Creator: Peter Pappas | visit site
Grade Range: 8 - 11
This collection of downloadable PDF documents provides lesson plans, handouts, and text readings to accompany the twelve units in Daniel Boorstin’s <i>A History of the United States </i> Daniel (Needham: Prentice-Hall, 1989). Though the materials are very traditional (paper, pencil), the concepts demand a more thoughtful, sophisticated approach to U.S. history via essential questions. The units are intended to serve as support materials for debates in one of several formats explained in the Overview document.
In the Classroom
Teachers do not need to start from scratch to develop the themes, nor do they need to be using Boorstin’s book to use these activities. Use these handouts and themes to prompt traditional debates or challenge student teams to prepare position videos or multimedia presentations using resource images and texts both from these files and from public domain files and other resources from the <a href="/single.cfm?id=100">Library of Congress</a>. Invite your students to choose from the many multimedia tools on the web to present their position. See the <a href="/content/edge.cfm">TeachersFirst Edge</a> for reviewed suggestions including <a href="/single.cfm?id=13216">ThingLink</a>, <a href="/single.cfm?id=9437">SchoolTube</a>. or <a href="/single.cfm?id=9419">TeacherTube</a> for videos, or (<a href="/single.cfm?id=8094">Podomatic</a> for audio-only arguments. Embed the products on your class blog or wiki and let classes vote on the debate "winners."
At Home
Tags
migration, immigration, foreign policy, constitution, bill of rights,
Subjects
American History, Government/Civics: U.S, Social Studies, Social Studies,