Manifest Destiny
Kaitlin Murphy
Fall 2015
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Target Audience:
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8th grade classroom with 24-27 students
Nyack Middle School, New City, New York
This lesson is part of a longer 3 week unit called Westward Expansion
This lesson is being split into two days
Objectives/Goals:
Students will be able to...
1) Define Manifest Destiny
2) Summarize how the concept of Manifest Destiny influenced the United States' westward expansion
in the 1800s.
Activity List:
Nyack Middle School has a adopted a program called the ​
Learner-Active Technology Infused
Classroom​
. As a part of this model, teachers provide their students with “Activity Lists” at the start of
each lesson. These Activity Lists serve as an outline for all the activities students will complete during
the learning segment. One part of the Activity List is labeled “Activity Type.” This signals to the students
whether the activity should be completed as a whole class, with a group, with a partner, or as an
individual. If the Activity List is labeled as a whole class activity, then the class will come together for a
lecture, discussion, or closure. The Activity List will indicate when the whole class activity will begin. For
example, the lecture on Manifest Destiny will take place on the start of day 1. All other activity types
can be complete in any order the student chooses. For example, one student may want to watch a
BrainPop video first. Meanwhile, another student may choose to analyze a painting.
Evaluation/Assessment:
Informal:​
Students will be informally assessed while they are working on their Activity List through
monitoring and questioning by the teacher. Students will also illustrate their comprehension of the
material through a discussion during the Closure Activity at the end of the 2 day lesson.
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Formal:​
The teacher will collect one random assignment at the end of the two day lesson to make sure
students are completing their work and understanding the concepts. Students will also take a quiz on
this material the following week. This quiz will include essential questions from this lesson and also the
next lesson on gold mining in the West.
Prime Time #1:
According to David Sousa, “New information or a new skill should be taught first, during prime-time-1,
because it most likely to be remembered” (Sousa 95). With this in mind, I utilize prime-time-1 to teach
my students new concepts that are crucial to the learning segment. Thus, during prime-time-1
students will view a lecture/Powerpoint on the definition of Manifest Destiny. This term is important to
understand in order to complete the rest of the activities on the activity list.
Down-Time:
Since students have just learned the main concept of the learning segment during Prime Time I,
students will then practice this concept during Down-Time. According to David Sousa, “The new
material being taught should be followed by practice or review during this down-time. (Sousa 96). Thus,
students will complete three different activities that apply their knowledge on Manifest Destiny. In one
activity students will watch an interactive EdPuzzle video that discusses the effects of Manifest Destiny
on Americans and Native Americans. Another activity requires students to analyze the painting,
¨American Progress,¨ and figure out how it shows the belief of Manifest Destiny. The last activity is an
interactive Brain Pop video that reviews the concept of Manifest Destiny. This down-time is valuable
because it lets students organize the concept of Manifest Destiny for further processing (Sousa 96).
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Prime Time #2:
During the last 10 minutes of class the students will come together during Prime Time II for closure.
​
According to Sousa, “Closure should take place during prime-time-2, since this is the second most
powerful learning position and an important opportunity for the learner to determine sense and
meaning” (Sousa 96). Thus, during this time I will review the concept of Manifest Destiny. First, I will ask
the students to share what their destiny is to help them remember the definition of Manifest Destiny.
Second, the class will then take part in a short discussion about whether they think Manifest Destiny
justified Westward Expansion.
Sense and Meaning:
During a lesson it is important for students to be able to answer yes to the questions: Does this make
sense? and Does this have meaning? According to David Sousa it is essential for students to be able to
answer these questions in order to store the information into working memory and later long-term
memory (52). Thus, I will help establish sense and meaning for the students. To establish sense, the
class will discuss what it means to have a destiny. To establish meaning, the class will discuss whether
Manifest Destiny justified Westward Expansion and how this can relate to how the US behaves towards
other countries today.
Learning Styles:
According to researcher, Anthony Gregorc, there are four major combinations of learning styles:
concrete sequential, concrete random, abstract random, and abstract sequential. It is important to
understand these learning styles in order to create a learning environment with activities that cater to
each of these styles. This will help the students learn easier (“Mind”).
For students who are ​
Concrete sequential:
● All activities on the Activity List have ​
clear and definite directions
● All activities on the Activity List have ​
step by step directions
● The classroom environment is ​
structured ​
through daily, repetitive routines
For students who are ​
Abstract sequential:
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● The Activity List provides students with the option to ​
work independently ​
on most of their
activities
● The learning segment includes a ​
lecture​
on the definition of Manifest Destiny
● Most of the learning during the ​
learning segment is self-directed​
because students can choose
the order of the activities they want to complete off the Activity List
● The John Gast Painting Activity allows students to ​
analyze​
the painting to come up with meaning
For students who are ​
Concrete random:
● The John Gast Painting activity is an ​
open ended assignment​
because students can come up
with many different ways to answer the assignment's questions. It also asks students to be
creative​
and come up with a new title and caption for this image.
For students who are ​
Abstract random:
● The Activity List provides students with the option to ​
work in a group setting ​
for all of their
activities
● Students are working in a ​
personalized learning environment​
because students can choose the
order of the activities they want to complete off the Activity List. This allows students to feel as
though they have “choice” in the classroom and that they are ​
not always following the same
routine.
● Students will take part in a ​
group discussion ​
during the learning segment
Multiple Intelligences:
According to psychologist Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, there are 9 different
intelligences that all humans have a varying amount of. Teachers can improve their craft of teaching, if
they address these intelligences within their lesson (​
Bernice​
)​
. Thus, I have created a lesson that
touches upon most of these intelligences in order to accommodate the different learning preferences.
For the ​
Linguistic Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
​
● Students ​
speaking​
to each other during group work
● Students engage in a ​
discussion​
about Manifest Destiny
For the ​
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
● Students ​
analyzing​
a political cartoon on Manifest Destiny
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For the ​
Visual/Spatial Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
● Students watching video clips to help them ​
visualize ​
the concept of Manifest Destiny
● Students v
​iewing​
a political cartoon image on Manifest Destiny
For the ​
Musical Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
● Students ​
listening ​
to a short lecture
● Students l​
istening​
to a ​
rap ​
song about Manifest Destiny
For the ​
Interpersonal Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
● Students working in ​
groups​
for most of their activities where they have to communicate with
their peers
For the ​
Intrapersonal Intelligence​
the lesson includes:
● Students ​
personally applying​
the term manifest destiny to their own life by coming up with their
destiny for the future
Technologies
During this learning segment multiple technologies are used as tools to enhance learning. I first use
the Smartboard while presenting a PowerPoint on Manifest Destiny. Students fill out the
corresponding sketchnotes during the presentation. The Smartboard allows me to write in the notes at
the same time as my students fill-in their sketchnotes. The students can also view images that portray
the concept of manifest destiny as a class.
Two out of the three activities on the students’ activity list also require pieces of technology. The
students will use Chromebooks to access two educational websites. First, students can access
Edpuzzle. This site allows students to watch videos while being informally assessed throughout the
process. For example, students will watch a rap video about Manifest Destiny. After each important
section of the video, the clip will stop and ask the students a multiple choice question about what they
just viewed. It will give them immediate feedback to their responses. Second, the students will also
access the website BrainPop. This brings the concept of Manifest Destiny to life. Students will be able
to view a video that puts images to the term.
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Brain Research: The Limbic System
Throughout the lesson the limbic system is being engaged.
1) The Thalamus (Sensory Input): ​
This part of the brain is responsible for taking in all ​
sensory
input​
and then sending this information to other parts of the brain for further processing (Sousa
​
18). Thus, the thalamus is being stimulated in all different parts of the lesson. For example,
students are taking in sensory information dealing with sight and hearing when they are…
a) Viewing the Powerpoint on Manifest Destiny
b) Watching a BrainPop video clip
c) Listening to a rap song on Manifest Destiny
d) Listening to their peers while completing group work activities and discussions
e) Viewing a political cartoon on Manifest Destiny
2) The Amygdala:​
This part of the brain works to store information into long-term storage. The
amygdala encodes an emotional message to information for long term-storage (Squire & Kandel
19). ​
Hence, this part of the limbic system responds best to things of interest, novelty, relevance,
and pleasure. So, during the lesson I try to get students ​
attracted and interested in the material
​
they are learning by using a series of strategies.
a) I personalize the lesson for the students. For example, when learning the definition of
Manifest Destiny, I ask students to share their own destiny to the class. This helps them
connect the term to their own lives.
b) I use humor within the learning segment. For instance, I put up an image of Adam Levine
on the Smartboard at the start of the lesson. Students are excited to find out why I did
that. I tell them at the end of the learning segment that the reason I put a picture of
Adam Levine on the Smartboard is because he is ​
my​
destiny. Despite the fact that he is
married, I will meet him at one of his concerts and he will fall madly in love with me. I will
then become Mrs. Adam Levine.
3) The Hippocampus: ​
This section of the brain is ultimately responsible for consolidating the
information and learning from the lesson and converting it from working memory to long-term
storage. This process can take days to months (Sousa 19). Thus, I will constantly review the
concept of Manifest Destiny throughout the lesson. For example, I will individually sit next to
each student and ask him the essential questions of the learning segment while he is working
on his activities off the Activity List. These concepts will again be reviewed during the closure
activity. I will also revisit these important concepts throughout the unit and the year to help
student consolidate the information into long-term storage.
4) The Hypothalamus: ​
This part of the brain “monitors the internal systems to maintain the
normal state of the body (called ​
homeostasis​
) (Sousa 18). Hence, none of this learning would
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take place if it was not for the hypothalamus. If a student’s body is no longer in balance, he or
she would not be able to focus on the cognitive processing of the learning segment.
Brain Research: The Cerebral Lobes
Three of the four cerebral lobes are being activated at points during the learning segment.
1) The Frontal Lobes: ​
These frontal lobes act as the executive control center in the brain. They
deal with the process of thinking (Geday & Gjedde 16-17). This part of the brain is activated
when the students are engaging in higher order thinking. For instance, the frontal lobes are
being stimulated when the students are analyzing the political cartoon on Manifest Destiny and
during the class discussion about whether or not this belief justified Westward Expansion.
2) The Temporal Lobes: ​
This part of the brain deals with sound and music (Sousa 17). Thus, the
temporal lobes are stimulated throughout the lesson from when students are listening to a
lecture, rap song, and video clip to when students are engaging in dialog during group and
whole-class activities.
3) The Occipital Lobes: ​
This section of the brain is used “almost exclusively for visual processing”
(Sousa 17). Hence, students activate their occipital lobes when visually processing images in the
Powerpoint, examining the political cartoon, and viewing video clips.
The Parietal Lobes ​
are not being stimulated since the lesson does not deal with spatial orientation or
calculation.
Brain Research: Neurons
Throughout this learning segment, students are developing connections within their brain. This lesson
requires students to connect prior personal experiences to new material. Thus, students are forming
many new dendrites between neurons. This allows the brain to transmit signals from neurons along
the axon across the synapse to many new dendrites of neighboring cells. Thus, students are easily able
to make connections between concepts that did not have before. For example, they will able to
connect their prior ideas on destiny to Westward Expansion. The more the students learn, the more
dendrites they will form, the more sites will be created for storing learnings, and the more connected
the brain will become.
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Works Cited
Bernice, Nick. "Gardner's Multiple Choice." N.d. MS.
Geday & Gjedde. "Frontal Lobes." Some Exterior Parts of the Brain. ​
How the Brain Learns​
. By David
Sousa. Fourth
ed. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2011. 16-17. Print.
"Mind Styles." ​
Ieslearning​
. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Sousa, David. ​
How the Brain Learns​
. Fourth ed. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2011. Print.
Squire & Kandel. "The Amygdala." Some Interior Sections of the Brain. ​
How the Brain Learners​
. By
David Sousa.
Fourth ed. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2011. 19. Print.
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Image Sources in order of their appearance:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
http://fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/Technology/PowerPoint/index.php
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/5745.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/117_51729.html
http://www.incredibleart.org/files/p-test.htm
http://leoniemathilde.weebly.com/gardners-mi.html
http://www.calwestvisual.com/smart-board-600i/smartboard
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/chromebook
http://jonathanwylie.com/2013/12/28/how-to-add-questions-for-students-to-youtube-videos/ed
puzle
9) https://www.consortiumlibrary.org/blogs/eresources/tag/brainpop/
10) art_quizzes/0665q.txt&answers=/usr/web/home/mhhe/biosci/genbio/enger/student/olc/art_qui
zzes/0665a.txt
11) http://www.appsychology.com/Book/Biological/cerebral_cortex.htm
12) http://www.zmescience.com/science/neurology-science/neuron-database-06042015/