Communicating with King George, a Modern Twist on the Colonial Experience.- 15MS201

This lesson is for : Grade 6:

Summary

Communication in the 21st century is fundamentally different from communication in colonial America. Students will seek to recreate the political movement of American Independence using modern communication tools such as social media, viral video posts, and email. By drawing upon the parallels between the colonial era and present day, students will develop an understanding of colonial dissatisfaction and the importance of the Declaration of Independence via modern communication.

TIPC Ratings

Research & Information Fluency

Rating: Not Observed – Explanation: Research and information fluency was not the focus of this lesson.

Communication & Collaboration

Rating: Ideal – Explanation: This lesson is ideal/ target because students are working together in groups throughout the unit (i.e via the Taylor Swift video), and collaboratively as a class (i.e. via Instagramming Independence). Students are not only communicating and collaborating with one another, they’re actually analyzing methods of communication. By expressing their discontent with King George III via modern communication tools, students are able to actively participate in the political process, while also forging connections between political unrest both past and present. At the end of the lesson, students reflected on how communication has changed throughout time and evaluating the types of communication used in this unit.

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Rating: Approaching – Explanation: This lesson is approaching in critical thinking and problem solving because the students used different digital tools to illustrate the problems faced by colonists and created authentic ways to communicate the colonists’ dissatisfaction. In addition, the students had to think critically to find ways to communicate a colonial message in a modern fashion.

Creativity & Innovation

Rating: Ideal – Explanation: This lesson is ideal/target in creativity and innovation. Throughout the lesson, students have been encouraged to harness the power of modern communication to creatively express their discontent with King George III. Students have been encouraged to use a plethora of different media tools (email, Google .docs, video, etc.) to come up with creative ways of expressing political discontent through the creation of an authentic product.