Concept Formation Lesson Plan
Context: This lesson plan is designed for 11th graders in Advanced American History. They will need no
prior background knowledge. The lesson plan will investigate the changing political parties during the
Jacksonian Era. The beginning of the lesson will be concept formation. They will compare and contrast
the views of 1820s political parties, giving them examples and non-examples. The students will be given
a handout on modern politicians with their political views. They will have to decide which political party
of the 1820s these modern day politicians fit into. The students will be surprised to find that Republicans
of today resemble the Democrats of the 1820s and vice versa. Representing these different political
perspectives will engage the student in high leveling thinking while still answering the essential question
of SOL VUS6.d “In what ways did political democracy change following the War of 1812?” After
completing the concept formation portion of the lesson the students will be continue to go through a
PowerPoint that lays out the election of 1828 and controversial topics during Jackson’s presidency. This
lesson should last approximately 95 minutes.
Objectives:
1) Students will be able to identify the political parties of the 1820s and their political
stances.
2) Students will be able to categorize politician’s views and put them into the political
groups of the 1820s
3) Students will be able to compare and contrast the differences between 1820s political
groups
4) Student will be able to criticize the major topics of Jackson’s presidency
5) Students will be able to analyze Jackson’s presidency and be able to support and oppose
the idea of “King Andrew” or “Andrew Jackson, Champion of the Common Man”
Assessment: Assessment will take shape in a variety of different forms throughout the lesson. While the
instructor lectures they should be asking probing questions to make sure that the students are getting a
basic understanding of what is being discussed. The modern politician’s sheet will be collected to see if
they could make the jump between the ideals of the modern politicians and the political parties of the
1820s. At the end of the lesson the students will have to complete an exit ticket which will ask them to
support Andrew Jackson as King Andrew or the Champion of the Common Man with at least three
supporting reasons. This will draw on their knowledge of his presidency as well as his party politics
during his presidency.
Content and Instructional Strategies:
Concept to be formulated: Political Parties change over time.
Bell Ringer/Role (10 minutes) – The students will take their seats quietly while role is being taken. A bell
ringer with questions reviewing the day’s previous material on the election of 1824 will be on the board
for the students answer.
PowerPoint (20 minutes) - The students will be given a handout to fill out while the teacher presents a
PowerPoint on the political parties of the 1820s. The students will be taking notes on the key
characteristics of each party which they will reference in the next activity. These notes also provide
adequate examples and nonexamples of what characteristics are crucial to each party. They will also be
given a chart to help conceptualize their ideas.
Modern Politicians Handout (10 minutes) - The students will be given a handout with modern politicians
and their views on it. They will have to analysis these views individually first and decided what party they
belong too. After they decide what party they belong too they will have to answer why they think that.
They will then confer with the student next to them and see whether they agree or disagree. Below is a list
of critical attributes of each party. By seeing a list of examples of what each party should look like they
are also creating non-examples by comparison.
1) Democratic Party
a. Proponents of Manifest destiny
b. Extending the Franchise
c. Laissez-Faire Economics
d. Patronage/Spoils System
2) National Republican/ Whig Partya. Strong Federal Government
b. Strong National Bank
c. The American System
d. Universal Public Education
3) Know-Nothing Party
a. Severe Limits on Immigration
b. Restricted political office to native born Americans
c. Temperance Movement and the restrictions on the sale of liquor
d. Restricted use of languages other than English
Class Discussion (10 minutes) – The teacher will go over the handout and see what conclusions the
students came too. The handout will be intentionally designed to have disagreements between students so
that they engage in civil discourse. If all the students agree the teacher will play devil’s advocate to push
for higher level thinking. This is where the concept will come together. I will ask them what surprises
they encountered when they were working on their worksheet and I will facilitate conversation until the
students realize how these two political parties have in fact switched over the years.
PowerPoint (10 minutes) - Students will continue to fill out their handout while the instructor lectures
about the election of 1828 and some of the major issues of Jackson’s presidency. The instructor will take
this portion of the class to emphasis the good Jackson did in his presidency, like extending the franchise
and his appeal to the common man.
YouTube (10 minutes) - The instructor will put show the two YouTube clips that are already linked
within the PowerPoint. One is of Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush on his farm while he
appeals to the common man. The second clip is a campaign clip from the 2000 election featuring George
W. Bush appealing to the common man. The idea behind this activity is to engage the students further in
their understanding, but also to show that Jackson’s appeal to the common man is something that
politicians still do today. The instructor must show both videos because the first one will get the students
engaged and laughing at something while the second video drives the point home that appealing to the
common man is not something that politicians have lost touch with.
PowerPoint (10 minutes) – The lesson returns to the PowerPoint and the teacher now emphasizes the
power that Jackson exercised during his reign (i.e. the veto of the national bank and Indian Removal). The
instructor wills now emphasis the more controversial issues of Jackson’s presidency.
Discussion (10 minutes) – The students will then engage in a discussion about Jackson’s presidency.
Jackson is either seen as a corrupt tyrant who exercised his complete authority over those he ruled or as
the champion of the common man who fought for the common man’s ideals and beliefs. The students will
partake in civil discourse as the instructor will play devil’s advocate if all the students seem to agree.
Informal Assessment (5 minutes) - The students will have to two tasks to complete at the end of class.
First, they must list which political party of the 1820s they most agree with and the reasons why. This
should reflect the political views that they learned about previously in the lessons and engage them deeper
into the material. Then, they will have to decide whether or not Andrew Jackson should be viewed as
“King Andrew”, the power hunger monarch, or “Champion of the Common Man”, the president who
fought for the common man making his views matter.
Resources: The things you will need for the lesson are as follows: a laptop with PowerPoint, the
PowerPoint, and the handout for the PowerPoint, the handout comparing Modern politicians to 1820’s
political parties, access to the internet and YouTube
Differentiation: Depending on the class make up there are a lot of different things the instructor can do
with this lesson. The lesson is designed so that it can be flexible. The lesson can have more discussion or
it could be more lectured based depending on the behavior of the class. The lesson has visuals and visual
aids to help visual learners understand the concepts and ideas better, but is also complimented by a lecture
that keeps the attention of the auditory learners. The students will be constantly engaged in either a hand
out or an activity so that their interests are kept and focused on the task at hand.
Adaptations: To support the learners in my classrooms who have IEPs or 504, the notes will be made
available to them to look over while I am lecturing. This gives them the answers to the handouts so that
they will not fall behind due to processing or because I am going to fast through the material. The visuals
used in the PowerPoint will help those visual learners and the lecture will help audio learners process the
material. The lesson is set up in a way to give the students as many opportunities as possible to make
connections with the material.
Reflection: I believe that this lesson can be very productive and useful in the classroom. It not only deals
with the idea that political parties are constantly changing and that’s why it’s so important to have a grasp
on what each party is advocating, but also deals with Andrew Jackson’s presidency who helped form
American Democracy as we know it today. Some issues that could arise during this lesson are technical
issues. If the PowerPoint doesn’t work or if there is any problem with technology, this lesson can still
survive on its own. In that case I would recommend that the instructor have an understanding of the
political parties of the 1820s and be able to write on the board the similarities and differences between the
parties as the students discuss them in class. This way the concept formation portion of the lesson is not
lost and the instructor can just continue using the handout as a guide for the lesson even if they do not
have the PowerPoint and visuals to go along with them. I believe that this way the informal assessments
are still valid and necessary to complete. The students will still not need any background information on
the lesson, so everything should still be able to happen.
Post Reflection: I felt really good about how this lesson went. I was nervous because it was my first time
having the class all to myself; however, I felt that everything went really well. The students settled in
quickly and we dove right into the material. The modern politician’s activity I thought was especially
useful to the students because they were asking a lot of great questions about changes over time and I
could tell that they were “getting it.” The only thing that kind of made me rush a little bit was that it was
picture day in school. 15 minutes of my lesson had to be cut because we had to go down to the auditorium
to take pictures. However, this also allowed me to have a few minutes to reflect on a couple things. I
noticed I was speaking very fast and that I really needed to slow down so the students could process the
material. When we got back into the classroom I was really happy how well the students were able to get
settled and get back into the material. I slowed down and felt more comfortable when we got back into the
classroom. I really think they enjoyed the Youtube videos and that they actually got something out of it.
Afterwards a student asked why did we watch those videos and we opened up a small class discussion and
together they were able to figure out why they were shown. I really enjoyed leading the class discussion
and helping them find the right answers. Lastly, I was very pleased with the handouts and informal
assessments I collected. They were thoughtful in their reasoning for why Andrew Jackson should be
viewed as a tyrant or as a champion and the handouts were completed with excellent reasoning. Overall, I
really enjoyed my first teaching experience and look forward to the next time.
The Handout for the Students to follow during the PowerPoint (Questions in bold correspond to Concept
Formation portion of the lesson)
Name: _______________
Date: _______________
Jacksonian Era
1. Who were four candidates running for President in 1824?
2. What is the difference between plurality and majority?
3. How did Jackson lose the election even though he had the most electoral votes?
4. What was the corrupt bargain and who were the individuals involved?
5. What parties was a part of the First Party System?
6. List three ideals of the Democratic Party.
7. List three ideals of the Whig Party.
8. What was the American system?
9. List three ideals of the Know-Nothing Party.
10. What parties was a part of the First Party System?
11. What were the characteristics of politics in the Age of the Common Man?
12. What happened to voting qualifications between 1800 and 1830? Why?
13. Why were there only two candidates in the election of 1828?
14. What voters did Jackson rely on in the election of 1828?
15. Why did Jackson win so convincing?
16. What controversial issues defined Jackson’s presidency?
17. How did Jackson’s opponent view the spoils system?
18. Why did the spoils system fail in the long term?
19. What policies defined Andrew Jackson as the Champion of the Common Man?
20. What was the tariff of Abomination?
21. How did it affect the South’s economy?
22. What was nullification theory?
23. What was the Force Bill?
24. How was the nullification crisis and secession avoided?
25. Give three reasons Jackson did not trust banks.
26. What was Manifest Destiny?
27. How did the Louisiana Purchase propel the idea of Manifest Destiny?
28. What was the Indian Removal Act of 1830?
29. Why was it referred as the Trail of Tears?
30. Did the South support Indian Removal? Why or why not?
Name: _________________
Date: __________________
1820’s Political Parties and Modern Politicians
Directions: Read about the politicians below and determine which 1820’s Political Party they would
belong to. After you are finish compare answers with the student next to you. Do you agree or disagree?
Why?
1) Barack Obama (Former Illinois Senator and current President of the United States):
Political Party in 2012: Democratic Party
Political Views/Characteristics:



Believes in government programs to help boost the economy
Pushes for educational reforms and progress
Strong Federal Government
Political Party in 1828:_______________
Why?
2) Mitt Romney (Massachusetts Governor and Former Presidential Candidate):
Political Party in 2012: Republican Party
Political Views/Characteristics:




Opposed to the DREAM Act, which gives in-state tuition to illegal aliens in the country and the
opportunity for permanent residency
English should be the official language of the United States
Against government intervention in the market
Does not drink or smoke tobacco
Political Party in 1828:_______________
Why?
3) Jan Brewer (Current Arizona Governor)
Political Party: Republican Party
Political Views:



Cut Healthcare programs in 2011 that aided uninsured children whose parents were above the
Medicaid cutoff
Supports strict enforcement of border security, with absolutely no amnesty for illegal immigrants
entering the United States
Authorized a border fence between Arizona and Mexico in 2011
Political Party in the 1828:_______________
Why?
4) Ronald Reagan (Former President of the United States)
Political Party: Republican Party
Political Views:




Advocated a laissez-faire economic philosophy, seeking to stimulate the economy with large,
across-the-board tax cuts, and was an avid supporter of free trade
Vowed to abolish the Department of Education, but never pursued it after taking office
Removed controls on oil prices
Opposed to Universal Healthcare
Political Party in the 1828:_______________
Why?
Example
Is there a
change in
leadership?
Is there a
change in
platform?
Is there a
change in
name?
In the election of 1824 Andrew Jackson ran
as a Democratic Republican that valued
small government and laissez-faire
economics. Today, Barack Obama leads the
Democratic Party as the President of the
United States of America and just bailed
out several leading industrial institutions
with a government sponsored stimulus
package.
The National Republican Party during the
1830s promoted a large federal
government that created public
infrastructure and job markets. Today,
Republicans believe in free trade in a
hands off market with as little government
interference as possible.
The Communist Party of China was
originally founded in 1921 and supported
the ideal of isolationism and constant
revolution, however, today China and its
governing party (CPC) is built upon stability
and have opened up their markets to
capitalism.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Maybe
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Critical Attributes
Political Party
Democratic Party




Proponents of Manifest destiny
Extending the Franchise
Laissez-Faire Economics
Patronage/Spoils System
National Republican/ Whig Party




Strong Federal Government
Strong National Bank
The American System
Universal Public Education
Know-Nothing Party


Severe Limits on Immigration
Restricted political office to native
born Americans
Temperance Movement and the
restrictions on the sale of liquor
Restricted use of languages other than
English

