Understanding by Design:
Model Stage 2 for the Lead-up to the American Civil War
Chris M. Stewart
Montana State University, Northern Plains Transition to
Teaching.
Moving from Stage
1 to Stage 2 of the lesson design process was a thought-provoking
exercise. By trying to think “like
[an] assessor” from the beginning of the planning stage, it was pivotal to
determine what and how students would be expected to
demonstrate their understanding of the materials (Tomlinson and McTighe, 2006,
p. 34). Though it had been
presented clearly through the texts, actually applying the concept of designing
a unit backward really clarifies and shows the major benefits of this method of
design.
For
a unit such as the pre-Civil War period, there are very fundamental questions
and debates at the heart of the conflict.
It is important for students to not only know about them, but to
experience and, in a sense, live them.
It is not enough for students to merely know that the southern slave
owners wanted to protect their “curious institution,” but to understand – and
even be placed in a position of arguing for – their justifications and
perceived attacks on their way of life.
Now more than at almost any other point in history, the American body
politic is echoing this same debate: federalism versus states’ rights. As such, it is an issue on which at
least some students will already have strongly-held opinions. For them, and for those who may not
have a strong opinion one way or that other, it is important to participate in
understanding both sides of the argument.
To that end, a mirror of that longstanding disagreement could be used in
the classroom through a series of debates pitting pairs of students against
other pairs.
Though the
overarching theme would be the same for each debate, the specifics could be
different. For instance, a
particular set of debates could be over the 1828 Nullification Crisis, with one
side representing South Carolina’s argument that if a federal law were found
detrimental to a state’s “sovereign interests,” it had the right to “nullify”
it within its borders (US History).
The other side, in turn, would take the Federal/Jackson position that
the federal government had the right to impose tariffs and taxation on states –
by force, if necessary. Similar
debates could be structured around topics such as Jackson’s “War Against the
Bank,” or even (potentially) defending the indefensible by needing to adopt the
South’s ongoing justification of a slave-based economy. Though a sensitive topic, it is
remarkable how deep – and at times, compelling - many of the southern arguments
in favor of the “status quo.” Deep
seated fears of widespread violence, economic collapse, and moral decay were
paired with assertions that slaves’ living conditions were better than those of
free men in the North or in Europe.
In both listening to their classmates, and conducting deep research in
order to win their own debates, students would be exposed firsthand to the many
issues and difficulties the North and South faced in trying to reconcile and
compromise amid their vast differences.
Along a tangential
vein, students would be expected to be able to discuss the reason slavery had
been allowed to endure
at all. In a nation founded on the
principles of equality and liberty, how had the forced servitude of millions
been overlooked? Moreover, how had
many of those very men we look to as paragons of liberty and freedom –
Washington, Jefferson, for instance – been lifetime slave-owners? In researching and writing for
themselves, students will be able to engage and wrestle with these difficult,
paradoxical questions that would ultimately only be resolved in 1865.
Finally, students could be expected
to complete a “propaganda poster” for a particular area of the conflict. Whether for or against the institution
of slavery as a whole, or for a particular “flash point” such as Bleeding
Kansas or the aforementioned Nullification Crisis. This would allow students to utilize their own strengths
creatively, while delving into and understanding the material for
themselves. If a student felt best
making an animation or short video, that could be accommodated as well. All projects would, however, need to be
chronologically limited to the crisis it depicted.
By trying to incorporate
different elements of understanding – speaking, listening, writing, and a more
open “choose your own style” propaganda piece – this unit would be able to
engage students in a variety of ways, while still achieve a deep and personal
understanding of the events and people.
Many of the debates waged in the early 19th century have
particular relevance today – those of states’ rights, national financial
institutions, and taxation being only a few. By framing those issue in such terms, hopefully students
would be able to see such events more personally than they otherwise might.
Resources
Tomlinson, C.A., and McTighe, J. 2006. Integrating Differentiated Instruction
and Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
U.S. History (2012). American History: From Pre-Colombian to the
New Millennium. Retrieved from: http://www.ushistory.org/us/index.asp
on Sunday July 7th, 2012.
Appendix
Backward Design
Unit Plan Template
|
Stage
1 – Desired Results
|
|
Content Standard(s)/Overarching Performance Goals
Topic: The Causes of the
American Civil War & Secession
|
|
Understanding(s) Students will understand
that…
Though the question of
slavery was the central component to the conflict, the Civil War was also the
result of a myriad of events, societal tensions/sectionalism, and unresolved
questions about the powers of government and the fundamental nature of a
united federation of states.
|
|
Essential Question(s)
·
How had the drafters of the US Constitution left open the question of
slavery? Why?
o
How did the societies of the North and the South differ in the early-
to mid-19th century?
How would those differences affect the eventual outbreak of
hostilities between the two societies?
o
What were the respective arguments for and against the ideas of
States’ Rights and Federalism?
·
How had the justifications for and against the continuation and
expansion of slavery shifted from the 1780’s?
o
How had the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade changed the
conditions for slave owners in the South?
o
How did the establishment of the Mason-Dixon Line and Manifest Destiny
exacerbate rather than quell tension between the North and South?
·
How and why would the election of Abraham Lincoln be the final
breaking point between the two societal factions, ultimately leading to civil
war?
|
Students will know…
o The
questions surrounding slavery had been deliberately left unresolved by the
Founding Fathers, figuring that they institution would naturally die out over
time.
o The
North and South differed wildly in their societies. While the North rapidly pursued urbanism and
industrialization, the South remained committed to the rural, agrarian
lifestyle made possible by slave labor.
o While
the proponents of federalism held that once entered into, union between
states was irrevocable and perpetual, advocates of the states’ rights argued
that states were sovereign and union was by its very nature voluntary and
dissolvable through popular consent.
o While
the question of slavery had in the 1780’s been thought – and argued – to be a
temporary phase that would die out over time, by the mid-1800’s with the
abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, it had become a self-sustaining
industry. Further, popular
opinion in the South had transformed from viewing slavery as a necessary
evil, to viewing it as a societal good.
o In
the northern states, an abolitionist movement had taken hold. It sought to limit the expansion of
the slave-based industry as the United States expanded westward.
Students will be able to…
|
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence |
|
Summative Performance Task(s) & Product(s)
·
Participate in pairs in a debate between the merits of federalism vs.
states rights.
·
Write a thoughtful paper explaining/exploring the Founding Fathers’
decision to allow slavery in a country that had established itself on the
notion that “all Men are created equal.” Should be based on primary sources studies
in class.
·
Construct a “propaganda poster” – either abolitionist or states rights
- to disseminate to the other side, striving to convince them to join your
“noble cause.” Though design
creativity is highly encouraged, each poster should strive to retain the
actual ideas and beliefs of its given argument.
|
|
Key Criteria for use in evaluating performance/s
listed above:
·
Appropriate use of context and period vocabulary.
·
Demonstration of understanding both sides of the slavery debate.
·
Geographic and chronological knowledge of major events.
|
|
Other Evidence (tests, formative and
non-performance assessments)
·
Keep an ongoing weekly journal detailing the arguments and rationale
of both the slave owners of the South, and the abolitionist movement in the
north. Each entry should reflect
a different period of thought, and should be “dated” to reflect its intended
timeframe.
·
Be able to identify the Northern and Southern states by map –
including which new states & territories had been brought in as free or
slave, and the border-states that would retain slavery but never secede, and
be able to place the Mason-Dixon and Missouri Compromise lines.
|
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
|
Learning Activities: (utilize the WHERETO
ideas)
|
