What Would YOU Save?
The White House after the fire
Elementary
Two class periods
Program Segments
Summer 1814 The American Capital Burns (10 ½ minutes)
NCSS Themes
III: People, Places, and Environments
V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
VI: Power, Authority, and Governance
Canadian (Ontario) Concepts
Interactions and Interdependence
Environment
Power and Governance
Canadian (Ontario) Specific Expectations – Seventh Grade
Describe the major causes and personalities of the War of 1812
Explain key characteristics of life in English Canada from a variety of perspectives
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- explain what a duty is
- explain how symbols represent concepts and ideas
- identify items that represent their school and community and explain their importance
Focus Questions
1. What is a duty?
2. How do symbols represent a bigger concept or idea?
3. How do symbols shape the history of our country?
Key Concepts
Duty, Symbol, Nationalism
Instructional Resources
The War of 1812 DVD
Paragraph Rubric
Dolley Madison letter (58.7 KB)
Procedures
1. The teacher will begin the class by asking what the students understand about the term “duty” and discuss how duties are performed by people in the government.
2. The teacher will also discuss the terms “symbol” and “nationalism” and give examples to clarify these terms to the students.
3. The teacher will discuss Dolley Madison and her role as the First Lady with the students, and then watch The War of 1812 segment on Dolley Madison and the burning of Washington.
4. The teacher will show a picture of George Washington’s portrait and question the students to assess their understanding of how important the portrait was as a symbol of the young nation. To better understand the bravery of Dolley Madison, the teacher and the students will read together as a class the letter written by Dolley Madison regarding that day.
5. Next the students will determine what items are important symbols of their school and why they would decide to save them. The teacher may decide to take the students on a walk through the school to view different areas containing items that would be considered important.
6. The students will draw pictures and write a paragraph that introduces the item, describes its importance to the school, and explains why it was their duty to save this item.
7. The teacher will use the Paragraph Rubric as a guideline for the students.
Assessment Tasks
The students will create a paragraph on an important item and a drawing of that item that represents their school and community.
Paragraph Rubric
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Level 5 |
Level 4 |
Level 3 |
Level 2 |
Level 1 |
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Organization |
Paragraph(s) are very well-organized, with topic sentence, at least three supporting sentences, and insightful conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are well-organized, with topic sentence, at least three supporting sentences, and a conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are adequately organized with topic sentence, at least two supporting sentences, and conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are poorly organized; few detail sentences; no topic sentence or no conclusion |
Organization unclear; no topic sentence; no more than two detail sentences; no conclusion |
|
Content |
Content is well thought out with accurate content information that supports the writers thesis |
Content is accurate and supports the writers thesis |
Content is not well thought out with inaccurate content information that may or may not support the writers thesis |
Content is inaccurate and does not support the writers thesis |
Lack of any content that supports the writers thesis |
|
Word Choice |
Effective and specific verbs and nouns engage the reader; writing flows smoothly |
Specific verbs and nouns are used frequently; writing flows smoothly most of the time |
Specific verbs and nouns are used occasionally; writing flows smoothly at times |
Several overused verbs and nouns; writing does not flow smoothly throughout |
Verbs and nouns are uninteresting; writing does not flow smoothly |
|
Conventions |
Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are correct |
No more than two errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
No more than three errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
No more than five errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
Multiple errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
Related PBS Resources
American Experience: Dolley MadisonPBS program about the life of First Lady Dolley Madison – includes video clips and teacher resources.www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dolley/ Choices in War: What Would You Save First?Looting has erupted in cities throughout Iraq as a result of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Government offices, hospitals, museums and other important facilities have been pillaged and often damaged or destroyed; important facilities have been damaged. Review the situation with your students and engage them in rationalizing what institutions they would defend if given this decision in the face of post-war looting.www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/iraq/choices_4-14.html Exploring the PastInvestigate clues about the past and family history through photographs, drawings and other primary source materials. Explore traditions of preserving family histories and record events in your own life.www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/lessons/exploring-the-past/lesson-overview/36/ Download
What Would YOU Save? (365.3 KB)
Lesson (PDF)
