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Introduction

This week, we started a new unit on Westward Expansion. Last year at this time, I was ahead of schedule and created a new unit on Andrew Jackson, but I decided not to do that unit this year because I am now three weeks behind schedule compared to where I was last year. To begin this new unit, I took the question directly from our textbook: “How justifiable was westward expansion?” I also added another question: “What role did Manifest Destiny play in westward expansion?” In Ohio, our standard suggests that students need to understand and be able to describe how the United States acquired territories such as Louisiana, Oregon, Florida, the Mexican Cession, and the Gadsden Purchase. My end goal with this unit was to have students continue to work on writing with claims, evidence, and reasoning, as well as be able to summarize and describe how we acquired different territories around the United States.

Monday – Quizizz, Geography Challenge

Tuesday – Sketch and Tell, Quizizz

Wednesday – Westward Expansion Territory Thick Slide

Thursday and Friday – Annotated Map

Monday

On Monday, I started off with a Quizizz featuring questions related to the entire unit we are going to study on Westward Expansion. This included topics such as the territories and the people that went out west. The quiz served as a pre-assessment to see where we were and what we knew and didn’t know. The average score across all classes was around 42%. Next, I took the geography challenge from TCI and used some AI to generate additional questions. The geography challenge was a nice way to introduce the students to Westward Expansion, allowing them to see a map and become familiar with the time and space in the context of the unit.

I took the questions from TCI, put them into a Google Doc, and then had AI generate two new questions, resulting in three different levels of the geography challenge for the multiple levels of students within my class. I was really impressed with AI and the questions it came up with for the geography challenge. I had it provide several different quotes from somebody who took a trail out west, and the students had to read the description and mark an X on the map where they thought the person was located. I thought this type of question was creative and pretty awesome. Here was one of the questions: “Read this quote and place a green X on your map at the location where you think it took place: ‘We followed the Oregon Trail along the Platte River for many miles. The landscape was flat and dusty, with few trees as far as the eye could see. The river guided us on, but provided little relief from the harsh prairie winds that parched our lips.'”

After 30 minutes, I collected the geography challenge. While the students were working on the geography challenge, I set up a Great American Race by writing different people, events, and topics on index cards and numbering them. At the end of the 30 minutes, I passed out an index card to each student and had them design a slide with three clues and a picture to set up the Great American Race for Tuesday’s class. This took less than 10 minutes.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, I handed back the geography challenge and told the students we were going to use these maps, so they had to hold on to them and be responsible for them. I also printed off all of the slides they designed for the Great American Race, stapled them together, and had the students get into groups of two to three people. I handed each group a packet of the slides they created, had them get out a piece of paper, and number it from one to 20.

This was a great way to introduce some of the events, people, and content associated with Westward Expansion that the students were getting ready to learn about. It was also a nice extension after the geography challenge. I gave the students 25 minutes to look up and find the answers for the 20 slides they created. Most groups got this done, but some groups did not. It’s always funny to me how they always assume this is easy because they feel like all they have to do is just type something into Google and they’ll get the answer; however, this is not the case. They have to know exactly the important words to type in to find the answer for what they want.

After the Great American Race, I looked at the results of the quizzes from the previous day and noticed that students were having trouble coming up with the answer for the Great American Race slides for annexation and cession. I anticipated this and had Sketch and Tell slides ready to go for these two words. We ended class with a Sketch and Tell on annexation and cession.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, now that we had the geography challenge and the Great American Race complete, it was time to dive a little deeper into the territories associated with Westward Expansion. I reminded the students of our essential question: “How justifiable was westward expansion?” To begin class, we looked up and completed a Frayer model for the word “justifiable.” I gave students three to four minutes to look it up, write a definition, find examples and non-examples, and use it in a sentence.

Next, I used an idea that I saw on the EduProtocols+ Hot Shot Show with Drew Skeeler. I used a geography template that I applied to a Frayer model. I had the students pick a territory from Westward Expansion, and they had to describe its relative location, use a compass to identify what was north, south, east, and west of the territory, find a geographical feature, and list a state that was created from the territory. I had the students use their geography challenge maps to help them with some of this, and I told them we were going to use that map again. This was a great way to help the students become familiar with their territory in a geographical context.

I then stated that the territory they chose was the territory they were going to create a Thick Slide about and share with the class. I had AI generate readings for all six territories and asked AI to provide context and details on how we got these territories and the consequences of each. I also mentioned our essential question in my prompt so AI could generate the readings to help students answer the question of how justifiable Westward Expansion was.

Students read about their territory and created a Thick Slide using the “Somebody Wanted But So Then” framework to retell how we got that territory. They provided two pictures and used some claim, evidence, and reasoning to answer the essential question. Reading and creating the slide took about 20 minutes. Once students were done, they shared a link to their slide through a Google Form, and I compiled all the slide links from the form into a Google Sheet and shared it with all of the classes. The last thing I had students do was take their territory and create a title and show description related to their claim, evidence, and reasoning from their Thick Slide. This was a simple way to end class for the last 10 to 15 minutes and a great way to incorporate some Depth of Knowledge Level 3 with the learning.

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday and Friday, I began class with a Quizizz because I ran out of time from the previous day. We were then going to start an annotated map, which I like to do with this unit because it fits with the standard and learning expectation of being able to summarize and describe how we got the territories during Westward Expansion. With an annotated map, you can either have the students hand draw a map or use a pre-made map and label it and cut it out. In this case, I had the students get out their map from the geography challenge, and I had them finish labeling the map with all six territories. Then, I had them glue the map to the center of a big piece of paper, and around the map, they were going to have to summarize and describe how we got the territories along with the consequences of it. Also, at the top, I had them write, “How justifiable was westward expansion?”

The idea of the annotated map is that you begin with the essential question in mind, work through the lesson, and then circle back to the original question at the very end, using evidence from all of your summaries to answer the essential question. To get their information, the students were going to use the slides that their classmates shared. I like doing this activity as it connects all my classes, and we are learning from each other. Plus, I like this lesson as I tell the students they must evaluate the sources that their classmates have created for them and ask themselves, “Is this a reliable, valid source which is going to give me the information that I need?” If not, then they should move on and find another source that they think is better.

I was hoping the annotated map would take two days, but we’re going to have to use a little bit of class time on Monday to finish them up. On these two days, we also did a little Fast and Curious with Quizizz, and the scores of the classes were really good. Based on the scores that I have seen, I really like this sequence of the geography challenge and EduProtocols for student learning.

This week we continued with the War of 1812. I used a great lesson from Mr. Roughton called “Weigh the Evidence.” I thought this would be a great follow-up from Friday’s lesson about the War of 1812 and how James Madison responded to British impressment. I like this particular lesson because it was a refresher of the War of 1812 and it had students practicing writing a claim, using evidence, and reasoning.

We followed up this lesson with a lesson on the Monroe Doctrine. However, I had to leave town and needed to leave a self-sufficient lesson. I was also out of town Wednesday and needed to leave a familiar lesson. The goal was to end this unit this week so I can move on to something new. Since I was out, I left some hexagonal learning. This is something we have done at least 5 times this year. Each time my focus is getting the students to add more, be more descriptive rather than just restating the concepts in the hexagons. We also finished up the lesson with a Quizizz.

On Friday we wrapped up with a game. I didn’t feel like starting a new unit and then immediately go into the weekend.

Monday – Weigh the Evidence

Tuesday – Monroe Doctrine

Wednesday and Thursday – Hexagonal Learning, Quizizz

Monday

On Monday I wanted to keep the War of 1812 lesson going and I found a lesson from Mr Roughton’s website called “Weigh the Evidence.” In this particular lesson, there was a series of slides where I presented six artifacts related to the War of 1812 to the students. I then asked the question “Should the War of 1812 be considered a positive event for America?” I then went through the artifacts with the students and they had to determine which was a reliable source, which was useful, and which was not. They then rated each artifact on a scale from -2 to +2, with 0 meaning the evidence was not useful at all. This was a great lesson to work on analyzing primary sources, secondary sources, and thinking about what was decent evidence versus not.

We began by looking at the Treaty of Ghent, a Wikipedia page, an engraving showing the burning of Washington, statistics from a textbook on casualties, a parody movie trailer, and the song “The Battle of New Orleans” written by Johnny Horton. Students gave each artifact a rating and explained why they rated it that way. At the end, they added up their ratings. If they had a negative number they saw the War of 1812 as a negative event. If they had a positive number they saw it as a positive event. And if they ended up with zero, they had a decision to make.

I really like the structure of this lesson and the numerical rating system really helped students make an informed decision before writing their paragraph using claims, evidence, and reasoning. When it was time to write, I had the students type their paragraphs into a Google form to submit. I then downloaded the paragraphs, put them into Claude AI, and gave whole-class feedback. We discovered that our claims were pretty good as they were definitive. The use of evidence was also really good but our reasoning needed some work – it was often not developed enough or too basic. This was great feedback to give the students the next day.

Tuesday

On Tuesday I was only at school for half the day before I had to leave to catch a plane to New York. The last president we covered was James Monroe. With Monroe, we simply learned about the Monroe Doctrine – my goal is for students to understand its purpose before high school. In this lesson, I had students analyzing political cartoons related to the Monroe Doctrine. There were five cartoons I wanted them to examine. They could walk around viewing printed copies, access them on their Chromebooks, or I stapled packets together.

One by one, students looked at the images and made a prediction about what they thought the meaning or purpose of the Monroe Doctrine was based on the cartoon. After predicting, they watched an EdPuzzle video to check their understanding. I followed this up with a “sketch and tell” activity – students had to draw their own political cartoon showing the meaning of the Monroe Doctrine and explain it. We ended with a Thin Slide: “One thing you learned, one image, one word” to wrap up the remaining 8 minutes.

Wednesday and Thursday

On Wednesday and Thursday, I wanted to wrap up the unit with a familiar activity since I was out on Wednesday attending an AI conference. When I’m gone, I’ve learned students engage better with familiar tasks rather than introducing something brand new. As a result, I left instructions for hexagonal learning. We have done this five times already this year. I like hexagons because the activity is flexible enough to be an assessment allowing students to demonstrate their learning in creative ways. With so many recent absences due to illness, it also works for students at multiple levels – I can tailor it as needed by removing or adding hexagons.

Some students I just asked to connect hexagons, others I asked to connect and share five things they learned. When I returned Thursday, students checked their work against a success criteria checklist I provided. Some criteria included: 3 connections explaining Federalist views, 2 connections showing how a president responded to foreign threats, 2 connections about strengthening national government. I also had a simpler checklist for struggling students: make 5 connections about anything learned.

We also discussed adding more descriptive detail, using transition words like “because” instead of just turning the hexagon text into a sentence. To wrap up, students completed a Quizizz mastery check. They had 10 minutes to earn at least 90% to demonstrate their knowledge.

Friday

On Friday, I found a review game on EMC2Learning rather than start something new before the weekend. The game was like Scattergories. I put up a topic like George Washington, Declaration of Independence, or Bill of Rights. A video scrolled through the alphabet and I stopped it on a random letter. Students had 2 minutes to brainstorm related words starting with that letter. We shared words in groups, some students had to explain connections back to content. It was fun, made them think creatively, and worked on listening skills as groups crossed off duplicate words.

This week we continued with our study of the first five presidents of the United States, exploring this question: “How well did the major decisions under Washington, Adams, and Jefferson live up to the Federalist and Democratic-Republican visions for America?” This week we looked at Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase and James Madison and the War of 1812. A common theme throughout this unit has been having students put themselves in someone else’s shoes and examine different events from other perspectives. This has been a recurring theme throughout the entire unit.

My classes were still a bit uneven, so I did some things this week to get all my classes back on fairly even ground. Between lessons on Jefferson and Madison, I incorporated review with a Resource Rumble and an engaging “culture shock” lesson I adapted from Mr. Roughton, which allowed me to catch all my classes up to the same point again. The main EduProtocols I utilized this week were Thin Slides, Archetypes, CyberSandwich, 3xCER, and Number Mania.

Tuesday – Louisiana Purchase

Wednesday – Mr. Roughton website

Thursday and Friday – War of 1812, History4Humans, Gimkit

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we did a lesson on the Louisiana Purchase. I asked why Federalists opposed the purchase. First, I provided relevant background knowledge before students could answer. I started with a Thin Slide, asking students to find an interesting fact about Thomas Jefferson to share with a partner. Next, I gave students a section of the textbook on the purchase, enhanced with AI to incorporate more statistics. With Number Manias, I often give a quote for students to support with facts and numbers. The quote: “Expanding the country west was a key goal for Jefferson. So even though it went against some of his usual policies, Jefferson made the daring choice to buy all of Louisiana from France.” Before the Number Mania, students completed a Frayer model for the word “diplomat”—I should have done this last week with the XYZ Affair. Students then had 5 minutes to read and find 4 numbers to support the quote, followed by 15 minutes to design slides.

We then did a 3xCER, answering why Federalists opposed the purchase. I emphasized that although doubling the U.S. size seemed positive, Federalists objected. This ties back to whether these presidents upheld party visions. Students read Hamilton’s editorial, recorded his claim/evidence/reasoning regarding his opposition, then did the same for a Rufus King letter. I think this showed multiple perspectives—on one hand it seemed beneficial, but Federalists opposed it for potentially expanding slavery, weakening federal power, etc. This foreshadows future learning and reminds that Federalists favored centralized power.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I wanted some classes to catch up while allowing advanced classes to continue progressing. With one class, we used a Resource Rumble to review Washington, Adams and Jefferson’s presidencies. With other classes, we did Mr. Roughton’s “Culture Shock” lesson. This gave a feeling of early 1800’s life while reviewing past learning. It began by having students write the principal about a policy change, but I blocked out harsh language, relating it back to Adams’ Sedition Acts. We did an activity with political cartoons about presidents. We went outside to sketch leaves, then read Lewis & Clark journal entries to guess the animal, which I tied back to the Louisiana Purchase exploration. Students enjoyed this lesson, so I will use similar ones in the future.

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday and Friday, we began examining James Madison and the War of 1812, asking what he should do about British impressment. Since most students didn’t know Madison or impressment, I structured activities to build background knowledge. We started with a Thin Slide about Jefferson’s Embargo Act, efficiently providing/reinforcing information. Before they began, I rolled dice to determine slide phrase length to encourage concise summarization. My goal was to show Britain/France tensions persisted. I asked students the definition of insanity – trying the same thing but expecting different results – which I likened these first 3 presidents’ failed efforts to avoid war. Next was a Madison Archetype Foursquare, then students Frayer modeled “impressment” and “warhawks.”

I then added a CyberSandwich using an activity from Dan Lewer’s website putting students in Madison’s shoes regarding impressment. After a briefing/timeline for context, I simply asked them to decide as if they were president. Last time with Adams, students finished quickly, so I modeled weighing options first. We developed a good pro/con list before writing a speech for the public where I provided framework: summarize the issue since there was no instant media, share their decision, and justify why it was best. After writing, I revealed Madison urged war, now called the War of 1812. We watched a video on the burning of the White House, then I shared more outcomes like stalemate, the Battle of New Orleans, Federalists wanting succession, and the Federalist Party’s end. Students enjoyed considering perspectives and options as if they were president.

We closed with a 5-minute Gimkit review game, then partner discussions before a 4-minute rematch, challenging students to beat their prior scores. Every class scored over 80%, demonstrating learning.

This week was a 4-day week. We had class Monday through Thursday. There must be a lot of sickness going around because I’ve had a lot of student absences recently. Things just seem scattered and disorganized lately. I need to get myself back on track and find some consistency in my lessons and class structure again.

Much of my class focuses on the experience of being actively present within the class sessions and activities. Even though I am regularly using protocols and structured activities, it seems that when a student misses a day, they miss out on a lot of material, as the old adage goes. Having to create some Differentiated Instruction review articles and activities to catch some students up who have missed classes, it’s a quick and simple way to get them back up to speed.

This week we covered some important content. We examined Washington’s Farewell Address and then delved into learning about John Adams’s presidency, including studying the XYZ Affair and the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts.

Monday – 3xCER Farewell Address

Tuesday and Wednesday – XYZ Affair

Thursday – Alien and Sedition Acts

Monday

On Monday we analyzed Washington’s Farewell Address using a 3xCER protocol. I often use the 3xCER method when studying primary sources, as it has students focus on writing claims backed by textual evidence, and then explaining their reasoning.

In this particular lesson, we began class with a Thin Slide. In the Thin Slide, students had to look up one specific precedent that George Washington set during his presidency – 1 picture, 1 precedent. They had 3 minutes. I used this quick activity to set the context that Washington’s famous Farewell Address established precedents and advice that endured long after Washington left office.

Next, I gave students excerpts from the lengthy Farewell Address to read and analyze. Their task was to match sections of Washington’s address to comparable modern concepts and ideas. This helped them understand the still-relevant wisdom in Washington’s speech. I specifically pointed out Washington’s warning about the dangers of emerging political parties dividing the fledgling nation, as well as his admonition to avoid questionable “entangling alliances” with other countries.

I gave students 10 minutes to write their own claims about the address, citing textual evidence and explaining the meaning and their analysis in their own words. I incorporate study of the iconic Farewell Address for two key reasons: first, it’s valuable for students to closely read such an influential primary document that is still so often referred to even today; second, Washington’s parting words of wisdom to the nation provide helpful background context about factors that shaped later controversies and debates during the Adams and Jefferson administrations.

Since so many students had missed classes recently, I wanted to incorporate a retrieval practice review activity. We played a creative dice game where I would ask a question about content we’ve learned previously, roll several dice, and the students would then have to accurately summarize their response to my question in the exact number of words as the dice total. For instance, I might roll the dice and get an 18, then ask a question like “Who was George Washington and what was most important about his presidency?” The students then have 18 words to try to answer correctly. This fast-paced activity kept engagement high while reinforcing key knowledge.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we launched into learning about John Adams’s presidency, starting with the infamous XYZ Affair. I began the lesson with a Thin Slide and a linked reading that set the context by reviewing the contentious election of 1796, where Adams and his Federalist Party narrowly defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party. Under the rules at the time, this made Adams President and Jefferson Vice President, even though they held very different visions for governing the young nation.

In the Thin Slide, I asked students to imagine how it would look if we still followed this election model today. They had an amusing time realizing that would put Biden in the White House and Trump right there beside him as VP! I used this as a discussion prompt to illustrate how much has changed, but also to preview the core theme we would keep revisiting: how much impact presidents and political parties had on shaping the nation, both then and now.

Next, students analyzed a short biography summarizing Adams’ early life and career before becoming president. To make this more engaging, they had to apply an archetype lens, examining Adams’ essential character traits, motives, and drivers using a framework often applied to literature characters. Choosing details from Adams’ pre-presidential life, students had to cite textual evidence to explain what archetype he aligned with most closely and why. As an extension, they compared and contrasted Adams’ archetype to someone in their own life exhibiting similar enduring personality characteristics and motivations. This activity prompted some insightful analysis and discussions about Adams and human nature more broadly.

I next introduced the major scandal that erupted during Adams’ term: the infamous XYZ Affair. This complex incident involved intrigue, international extortion plots, and heated political controversy.

To better understand the XYZ Affair and its impacts, I adapted a lesson plan developed by social studies teacher named Susan Gorman. Her approach made the scandal more accessible by having students examine primary source accounts and piece together the story like detectives. I paired her lesson concept with a CyberSandwich.

In my lesson, students had to closely read a set of fragmentary excerpts from witnesses and participants describing their view of events. As they analyzed each slice of the political drama, students filled out a graphic organizer, layering the pieces together into a coherent timeline. They had to deduce such key points as attempting to identify who the cryptically named French agents X, Y and Z were, why they tried to extort a bribe from America, and how the Adams administration responded.

The CyberSandwich provided helpful structure, allowing students to build up their understanding layer by layer as they progressed through the accounts. Once they read, notated and discussed the various perspectives, they then had to synthesize their learning by writing a summary reflecting their understanding of how and why this diplomatic crisis emerged. The interactive analysis and incremental building of knowledge about the XYZ Affair captured student interest while developing crucial historical thinking and primary source analysis skills.

Wednesday

We devoted the first part of Wednesday’s class to completing the XYZ Affair lesson to ensure students had thoroughly grasped the causes and sequence of events. After discussing their XYZ Affair summaries and analyses in small groups, I transitioned into the next phase of learning.

Even with the background factual knowledge from their summaries, students still did not know how President Adams chose to respond to the national crisis and inflammatory public fury sparked by the XYZ revelations. I wanted to simulate the complex decision making challenge faced by Adams to resolve tensions with France without triggering an expensive, risky war that the fragile young America could ill afford.

This reflective judgment activity compelled students to essentially attempt to re-enact Adams’ key decision points regarding the XYZ Affair aftermath. I emphasized that they needed to consider the context Adams faced at the time, based on geostrategic realities, the precedent of neutrality established by Washington, pressure from Adams’ Federalist allies urging war with France, and the perceived need to assert American strength abroad.

With these influential factors in mind, students had to actively debate and judge the wisest course for Adams by closely evaluating multiple options, national priorities, risks and trade-offs. I encouraged them to dig deeply into Adams’ perspective to try to see the situation through his eyes.

In one class, I noticed students racing through this complex deliberation far too quickly, finishing their recommended plan for Adams in just 5 minutes. This signaled they were not truly wrestling with the web of complications Adams had to balance and the judgment call he had to make amidst clashing viewpoints and shaky public morale.

So in the next class section, I deliberately walked students through the full scope of analytical thinking required for sound decision making of this magnitude. I used strategic questioning and patience to incrementally build their context, inquiry and cognitive engagement.

Through this guided interaction, I emphasized that as a Federalist, Adams faced immense pressure from within his own party to enter war against France. Yet he also had to weigh George Washington’s sage advice urging neutrality to give America’s fragile experiment in democracy time to stabilize. I thus set up an insightful realization that Adams was caught in an unenviable lose-lose predicament, with his Federalist allies threatening to desert him even as Republicans continued attacking his policies.

Pushing past knee-jerk solutions, most students dug deeper to thoughtfully grapple with Adams’ impossible situation. They finally realized the complexity of variables, trade-offs and paradoxes facing the president, needing 25-35 minutes of guided decision analysis rather than 5. We debriefed that such deeply consequential decisions require careful execution of critical thinking as much today as then. I ended class having students generate probing questions about the XYZ Affair which their classmates had to answer concisely, putting our debating and judgment skills to work!

Thursday

After analyzing Adams’ impossible decisions on avoiding war with France in the XYZ debacle, on Thursday we transitioned to examining a controversial set of domestic laws subsequently passed by the Federalists under Adams’ administration. Still alarmed by potential French revolutionary infiltration and attacks on American sovereignty after the XYZ Affair, the majority Federalist Congress passed four laws in 1798 collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts.

I opened this lesson by giving small student teams realistic scenarios describing French immigrants pathways into America during this volatile period. Teams had to rapidly discuss options and decide on the policy course they would set. This immediately set the context for the tensions and perceived threats posed by aliens and outsiders that in part prompted the Alien Acts.

We next examined the key provisions of these laws, which expanded the duration of residency requirements to 14 years before immigrants could apply for US citizenship. Students used Parafly EduProtocols to paraphrase the essence of the Naturalization and Alien Acts. We then examined a real case study that demonstrated the laws’ power in practice.

I described the fate of Congressman Matthew Lyon, an outspoken Republican critic of the Adams administration. Lyon had notoriously written that President Adams deserved to be put in a “madhouse.” For this perceived insult to the administration, Lyon was prosecuted and convicted under the controversial Sedition Act portion of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

I had students used a Frayer to investigate the meaning and examples of “sedition” more deeply. We analyzed an excerpt from the Sedition Act text itself using Annotate and Tell.

To synthesize their analysis, students wrote a short perspective 2xPOV from the vantage point of Federalists explaining why they strongly supported this law as necessary and proper.

In the last stage of the lesson, I flipped the script, having students write a rebuttal as Democratic-Republicans decrying the laws as hypocritical violations of constitutional liberties of speech, press and due process. By writing sequentially from contrasting political insider lenses, students gained a more balanced insight into the complex debate stirred by the Alien & Sedition Acts.

This multi-perspective analysis and writing task took up our entire Thursday class session. If time permitted by the end, we briefly revisited key concepts and historical figures from the week using the dice game as a quick closing review.

The XYZ Affair and Alien & Sedition Acts proved pivotal episodes in the Adams presidency that also encapsulated major themes of America’s early development. The inheriting tensions over centralized authority versus states’ rights, interpretations of checks and balances, and partisan efforts to control domestic dissent and international affairs resonate into modern U.S. politics. By enacting decisions Adams wrestled with using compelling primary sources and perspective-taking, students gained an enriched understanding of obstacles in governing a fragile new nation – insights equally relevant today.

Hero’s Journey Simplified

Introduction

Last Friday I wanted something easy and laid back – so we did a geography challenge where students labeled states and got an introduction to the New Republic unit. In the past years, I have done a blogging unit where students create a character who is part of the Federalist or Democratic Republican (DR) party. Then they learn about the first five presidents and blog about the presidents’ decisions from that party’s point of view. I decided to mix it up a bit this year but keep it somewhat similar. My essential unit question is, “How well did the major decisions under Washington, Adams, and Jefferson live up to the Federalist and Democratic-Republican visions for America?”

Monday – Federalists vs. DR, Gimkit

Tuesday – Hamilton and the Bank

Friday – Washington, Farewell Speech

Be sure to find the new EduProtocols Primary Edition from Jenn Dean and Ben Cogswell

Monday

To break down my unit, I first introduce the beliefs of the parties to the students. They learn about Jefferson and Hamilton. Next, I teach them about Hamilton and the national bank. Then we learn about Washington, Adams, and so on up until Monroe. On Monday, we began with a Fast and Curious where students completed a Gimkit about Federalists and DRs. The class averages ranged from 45% to 60%. The Gimkit had 12 basic questions.

Next, we followed up the Fast and Curious with a CyberSandwich where students read a one-page reading about Federalists and Democratic Republicans. Students read for 8 minutes and took notes. Then they compared their notes with a partner and thought of similarities. The differences were obvious. They struggled to think of similarities but they came up with: they were both political parties, they both had presidents representing their parties, and they both wanted what was best for America. Pretty good!.

I decided to up the DOK level of the summary writing by asking the students to write their summary using a compare/contrast text structure. This built off a skill they were learning in Language Arts. I showed them they were getting great at writing paragraphs; now it was time to include transitional phrases that worked with a compare/contrast text structure.

Lastly, we used a 2xPOV template from Josie Wozniak and I gave the students a scenario to practice writing from the perspective of a Federalist or Democratic Republican. I used Claude to generate a basic 3 sentence scenario about the Whiskey Rebellion. Students had to take the beliefs they learned about and apply them to understanding how a Federalist or Democratic Republican would respond to the Whiskey Rebellion. I was looking for responses that showed the Federalists wanted a stronger national government and that farmers needed to pay the tax. The Democratic Republican response I was looking for was that the government was too strong and the use of the military was too much for such a minor event. The students struggled with this a lot. I understand why………The start of this lesson with a Gimkit for recall was at a DOK 1 level. The concept sort and CyberSandwich are DOK 2. The 2xPOV is a DOK 3 level of learning, requiring strategic thinking and justification beyond factual recall. Students had to put themselves in the shoes of political party members to voice informed perspectives on an event. They would have to synthesize their understanding of party stances, priorities and fears to construct an argument around the Whiskey Rebellion from each viewpoint. So the students were struggling because sometimes classrooms fail to get past DOK 1 or 2. We ran out of time for another Fast and Curious activity.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

We had an unusual schedule this week. I had a lesson on Alexander Hamilton with some Justin Unruh templates. The question for this lesson is: “Did Hamilton’s National Bank match the Federalists’ goals for the country’s economy?” The lesson for Alexander Hamilton had multiple parts:

1. Archetype Four Square – Students watched a song from Hamilton the Musical or read a brief bio about Hamilton and applied an archetype to him. We use this for multiple reasons: to help students apply an archetype, making a claim and then using evidence from the video or reading to back up the claim. Then they make a connection to someone else in pop culture or history. Students are now making connections between people and/or events. The final reason we use this is that it helps with comprehension. When students can think of characters in terms of archetypes, it helps them predict behaviors and predict outcomes in a story.
2. I provided context for the lesson, helping students understand that Hamilton was in charge of figuring out how to get the country out of debt after the Revolutionary War. I explained how he wanted to help people see the new government under the new Constitution was stronger and better and could resolve issues.
3. Sketch and Tell – To help students understand Hamilton’s financial plan involving complex, abstract ideas like taxes and money, I had Claude AI create basic, quick readings about assuming debts, tariffs, excise taxes, and the national bank.
4. I created a video explaining strict vs. loose interpretation and why Washington D.C. is located in the South between Virginia and Maryland.
5. 2xPOV – Students completed another 2xPOV analyzing the bank from the perspective of a Federalist and a Democratic Republican.

Honestly, this lesson should not have taken over 3 days. But it did because my classes were all off schedule and I’m trying to get them closer together. For example, 2 of my classes are 2 days ahead of everyone. 2 classes are even in terms of scheduling and 1 class is 2 days behind.

Friday

On Friday, we moved into Washington’s presidency. I asked: “Did Washington’s crackdown on the Whiskey Rebellion and neutrality stance favor the Federalists or Democratic-Republicans?” Students shared an Iron Chef slide with a partner. I explained if you can keep this “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” framework in mind as you read, it will help you comprehend and remember what you read.

First, we discussed what a precedent is and what it meant. Then students had 3 minutes to find and share a precedent Washington set. Next, students shared a slide, with one reading and creating a slide about the Whiskey Rebellion and the other reading about neutrality. After 14 minutes, they taught each other their topics and compared the domestic (Whiskey Rebellion) and foreign policy (neutrality) issues.

Finally, they completed a 2xPOV responding to either topic from the Federalist and Democratic Republican perspectives. For one class, we had 15 minutes left and completed a 3xCER about Washington’s Farewell Address, with students matching paraphrased parts to quotes from the speech. Then they used claim, evidence, and reasoning to answer: “What 2 main ideas did Washington make in his speech?” I was impressed!

This past week was filled with innovative lessons and activities as I taught my 8th graders key concepts in social studies and civics. I tried to make each day interesting and interactive as we covered checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, Supreme Court cases, and the importance of limiting government power.

On Monday, I facilitated an engaging escape room activity to reinforce students’ understanding of checks and balances. Tuesday involved fun skits and memorization techniques to help the amendments really stick. By Wednesday, we were applying that Bill of Rights knowledge to analyze real Supreme Court cases. Thursday we explored the power of judicial review and how the courts check other branches. Finally, Friday challenged students to examine threats to democracy when governments hold unchecked power.

I continuously tweaked activities and materials to fit my students best. My goal was to promote active learning, collaboration, and engagement with civics across the week. The students seemed to enjoy the variety of lessons and games as much as I enjoyed creating them! It was a week full of creativity and insight in my 8th grade social studies class.

1. Monday – Checks and Balances Escape Room
2. Tuesday – Bill of Rights Quizizz, Sketch and Tell-O
3. Wednesday – Supreme Court Answer Sheet, Supreme Court Stories
4. Thursday – Vox Video (edpuzzle), Judicial Review
5. Friday – Limited Government

Monday

I started this week needing an engaging new activity to reinforce checks and balances concepts for my 8th graders. While I easily could have done a standard lecture or game review, I wanted something that would get students actively collaborating, communicating, and moving around.

I suddenly remembered that my friend and fellow teacher Dominic Helmstetter shared an awesome escape room activity on Twitter that he does with his freshman. Eureka! I quickly located the files and decided to customize the escape room to best fit my students’ needs.

Dominic’s original escape room had some great components – review content, guided notes, an assessment, and a series of four locks to solve through a Google form. I adapted these elements by tweaking the guided notes sheet, simplifying some assessment questions, and reworking the Google form lock combinations.

The end result was a polished, 3-step escape room process for my class:

1. Fill-in-the-blank Clues/Notes Sheet: Paired checks and balances concepts with the answers that would unlock the Google form
2. Assessment: Evaluated student understanding of branches of government and checks/balances
3. Google Form Locks: Provided the lock combinations from unscrambled words in the assessment for students to break out

I also set up my lockbox with a Congress-related question to spur some friendly competition. If students successfully passed all the escape room steps, they could compete to unlock the box.

On Monday morning, I gave a quick briefing then let my students loose for 40 minutes of engaging critical thinking, teamwork, and fun. The escape room format facilitated so much energetic learning and collaboration. What a way to begin an exciting week of lessons!

Tuesday

I kicked off class on Tuesday with a 10-question Quizizz to assess students’ baseline knowledge of the Bill of Rights amendments. As expected, most remembered the 1st two then got fuzzy on the rest. Class averages were fairly low: 39%, 33%, 45% and so on. Time for a memorable amendment upgrade!

I handed out a Sketch and Tell-O template with 10 empty circles for sketching or jotting amendment concepts. Then I dove into the engaging amendments mnemonic devices and activities I learned from the brilliant Dave Burgess.

For each amendment, I share an animated story, song, or physical prop/gesture to help cement understanding. For the 3rd Amendment, I describe Goldilocks making herself at home in the Three Bears’ house, linking it to soldiers improperly being “quartered.” For the 6th Amendment, I show a clip of an NFL player’s quick “pick six” interception for the idea of a speedy trial.

The students love these zany strategies and anecdotes! They are fully engaged as I coach them to listen for the memory aids that correspond with each amendment. Lots of laughter all around too – though I can’t share all Dave’s secrets here. 😉

After completing the amendment “show,” I had students tuck away their new sketches and notes. I launched the same Quizizz again to see growth. This time, class averages jumped way up: 82%, 80%, 82% and so on. The memory tricks worked! Of course, the scores were actually lower than last year, so I may tweak a few things for next time. But overall, active learning FTW!

Wednesday

Now that my students had built foundational knowledge of the Bill of Rights amendments, I wanted them to apply that learning to real-world Supreme Court cases. Specifically, I curated a selection of landmark cases related to students and school issues that would resonate with their 8th grade experiences.

The cases I pulled focused on timely topics like the Pledge of Allegiance, social media speech, school punishment policies, and praying in school. I printed each case summary onto cards and placed them into envelopes around the room, along with one envelope that contained a bonus Bill of Rights Quizizz (which the classes now averaged 91% on!).

I put students into small groups and gave them 40 minutes to circulate and analyze as many Supreme Court case envelopes as possible. Their tasks were to:

1. Guess which Constitutional amendment was in question for each case.
2. Predict how they thought the Supreme Court ruled on the case.

The student groups did a great job picking out the relevant amendments that applied to each situation. But when I shared the actual Supreme Court rulings, the students were shocked! The decisions often surprised them or conflicted with their assumptions and personal opinions. This made for rich discussion and insight into how amendments are interpreted.

As an added bonus, I had the groups piece together a question which they then used to try unlocking a box filled with QR codes. Only 1 winning code scored them extra credit points! However, some groups somehow chose the 1 winner among 9 losers – I still don’t know how they beat those odds.

I did tweak the lockbox question and code throughout the day knowing how much students love sharing intel. The alternative question was: “Which amendment limits the president to two terms?”

Overall, it was extremely rewarding to see my students connect classroom knowledge of rights and freedoms to real court cases impacting students just like themselves. The relevance and surprise factors made for deep engagement and critical thinking.

Thursday

After Wednesday’s deep dive into intriguing Supreme Court cases, I wanted to zoom in on the key concept of judicial review for my 8th graders. Rather than just lecture at them about this pillar of our government system, I strived to make it interactive and tangible.

I started class with an edited EdPuzzle video introducing how cases ascend to the Supreme Court – crucial context. Then, I had students complete a Frayer Model for the terms “writ of mandamus” and “judicial review” to cement shared vocabulary.

Next, we analyzed the landmark Marbury v. Madison case which established judicial review in 1803. I actually tweaked the reading to optimize for 8th grade comprehension – rewording sentences, adding clarifications, highlighting key subtleties. This ensured students could grasp the significance of the ruling.

After a timed reading and highlighting session, I had students recall and share out critical case details: What did Marbury want? How did the Court respond? Why was the decision so impactful? We documented responses on a visual Thick Question slide to emphasize the role judicial review plays in the system of checks and balances.

For one section that was a day behind, I also had them map out the story on an engaging “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” template to practice comprehension and sequencing.

While light on flashy games today, the lesson offered an essential dive into judicial review using multiple learning modalities from video to vocabulary building to customized reading.

Friday

While I was out on a field trip with some students, I left meaningful civics content and activities for my remaining 8th graders focused on the question: “Why is limiting government power so vital?”

I curated a reading from iCivics on Peru’s alarming Fujimori saga in the 1990s. Students first categorized healthy ways democracies constrain authority to establish rule of law norms. This grounded context made the subsequent reading detailing Fujimori’s authoritarian power grab even more stark.

The profile revealed how, once elected president, Fujimori slowly seized near-dictatorial control: dissolving Congress, rewriting the constitution, and severely curtailing civil liberties. To process this complex chain of events, students mapped out Fujimori’s escalating actions on a template I customized for narrative sequencing.

Specifically, I reframed the standard storytelling “Hero’s Journey” format into a more explicit “Somebody – Wanted – But – So – Then – Ultimately” flow. Organizing the details this way enabled students to methodically break down how concentrating unchecked rule in one man’s hands enabled corruption and tyranny.

As a final analysis task, I had students assign Fujimori an archetype to encapsulate his spirit and actions, citing specific evidence to justify their categorization. Many comparisons emerged between Fujimori and iother people throughout history.

Though less flashy than my Supreme Court games or Bill of Rights dramatizations, Friday’s lesson served up vital perspective. By examining a real-world account of governance gone awry, students glimpsed the founding fathers’ wisdom in crafting checks and balances to distribute power. Understanding the threats unchecked authority poses to liberty is essential context for engaged citizenship.

Introduction

This week was a short school week due to the MLK Day holiday and a couple snow/cold weather days. We only had classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. This has prolonged our unit on the Constitution, but such is life sometimes.

I’ve been focusing lessons on the separation of powers and system of checks and balances between the three branches of government – legislative, executive, and judicial. Based on informal assessments, it seems many students are still struggling to grasp the distinct roles and powers of each branch.

When I asked my classes why they think they’re having trouble with this topic, here’s some of the feedback I received:

“It’s hard to relate to this old government stuff.” “The questions about what each branch does are confusing.” “Some of the test questions don’t seem to match what we talked about in class.”

I’m still puzzling over these challenges a bit. I tried to make the content more engaging and relatable by using a lesson that compared the branches of government to the Avengers. Students seem to connect better when there’s a pop culture hook. The quiz questions came straight from the readings and class discussions, using the same key terms and concepts. I aimed to keep the ideas basic and straightforward.

It’s possible the interrupted schedule lately disrupted continuity for learning. Or maybe this group of students just needs more concrete examples and connections to grasp the concepts. Every class has a different dynamic. I rarely teach the exact same way year to year since each group of kids comprehends ideas differently. While some concepts click right away with students, others require more refinement of lessons and activities over time. This is all part of the learning process!

Tuesday – Fast and Curious, 3 Truths and 1 Lie, Branches SuperHero

Thursday – Checks and Balances

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we returned from a long holiday weekend ready to get back into our Constitution unit. I started off classes by having students complete a Gimkit called “Fast and Curious” for the third time. The goal was to see if scores improved after more time spent learning the content. The class averages were 71%, 72%, 76%, 64%, 70% and 75%. There was a bit of a range, but overall the scores remained fairly consistent.

After that quick review, we went over the “3 Truths and 1 Lie” slides (template created by Dominic Helmstetter) about the branches of government that students completed last Friday. I compiled their work into an 11 slide deck that I displayed in slideshow mode. For each slide, students had to analyze the 4 statements and decide which one was the lie. They recorded their guess and reasoning on an organizer worksheet. Once everyone made their prediction, I advanced to the next slide that revealed the correct answer.

To wrap up class, students had time to finish up their “Branches of Government Superheroes” project. For this creative assignment, they chose one of the three branches and developed a superhero alter ego to represent that branch. Their job was to name their superhero, design costume accessories, and come up with 3 unique super powers connected to the roles and responsibilities of their branch.

Thursday

On Thursday, we took the “Fast and Curious” Constitution quiz yet again. I informed all classes that if we could get above 80% overall AND everyone answers at least 15 questions, we’d be done with the quiz for good. The class averages this time were: 81%, 83%, 84%, 74%, 81%, and 83%. Success!

Last year when we started checks and balances, I jumped right into an escape room activity. However, reflecting on that, I realized more scaffolding was needed first. So I put together a series of protocols using templates from Justin Unruh to build background knowledge.

1. First students completed Frayers for the vocabulary words “impeach” and “override.” We reviewed the definition of a Frayer Model and why analyzing key terms helps reading comprehension. For both terms, students paraphrased meanings in their own words, provided examples, and demonstrated proper usage by writing original sentences. I emphasized that vocabulary knowledge aids retention of civic concepts.
2. Next, I gave each student a detailed checks and balances chart categorizing actions available to each government branch, alongside branches with checking power. Students read three basic scenarios that required inferring nuanced applications of checks and balances. For example, I had the scenario of, “A potential bill was vetoed.” Students ahd to figure out which branch of government could veto a bill. Then they had to figure out which branch of government could check that action.
3. Students then examined 3 AI-generated short stories based on recent controversies that activated checks and balances: Trump’s impeachment, Obama’s gun orders, and Biden exploring student debt cancellation. After annotating key executive actions, students completed analysis questions per story such as: How did the legislative branch check the president here?
4. Finally, I used a Sketch and Tell comic framed with “SWBST” (Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then) storyboarding technique. Students illustrated either an original scenario demonstrating checks/balances or chose one AI generated story from the earlier activities to depict visually. As they shared out creations, they articulated detailed descriptions of multiple characters across branches interacting via through checks and balances.

I really liked how all the racked and stacked EduProtocols worked with each other. The vocabulary, sorting examples, and AI stories set them up to demonstrate understanding by creating their own check/balance tales. Everything intertwined for deeper comprehension.

Introduction

This past week our school administered the MAP testing, so we had shortened 30-minute class periods at the beginning of the week. Despite the modified schedule, I was still able to teach lessons on the Constitution and incorporate some fun activities. My essential question for the week was “How is the United States Constitution a model for limited government?” We specifically focused on ideas like popular sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, individual rights, and federalism that limit governmental power. The students even got to vote on the specific concepts they wanted to study! Read on to learn more about what we covered each day.

Monday – Great American Race, Gimkit

Tuesday – Great American Race 11 Slides

Wednesday – Popular Sovereignty (CyberSandwich, Annotate and Tell)

Thursday – Iron Chef Separation of Powers

Friday – 3 Truths and 1 Lie, SuperHero Template

Monday

Since we had shortened 30-minute classes on Monday due to MAP testing, I structured an efficient review lesson. First, students did a Repuzzler EduProtocol where they worked in groups sorting vocabulary term cards and matching them up. This collaborative matching activity took about 10 minutes. Next, we spent another 10 minutes on Gimkit, playing a fast-paced quiz game that tested their knowledge of last week’s key vocab terms. To wrap things up, we used the remaining 10 minutes to prepare materials for the following day.

Knowing I wanted to run a “Great American Race” Constitution game on Tuesday, I had students make clue cards to enable that activity. I distributed index cards with a number on one side and a part of the Constitution (e.g. Article 1, 2nd Amendment) on the reverse. Working in small teams, students looked up their assigned Constitutional section in our government textbooks, created two text clues plus an image that related to it, and added the index card number to a slide. After school, I went through their work and selected 11 high-quality student-made slides to use for Tuesday’s Great American Race about the Constitution. This creative prep work got students engaged with the foundational document in advance, even in a condensed 30-minute window.

Tuesday

With MAP testing still limiting us to 30-minute periods on Tuesday, I facilitated a Constitution-themed “Great American Race” activity utilizing the student-made clue slides from Monday. Many students assume this type of collaborative quiz game will be easy since they can just look up the answers as they go. However, they discover it ends up being more challenging than they expect! I compiled the 11 best clue slides into a slide deck. But rather than project them for the race, I actually printed out hard copies, stapled them together, and made an accompanying answer sheet. I divided students into teams, gave each group a government textbook, and let the race competition begin!

The goal was not necessarily for them to solve every slide during the race. More importantly, racing against the clock forced them to flip through the actual Constitution to try locating the correct articles, amendments, preamble, etc. This activity ultimately aimed to familiarize students with navigating the structure and contents of the Constitution itself, as several upcoming lessons refer back to specific sections. Despite some confusion sorting through the complex document, students were fully engaged throughout the 30 minutes. And even if they didn’t find all the answers, the collaborative process of analyzing the clues and consulting the primary text helped prepare them for future class discussions and assignments. So while perhaps not the easiest review, both the preparatory and race elements served their purpose in getting students actively investigating Constitutional language firsthand.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, with 30-minute classes still in place, I introduced the concept of popular sovereignty and tied it back to our essential unit question about how the Constitution limits governmental power. I start with popular sovereignty since it relates directly to empowering the people, as laid out in the Preamble. My goals were threefold: define the term, help students identify examples of popular sovereignty in current events and founding documents, and analyze how it allows citizens to check political authority.

Given time constraints, I used some streamlined protocols shared by teacher Justin Unruh. First we did a CyberSandwich reading activity with leveled texts on popular sovereignty (8th, 5th and 3rd grade). Students took guided notes and then discussed them. Afterwards, I provided options for a paragraph summary or visual sketch to demonstrate their understanding. Next, utilizing an Annotate and Tell, we examined key excerpts from the Constitution’s Preamble and Article I, plus the Declaration. Students highlighted and analyzed sections related to popular sovereignty and checks on governmental power. Some analysis questions I asked included: What mechanism does the Declaration say people have to control government? And how do Constitutional sections allow people to restrict political influence?

In just 30 minutes through targeted, scaffolded reading and writing activities tied to primary documents, students were able to define and identify examples of popular sovereignty. This positions them to evaluate how citizens collectively wield influence over their elected officials. By the end of class, a poll showed most students were eager to next examine constitutional separation of powers as another method of checking authority.

Thursday

On Thursday, with our normal 47-minute classes back in session, we focused on the concept of separation of powers across the three governmental branches. To creatively introduce why dividing functions is necessary, I utilized a Dave Burgess hook activity with a tug-of-war rope stretched across my classroom. Scattered on the floor were papers labeled “corruption,” “greed,” “despotism” and “tyranny” – negative concepts I explained represent pitfalls into which governments can fall. I asked students how we can lift the rope to raise government above these dangers. Volunteers tried unsuccessfully to complete the challenge single-handedly. Eventually a trio was needed to fully raise the “government” rope. This illustrated why concentrating all governmental powers and responsibilities into one ruling entity invites misconduct.

I then shared an Iron Chef EduProtocol created by teacher Dominic Helmstetter. Students consulted the Constitution to research details on the legislative, executive and judicial branches for a slide, with some also using provided readings I condensed via AI. Their tasks included defining specific branch powers, identifying which articles established them, how members are selected, etc. I gave them 10 minutes to find facts and design slides. Finally, everyone combined their branch expertise into one Thick Slide summary, including images and the four most vital points on each one’s roles. I also had them analyze how division of power itself limits authority and potential despotism, referring back to the introductory rope demonstration.

As an assessment, we did a Gimkit quiz. However, many scores were concerningly low, averaging 50-60% correctness instead of the 70% I expected. Informal student feedback indicated some quiz questions were oddly worded or disconnected from the content covered. I will revisit and revise those prompts for an improved test tomorrow so students feel it aligns with and evaluates their learning more accurately.

Friday

To start Friday’s class, students first took a 5-minute Gimkit quiz with the revised separation of powers quiz questions. The scores this time showed improvement, ranging from the mid-60% up to upper-70% accuracy. It seems the tweaks I made to address their confusion paid off. Next, utilizing another engaging Dominic Helmstetter creation, students developed “Three Truths and One Lie” slides about one governmental branch or all three. On their slides they included one false statement along with three accurate points, before identifying which item was the lie and explaining their reasoning. When we return on Tuesday, this content will be the basis for an interactive guessing game.

With 15 minutes left in class, I distributed a creative superhero drawing template from teacher Quinn Rollins. Their final task was to transform a governmental branch into an original superhero character – envisioning powers, costume details, backstory, etc. related to that branch’s constitutional roles and responsibilities. The students always enjoy this imaginative project. As an extension, I had introduced some classes earlier in the week to using the AI tool Pi as a brainstorming aid. After discussing responsible and constructive AI prompting, many students enthusiastically used Pi to help invent superhero names and powers tied to the civics concepts they had researched.

To wrap up, I encouraged students to revisit the informational slides they made yesterday documenting details on branch functions. I prompted them to mine that content to integrate an appropriately themed superpower or two. We will need just a bit more time next Tuesday to let them finish fleshing out their governmental superheroes. I’m looking forward to seeing their creative takes translating the legislative, judicial and executive duties we studied into heroic embodiments!