Summary
Students will analyze the United States Supreme Court case of "Worcester v. Georgia," and summarize and categorize actions that protected or undermined the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. Students will extend their learning by watching a video of a judge discussing the powers of the judicial branch. Students will then use their knowledge to evaluate President Andrew Jackson's decision to ignore the Supreme Court's ruling in "Worcester v. Georgia" in a Four Corners activity. To conclude the lesson, students will write a paragraph in which they summarize their learning using important terms from the lesson.
Essential Question(s)
How have Native American tribes fought to maintain their tribal sovereignty? How have the policies and decisions of the U.S. government impacted tribal sovereignty?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a Word Splash activity to activate prior knowledge about Indian removal policies and Native American resistance to those policies.
Explore
Students analyze the Worcester v. Georgia Supreme Court case using the Categorical Highlighting instructional strategy.
Explain
Students complete a chart by categorizing the information they highlighted as actions taken to protect the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation or as actions taken to undermine the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation.
Extend
Students watch an ICAP video about the role of judges in carrying out the powers of the judicial branch then participate in a Four Corners activity in which they evaluate President Andrew Jackson’s decision to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling in Worcester v. Georgia.
Evaluate
Students revisit the Word Splash activity from the beginning of the lesson and summarize their learning in a paragraph using important terms from the lesson.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Four Corners Signs document (attached; for teacher use; print two-sided, in color)
Worcester v. Georgia—An Explanation of the Case handout (attached; one per student)
Worcester v. Georgia and Tribal Sovereignty Chart (Student Copy) handout (attached; one per student)
Worcester v. Georgia and Tribal Sovereignty Chart (Teacher Copy) document (attached; for teacher use)
Highlighters (two colors per student)
Notebook paper (one per student)
Preparation
Material Preparation
Prior to beginning this lesson, print out the attached Four Corners Signs. Hang each sign in a different corner of your classroom.
Scaffolding Preparation
This lesson is intended to be taught within the context of a unit on Indian removal, and makes assumptions that students are already familiar with the vocabulary terms listed in the Engage: Indian Removal Act of 1830, Cherokee, resistance, tribal sovereignty, and Andrew Jackson. Review these terms with students prior to the lesson, to the extend you deem necessary.
The most complicated term for students is likely tribal sovereignty. Explain to students that during the 1830s, tribes were legally considered to be “sovereign” nations that existed within the boundaries of the United States. Further explain that only the federal government had the power to enter into treaties with Native American tribes. Help students understand that tribal sovereignty means that tribes inherently possess the independence and autonomy to govern their people and maintain authority over their territory.
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson.
Display slide 3 and organize students into groups of three or four. Introduce the Word Splash instructional strategy and draw students’ attention to the five vocabulary terms on the slide: Indian Removal Act of 1830, Cherokee, resistance, tribal sovereignty, and Andrew Jackson.
Have students work within their groups to explain how each term is connected to two or more of the other terms. Ensure that students do this for each term. Allow 5–7 minutes for discussion.
Invite volunteers to share their ideas with the class. As students share, clarify any misconceptions. Once you are satisfied that students have sufficiently reviewed the terms on the slide and any relevant content covered in past lessons, move to the next portion of the activity.
Display slide 4. Tell students that they will discuss the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia in this lesson. Have student groups spend 2–3 minutes to predict how the terms from the Word Splash connect to Worcester v. Georgia. Call on groups to share their ideas and form a class hypothesis. Record this hypothesis so that students may return to it later in the lesson after learning about the court case.
Display slide 5 and introduce the essential questions, “How have Native American tribes fought to maintain their tribal sovereignty? How have the policies and decisions of the U.S. government impacted tribal sovereignty?” Have students keep these essential questions in mind as they learn about Worcester v. Georgia.
Display slide 6 and share the lesson objectives with the class.
Explore
25 Minute(s)
Display slide 7. Use this slide to make sure that students have a common understanding of tribal sovereignty, as the term is used throughout the lesson. Explain to students that the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia impacted the tribal sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. Tell students that they will explore those issues of tribal sovereignty surrounding the case.
Give each student one copy of the attached Worcester v. Georgia—An Explanation of the Case handout and two highlighters of different colors. Display slide 8 and ask students to read this handout with their group, and use the Categorical Highlighting instructional strategy to analyze the text. Have students use one color to highlight actions taken to protect the tribal sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation and another color to highlight actions taken to remove the tribal sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. Have students discuss what should be highlighted with their group members.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Display slide 9. Give each student one copy of the attached Worcester v. Georgia and Tribal Sovereignty Chart (Student Copy) handout.
Ask students to work with their groups and use their Categorical Highlighting notes to complete the chart. Have students list at least two examples under each heading and explain each example using 1–3 complete sentences. Emphasize to students that their chosen examples should be information that is most important for each category. Have them prepare to share with the whole class.
After students complete the chart, have half of the student groups share an example of how sovereignty was protected, and have the other half share an example of how sovereignty was taken away. Allow groups 1–2 minutes to discuss which example they plan to share, and to select a spokesperson for their group. Have each spokesperson share their group’s response. Encourage students to add to or edit their charts as their classmates share.
The purpose of this discussion is to make sure that students have a clear understanding of Worcester v. Georgia and how surrounding issues impacted the tribal sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation.
Extend
25 Minute(s)
Explain to students that the case Worcester v. Georgia was decided by the Supreme Court. Remind students that the Supreme Court is the most powerful court in the United States and is made up of nine justices, or judges, as opposed to lower courts, in which cases are determined by a single judge.
Display slide 10. Share the video ICAP - Worcester v Georgia, which features an interview with District Judge Michael Tupper of Oklahoma Judicial District 12. Judge Tupper discusses the role of judges in carrying out the powers of the judicial branch.
After students watch the video, display slide 11. Ask students to turn to an Elbow Partner and discuss two questions based on the video: What is the role of a judge? Why is the judicial branch important? Allow 1–2 minutes for discussion, then call on students to share their thoughts with the whole class.
Ask students to assume the role of a judge, drawing on their knowledge of the court’s decision regarding the Cherokee and the information in the ICAP video. Ask students to use their powers of judicial review to evaluate the actions of President Andrew Jackson following the ruling made in Worcester v. Georgia.
Move to slide 12 and introduce the Four Corners activity to students. Have students read the following statement on the slide, “President Jackson’s decision to ignore the ruling in Worcester v. Georgia was constitutional.”
Have students identify their level of agreement or disagreement based on the posters hung around the room: Strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. Have them stand next to the poster that corresponds to their personal level of agreement or disagreement.
Have students discuss the reasoning for their choice with the others gathered around their same poster. The members of each group should work together to come up with a response that justifies their choice. Invite groups to share their reasoning with the class.
Display slide 13 and introduce the statement on the slide, “A president’s decision to ignore a Supreme Court ruling is constitutional.” Have each student repeat the process used with the previous statement by moving to a corner of the room that marks their level of agreement. Allow corner groups time for discussion.
As students discuss, draw attention to the controversial nature of Jackson’s decision to disregard the Supreme Court’s ruling in Worcester v. Georgia. If necessary, guide them to understand that Jackson’s choice was arguably unconstitutional because it undermined the system of checks and balances within the U.S. government. Help students realize that his actions threatened the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation by disregarding the ruling of the Supreme Court that confirmed the Cherokee people had sovereignty over their land and people, which the United States and the State of Georgia were legally obligated to respect.
Evaluate
15 Minute(s)
Display slide 14. Have students return to the Word Splash list from the beginning of the lesson. Point out the new term added to the slide, “Worcester v. Georgia.” Have students write a new, 5–8 sentence summary about how Worcester v. Georgia impacted Cherokee sovereignty using all six terms on the slide. You may choose to have students write these summaries individually, in pairs, or in groups. Distribute one sheet of notebook paper to each student and allow students time to complete their summaries.
Resources
K20 Center (n.d.). Categorical highlighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/192
K20 Center (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies.
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google docs. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2327
K20 Center (n.d.). Four corners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/138
K20 Center (n.d.). Why-lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
K20 Center (n.d.). Word splash. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/199
K20 Center (2020, February 18). ICAP – Worcester v Georgia [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hWQjUwvLXvU