History Department Team Meeting (September 26, 2012)
After much deliberation, the History Team has crafted, reviewed, and will submit the following Team SMART goal:
History/Social Studies Team SMART Goal:
At the conclusion of a documents-based unit on the American political framework, all high school history students (taking World Hist. II, US I and II, AP US Hist., and American Government) will demonstrate mastery of the language of the Declaration of Independence and the concepts upon which it is predicated. Mastery will be determined by the successful completion of multiple and differentiated assessments (multiple choice quiz, online language placement quiz, and rubric-based presentation/public speaking assessment).
Part I: History Department Team Goals, School Goals, District Goals (per Common Core Integration) Used as Rationale for the Part II Assignment
History Department Specific Learning Goal (per Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks):
“Our political heritage is one – the vision of a common life in liberty, justice, and equality as expressed in the Declaration of Independence …”
USI.3 Explain the influence and ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. (H, C)
* Seminal Primary Documents to Read: the Declaration of Independence (1776)
USG.1.9 Examine fundamental documents in the American political tradition to identify key ideas regarding limited government and individual rights.
* Examples: Magna Carta (1215), Declaration of Independence (1776)
USG.2.2 Analyze and interpret central ideas on government, individual rights, and the common good in founding documents of the United States.
* Examples: the Declaration of Independence (1776)
USG.2.10 Analyze and explain ideas about liberty, equality, and justice in American society using documents such as the Declaration of Independence (1776)
Granby DLT GOAL 1: By 2015 the Granby Public Schools will have a coordinated and comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum aligned with the state frameworks and Common Core, that will meet the academic needs of each student.
Evidence of Completion: By March 2013 K-12 ELA curriculum will be consistently aligned with the Common Core and applied throughout the Granby Public Schools, and introduced to 95% of all professional staff.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards » Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading (grades 6–12 standards):
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it…
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Part II: SMART Goals Primary Source Document Assignment
Assignment Component #1: Students will read a passage from the Declaration of Independence and complete multiple choice questions that are designed to assess an analytical comprehension of the document. The questions will be assessed using Google Forms 2.0 template.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
1. Based on the language of The Declaration of Independence, it is most likely that this document contributed to the development of democracy by
A. rejecting Parliament’s stamp tax.
B. allowing women to take part in government.
C. suggesting that people are the source of power.
D. demanding an end to salutary neglect.
2. According to the Declaration of Independence, the people have the
right to alter or abolish a government if that government
A. is a limited monarchy.
B. violates natural rights.
C. becomes involved in entangling alliances.
D. favors one religion over another.
3. Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of
Independence?
A. The government should guarantee every citizen economic security.
B. The central government and state governments should have
equal power.
C. If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that
government can be overthrown.
D. Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore
bound to govern in the nation’s best interest.
4. Which phrase from the Declaration of Independence most clearly
reflects the idea that the people are the source of government?
A. ". . . that all men are created equal, . . .''
B. ''. . . all men are . . . endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights
C. ''. . . deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed . . ."
D. ''. . . governments long established should not be changed for
light and transient causes . . . "
5. According to the Declaration of Independence, governments are established to
A. protect the nation from invasion
B. provide a system of checks and balances
C. protect the natural rights of citizens
D. guarantee voting rights for all citizens
6. The Declaration of Independence contributed to the development of
democracy by
A. guaranteeing trial by jury to all men
B. allowing women to take part in government
C. indicating that people are the source of power
D. providing for Presidential elections every four years
7. Which principle of government is proposed in the Declaration of
Independence?
A. Political power originates with a strong central government.
B. The primary function of government is to protect natural rights.
C. A system of checks and balances is the most effective way to
prevent governmental abuse of power.
D. Individual liberties must be guaranteed by a strong bill of rights.
8. "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
This statement from the Declaration of Independence indicates that
government has a responsibility to
A. promote economic development
B. control the lives of citizens
C. respond to the will of the people
D. provide for the defense of the nation
Rationale for Assignment # 1: School Improvement Plan Goal # 2: Multiple Assessments – Realizing that the concepts of research and learning have changed drastically in the “Google Age,” we will create multiple ways to assess learning that incorporate modern methods of technology.
Assignment Component #2: After completing the multiple choice quiz, students will then complete an online Declaration of Independence language placement challenge @ http://texaslre.org/lfei_declaration.html
Rationale for Assignment # 2: School Improvement Plan Goal # 2: Multiple Assessments – Realizing that the concepts of research and learning have changed drastically in the “Google Age,” we will create multiple ways to assess learning that incorporate modern methods of technology.
Assignment Component #3: The final component of the assignment will require students to read the preamble of the Declaration of Independence as a prepared speech.
Rationale for Assignment Component # 3: Department goal of improving student presentation skills. Successful presentation will be based upon criteria established by school-wide rubric that measures public speaking.
Appendix #1: 8th Grade World History I Preparatory Assignment: Magna Carta Analysis:
Article 61 [the “right to revolt” clause]: Since, moveover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our barons, we have granted all these concessions, desirous that they should enjoy them in complete and firm endurance forever, we give and grant to them the underwritten security, namely, that the barons choose five and twenty barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they will, who shall be bound with all their might, to observe and hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them by this our present Charter, so that if we…shall have broken any one of the articles of this peace or of this security, and the offense be notified to four barons of the foresaid five and twenty, the said four barons shall repair to us…and, laying the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression redressed without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the transgression…within forty days…the four barons aforesaid shall refer that matter to the rest of the five and twenty barons, and those five and twenty barons shall, together with the community of the whole realm, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving harmless our own person, and the persons of our queen and children; and when redress has been obtained, they shall resume their old relations towards us.