UBD Lesson Plan

Behling

UBD Lesson Plan Template

Topic/Theme: Creation of the American Narrative

Time frame: 60 minutes
Class/Grade Level: 10th U.S. World History

Lesson #1 Tuesday
Lesson Objective(s)
1) Students will be able to identify differences in the traditional vs nontraditional narrative of American history
2) Students will be able to create their own narrative to compare similarities and struggles with the American Narrative
Established Goals: (Including state standards)
SS.912.H.1 - Understand historical patterns, periods of time, and the relationships among these elements.
WHST.910.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,
and audience.
SS.912.H.2 - Understand how and why people create, maintain, or change systems of power, authority, and governance.

Materials/Resources required
Select excerpts from two articles (The Decay of the American Narrative Wallace & Understanding The Battle Over The
American Narrative McClay)
Lecture Notes
Whiteboard + marker
o For all lectures, we will write the salient points on the whiteboard, as we lecture this will allow students to note-take
as we lecture, without getting behind

Detailed Steps/Procedures

Learning action

INTRO: Introducing National Narratives: How they form

Open for Students Brainstorm: What is important to being an American? (List on board)
Highlight 2-3 of the most common ones, focus on these How did these become the most
important?
Mini-Lecture: How narrative is constructed
1) Traditional American Narrative
a. Students generate core themes of the American Narrative they know from school/home
2) What purpose does this serve? What is the strength of a national narrative?
3) Non-traditional Narrative
a. Economics of the Revolutionary War
b. Civil War Story
i. States Rights vs. Slavery

Time (mins)

10-12

Reading the Articles

1) Reading of Articles
a. McClay - Understanding The Battle Over The American Narrative
i. Close Guided Reader (teacher led)
1. Addressing core themes and vocabulary questions from students
b. Wallace Decay of the American Narrative
i. Have the students read the article, have them come up with three main
ideas about what a national narrative is according to the article
ii. Discuss students main ideas, show ours
Narrative Creation
a. Come up with a personal narrative
iii. Model your own brief idealistic narrative. What are you all about? what

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things is your past have made you, you?

iv. As the teacher give one example of something you would NOT include in
your glamourous narrative.
v. Give students time to create a brief narrative or story about who they are
as they would want people to see them, i.e the idealistic version. Share
with a partner.
vi. Talk as a class or large groups about how this narrative would change if
you included the ugly parts or your personal story (avoid specifics).

Lesson #2 Wednesday
Lesson Objective(s)
1) Students will be able to utilize GIST to compare the story of Paul Revere as told by the Longfellow poem and the article
through both an artistic and historical lens
2) Students will be able to analyze the purpose of the two different tellings of the poem and explain the reasoning behind both.
Established Goals: (Including state standards)
RH.910.3 - Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later
ones or simply preceded them.
RH.910.8 - Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the authors claims.
RH.910.9 - Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary
sources.

Materials/Resources required
Lecture Notes
Whiteboard + marker
Paul Revere Poem Longfellow
Article US News and World Report

Detailed Steps/Procedures
Learning action

Time (mins)

Entrance Slip Review: How and Why is a National Narrative constructed?

Foundering Fathers: The Hero Worship

1) Washington Lost most of his battles
a. French and Indian War
2) Betsy Ross
a. Did not create the American flag
3) Jefferson
a. Hypocrite on equality, slavery, liberty

Paul Revere Poem vs. Rewriting the Legend of Paul Revere

Split class into small groups (3-5) (based on our knowledge of the students)
Half the groups discuss the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, the other discussing the
article Rewriting the Legend of Paul Revere, both using the GIST strategy.

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Students will look at the Who, What, Where, When, Why, How of both readings. Come up
with questions to answer based on both reading

Class Discussion comparing/contrasting the two readings

a. Summaries of both text (student supplied)
b. How does Wadesworth writing the poem 100 years after the fact change your

understanding of the poem?

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c. What do you think the purpose of each of these texts are?

d. Why does this specific narrative persist today, even when we know its wrong?
i. Video Clips from recent politicians/celebrities
1. NPR on Sarah Palin
2. Colbert on Sarah Palin

Lesson #3 Thursday
Lesson Objective(s)
1. Students will be able to analyze the validity of information presented in multiple articles and formulate an opinion based on
analyses
Established Goals: (Including state standards)
SS.912.H.8 - Understand cause and effect relationships and other historical thinking skills in order to interpret events and issues.
WHST.910.8 Assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question
SS.912.H.2 - Understand how and why people create, maintain, or change systems of power, authority, and governance.

Materials/Resources required
Lecture Notes
Whiteboard + marker
Cracked video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkpiSAVoFbI
Article: No Taxation without representation http://allthingsliberty.com/2013/05/no-taxation-without-representation-part-1/

Detailed Steps/Procedures
Learning action

INTRO Discussion: What is the Story of the American Revolution

Time (mins)

1) Cracked Video + Discuss Take notes while watching video

2) Stop video at these questions to discuss the larger points made.
a. Countries dont have screenwriters Do you agree?
b. Colonists were taxed, but they didnt actually pay. Does that change our origin
story?
c. Why were the colonists taxed in the first place?
d. What economic class is most effected by the British trade sanctions? What class
did our founder fathers belong to?
e. Who rewrote Americas story? History is written by the victors
3) Large group discussion over content covered in video. Do you agree or disagree with
the sentiments and larger points made by the video? Why or why not? Are there key
details lacking in either side of the story? What were they, and how do they change
our perspective?
1) Read Article on no taxation without representation Close reading of
a. Examine how the origins of the phrase are retroactively attributed
b. Was a phrase used at the time, but was not organically developed as the
narrative suggest, it was created with an agenda
c. Address vocab from within the article
i. Sanctions
ii. Oppression
1. Definition vs. American Story
iii. Legislation
iv. American Whigs
v. Re-appropriation
1. As applies to the phrase

2) Assign Homework: Reading on Manifest Destiny from Textbook

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