Historian: Declaration of Independence
http://sheg.stanford.edu/declaration-independence
In 1776, the Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, but historians have
disagreed over why the authors created this document.
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Justice Learning: Civic Education in the Real World