American Imperialism Lesson using a SMARTboard

Teacher: Greg Thomas

Date: 10/8/14
Class: Pre-AP U.S. History
Level This is a 9th grade U.S. History course for students who would like the opportunity to take
to take the AP U.S. History course in their Junior year and have a chance to gain college
credit. However, these students are incoming Freshmen and most of them are still
adjusting to the rigors of high school AP courses and the high academic standards they
are held to. Some students are not able to effectively manage their time to complete
their homework assignments punctually. There is only one student with a low
socioeconomic status (JR). JR is one of the strongest students academically, however
this does provide some insight as to why she may have some disciplinary problems (see
adaptions and extensions sect.). Overall, these classes are both very well behaved and
theyre respectful to their peers and I. They work well together and with the exception of
JB (see adaptions and extensions), everyone can effectively collaborate with each
other and produce quality work in a timely manner.
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the concept of
Imperialism and some of the causes and events that lead the U.S. to becoming an
Imperialist power. This is the first class in Unit 3: American Imperialism. It is
important that the students have the foundational knowledge of key terms and main
ideas of and relating to imperialism.
Objectives: Students will know some of the intellectual and economic factors that
promoted imperialism in the late 19th century. Students will demonstrate their ability to
analyze a document, in this case a video, using SOAPSTone. Students will know the
definition of imperialism, and related terms such as diplomacy, and be able to provide
examples of American imperialism.
GLOs:

- Self-directed Learner
- Community Contributor
- Complex Thinker

- Effective Communicator

-Effective and Ethical User of Technology

Common Core Standards:

9-

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,

10.RH.1

attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;

9-

provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of

10.RH.2

the text.

9-

Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an

10.RH.5

explanation or analysis
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or

9-

similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their

10.RH.6

respective accounts.

Hawaii InTASC Standards:

Standard 1: Learner Development - The teacher understands how learners grow and develop,
recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the
cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements
developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.

Standard 3: Learning Environments - The teacher works with others to create environments that
support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self motivation.

Standard 4: Content Knowledge - The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and
structures of the discipline(s). He or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these
aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
Standard 6: Assessment - The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to
engage learners in their own growth, to monitor the learners progress, and to guide the teachers and
learners decision making.
Standard 7: Planning for Instruction - The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in
meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-
disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.

Standard 8: Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice - The teacher engages in ongoing professional
learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her
choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts
practice to meet the needs of each learner

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards:

Topic

Early 20th Century foreign policy

Benchmark SS.10.3.6

Analyze the scope and evolution of

various United States foreign policies in
the early part of the 20th century

Topic

Early 20th Century foreign policy

Benchmark SS.10.3.6

Analyze the scope and evolution of

various United States foreign policies in
the early part of the 20th century

Assessments: For homework, students will read:

An Emerging world Power, 1877-1918 (p. 653-659).
Students will use this reading to answer the following questions:
1. What economic and intellectual factors promoted US imperialism in the late 19th
century?
2. What factors combined to precipitate the U.S. war with Spain in 1898, and then with
Filipinos who resisted U.S. rule of their islands? What controversies at home did the
war provoke?
(These questions are of a lower DoK, however they are aligned with the information
they will gain by reading the textbook. This is the introductory lesson and assessment
for this particular unit. Students do not yet have the knowledge and understanding of
the cause and effect of events in this time period.)
Materials/Set-Up: A computer for myself and 1 computer for every two students,
Smart Board, and Internet access. Students need their textbooks to complete their
homework.

Procedures:
a. Introduction I will ask the students if anyone knows the definition of
imperialism. After a few moments, regardless of if we get an answer or not, I
will pull up the definition on the Smart Board. After giving the students the
definition, I will ask them if they understand the meaning, and if not we will
briefly break down the term diplomacy which I think may be unfamiliar to
some of the students. Before we go any further, I will ask students to give me
examples of American imperialism. I will call on students with their hands
raised, and then I will call on some of the students who I feel may not
understand the concept or to check if they are paying attention. After the
students understand the concept of Imperialism, I will ask them what they think
it means to for a nation to be an imperialist power. After receiving a correct
response or a few incorrect responses, I will ask them to provide me with some
examples of how the United States currently exercises their imperial strength.
We may go over more terms, depending on the previous knowledge of the
students. Some other terms may be: democracy, empire, etc.
b. Developmental - We will watch a YouTube video, A People's History of American
Empire by Howard Zinn. This video has a purposeful anti-American imperialist tone, but it
provides a brief overview on American Imperialism from the Imperialistic Era through current
events. Before the video, I will tell my students that we will be analyzing the video with
SOAPSTone (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone). I want them to practice
analyzing things using SOAPSTone because we use it as the benchmark for our SLOs.
c. Concluding - After the video I will tell 1 student per table to get a computer. It
would save time to tell the students to get the computers during the beginning of the
class, however when they have computers, many tend to become distracted.
Students will log on to their computers and go to a website I put on the board. Once
at the site, they will have a code to log on with. This site is part of the Smartboard
software and will allow them to type on their keyboards and it will pop up on the
Smartboard. The categories of Soapstone will be on the board and I will give each 2person group up to 30 seconds to figure out their answer for each category. Then all
at once, the students will submit their answers. We will check everyones answers
together and cross out the teams who were wrong. Whichever team gets the most
correct will get a candy prize.
Adaptations and Extensions:
Period 4:
Student JB has a tendency to not pay attention and not complete his classwork
when given time. I will periodically check to ensure that he is remaining on task
during classwork. Also, I will direct the question what are some examples of
American Imperialism being exercised? to him. If he doesnt understand, I will ask
him what imperialism means. If he doesnt know, I will explain it to him. JB is
currently trying to transfer out of this class and has recently stopped participating in all

activities.
Student ZL has the tendency to interrupt when I am in the middle of explaining
something or blurt out answers without raising his hand. If he interrupts me, I will ask
him to hold all his comments till after I am done talking. To prevent him from blurting
out answers, before I ask a question I will remind students to raise their hands if they
would like to share their answer.
Student JR has a tendency to occasionally be rude or make inappropriate comments
directed towards her classmates. This problem hasnt happened recently which is
why we havent took disciplinary actions, but if it continues, I will remind her that this
type of behavior is totally inappropriate and to apologize. I will remind her she has
already been warned and if it happens again, she will be referred to the office.
Period 5:
Student AD has trouble focusing and staying on task. I will periodically check up on
him and ensure that he is on task, understands what is going on, and is completing
his work.
Management Considerations: Students will work in groups of two during the
SOAPSTone analysis activity because we do not have enough computers to
accommodate all the students. This will work well because it will allow the students to
brainstorm the SOAPSTone analysis of the video together. If we have extra time after
the introduction of terms, the video, and the SOAPSTone analysis, and if none of the
students have any questions, I will ask if anyone did anything over the break they
would like to share. I like to give the students an opportunity to talk to their peers in
the class setting because I believe it fosters a positive classroom environment. If no
one says anything then I will call on a few people. If there is still extra time, the
students will begin to work on their homework.
Reflections: The SOAPSTone analysis activity went smoothly and it did reach its
objective of allowing students to demonstrate their ability in analyzing content using
SOAPSTone. However, I believe this activity can be made more meaningful by
requiring the students to analyze the video using SOAPSTone and forming a 1 to 2
sentence analysis of this information. This change in the activity will still allow
students to demonstrate their ability to analyze content using SOAPSTone. The
reason for this change is to allow students and to practice and demonstrate their
ability to effectively communicate an analysis of information in a clear and concise
manner. The students will have 8 minutes to complete their sentence (After doing the
lesson, this was the perfect amount of time, no extension was needed). One member
of each group will read their analysis submission to the class. As a class, we will look
at the submissions as a group and determine who formed the best synthesis of
information. There will be a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, place group chosen by the students.
Each group that places will receive a candy prize. To end class, I will ask students to
think of the big questions that Imperialism in America brings up, or questions the
students expect to be answered this unit. We encourage students to formulate their

own questions in the beginning of units because it helps them begin to think of what
the main concepts and/or information the will be expected to learn. We also use
these questions in assessments, to determine if students learning goals match the
information they have learned in the end of the unit. We encourage students to form
questions that require a higher level of thinking. Questions that require students to
analyze or evaluate information in order to come to an answer. Developing these
questions will take the remainder of the class so no time is wasted with inactivity. If it
isnt completed we will do this during the next meeting.
[From p.73 of the 2014-2015 Student Teaching Forms for CT, US, ST]