Foldenauer 1

Unit Plan
Introduction:
For this unit plan the lessons being taught would be found in a junior high school U.S history class during the eighth grade. The topics of the
plan are about the foundation of the U.S government through Washingtons administration, Alexander Hamiltons influence, Thomas Jefferson, as
well as the U.S in early foreign affairs. The standards for these can be found in the Michigan Social Studies Grade Level Content Expectations under
Era 4 Expansion and Reform (1792-1862). The goal of this unit is to develop an understanding that the U.S did not become what it is so easily
following the American Revolutionary War. As previously learned, conflicts over the views of the U.S constitution have started to split individuals
who once fought together as revolutionaries. Now, students will learn about what the goals for the U.S were and how different politicians held
different beliefs about it. The differences in beliefs on the responsibility of the federal government continue today, which will help students develop a
personal attachment to this unit. Through this unit, the students will be able to provide logical arguments for both views at this time, and this will
help them in becoming independent thinkers on what they think the government should do. They will also gradually take responsibility of their work
as I start to provide them with the content information, as they attempt to develop an understanding of this on their own. At the end of this unit, the
students will have the opportunity of showing their mastery of this unit, with the use of a project of their own choosing. But, in order to make
learning clear and understood for my students, all the resources they need for the class will be made available for them. This includes textbooks,
primary sources, notepaper for them to write notes on, and other lesson materials will be available in a google classroom drive. For students who may
have difficulty taking notes on the PowerPoints in class, the online edition on the google classroom will allow them to go back and regain an
understanding of this. I also use a lot of videos in my lessons that are easily available on YouTube or Biography.com. What this does is provide
differentiation of the learning material so all students can learn how to adapt and increase their learning potential.
Days
in
class
3

Topic

Learning Targets-The Learner Will

George Washington

Learn about Washingtons early life, actions during his

administration, and precedents he established.
Provide a logical explanation for if they believed
Washington was a privileged or self-made man.

Alexander Hamilton

Learn about Alexander Hamiltons early life struggles

Learn about the feud between Hamilton and Thomas
Jefferson
Discuss what the five point plan was Hamilton designed

Activities/Strategies/Formative Assessments

Using online resources, the students will see videos

that provide summaries of George Washington in
regards to myths about him as well as what he
accomplished in life.
As a conclusion to this session, the students will need
to type a paragraph response online about Washington.
During this time, the students will continue to use the
Online resources found in Moodle. Through this
experience, they gain a better understanding of one of
the Founding Fathers impact on the U.S.

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Discuss what kind of influence Hamilton placed on the U.S
Provide a logical argument in regards to the removal of
Hamilton from the ten dollar bill

Political Parties

Discuss the similarities and differences between the two

major political parties in the U.S.
Learn about the origin of the party system in the U.S.
Demonstrate their knowledge of the content up to this point
in a quiz.

John Adams
Administration

Work on reading and writing skills while outlining.

Learn how the U.S became involved in foreign affairs over
economic trading
Gain further understanding of Thomas Jefferson with his
feud with Adams.
See foreshadowing events leading to the Indian Removal Act

Students will hold discussions on whether they agree

with Hamilton or Jefferson on what kind of
government the U.S should have, economy it should
strive for, as well as what kind of foreign affairs to get
involved in.
Students will see a clip of the new Hamilton musical
that is becoming more popular, to help show
Hamiltons connection to current events.
They will also learn about the removal of the Hamilton
portrait from the ten dollar bill and will have to write a
five paragraph argumentative essay on their view
points with citations for evidence shown.
To start this lesson off, students will take what they
know about the political parties in the U.S and will
work together to build a list of the differences and
similarities between them.
This will allow the content to tie into the current
Presidential election that is occurring.
For studies on how the political parties were formed
the use of the Crash Course videos on YouTube will be
used. The Crash Course U.S History #9 video shows
the formation of political parties and will serve as a
review of content learned about Washington and
foreshadow John Adams Administration.
To review this video, the students the following day
will view a PowerPoint that outlines the video
For this lesson, the students will be reading and
outlining from their textbooks. This will provide
further improvements to their note-taking skills.
The students will discuss what they think the U.S
should do about the foreign affairs during this time in
history as well as currently.
By reading about the Battle of Fallen Timber, this will

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Unit Project
Preparation

Review the content they have been studying throughout this

unit and provide an explanation of major themes discussed.
Create a final assessment activity for the students to show
they developed a clear understanding of the content.

Unit Project In Class Work at creating their own independent project

Work Days
Provide a strong demonstration of their knowledge of the
content.

foreshadow the treatment of Native Americans, which

will help the students understand causes of the Indian
Removal Act.
During this class session, students will work in groups
to come up with project ideas to demonstrate their
knowledge of the content.
Students will then present them to the class as a whole
and will provide an explanation of why they would do
this project, as well as how it would represent their
understanding of the content.
For the next two days in class, the students will receive
time to work on their projects which will be due the
following week. During this time, students can use
textbooks, Chromebooks, and any other resources
needed to work on their project.