UBD Lesson Plan

Behling

UBD Lesson Plan Template

Topic/Theme: Creation of the American Narrative

Time frame: 60 minutes
Class/Grade Level: 10th U.S. World History

Lesson #7 Tuesday
Lesson Objective(s)
1) Students will be able to defend an opinion using textual evidence
Established Goals: (Including state standards)
RH.910.8 - Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the authors claims.
SS.912.H.1 - Understand historical patterns, periods of time, and the relationships among these elements
WHST.910 - Assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question

Materials/Resources required
Select excerpts from the Legacy of Ashes
Lecture Notes
Whiteboard + marker

Detailed Steps/Procedures
Learning action

INTRO: The Cold War Lecture

1) The East Bloc vs. NATO
a. Who is comprises the East Bloc? NATO? (Open to class)
i. What were their differences?
2) How did these Powers act? What actions did they encourage?
a. Covert Actions (CIA, KGB, SPIES!)
b. Overt Actions (Korean War, Vietnam War)
3) What else do you know about the Cold War? Who won? Why? What led to the West

Time (mins)

15

(America) winning?
a. Try to elicit answer of capitalism over communism, liberty and freedom
i. Focus on these Why? What did American do that embodied liberty and
freedom?

Primer for Readings: Spies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUVBRrBl-yc James Bond Opening

Sequence
1) What did the United States use the CIA (spies) for?
1. Quick Examples
Readings Select Excerpts from The Legacy of the CIA - Weiner
2) Students will be divided into groups, each assigned an excerpt
a. They will read it, while taking close reading notes, focusing on how the story
matches (or does not match) the traditional narrative of American involvement
globally during the Cold War
b. As a group, they will then discuss what their assigned excerpt and what they
found
Coming Back Together Class Discussion
1) These stories are not commonly known, they are from declassified CIA documents and
depict the American Government in a not-so-positive light
a. Is it right to not discuss these events?
b. Can America really call itself a Shining Beacon on a High Woodrow Wilson after the actions taken in the past?
i. Think about this you will be asked to reflex on this at the end of the unit
Assigned Reading: Textbook Sections The War on Terror

20-25

15

Lesson #8 Wednesday
Lesson Objective(s)
1. Students will be able to compare and contrast news articles through multiple lenses, including tone, mood, time-period,
persuasiveness, and validity of argument.
2. Students will be able to write thoughtful responses analyzing and comparing two readings with given writing prompts
Established Goals: (Including state standards)
SS.912.H.8 - Understand cause and effect relationships and other historical thinking skills in order to interpret events and issues.
RH.910.9 - Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary
sources.
WHST.910.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Materials/Resources required
Whiteboard + marker
Copies of each article
http://www.newsweek.com/weve-hit-targets-151759 (Can be cut down depending on grade level and
amount of time)
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-03-18/news/0203180046_1_caspian-taliban-gulf-war

Detailed Steps/Procedures
Learning action

INTRO Discussion: What happened on 9/11

- Ask students what they know about 9/11
Make sure students know how many planes, who claimed responsibility, who was targeted and why,

Time (mins)

5-10

how many died, etc.

1) Pass out the Newsweek article and the Tribune article, with specific instructions to half the
class to read one first and the other half read the other first, to see if students react any
differently to the articles
2) Give students quiet time to read the articles and answer questions on the readings
Have the students answer, in no more than 3 sentences each, on the tone, the main
factual points, and the main opinion points the articles hint at, using Questioning the
Author. Tell students they will be coming together to discuss as a class the readings
and their answers.
1) Whole class discussion on the readings
a. Ask if they believe reading one article first effected how they read and understood the
2nd
b. Which article did you find more compelling? Was it because of the content, the author,
or something else?
c. Did you notice the dates on each article? How does that change the way it was written?
How would the articles change if they were written 5 years later? 10? Now?
d. Did you get the sense that the authors had a certain opinion, or were they reasonably
unbiased? Was one author better than another at being unbiased?
Did you feel that there was a mood to either article? Did that have to with the way the author wrote
it, the date it was published, the content it covered, or something else?
Collect the students responses to the article for a minor grade. Allow students any spare time (no
more than 5 minutes) at the end of class to edit their responses after the discussion.

30

20-25

Lesson #9 Thursday
Lesson Objectives
1) Students will be able to analyze and explain the significance beyond the songs and how they influence American narrative
Established Goals: (Including state standards)

SS.912.H.8 - Understand cause and effect relationships and other historical thinking skills in order to interpret events and issues.

Materials/Resources required
Whiteboard + marker
Videos of the two songs
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PXSK3iDeAI

Detailed Steps/Procedures
Learning action

INTRO: Review of previous day: Top 3 things you learned about 9/11
1) We will be listening to two different patriotic songs that become highly popular following 9/11. After each
song, we will analyze the lyrics and the message behind them
a. God Bless the U.S.A Lee Green Wood
i. What is the power behind invoking God?
ii. What is the emphasis here? Freedom? Liberty? The American Way?
iii. Why would this song resonate with the America public following the attacks, as opposed to
the music they were listened to the day before?

Time (mins)

2
30

b. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue Toby Keith

i. What is the power in invoking American militarism?
ii. What is the emphasis here? Freedom? Liberty? The American Way? American resilience to
attack?
iii. Why would this song resonate with the America public following the attacks, as opposed to
the music they were listened to the day before?
2) Class Discussion Comparing the two songs:
a. What would you say the specific goals of each song are?
i. Greenwood: More healing focused
1. God imagery, American freedom, liberty, family, American iconic scenery
2. Is this song more optimistic? Focused on patriotism? Unity?
ii. Keith: More angry wants revenge
1. Militaristic imagery You can bring America to her knees, but you cant defeat her
a. Sacrifice
b. Under Attack, Sucker Punch, Light up your World
2. Invokes iconic American narrative figures Mother Freedom, Statute of Liberty,
Uncle Sam, the Eagle,
3. Is this song focused on unity? Or militarism?
3) Review: Summaries of the major points from Colonial and Manifest Destiny sections
a. Open to student questions in preparation for the assessment the next day
b. Students can produce questions to ask then day, during a short review before the

assessment begins
c. Assessment with be short essay, students pick two of four questions
i. One question for each of the major events we address

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10-15

DAY 10 Assessment on the American Narrative Unit

Review Continued: Think-Pair Share Activity We will ask questions to the students, who will then work together to answer and
discuss them, then come back together to discuss overall.
1) Have the students ask questions they came up with at the end of Day 9, discuss in groups while walking around and answering
any questions
15 minutes
Formal Assessment: Students responses to the readings questions
Assessment: 45 minutes
1)

2)
3)
4)

Discuss how the Traditional American Narrative incorporated Manifest Destiny to justify American actions in the West. What
influenced this narrative? In what ways did Fredrick Jackson Turners Frontier Thesis guide American Thinking? Can the various
symbolisms found in American Progress be applied to this narrative? In your opinion, is this narrative of American Exceptionalism
an acceptable way to retell history?
How has the process of hero worship of the Founding Fathers affected the American Narrative? What aspects of this narrative are
flawed and why is this so? What is to be gained by perpetuating myths about our history to the American populous?
How did WWII propaganda influence the American narrative? What aspects of American history did it emphasize? Why? Why
have some of the more brutal events of American history from the Cold War been ignored? Should the American public know about
the failings of our government? Or is it better to maintain the optimistic vision of our government and history?
How did 9/11 change the American Narrative, if at all? If it did, how specifically, and to what degree? Did the prevailing attitudes
after 9/11 relate back to any other events in American history? Did our traditional narrative conflict with our actions after the attack?