Summary
In this lesson, students analyze primary documents to better understand the colonial resistance to British rule and how resistance influenced the American Revolution. Students generate high-level questions to prompt each other to consider the many aspects of colonial resistance. All students then participate in a Socratic Seminar in which they discuss the previously generated questions and evaluate their peers' participation in the discussion. To conclude the lesson, students reflect on their perspectives on resistance in the context of the American Revolution and the greater world around them.
Essential Question(s)
How does conflict create change? How can resistance movements influence revolution?
Snapshot
Engage
Students consider what resistance looks like and why the American colonists wanted to resist British rule.
Explore
Students analyze Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre and Patrick Henry’s speech Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.
Explain
Students generate questions about the colonists’ use of resistance techniques and the impact of these techniques on the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies.
Extend
Students participate in a Socratic Seminar to deepen their understanding of colonial resistance using the previously generated questions.
Evaluate
Students respond to reflection questions about colonial resistance and make connections to the modern world.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Bell Ringer handout (attached; one per student)
Primary Sources and H.I.P.P. Analysis handout (attached; one per student)
DOK Question Stems handout (attached; one per student)
Example Socratic Seminar Questions document (attached; one per teacher)
Socratic Seminar Peer Observation Checklist handout (attached; one per student)
Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment handout (attached; one per student)
Socratic Seminar Reflection handout (attached; one per student)
Writing utensils
Paper
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Use slides 2–3 to introduce the topic and objectives to the extent that you feel is appropriate. Display slide 4 and pass out the Bell Ringer handout. Ask students to complete the Bell Ringer activity by responding to the question displayed on the slide either on the handout or on their own papers.
Display slide 5 and introduce the second question: “Why would the colonists want to resist British rule?” Have students respond to this question on the handout or on their papers.
Invite a few students to share out their thoughts.
Display slide 6 and transition the conversation to introduce the following essential questions:
How does conflict create change?
How can resistance movements influence revolution?
Explore
30 Minute(s)
Introduce the Socratic Seminar instructional strategy to students. Share with students that they are responsible for reading historical documents and generating thought-provoking questions. Encourage them to bring their own thoughts, beliefs, and interests, as they relate to the topic of colonial resistance to British rule, to the discussion. Ask students if they have additional questions before proceeding to the next activity.
Display slide 7 and show students the video Walker Middle School Socratic Seminar. Use the video to point out key pieces of a Socratic Seminar.
Share with students that they will be assigned partners as part of the seminar, and partners will never be in the same circle at the same time. Prior to beginning the seminar, review the below components using slides 8–9.
Inner circle: Students in the inner circle will speak, ask questions, and respond to questions generated prior to the seminar.
Outer Circle: Students in the outer circle will observe, take notes, and evaluate their partners in the inner circle. Stress that these students should not talk and they should pay close attention to the conversation in the inner circle.
Hot Seat: The hot seat is a dedicated seat in the inner circle that any student can take. For example, if someone from the outer circle wants to quickly offer a response to an additional question, they can get in the Hot Seat.
Peer and Self-Evaluation Sheets: As students participate in the seminar, they should evaluate both themselves and their partners using given evaluation sheets. These evaluations will factor into their final grade.
Question List: Have students generate questions that will be used to drive conversation about colonial resistance.
Display slide 10 and give each student a copy of the attached Primary Sources and H.I.P.P. Analysis handout. Explain the H.I.P.P. instructional strategy to students and provide any context you feel is appropriate for the two documents they will be analyzing, Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre and an excerpt from Patrick Henry’s Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech.
Have students use the H.I.P.P. strategy to analyze the documents and complete the table on the final page of their handouts. After students are finished, bring the class together to discuss the significant parts they highlighted and how these documents exhibit resistance.
Explain
50 Minute(s)
Break students into groups of four or five. Ask students to discuss, within their groups, which details they found in the image and speech that they thought were important or signified an act of resistance.
After students have had time to discuss details within their groups, use the DOK Question Stems instructional strategy to help students formulate questions related to their analysis.
Pass out copies of the attached DOK Question Stems worksheet to students. Display slide 11 and discuss the difference between the levels of questions. Review the examples on the slide then ask students to work within their groups to generate 1–2 questions from each level.
As students work in groups, create a designated class list that students can add questions to. You may consider creating a list using a digital application like Google Docs or a list in a physical location, like on a whiteboard.
Once all groups create two higher-level questions, have them add their questions to the class list. Make sure the list is recorded in a location that is accessible to all students so that students may reference it during the seminar. Review the list as a class and determine if any similar questions can be combined or if any questions should be reworded for clarity. As a class, decide on a final list of questions for the seminar.
Once the class list is complete, have students practice the Socratic Seminar process by leading mini seminars within their groups. This will give students the opportunity to practice thinking of possible responses while also hearing other perspectives before the larger group seminar. The mini seminars will also allow students to evaluate how to use their annotated notes and image to support their claims and statements.
Extend
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 12 as students enter the room. As students arrive, assign each one a partner. Direct one partner to sit in the inner circle and one partner to sit in the outer circle.
Give each student one copy of the attached Socratic Seminar Peer Observation Checklist and the attached Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment handout. Have students put both their name and their partner's name on the Socratic Seminar Peer Observation Checklist and only their own name on the Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment.
Review the basic framework noted on self-assessment handout and the checklist. These documents explain what students should do during the seminar (e.g., encourage others to talk, offer insight to the questions being posed, add on to another students' responses) and describe which actions to avoid (e.g., interrupting, dominating the conversation, not showing signs of nonverbal engagement).
To begin the seminar, hand out copies of the question sheets that students generated during the Explain activity. Explain that outer-circle students should make notes for their partners on the Socratic Seminar Peer Observation Checklist while inner-circle students should be actively engaged in the conversation and should be making notes notes on the question sheets.
Halfway through the seminar, switch the inner-circle and outer-circle students to give each student a chance to participate in both aspects of the seminar.
After the conclusion of the seminar, have students give their peer evaluations to their partners. Give students approximately 5–10 minutes to explain their evaluations, then have each student complete the Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment.
Evaluate
15 Minute(s)
Display slide 13. Pass out one copy of the attached Socratic Seminar Reflection handout to each student.
Have students use their annotated texts, annotated image, and notes from the Socratic Seminar to answer the reflection questions below.
Define resistance. Explain why some of the colonists resisted the British government. Your response should be at least four sentences.
Explain how the Boston Massacre engraving and the “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech are examples of colonial resistance. Use evidence from the texts to support your response. Your response should be at least six sentences.
How is the concept of resistance still relevant today? Explain using an example. Your response should be at least five sentences.
Use the reflection, self-assessment, and peer observation to evaluate the lesson.
Resources
Facing History and Ourselves. (2020, May 12). Socratic seminar. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/socratic-seminar
Fairey, S. (2017). We the people –
“Greater than fear” [Image]. Amplifier. https://amplifier.org/free-downloads/
Harris & Ewing. (1917). Woman suffrage picket parade [Image]. Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WOMAN_SUFFRAGE_PICKET_PARADE10337v.jpg
Henry, P. (n.d.). Give me liberty, or give me death! [Speech transcript]. The White House.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/patrick-henry-speech-give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death/ (Original work published
1775)
K20 Center. (n.d.). Bell ringers and exit tickets. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/125
K20 Center. (n.d.). DOK question stems. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/170
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google docs. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2327
K20 Center. (n.d.). H.I.P.P. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1618
K20 Center. (n.d.). Socratic seminar. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/781
Madland, J. (2012, February 1). Walker Middle School Socratic seminar [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGVR6ZF_2M
Pax Ahimsa Gethen. (2016). Stand with Standing Rock SF Nov 2016 [Image]. Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stand_with_Standing_Rock_SF_Nov_2016_11.jpg
Revere, P., Jr. (1770). The Boston Massacre, or, the bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5,
1770 by a party of the 29th Regiment [Print]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
United States Marine Corps. (1963). View from Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963 [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IhaveadreamMarines.jpg
