Federalists or Anti-Federalists? Join the Cause!

Submitted by: Jeanie Redford
School: Byrd

Summary

It’s the late 1700’s and a young country’s fate is at stake. Two rivalry groups are at odds about what form of government should be implemented. In this lesson students are faced with the challenge of researching information about both groups and taking a stance based on their findings in relation to their personal beliefs. Students will collaborate with their peers to evaluate the current political climate and determine what type of government their fellow countrymen want to create. Once they synthesize their findings and determine a stance they will create persuasive multimedia campaigns to persuade others to “join their cause”.
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TIPC Ratings

In this lesson the teacher modeled strategies that guided student investigation. Students were challenged with an authentic task (determining a stance and having to defend/justify that decision through collaboration and product creation) and the teacher supported students as they acquired, evaluated, and applied their information. Students were responsible for constructing their own questions to guide their research and had to select their own sources of information.

The teacher provided opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate to reach a common goal (which side to choose) and create a product. The teacher offered a variety of communication methods (discussion board, blog, google docs, etc.) to students and helped to structure interaction in groups.

The teacher designed opportunities for students to synthesize research, communicate/collaborate, apply critical thinking skills to address an authentic task. Students generated and responded to questions and were able to justify their decision-making. Students applied digital tools to think critically and solve open-ended tasks that required them to utilize higher order thinking skills.

This lesson provided students with the opportunity to develop original ideas and create products by applying critical thinking, research methods, communication tools, and collaborative processes. The teacher developed, facilitated, and assessed a learning environment where students were engaged in creativity and innovation.