Symbols, Sayings, and Slogans

Commencement

One or two class periods                

Program Segments

1810 – 1811 Calls for War (7 ½ minutes) – Native Americans

June 1812 Declaration of War (6 minutes) – Canadian Colonists, British, New Englanders, Southern Americans

Summer 1812 The Americans Invade (18 ½ minutes) – Militia, Native Americans, Women

Autumn 1812 Campaign in the West (6 minutes) – Western Americans, Native Americans

Spring 1813 The British Invade (7 minutes) – Native Americans 

September 1813 Showdown on the Great Lakes (9 ½ minutes) – “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” “We have met the enemy and they are ours”

September 1813 The Americans Invade Canada – Again (7 ½ minutes) – Canadian Colonists, Women

Summer 1814 The American Capital Burns (10 ½ minutes) – African Americans, New Englanders 

Autumn 1814 Secession Threat in New England (9 minutes) – “The Star-Spangled Banner”  

NCSS Themes

I: Culture

II: Time, Continuity, and Change

IV: Individual Development and Identity

V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions 

Canadian (Ontario) Concepts

Interactions and Interdependence

Change and Continuity

Culture 

Canadian (Ontario) Specific Expectations – Seventh Grade

Describe the major causes and personalities of the War of 1812

Describe the impact of the War of 1812 on the development of Canada

Objectives

  Students will be able to:

• describe how different groups felt toward the War of 1812
• understand the value of slogans and the meanings they hold
• analize the effectiveness of symbols, sayings and slogans

Focus Questions

1.       What is a slogan/symbol/saying?

2.       When does a slogan/symbol/saying become part of one’s culture?

3.       Does the slogan have to be catchy or just a part of something special that stuck?

4.       What is it that makes a slogan stick?

Key Concepts

Slogan, Symbol, Saying

Instructional Resources

The War of 1812 DVD

Procedures

1.    The teacher will use a contemporary slogan found in a modern day commercial or advertisement that relates to a current product or marketing scheme your students will know. For example, Nike uses “Just Do It”, and Kellogg’s Rice Krispies uses “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”

2.    The teacher will discuss the focus questions with the students and make the connection to the War of 1812 by using the segments of the program which highlight the “Star Spangled Banner.” “We have met the enemy and they are ours,” and “Don’t Give up the Ship” (04.17.46.00/03.17.41.29/04.25/19.00/09.19.29.00).

3.    The teacher will share the fact that these particular legacies are still around today. Sayings from the War of 1812 have become part of our heritage. The teacher will list these sayings on the board so they are visually apparent to the class.

4.    The teacher will explain that a slogan or saying can be associated with a person or an entire group of like-minded people.  Then, the teacher will divide the classroom into different groups, each having their own specific group of individuals to work with. The teacher will designate these groups: African Americans, Women, Native Americans, Militia, British, Canadian Colonists, Southern and Western Americans, or New Englanders.

5.    Each group will have to come up with a slogan for that group, draw or describe a symbol or icon that would properly represent that group, and lastly create a poem that would represent the views of that group.

6.    After the groups have completed the assignment, each one should present their “side of the story” for the class. These mini-presentations should be monitored closely by the teacher to ensure the presentations are at least historically accurate.

7.    The teacher will conclude the lesson with a class discussion that will examine the different view each group had regarding the same conflict. 

Assessment Tasks

Understand the views of various groups well enough to formulate a slogan, symbol, and saying about that particular group’s viewpoint with relation to the War of 1812.

Related PBS Resources

Download Symbols, Sayings, and Slogans (402.2 KB)  Lesson (PDF)