And Justice for All
Table of Contents
Unit Introduction
3
Stage One: Desired Results
4
Stage Two: Assessment Evidence
8
Invitation to Perspectives on the Declaration of Independence
10
Performance task #1
11
Human Rights and Perspective Sheet
Rubrics for Performance Tasks
12
Children’s Literature Resources and Acknowledgements
14
Stage Three: Lessons
15
Lesson # 1: Introducing the unit
17
Lesson #2: What is history?: facts and opinions and interpretations
20
Lesson #3: Getting all sides of the story
22
Lesson #4: Being an historian: using primary sources to make interpretations
25
Lesson #5: Human needs
27
Lesson #6: Human rights
29
Lesson #7: Access to various institutions
31
Lesson #8: Justice, rewards, and power
36
Lesson #9: Pledge of Allegiance
38
Lesson #10: How access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power
40
Lesson #11: How individual people overcome obstacles to “gain access.”
43
Lesson #12: Analyzing History for Universal Ideas: Using primary sources
45
Lesson #13: Analyzing History for Universal Ideas: Using secondary sources
52
Lesson #14: : “Human Rights and Perspective” Assessment: Performance Task #1
54
1
Lesson #15: Two perspectives of Columbus’ arrival in the New World:
Columbus and Native American
60
Lesson #16: : Plymouth Settlement from the settlers’ perspective
65
Lesson #17: Plymouth Settlement from a Native American perspective
69
Lesson #18: Different groups of people living in the colonies prior to the
American Revolution and the extent to which they were able to exercise
their human rights
73
Lesson #19: Events leading up to the American Revolution
92
Lesson #20: Planning sheet for Performance Assessment #2
94
Lesson #21: Writing Performance Task #2
100
Lesson #22: Essential question #5: What were the important ideas about human
rights in the Declaration of Independence? After the colonists won the
Revolutionary War, did these ideas survive the writing of the U.S. Constitution?
103
Lesson #23: Last part of essential question #5: How did the Constitution affect
everyone’s ability to exercise his or her human rights?
109
Lesson #24: Report writing—Essential question #6 and Performance Task #4
112
Optional Performance Task 5:
119
2
5th Grade Social Studies Unit
Unit Title: “And Justice for All”
Stages 1 and 2
Written by: Brent K. Sclafani
Subject/Topic Area: Fifth Grade American History Curriculum
Key Words: justice, power, reward, perspective, fact, opinion, interpretations, history,
historian, access, primary sources, secondary sources, universal, liberty, bias, inalienable
human rights
Time Frame: 24 lessons of approximately 60 minutes each
Summary of Unit
Students will learn about two universal ideas that need to be considered when studying any area
of history. The era under study is the time when America was a colony, leading up to the
Revolutionary War and the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
*History is made up of stories, and who is telling the story can influence a reader’s beliefs and
ideas about what happened. Therefore, readers of history need to be “detectives” to determine
whose perspective is being represented and whose is missing. Students will learn how to be
critical readers who can distinguish fact from opinion and interpretation.
*When we study events in history, we need to know to what extent different groups of people
were able to exercise their human (“inalienable”) rights. Students will learn that the ability of
individuals to exercise their human rights is affected by their access to various institutions and
the resulting justice, rewards, and power they have been able to acquire, and that different groups
of people have had different degrees of access. Students will also learn how disempowered
groups have worked to acquire the ability to exercise their human rights. Finally, they will learn
what we can do today to promote human rights for all people.
3
STAGE ONE: DESIRED RESULTS
Social Studies Goals:
Standard 3-4:9: History
Students show an understanding of how humans interpret history by differentiating fact, opinion
and interpretation in various events
Standard 3-4:16: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how different societies address issues of human interdependence by:
 defining their own rights and needs—and the rights and needs of others—in the
classroom, school and community
 explaining how a community can promote human rights
Standard 3-4:17: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by
describing ways in which local institutions promote the common good
Standard 5-6:9: History
Students show an understanding of how humans interpret history by identifying multiple
perspectives in historic and current events
Standard 5-6:11 Physical and Cultural Geography
Students interpret geography and solve geographic problems by…
 Locating the physical and political regions of the United States and the world
Locating selected cities and countries in the world of historical and current importance using
absolute and relative location
Standard 5-6:16: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how different societies have addressed issues of human interdependence by
examining issues from more than one perspective, and defining and defending the rights and
needs of others in the community, nation and world
Standard 5-6:17: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by
describing how different groups gain or have been denied access to various institutions and
exploring alternative ways of getting access
Standard 3-4:16: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how different societies address issues of human interdependence by:
 Defining their own rights and needs-and the rights and needs of others-in the classroom,
school and community
 Explaining how a community can promote human rights
Standard 3-4:17: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by
describing ways in which local institutions promote the common good
Writing Goal: Vital Results Standard 1.8
 Students write a research report.
Reading Goals: Vital Results Standards 1.1 and 1.3
 Students read informational text with basic and analytical understanding.
 Students use a variety of reading strategies to read informational and historical fiction
text.
4
Technology: Students use Microsoft Publisher to type their reports in a magazine type format,
adding nonfiction text features to it
Misunderstandings:
 History is a simply an objective collection of facts and dates that can be put on a timeline.
 History books tell everything that happened without any bias.
 In the U.S. different groups of people have always had equal access to institutions, equal
power, justice and rewards, and an equal ability to exercise their human rights.
 During the time of the American Revolution most people shared the same perspective as
our “founding fathers” and wanted to go to war with England.
 The Pledge of Allegiance is only about all people deserving to be free.
 Human rights are given to some people by other people.
 People living in one community can’t do very much to support other people’s ability to
exercise their human rights.
Understandings:
Students will understand that
 History is a story derived from the analysis and interpretation of primary sources. Any
account of events is biased, depending on the perspective of the author. Therefore,
readers of history need to be “detectives” or critical thinkers and identify the perspective
or bias of any given source or story.
 It is important to learn the extent to which different groups of people in history were able
to exercise their human rights.
 During the colonial era and the time of the American Revolution and the writing of the
Constitution, different peoples’ access to institutions, justice, rewards and power, and
their ability to exercise their human rights, was unequal.
 All people are born with certain “inalienable” human rights. The ability to exercise these
rights depends upon access to various institutions and power.
 Not all Americans wanted to go to war with England and the extent to which different
groups of people had access to institutions and power, or had acquired justice and
rewards, were factors that could affect their decisions.
 Some groups of people in the U.S. who have been denied access to institutions, or have
not acquired justice, rewards, and power and the ability to exercise their human rights,
have found alternative ways of gaining these things.
 Communities can help promote the common good and the ability of different groups to
exercise their human rights.
 In addition to being about liberty, the Pledge of Allegiance is also about declaring that all
people in the U.S. deserve justice.
 (This is an optional understanding that could come up if you choose to do
performance task # 4.) Sometimes promoting the common good (equal access to
various institutions and access to power, justice and reward) can conflict with
individuals’ rights or desires. Examples would be government taking over the land of a
homeowner to build a bike path, or raising some peoples’ taxes to provide health care for
others.
5
Essential Questions:
1. What is history?
2. How do the issues of perspective and peoples’ ability to exercise their human rights
influence our understanding of historical events? (These are two universal ideas that must
be considered if historical accounts are to be fair to all people involved.)
3. What human rights do all people have and how do people exercise these rights?
4. What were the important ideas about human rights in the Declaration of Independence?
What perspectives did different groups of people have about the Declaration of
Independence and going to war against England? To what extent were these groups able
to exercise their human rights?
5. After the American Revolution, did the ideas about human rights expressed in the
Declaration of Independence get written into the U.S. Constitution? How did the
Constitution affect everyone’s ability to exercise his or her human rights?
6. What obstacles to exercising their human rights did some groups of Americans face, and
how did they overcome them?
7. What can our community do today to help all people gain the ability to exercise their
human rights?
Targeted Knowledge and Skills
Students will know:









History is composed of stories and it includes facts, but also opinions and interpretations.
Historical knowledge requires critical understanding of multiple perspectives, in other
words, all sides of a story.
The meaning of access to various institutions and to justice, rewards, and power.
The needs that all people have and the human rights that are based on those needs.
Human rights are innate to all people, but people can be stopped from exercising them.
The different access to institutions and power that different groups of people living in the
colonies had during the time leading up to the American Revolution.
Different groups of people had different feelings about going to war against England.
Some ways that groups have gained access to institutions and power, and acquired the
ability to exercise their human rights.
Communities can play an important role in promoting human rights and the common
good.
That the Pledge of Allegiance stands for justice as well as freedom.
6
Students will be able to:
 Analyze a historical story and identify facts, opinions, perspectives, interpretations, and
missing voices.
 Explain what history is and why it is important to get multiple perspectives when learning
history.
 Define human rights.
 Describe how different groups of people had different access to institutions, justice,
rewards, and power during the colonial era, and explain how access or lack of access
affected their ability to exercise their human rights.
 Evaluate the perspectives of different groups of people about going to war against
England.
 Describe the important ideas of the Declaration of Independence and how they were or
were not incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. Describe how the Constitution affected
different groups’ access to institutions and their ability to acquire power, justice, and
rewards and exercise their human rights.
 Define and defend the needs that all people have and the human rights based on these
needs.
 Describe ways that disempowered groups of people worked to gain access to institutions
and acquire justice, rewards, and power and the ability to exercise their human rights.
 Explain the role that our community can play in promoting the universal free (his word
which I would remove) exercise of human rights.
7
STAGE TWO: ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Task # 1
Imagine that your grandmother knows that you are interested in the history of the early explorers.
On your birthday she gives you a copy of the journal that Columbus wrote as he sailed from
Spain and came to what was called the “New World.” She says, “Now you will know all about
what happened when Columbus first came to the Americas.” In school you have learned about
the two universal ideas that need to be considered when studying history in order to be fair to all
people: Getting all perspectives or sides of the story, and knowing if all the people involved were
able to exercise their human rights. So you decide to read Columbus’ journal entry as a critical
thinker and fill out a “Human Rights and Perspectives” sheet just like you’ve done in school.
You plan to take the sheet to your grandmother to teach her the right way to learn about history.
We will use a rubric to score your answers (show the children the rubric for this performance
task).
Performance Task # 2
It’s July 4, l776. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia has just approved the Declaration of
Independence. Men on horseback are bringing copies to all of the colonies. Do you agree with
Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty of give me death” and is willing to die for
independence from England, or do you think this is an act of treason and support the King?
Maybe you don’t support either side. Assuming the role that has been assigned to you of the
person living at this time, answer this question in one paragraph (see rubric): “Have you heard
the news about the Declaration of Independence? It looks like we’ll be going to war against
England! What do you think about this?”
See the optional “Invitation to Perspectives on the Declaration of Independence” day for
families on the next page.
Performance Task # 3
How did the colonists’ victory in the Revolutionary War and the writing of the U.S. Constitution
affect your person’s ability to exercise his or her human rights? (See rubric)
Performance Task #4
You will write a report about how one group of people who were denied their human rights
found alternative ways to gain access to various institutions, and acquire justice, rewards, power,
and the ability to exercise their human rights. Use the state of Vermont report rubric: the link is
provided in lesson #24. A day could be arranged to share these reports with families.
Optional Performance Task # 5
You will research a specific problem where a group of people in the city of Burlington has
(editor had have) not been able to exercise some of their human rights. Then you will write a
persuasive letter to the mayor and the city council convincing them why this group deserves to
exercise their human rights. Use the state of Vermont persuasive essay rubric. A summary of
what is involved in this task is included at the end of the stage 3 lessons along with the link to the
rubric.
8
Optional Performance Task # 6
Use the suggested book list for historical fiction to use in literature circles and for an additional
way to connect reading instruction with the unit and a Response to Literature writing. A list of
appropriate books for this unit is included at the end this section, along with a link to the state of
Vermont response to literature rubric.
Formative Assessments:
1. Writing the answer to the question, “what is history?”
2. Listing the needs that all people have and the rights that people are born with based on
those needs.
3. Recording in their social studies journals the two things that the Pledge of Allegiance
states that “all” people deserve to have.
4. Explaining and/or illustrating in the social studies journal what “access” means and
recording a list of “various institutions.”
5. In the social studies journal, recording definitions of the terms justice, reward, and power.
Self-Assessments:



Compare what you wrote in answer to “what is history?” before and after learning about
it. What is something important that you learned?
Compare your answer of what the Pledge of Allegiance states that “all” people deserve to
have before and after learning about it.
Use the rubrics to self-assess your work and then conference with the teacher to compare
and discuss scores that are different.
9
Invitation to Perspectives on the Declaration of Independence
It’s July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia has just approved the
Declaration of Independence. Men on horseback are bringing copies to all of the
colonies. Patrick Henry says, “Give me liberty or give me death!” He is willing to die
for independence from England. Others think this is an act of treason and support
the King. All of the children are representing a person living at this time. On
_______________ the children will be answering this question from the
perspective of that person: “Have you heard the news about the Declaration of
Independence? It looks like we’ll be going to war against England! What do you
think about this?” To answer this question the children had to consider the many
factors that might have influenced a person’s thinking at the time.
I’m hoping that all of the children will have someone coming to see them. Please fill
out the section below to let me know. Thank you.
Yes, somebody will be there on ______________ for the Perspectives on the
Revolutionary War sharing.
Signed________________________________________________
Child’s name___________________________________________
During this sharing day, I introduce each student as follows: “William Prentis is one of the
wealthiest men in Williamsburg, Virginia. He owns a store that sells many products that come
from England including, clothing, shoes, hats, gloves, paper, books, tools and food. A good
relationship with England is very important to him and his business. He also entertains many of
the powerful and wealthy people of Williamsburg in his home. William, what do you think about
this Declaration of Independence and going to war against England?” This is a time when the
children can also teach their families about the two “universal ideas” that need to be considered
when studying history.
10
Performance task #1
Name:
Human Rights and Perspective Sheet
Historical Event:
1. From whose perspective is this history written? Who is telling the story?
2. Are any perspectives or sides of the story missing? If so, whose?
3. Why is it important when learning history to get all perspectives or sides of the story?
4. Does one group have a greater ability to exercise their human rights than another group?
Yes_______ No________
 If yes, which group has more________________ Which group has less:_______________

Give one example of how one group has a greater ability to exercise their human rights than another
group:
5. List one fact stated in this document.
6. List one opinion or one interpretation you found in this document. (An opinion is a personal belief
and an interpretation is using facts or information to form a new idea.)
(Do you think this is an opinion or interpretation?
_________________________________________)
7. Do you think any facts were left out or were possibly not accurate?
_____Yes ____No
If yes, give one example:
8. Is there bias in this historical writing? (Bias is a prejudice in favor or against one person or group over
another.)
____Yes ___ No
If yes, give an example of the bias:
9. Why do you think the author wrote from this perspective?
11
Rubric for Performance Task #1
1
Just learning to
answer questions
1
Just learning to write
a persuasive
paragraph stating a
position on going to
war against England,
using one specific,
credible, accurate
reason or argument
connected to the
factors.
1
Just learning to use
body and voice
(volume, pause,
tempo and inflection)
to enhance your role
and help the audience
understand what you
are communicating.
2
Accurately answers
questions 1-5
3
Accurately answers
questions 1-6
4
Meets score point 3
and correctly
answers at least two
of questions 7-9
Rubric for Performance Task #2
2
3
Writes a persuasive
Writes a persuasive
paragraph stating a
paragraph stating a
position on going to
position on going to
war against England
war against England
and backs it up with
and backs it up with
one or two specific,
three specific,
credible, accurate
credible, accurate
reasons or arguments reasons or arguments
connected to the
connected to the
factors.
factors.
Rubric for Acting for Performance Task #2
2
3
Some use of body and Good use of body and
voice (volume, pause, voice (volume, pause,
tempo and inflection) tempo and inflection)
to enhance your role
to enhance your role
and help the audience and help the audience
understand what you
understand what you
are communicating.
are communicating.
4
Meets score point 3
and also uses an
exceptionally
convincing tone and/or
exceptionally wellchosen and insightful
reasons or arguments
that connect to the
factors.
4
Excellent use of body
and voice (volume,
pause, tempo and
inflection) to enhance
your role and help the
audience understand
what you are
communicating.
12
Rubric for Performance Task #3
Complete one of these sentence frames:
 The U.S. Constitution helped my person exercise his or her human rights by….
 The U.S. Constitution denied or partially denied my person’s ability to exercise his or her
human rights by…
Rubric for Performance Task #3
1
Is just learning to
provide one logical
reason explaining how
the U.S Constitution
either helped or
hindered the character
from exercising his or
her human rights.
2
Provides one or two
logical reasons
explaining how the
U.S. Constitution
either helped or
hindered the
character from
exercising his or her
human rights.
3
Provides three
logical reasons
explaining how the
U.S. Constitution
either helped or
hindered the
character from
exercising his or
her human rights.
4
Provides at least
four logical
reasons explaining
how the U.S.
Constitution either
helped or hindered
the character from
exercising his or
her human rights.
Optional Performance Task # 6: Response to Literature
State of Vermont Response to Literature rubric link:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_curriculum/literacy/writing/benchmarks/grade_5/
grade_5_1_7_response.pdf
13
Children’s Literature Resources
These books can be used for historical fiction literature circles to connect reading and writing
instruction with the unit.
Cast Two Shadows, by Ann Rinaldi
Also by Ann Rinaldi: Ride into Morning (about Tempe Wicke), Finishing Becca (about
Benedict Arnold
and Peggy Shippen), Hang 1,000 Trees with Ribbons (about Phyllis
Wheatley), Fifth of March (about
Boston Massacre), Time Enough for Drums (New Jersey).
April Morning (Battle of Lexington), by Howard Fast .
Captive of Pittsford Ridge (great Vermont connection, includes Hessians), by Janice Ovecka.
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Just Jane: A daughter of England caught in the struggle of the American Revolution, by William
Lavendar
Spitfire: A North Country Adventure, by Kate Messner.
2000 Changes for Felicity: A Winter Story, by Valerie Tripp.
Early Thunder (in Salem), by Jean Fritz.
The Fighting Ground (includes Hessians), by Avi.
Hope’s Crossing (in Connecticut), by Joan Goodman.
Journal of Thomas William Emerson, by Barry Denenberg.
Moon of Two Dark Horses (Native American connection), by Sally Keehm.
Powder for Bunker Hill, by Robert Richmond.
Sarah Bishop, by Scott O’Dell.
War Comes to Willie Freeman (first in trilogy, African American family saga), by James Collier.
Also by James Collier: Winter Hero, Jump Ship to Freedom, My Brother Sam is Dead.
Winter of the Red Snow (Dear America series), by Kristiana Gregory.
Acknowledgements
I want to thank a few people for their assistance in preparing this unit: Elise Guyette and Scott A.
McLaughlin, leaders of Turning Points in American History, a federal Department of Education
Teaching American History project; Marianne McCoy, an AmeriCorps worker in the Burlington
School District’s Equity and Diversity Office; Marguerite Ames for the idea of using colonial
roles (you can see her American Revolution War unit at:
http://www.vermontsocialstudies.org/vssp/MiddleSchoolClassrooms.html); Barbara Lyn
Krieger Sclafani, a former primary grade teacher, who helped make some of this more concrete
for children; the Burlington School District and curriculum coordinator Stephanie Phillips, for
supporting this work as part of the district’s “20/20” retirement project.
Brent K. Sclafani
February 2011
14
STAGE 3: LESSONS
List of Materials for Fifth Grade Social Studies Unit
“And Justice For All”
Books:
 American Voices From Colonial Life
 Voices From Our Country
 Journey to Jamestown
 Escape From War
 New Beginnings: Jamestown and the Virginia Colony, 1607-1699
 The Colony of Virginia: A Primary Source History
 Cobblestone: The People of Williamsburg
 Emma’s Journal: The Story of a Colonial Girl
 From Colonies to Country
 History Alive! America’s Past
 I am the Dog/I am the Cat
 The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
 Encounter
 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
 Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
 Life on a Plantation
 Constitution Translated for Kids
 The Story of the Women’s Movement
 Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Pioneer
 Cobblestone: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
 Cobblestone: The Anti-slavery Movement
 Cobblestone: The History of Labor
 The Montgomery Bus Boycott
 Thank You Mr. Falker
 Fly Away Home
 We Asked For Nothing: The Remarkable Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
 A View From the Shore: American Indian Perspectives on the Quincentenary
 The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson
 A People’s History of the American Revolution: How common people shaped the fight for
independence (a teacher resource book)
 From the Reform Movements in American History series (Chelsea House Publishers):
The Ethnic and Group Identity Movements (excellent information with chapters on gays,
people with disabilities, seniors, American Indians rights, Chicanos), The Civil Rights
Movement, The Women Rights Movement, The Abolitionists Movement
15
Posters/Pictures:
 Large copy of Declaration of Independence
 United Nations Rights of the Child
 Two Boston Massacre pictures
 History is an argument about the past
Cards:
 Roles of people—some real and some created—living at the time of the American
Revolution provided by Turning Points in American History.
Materials in sheet protectors:
 Primary sources: African Americans
 Declaration of Independence
 Will listing “negro boy” as property
 Public sale of Negroes
 Drawing: Columbus leaving the Caribbean
 Indentured servant contract
 “With all the Grace of the Sex” article
 “Hidden Heritage: alumna author explores Vermont’s African American roots” article
 United Nations Declaration of Rights
Ink well and quill pen
16
Lesson #1
Title: Introducing the unit and focusing on Essential Question #1: What is history? (This is a
longer lesson and can be divided into two parts: see engagement below. It could also be done
during writing/literacy blocks.)
Materials Needed:
 Unit name and essential questions put up for children to see.
 “And Justice for All” social studies folders and journals for each student
 Long white paper for personal timelines
 A “personal timeline” you have made as a model, along with a list of categories to
consider for brainstorming personal history events, and a short writing about one of the
events (see below)
 A blank “History Vocabulary” chart for vocabulary words from stage one of the unit
Large copy of the Declaration of Independence (in unit kit). Individual copies of Declaration for
each unit (one small copy is in unit kit)
Teaching Point and hook to kick off the unit:
“Today we begin our social studies unit. How many of you know the Pledge of Allegiance? Let’s
hear it. The name of our unit is called “And Justice for All.” What do you think it means?”
Take a few ideas and tell the children we will be spending more time later in the unit to learn
about what “justice” and the Pledge mean. “Does anybody know what this is?” Show them the
large copy of the Declaration of Independence, give the date, and explain that it told the King of
England the 13 colonies no longer wanted to be a part of England and were willing to go to war
to become their own country. Take a few minutes to have the children make observations about
the Declaration (pass out the individual copies for children to observe while you walk around
and give them a closer look at the larger copy). “One of the essential (does anybody know what
essential means—very important) questions we will be working on during this unit is: “What
were the important ideas about human rights in the Declaration of Independence?” Read the
following: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness. “What do you think “unalienable rights” means?” Arrive at the
following definition: rights that cannot be alienated or separated from our beings and, therefore,
cannot be questioned or challenged; rights that we are born with. Tell them we will be starting a
“History Vocabulary” list and “inalienable” will be the first word added to it. Two other
essential questions that we will be answering that connect to this idea of “inalienable rights” are:
What human rights do all people have just by being born and how do people get to
exercise these rights?
 During the time of the America Revolution, to what extent were different groups of
people able to exercise their human rights? What were these different groups’
perspectives about the Declaration of Independence and going to war against England
and why did they feel this way?
Tell them that in answering this second question, each of them will represent a person living at
the time of the Declaration and will have to decide how he/she felt about going to war against
England. But before we can learn about this period of history we need to answer the essential
question: “What is history?”
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17
Engagement
Part 1:
Pass out their social studies folders and journals and ask them to put their Declaration inside.
Then ask them to write the first essential question (“What is history?”) in their journal. Explain
that you want them to either draw a picture with a caption or just use words to answer this
question. History is learning about the past. The word “history” comes from the word historia,
meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation." History is made up of stories about the
past. That’s the definition we will put up. To learn history someone has to discover these
stories. But this is where it gets complicated because the story of what happened in the past (or
present) can be different depending on who is telling the story. This leads to another of our
essential questions: What are two universal ideas that must be considered when studying history
in order to be fair to all people involved in an event? One of these universal ideas is that we
need to hear all of the voices or perspectives of all the people who were involved in the event.
Also, history is not just about famous people: every person has his/her own history, his/her own
stories. “Today you are going to be thinking about your own history and making a personal
timeline.” (If you are stopping here, you can ask the children for homework to make a list of
important events that have happened in their lives and how old they were when these events
happened. They can ask their families for help. They could also collect photographs if they
would like and if they are available. Perhaps, they could all share one historic “event” in their
own lives as you end today’s session.)
Part 2: (This may need to happen the next time you do social studies.)
Again tell the children that history doesn’t just have to be about famous people; every person has
his/her own history, his/her own stories. Model how to make a “personal timeline” where you
draw a line through the middle of your white paper and put events on it (above or below) that
have happened in your life. Categories could include: accidents, illnesses, birth and deaths,
acquiring pets, accomplishments, celebrations, divorce, marriages, vacations, beginning school,
making special friends, fun times, sad times. Tell the children you are going to write a story
about one event on the timeline.
3rd grade
got my first bike
4th grade
we moved
5th grade
had my appendix removed
7th grade
8th grade
my grandmother died we got a dog
Link:
Pass out white paper to each child. Have each draw a timeline through the middle of the page so
there is room above and below for writing words to describe the events.
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Independent Practice:
The children add events to their personal timelines and decide which event they are going to
write about. Tell them they can also add pictures. (If children collected photos from home they
can add these to their timelines.)
Follow-up/Share:
Remind them about the answer to the “what is history” question: history is stories about the
past; but tell them it is not just any story. If I write about one of my timeline events and only use
my memory it is called a “memoir,” but if I gather evidence to help me remember, this is called
using “primary sources.” If I use primary sources to write my story, then I am writing history
and being an historian. For example, I could interview my sister about an event that happened
when I was little, or I could check a dairy that I used to keep and write my story based on this
evidence. We will learn more about what it means to be an historian in future lessons. For this
assignment we are going to write memoirs. (An optional and fun homework assignment is to
have the children ask a parent or someone in the family to write about the event from her/his
point of view and put it in a sealed envelop. Then after the children write their stories in school
they can compare them and see the difference based on perspective. Perspective is the focus of
lesson #3.
Notes: Show students ink well and quilt pen. Find a time to give them a chance to write with it.
You can use black paint for ink.
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Lesson #2
Title: What is history?: facts and opinions and interpretations (This can be done during a
writing/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
A story you have written about one of the events on your personal timeline that includes facts,
opinions, and interpretations. Individual copies of this story for each child and a place for all of
the children to see one copy.
Connection:
“Yesterday we were answering the question “what is history?” Who can tell me what we have
learned so far? (History is stories from the past.) We also made personal timelines and you
decided which event you are going to write a story about. This story is going to add to our
understanding of what history is. (Also, if you assigned the homework assignment from last time
collect these.)
Teaching Point:
“Last time we also discussed the difference between writing a memoir and historical writing.
Does anyone remember the difference? To be an historian we would have to be looking at some
evidence or have interviewed someone and then written our stories based on this evidence. Since
we are just using our memories today we are calling it a “memoir.” Today we are going to learn
that when people write stories about historical events—either just from memory or as a historian
using evidence—they include facts, but also opinions and interpretations.
Engagement:
“I am going to show you a story I wrote about one of my events based on my memory of what
happened. I want you to see if you can find the parts that have facts and the parts that have
opinions or interpretations. Let’s first define these terms. What do you think a fact is? (A true
piece of information.) What is an opinion? (A belief that a person has about something.) What
is an interpretation? (An interpretation is like an inference, and you know about making
inferences when you read.) For example, you make inferences about the personality traits of
characters you read about. Those inferences have to be based on something. What are they
based on? Evidence. So an interpretation involves reading something from the text and
combining it with your own thinking to come up with a conclusion or judgment. That is similar
to what a historian does in making interpretations. Historians look at primary documents—
diaries, letters, interviews and other documents—and make a judgment based on their
interpretation of the evidence they have found.” Tell them that you will be recording the
definitions of fact, opinion, interpretation, and historian on the class History Vocabulary chart.
Pass out copies of your story for each child to follow along as you read it. I wrote about when I
was in fifth grade and had my appendix removed (see below ).
Using the class copy that all the children can see, locate facts in the story: My appendix had
ruptured, my appendix was removed. Next locate an opinion: I didn’t like doctors. Then an
interpretation: Bad doctors can be dangerous. Facts or evidence the interpretation is based on:
The fact that the first doctor kept saying it was only a stomach virus and he was wrong and I
could have died if the second doctor didn’t correctly diagnose the problem.
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Link:
“Now you are going to write about one of the events on your personal timeline just like I did. As
you write think about where you are including facts and where you are putting in opinions and
interpretations.”
Independent Practice:
The children write and when done they can read it over and locate the facts, opinions and
interpretations, using different colors to indicate them. If there’s time they can share these with
other children who are finished and see if their partner can find examples of facts, opinions or
interpretations.
Follow-up/Share:
Have some of the children share their stories and have the class identify facts, opinions and
interpretations. Review the expanding definition of history: history is stories about the past that
include facts and opinions and interpretations. You might want to clarify how history “stories”
compare with more formal or traditional stories or narratives that children read and write. Did
the history stories they wrote have all of the elements of a narrative: characters, setting, goal,
problem, climax and resolution? Maybe some of these elements. The point is that stories about
history are not always written as traditional narratives are written.
Notes:
My story about my appendix:
I had a very bad stomachache for a week and the doctor said it was no big deal and would go
away. When my stomachache didn’t go away my mother said that we have to get the doctor to
come back to the house (when I was a kid doctors made house calls and would come to your
home). I didn’t like doctors and said, “I don’t want to see him. It will get better.” But my
mother got him to come back. He checked me out and again said it was just a stomach virus and
would go away in a few days. But it kept getting worse. I was in a lot of pain and was getting
scared. My mother was getting really worried and decided to call another doctor. My mother
said that she didn’t think the doctor knew what he was talking about. The new doctor came and
felt around my stomach. He kept asking, “Does it hurt here? What about here?” Within one
minute he said, “We have to get him to the hospital immediately. He has a ruptured appendix and
it has to be removed.” Now I was really scared. Before I knew it I was being operated on and
woke up with bandages all around my waist and chest. When you have a ruptured appendix that
means it has broken and poisons are being sent around your body. If my appendix wasn’t
removed immediately I actually could have died. I was very fortunate that my mother didn’t
trust the first doctor and got a second opinion. It is amazing to me that the first doctor had no
clue what was wrong and the second one was able to diagnose the problem in one minute. I
can’t understand how they both went to school to learn to be doctors and one could be so bad. It
is so dangerous to have a bad doctor. And it’s wonderful to have a smart mother.
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Lesson # 3
Title: Getting all sides of the story
Materials Needed:
*You will need to select two students who feel comfortable performing to act out the “pencil
problem” and give them the script (see attached) so that they can become familiar with it. You
will also need to give them a signal for when to start the problem (like you scratching the top of
your head). It would be good for the class be sitting in a circle so all of children can clearly
witness the action. Have the two actors sitting next to each other.
*Copies of the pencil problem script for all of the children.
Connection:
We have been learning that history is made up of stories and these stories include facts, opinions
and interpretations.
Teaching Point:
“Sometimes these opinions and interpretations are not fair to all of the people involved in an
historical event. To be fair to all the people involved, certain universal ideas need to be
considered when studying history, and that leads us to our second essential question: What are
two universal ideas that must be considered when studying history in order to be fair to all
people? Let’s first understand what ‘universal’ means. Think about the base word ‘universe’
first. What does that mean (huge, the whole world). Now what do you think universal means?”
Tell them universal has several meanings, but in this context it means “applying to all areas of
history and to all people.”
Engagement:
“Does anybody have any idea what these universal ideas about studying history might be?” Take
an idea or two and then give the signal for your actors to begin. After you have ended the scene
continue: “If you were going to write the history of this event, what is a universal idea that has
to be considered to be fair to all the people involved in this event?” Lead children to the
following point: in learning about history we need to get all sides of the story or all of the
perspectives. When we read history we will ask:
1. From whose perspective is this history written? In other words, who is telling the story?
2. Are any perspectives or sides of the story missing? If so whose?
Add the word “perspective” to the vocabulary list: it means point of view or one person’s side of
the story. Apply these two questions to your story from your personal timeline The story is told
from whose perspective? – Mine. Whose side of the story is missing? The doctor’s. There is also
little information provided about the perspectives of my mother and the second doctor. Ask
them what would be wrong if we told about what happened from only one of the two people’s
perspectives in the pencil problem. We could also get the perspectives of witnesses and write the
story using that information. Model how you could tell the story emphasizing only one
perspective: “Person 1 lost his/her pencil and saw person 2 with it and said he/she wanted it
back. Person 1 said that person 2 likes to steal things and had stolen his/her pencil, etc.” Lead
children to the idea that it isn’t fair to the other person when you only tell one side of the story:
that makes it a “biased” story. Define and add the word “bias” to the vocabulary list. Some ways
22
of defining it include favoritism toward a certain point of view or perspective, or a prejudice
(prejudgment). Explain that history is just like human nature and common sense. If you get into
a problem with someone you want your side of the story told to the teacher or your parent. The
problem with history books is that the powerful people who win are the ones who usually get
their viewpoint told, not some others who were involved such as women, men with little power,
or people of color.
Link:
“I am going to give you the script of the “pencil problem” and in teams of two you are going to
write the history of what happened today.” Tell them they can write it from person 1’s
perspective or person 2’s perspective.
Independent Practice:
In teams of two, students write what happened from one of the perspectives. If they are finished
and have time they can try writing it from the other perspective.
Follow-up/Share:
Share some of their writings and as you do ask what perspective was taken and if there was bias;
if so what was the bias?
Notes: The idea of perspective can be integrated in many aspects of students’ lives. For
example, one teacher piloting the unit had the students write how they felt about a hike they went
on as a class. Some students loved it and others didn’t. What if only one perspective was chosen
to let people know how the trip went? Would that be fair? These are also other books that could
be used to teach and reinforce the idea of perspective. I am the Dog I am the Cat by Donald
Hall, Journey to Jamestown by Lois Ruby (written from two perspectives), The True Story of the
Three Little Pigs (children could also use other fairy tales and write from a different
perspectives—Cinderella from the “mean” sisters’ perspective). You could also do a “Standing
in their Shoes” activity: cut out two pairs of footprints and one child stands in one set as he/she
expresses one perspective while another child stands in the other footprints and expresses the
other perspective; or children could team up and have a conversation representing two different
perspectives.
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Pencil Problem Script
Person 1: Hey, what are you doing with my pencil?
Person 2: That’s not your pencil, it’s mine.
Person 1: No it’s not. I know that’s mine because I lost mine this morning and that’s it.
Person 2: It can’t be, because this morning I got this pencil from my house.
Person 1: Look, that’s mine. I know it. I lost mine this morning and I’ve been looking for it and
that’s it.
Person 2: No it’s not. When I went to get a pencil this morning I looked at the pencils in my cup
on my desk. I picked this one because it was hardly used and had a good point and a good
eraser. I put it right in my backpack and took it out this morning as soon as I got to school.
Person 1: Look, I am sick and tired of people taking my pencils. They’re always being stolen
from my desk.
Person 2: I didn’t steal this pencil.
Person 1: Yeah, well, I know you like to take things that don’t belong to you. And you took my
pencil.
Person 2: I’m sorry if you think this is your pencil. You’re making a mistake. I told you, I got it
from my house.
Person 1: Look, I’m tired of this. You stole it and I’m taking it back (grabs it from the other
student). And don’t try getting the teacher involved if you know what’s good for you.
At this point the teacher comes in and says, “OK cut. Excellent acting. Let’s give them a
hand.”
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Lesson # 4
Title: Being an historian: using primary sources to make interpretations (This can be done
during writing/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
Two-sided poster: “History is an Argument About the Past” and “Doing History is Like Solving
a Mystery” (both are in the unit kit)
Connection:
We have learned that because the stories of history involve opinions and interpretations there can
be bias; therefore, one universal idea about studying history is that we need to get all
perspectives or sides of the story.
Teaching Point:
Today we are going to learn more about the writing of history and being a historian: specifically,
we are going to learn how historians use primary sources and make interpretations from them.
Engagement:
“Where do you think historians get their information to write about history? Make the distinction
between “primary sources” and “secondary sources.” Explain that primary sources were created
during the historical period that you are studying. Just about anything that existed or was created
during at that time can count as a primary source — a speech, census records, a newspaper, a
letter, a diary entry, a song, a painting, a photograph, a film, an article of clothing, a building, a
landscape, etc. Primary sources provide a first-hand account of what life was like in the past.
Secondary sources are another person’s writing about an event. Secondary sources could include
history books, novels, magazines and the internet. Tell the children that they will now be
historians who are finding out how students in this class felt about school starting this year.
”How will you get this information using primary sources?” Determine that the students could
interview each other and record the information. Interviewing involves “oral history” and can be
a primary source (add this to the list) when people who are still alive that experienced an event.
Ask for a volunteer and model such an interview. Then “write in the air” (talk out loud) and
model what you could write to show what you learned about how this person felt about school
starting.
Link: Put the children in teams of two have them interview each other about starting school this
year and record what they found out in their social studies journals.
Independent Practice:
When done writing up their interview students can think about what perspective of the story their
history writing shows. If they have more time they can interview someone else who is finished.
25
Follow-up/Share:
Share a few of students’ oral history research stories. Make sure you get some different
perspectives. As you listen to the stories ask what perspective is being told and whose side is
missing. Mention that they can think about such factors as age, gender, and where the children
are from. Ask them to imagine that many years from now they were writing the history of how
children in this class felt about school starting and were looking for primary sources. Then
imagine that you found some, but not all of these writings. What would you do? You would read
them and make an interpretation. But let’s say you found ones that mostly like school starting
and wrote it from that perspective. What is wrong with this history? It is biased because it
doesn’t show all sides of the story. As learners of history we have to consider the universal idea
of getting all r sides of the story, which requires asking and answering these questions:


Who is telling the story?
Are any perspectives missing? If so, whose?
Go over the main ideas in the poster “History is an Argument About the Past.” Turn it over and
show the “Doing History is Like Solving a Mystery” side that explains how children can be
historians.
Notes: Find five minutes to have students turn to the first page of their journals and again write
an answer to “What is history?” Have them compare their two responses and write something
important that they learned about what history is. Share some reactions. Also during a readaloud time teach the children how historians use primary sources by reading how Elise Guyette
researched her book Discovering Black Vermont in the article “Hidden Heritage” (in unit kit).
You could also read to them from “Reading Primary Sources: An introduction for students” at
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/745. It’s important that children know that being an historian
takes patience and perseverance.
26
Lesson # 5
Title: Human needs (This lesson is done in the fourth grade unit “We All Belong Here.” If
students have done that unit this lesson can be quickly reviewed.)
Materials Needed:
*A copy of the pencil problem script to read to the class.
* Raffi song, “All I Really Need” on a chart or paper and a recording of the song (CD in unit kit)
Connection:
In focusing on the second essential question -What are two universal ideas that must be
considered when studying history?-we have learned that we need to get all sides of the story.
There is another universal idea that we have to consider when studying history.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to learn about another universal idea that we have to consider in being fair
to all the people involved in an historical event.”
Engagement:
“Remember the pencil problem? Besides the possible unfairness of the story being written from
one perspective or another there was something else unfair in that situation. Let me read it again
and see if you can find out what that is.” The answer is that the threat of violence may have
prevented “person 2” from exercising his or her rights as a human being. This idea involves the
third essential question: What human rights do all people have just by being born and what do
people need to exercise these rights? “What does exercise mean?: to work out, stay fit, etc. When
you ‘work out’ your human rights, this means you can use them.”(Add this definition to the class
vocabulary list.) ]”First we’re going to think about the needs that all people have to live a good
life. Rights are based on needs. I’m going to play Raffi’s song ‘All I Really Need’ and give you
a copy of the lyrics. You can sing along as you listen to it and be thinking about the needs that all
people have.”
Link:
Clarify the difference between a need and a want.
Independent Practice:
In teams of three depending on how you prefer grouping your class, the children will brainstorm
all the things that human beings need. Then they will decide how to share it: options include
writing a poem or song, drawing pictures, or a creating a short skit.
Follow-up/Share:
Bring the group together and have teams share and list the needs. Children might have some
differences of opinion about if some of these are needs or wants. You could put question marks
by those ideas where there is some disagreement. Mention others you think are important that
the children have not articulated (see the list of needs in lesson 6). Tell them that next time they
will explore the rights that all people deserve based on these needs.
All I Really Need
By Raffi
27
All I really need is a song in my heart,
Food in my belly and love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
Food in my belly and love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family.
And I need the rain to fall,
And I need the sun to shine,
To give life to seeds we sow,
To give the food we need to grow.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
Food in my belly and love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family.
And I need some clean water for drinking,
And I need some clean air for breathing,
So that I can grow up strong,
Take my place where I belong.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
Food in my belly and love in my family.
All I really need is a song in my heart,
And love in my family. Love in my family.
28
Lesson # 6
Title: Human rights (Students have learned about human rights in the fourth grade unit-“We All
Belong Here,” but because it’s a very important concept I recommend doing this lesson.)
Materials Needed:
*Universal Declaration of Human Rights booklet in front of binder.
*Poster of the United Nations “Rights of the Child” (in unit kit)
*Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see child friendly and original version at this website:
http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/chapter_6/pdf/1.pdf and Bill of Rights (attached)
*A picture of the General Assembly of the UN showing members wearing headsets so they can
have the language being spoken translated into their language
(http://www.daylife.com/photo/0eC61GrehyejG?q=United+Nations+General+Assembly)
*Pictures of children from all over the world (get a book from your library)
*Copy of the list of needs the class came up with last time for each child
*Poster paper to list human rights on
These are other resources that can be used for teaching about human rights:
*“Teaching Human Rights” by David Shiman (in unit kit)
*“Economic & Social Justice, A Human Rights Perspective” by David Shiman (online at
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/tb1b/Section2/activity2.html)
*“Human Rights in Action,” online at http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/index.asp
*“Speak Truth to Power,” a human rights curriculum that teaches through personal narratives,
spoken word, images, and activities. Explores the development of protected human rights from a
historical perspective and present day. Develops critical understanding by questioning the
barriers and structures that prevent full enjoyment of rights and freedoms.
*“Planning to Change the World: A plan book for social justice teachers.” A great resource for
every day of the year.
*Brown University's Choices Program: History and Current Events for the Classroom, great
resources for human rights and linking news to contemporary events.
Connection:
To learn about the human rights that all people have we first learned about the needs that all
people have.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to learn about the human rights that all people are born with based on
universal human needs. These are rights people are entitled to just for being human” (add this
definition to the vocabulary list). “Remember how Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence wrote about ‘inalienable rights’ such as ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness’? These are rights that can’t be question or challenged.
Engagement:
“In 1948 the United Nations created the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’
Representatives from each of 192 countries (almost every country in the world) meet there to try
and peacefully and respectfully solve problems. They have special headsets that translate what
29
people from different countries are saying into six languages: French, Spanish, English, Chinese,
Russian and Arabic” (show a picture of the UN General Assembly in action). All of these people
got together and said that children and adults are all born with certain human rights.” As you talk
show them pictures of children and adults from all over the world. “These were rights that you
are born with, but they can be denied, you can be prevented from exercising or using them.
What does deny mean? To prevent or stop.” (later add this word to the vocabulary list). “We are
going to pretend that you are all members of the United Nations and you are going to decide
what human rights all children and adults deserve just for being born. Think about what country
you want to represent.”
Link:
In groups of 2 or more the students will look at the list of needs they came up with last time and
decide which rights children deserve based on those needs. Tell them that when they are done
you will show them the two UN documents and see how many rights they came up with that the
representatives from all over the world also thought of.
Need
For food, water clothing
To be protected from the cold, rain, sun, etc.
To get help when we are sick
To learn how to read, write, think, etc.
To feel safe from people trying to harm you.
To be loved and have a family
[this is not a universal human right!]
To have fun and to be able to rest from working
For people to treat you with respect
To not be arrested unless you have broken a law
and then to have a fair trial
To vote for who you think is the best candidate
To be able to say what you think
To have freedom of religion
To have a job that you like with enough money
to buy the things you need
To have land for a place to live
Right
To have food, clean water, and clothing
Shelter
Health care
Education
Safety
Love and family
Rest and recreation
Respect
Equal protection under the law
To have a say in government
Freedom of thought
Freedom of religion
To have a choice in work with a fair wage
To own property
Independent Practice:
The children go off in teams and record their list of rights.
Follow-up/Share:
Have the children share and add their ideas to the list of rights. Read the UN Declaration of
Human Rights and the UN Rights of the Child. Mention that as learners of history we have to
consider the second universal idea, which is the extent to which all of the people involved were
able to exercise their human rights. Did one group have a greater ability to exercise their human
rights than another group?
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Lesson # 7
Title: Access to various institutions
Materials Needed:
*A large piece of blank paper for you to write the words, “When people gain access to various
institutions they acquire justice, rewards, and power and are able to exercise their human rights.”
Leave room underneath for drawing a door and paths leading from the door.
*Similar large paper for teams of children.
*Children divided into 11 groups each assigned a “Right to ________” door (See “independent
practice”—you may have to assign more than one door to a group)
*Pictures of different paths for each door to help children with brainstorming (in unit kit)
*Optional: Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” and Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind”
Connection:
Now that we know what human rights are, we need to learn how people get to exercise these
rights.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to start thinking about what has to happen so people can exercise their
human rights to have an education, enough food, a place to live, a choice in the kind of work
they do with decent pay, time for rest and fun, and the other rights we have listed.”
Engagement:
“Remember that human rights are not something given to some people by other people. We are
all born with these rights, but they can be denied. Do you remember what “deny” means from
last time? So let’s think about what needs to happen for people to be able to exercise their human
rights. Let’s take the right to housing or shelter and the path that leads to a nice house.”
Children might say you have to have enough money to buy it. Then ask, how does a person get
the money? They might say, with a job that pays enough. And how do you get that? They might
say, with a college education. Tell them that all of these answers are right and involve “gaining
access to various institutions.” When people “gain access” they “acquire justice, rewards, and
power” and are able exercise their human rights. “Today we are going to focus on the meaning
of ‘access to various institutions.’ (Access means, ‘being able to enter’ or have ‘admission.’
Your have access to the fairgrounds because you have a ticket. So we will use the metaphor—
like poets use metaphors to have one thing stand for something else—of a door for showing
access. Access means being able to open a door and walk through it” (draw a door). Have the
students stand and pretend they are opening a door and say “access” as they are doing it. Do this
again. Tell them that it is common to use the idea of opening a door as metaphor for gaining
rights: for example, people have said that the civil rights and woman’s movements “opened
doors” or opportunities for blacks and women to gain rights. “‘Various institutions’ mean
different aspects or parts of life, like shelter, work, or education, and they connect to the various
rights we listed. But being able to exercise human rights doesn’t just mean being able to open the
door and go through, it also means being able walk down the road or path you want to go down”
(add paths that lead from the door). “Paths or roads are often used as metaphors too, for life
experiences that people have: Robert Frost wrote about taking the ‘road less traveled’ in life and
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Bob Dylan wrote a song called ‘Blowing in the Wind’ where he asks, ‘How many roads must a
man walk down, before he can hear people cry?’”
Link:
“I’m going to show you how this works with the ‘housing’ door. Housing is one of the human
rights we decided all people have.” Put the word “housing” on the door you drew. “Once you
open the housing door there are different paths people can go down or different kinds of housing
they can live in. What are some of these paths? What are the different types of shelter or housing
people can live in?” As you brainstorm draw a path with a label at the end of it for each one: an
apartment house, an average size house, a condominium, a mansion or huge home, a homeless
shelter, a trailer. “Depending on the path a person walks down, he or she has different “access to
that institution.” In teams, your job will be to draw a picture of a door, write the institution’s
name on it that I assign you, and then brainstorm some of the different paths a person can go
down. Each door stands for one of the human rights we decided on. You will make a path for
each idea and write a label at the end of it, just as I modeled for you. Then we will come together
and share our work and see if there are any other “path” ideas we might want to add.”
Independent Practice:
You might have children work in teams of two or three (there are 11 doors besides housing). If
you don’t have enough children or you feel some of the categories are too difficult, you can work
with a group of children that can brainstorm several doors with you as the recorder. See below
for some ideas on the paths for the different institutions. For some doors like “freedom and a say
in government” and “health care” it might be helpful to give children an idea of what this means
before they head off.
Follow-up/Share:
Bring the class together to share their results and see if anybody has other path ideas to add. You
can write these additional ideas down and have the children add them to their doors and paths at
a later time. Reinforce the concept that the extent to which a person can open a door and walk
down any path determines the amount of their “access to various institutions.” And this access
affects the person’s ability to exercise their human rights. Explain that we will study how groups
of people, living during the time of the American Revolution, who were denied access to various
institutions, gained access. We will work on this toward the end of the unit (Lesson #24).
Mention also that it’s important to think about how individual people have overcome obstacles
to gain access and exercise their human rights. We will learn about this in a few more lessons
(#11).
32
Notes:
You could read “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost or Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the wind”
to reinforce metaphor of door and paths/roads. There is also the image of George Wallace
literally “standing in the schoolhouse door” blocking the admission of black students into the
University of Alabama.
Paths leading from the housing door:
 Owning a huge house or mansion
 Owning an average size house
 Renting an apartment
 Owning a condominium
 Owning or renting a trailer
 Spending the night at COTS (Homeless)
 Living in a tent (Homeless)
Paths leading from the health care door:
 Seeing a doctor or dentist whenever you need to
 Going to the emergency room whenever you are sick
 Not going to the doctor or dentist when you are sick because your family can’t afford it (door
is shut)
Paths leading from the recreation and rest door:
 Having a job that gives you the weekends off and vacation time
 Having to work two jobs, one during the week and one on the weekend with little time off
 Having a job when you can take off for long periods of time and be on vacation
 Having the money and time to take more expensive vacations like traveling to other countries
 Having to plan less expensive vacations
 Not having much money or time for any kind of vacation
Paths leading from the respect door:
 Being treated with respect
 Being accepted and part of a group
 Being excluded from a group
 Being looked up to for advice and leadership
 Experiencing prejudice or name calling
 Experiencing threats or physical violence because of prejudice
33
Paths leading from choice of work and fair wage door:
 Having a job you enjoy and makes a lot of money
 Having a job you enjoy and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job you enjoy and makes only a small amount of money
 Having a job you only like a little and makes a lot of money
 Having a job you only like a little and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job you only like a little and makes a small amount of money
 Having a job you don’t like and makes a lot of money
 Having a job you don’t like and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job you don’t like and makes only a little amount of money
 Not being able to find a job (the door is shut on them)
Paths leading from the love and family door:
 Having one or two friends who are kind and loving
 Having many friends who are kind and loving
 Having families who are kind, understanding, and loving almost all the time
 Having families that are sometimes kind, understanding, and loving
 Having families that don’t provide kindness, understanding, and love (for example, domestic
violence or child abuse)
 Living in places where families have been separated because of war
Paths leading from the freedom and say in government door:
 Living in countries that have a democracy and everyone can vote
 Living in countries that have dictatorships or kings and there is no voting or say in the
government (door is shut)
 Living in countries where the police and the military enforce the laws for all the people and
protect all the people
 Living in countries where the police and the military enforce some of the laws and protect
only some people
 Living in countries where people get killed or arrested for protesting or speaking out against
the government (door is shut)
 Living in countries where people can disagree with the government and have “freedom of
speech”
Paths leading from the owning property door:
 Having enough money to buy a lot of property
 Having enough money to buy some property
 Not having enough money to buy property
Paths leading from the equal protection under the law door:
 Getting arrested and being told what laws have been broken and what your rights are
 Having a fair trial (innocent until proven guilty) and a lawyer to defend you
 Getting arrested with no explanation (door is shut)
 Not having a trial or having a trial where you can’t really defend yourself
34
Paths leading from the education door:
 Finishing high school
 Dropping out of high school
 Going to college
 Going beyond college and getting a master’s degree or a doctorate degree
 Going to a vocational college
 Living in a place where there is war and you can’t go to school (door is shut)
 Living in a place where there is not enough clean water and you have to help you family get
it and so you can’t go to school (door is shut)
Paths leading from the clean water, food and clothing door:
 Turing the faucet on and getting clean water
 Walking long distances to get clean water
 Drinking water that is not clean
 Going to the store and buying any kind of food your family wants
 Checking the prices at the store and only buying what your family can afford
 Going to the Food Shelf for food
 Dying from not getting enough food or clean water (door is shut)
 Not being able to buy all the clothes you want or need
 Being able to buy any clothes you need or want
 Being able to buy some of the clothes you need or want
Path leading from the being safe door:
 Living in a home where you are protected
 Living in a home where you are abused
 Living in places where you can get help against bullies
 Living in places where you are bullied and can’t get any help
 Living in places where the police protect the people
 Living in places where the police only protect certain people
 Living in places where there is lots of violence
 Living in places where there is hardly any violence
35
Lesson # 8
Title: Justice, rewards, and power
Materials Needed:
*A place to list ideas for the class to see
*Paper for children to write on and for you to collect
Connection:
We have learned about human rights and how people exercise them, by gaining access to various
institutions. Today we are going to learn what “justice, rewards, and power” mean.
Teaching Point:
Cover up the definition of “access to various institutions.” “Take out your journals and write the
word ‘access’ and what you think it means; then write ‘various institutions’ and see if you can
give three examples of various institutions.” Uncover the definitions and go over with the class.
“Today we are going to learn about the meaning of “justice, rewards, and power.”
Engagement:
“To think about the meaning of the word ‘power’ we are going to play ‘statue.’ First let’s
brainstorm and list some ideas of what power means.” Ask the students to spread out around the
room and find a space where they can put their arms out and not touch anyone or lean on
anything. When you say “action” they are to make a power pose and think of a word or words to
go with their pose that show they have power. As you tap them they should say the words out
loud and hold their position. Then come back together as a class. Tell them that most of them
described power in terms of physical strength. Tell them that the kind of power needed to gain
access to various institutions and acquire power, justice and rewards means being able to open a
door and choose a path you want to go down. It’s not about having physical strength but
“having control over your life.”
Link:
“Now for the word ‘reward’ I am going to put you into teams of two. I want you to come up
with a word or words and a statue position that you think shows what reward means.” You
might want to take a minute to brainstorm this as a class first.
Independent Practice:
Give the children a few minutes to do this and then play “statue” again. Come back as a class and
come up with a definition of reward. This is the one I have used: getting what you feel you
deserve for something you have done.
Follow-up/Share:
Finally ask the children what they think justice means. I’ve used this definition: being treated
fairly. Add these three words to the class vocabulary list. If you have time, do the activity in the
notes below.
36
Notes:
Before the next lesson have the children recite only the fist line of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Pass out paper and have them write the ideas they think The Pledge is saying that all people
deserve. Collect the papers and tell them you will go over this next time.
37
Lesson # 9
Title: Pledge of Allegiance
Materials Needed:
*Copy of Pledge that all students can see (below)
*Copy of the “Official Version/Kid-Friendly” version of the Pledge for teams of 4 students and
put a copy up for all students to see (in notebook).
Connection:
Last time we worked on the meaning of the words justice, reward and power. Today we are
going to focus on the meaning and importance of one of these words.
Teaching Point:
“The word ‘justice’ is stated in something that many people in the U.S. say and that many
children say every day. We are going to make sure we understand the meaning of this writing.
Engagement:
Have the students recite The Pledge.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God,
indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
“A while ago I asked you to write about the ideas in The Pledge that state what all people in our
country deserve.” Pass back their papers and have the students see what they wrote. Now show
them the Pledge and read it. “What are those two things?: ‘liberty’ and ‘justice.’ Does anyone
know what liberty means (freedom)?” Add this word to the vocabulary list. Ask how many
knew that the Pledge stated that all people deserve liberty or freedom? How many knew that
The Pledge stated that all people deserve justice? How many knew what justice meant at the
time? Have them correct their papers if they didn’t get it right. These can be put in their social
studies folders.
Link:
“Now we are going to go over the meaning of the rest of the Pledge.” Put up a copy of the
“Official Version/Kid Friendly” of the Pledge. Go over the key words in each section and up
synonyms for these words:
 pledge: promise, vow, give my word, guarantee
 allegiance: loyalty, devotion, faithfulness, commitment
 republic: nation, country
 nation: country
 indivisible: can not separate (inseparable), can not divide (undividable), unbreakable,
everlasting, never-ending
 liberty and justice:
38
Independent Practice:
Pass out a copy of the “Official words/Kid-friendly” paper to teams of four. Each team will
decide how they want to rewrite the pledge. Then they will practice reciting it as a rap.
Follow-up/Share:
Have the children share their Pledge raps. Then go over the meaning of the Pledge line by line.
Ask them why they think “And Justice for All” was chosen as the title of this unit: Because we
are learning about a way to study history that is “fair” to all the people involved in historical
events.
Notes:
39
Lesson # 10
Title: How access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power
Materials Needed:
*Paper for children to record definitions
*List of paths leading from the housing door from lesson #7
*Copy of the two doors (institutions) and paths and the frame sentences that need to be
completed (see next page).
Connection:
In the last two lessons we learned the meaning of the words justice, reward, and power and
focused on the meaning of “justice” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Teaching Point:
How a person’s access to various institutions affects the amount of justice, rewar, and power he
or she has and his or her ability to exercise basic human rights. Cover up definitions on class
vocabulary list, have the children write the definition of each word, hen go over these definitions
with the class: justice—being treated fairly; reward—getting what you deserve for something
you have done; power—having choices in your life.
Engagement:
“I am going to model how to use what we have learned about various institutions to show how
access to can affect the amount of justice, reward and power a person has.” Put up the list of
paths leading from the housing door. Say that for the first example you will use the perspective
of a teacher who has “a lot of” access, justice, reward and power. Model filling out the frame
below:
Model a think aloud as you look at the list of path choices and say, “If I have a lot of access, and
justice, rewards, and power, I can probably own my own house or condominium, but maybe not
a mansion because teachers usually don’t make that much money. Since I have a lot of control
about where I live I have power. I also get to live in a nice house because of the money I make
as a teacher so I have reward and this seems pretty fair so I have justice.” Then fill out the
frame below:
The door I have been assigned is the housing door. I have no, a little, a lot of, a huge amount
of (circle “a lot of”) access and justice, reward and power.
I have a lot of access and justice, reward and power because I can open the housing door and I
can walk down the path of owning a condominium.
Now model acting this out. Stand up and pretend to open a door as you say, “I have a lot of
access and justice, reward and power because I can open the housing door (pretend to open up a
door) and I can walk down the path of (pretend to be looking at the different paths and deciding
which path to walk down and then walk as you say) of owning a condominium.”
40
Share with them two other perspectives:
Somebody who works behind the counter at McDonald’s:
“I have a little access and justice, reward and power because I can open the housing door and I
can walk down the path of renting an apartment.”
Someone who is the president of a big company like Exxon or Coca-Cola:
“I have a huge amount of access and justice, reward and power because I can open the housing
door and I can walk down the path of owning a mansion.”
Finally, tell the class that if you were doing this from the perspective of someone who was
homeless you would have no access and no justice, reward and power with respect to the
housing door.
Link:
Tell the children that they are going to work with a partner using either the recreation and rest or
work doors. They will be given the door and how much access and justice, power and reward
they have. They will then have to choose one path that they think goes with this amount of
access, justice, reward and power. Then they will fill out the frame sentences just like you did. If
they finish before they come back as a class, they can practice acting it out together and saying
“we” instead of “I.”
Independent Practice:
Assign a door and the amount of access to each group of two. It’s OK if it turns out that some
teams will be working on the same idea. The teams then fill out the frame sentence and if they
have time practice acting these out as a team.
Follow-up/Share:
Children come together to share and act out their frame sentences. Ask for a few volunteers to
say their frame sentences and make sure the class agrees that there is a match between the
amount of access, justice, power and reward and the path they have chosen. Then the team can
act it out.
Notes:
Before the next lesson read the book Fly Away Home (in kit) by Eve Bunting and have the
children think about what can cause someone to be homeless.
41
Frame for showing how access to various institutions affects justice, reward and power
Paths leading from the work door:
 Having a job I enjoy and makes a lot of money
 Having a job I enjoy and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job I enjoy and makes a lot of money
 Having a job I only like a little and makes a lot of money
 Having a job I only like a little and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job I only like a little and makes a little amount of money
 Having a job I don’t like and makes a lot of money
 Having a job I don’t like and makes an OK amount of money
 Having a job I don’t like and makes only a little amount of money
 Not being able to find a job (the door is shut on them)
Paths leading from the recreation and rest door:
 Having a job that gives you the weekends off and vacation time
 Having to work two jobs—one during the week and one on the weekend with little time
off
 Having a job when you can take off for long periods of time and be on vacation
 Having the money and time to take more expensive vacations like traveling to other
countries
 Having to plan less expensive vacations
 Not having much money or time for any kind of vacation
Partner names__________________________________________________________________
The door we have been assigned is the _____________________________________door.
The amount of access and justice, reward and power we have is (circle one): none, a little, a lot of, a
huge amount
We have _______________________________________________________ access and justice,
reward and power because we can open the ______________________________________ door and
we can walk down the path of _________________________________________________.
42
Lesson #11
Title: How individual people overcome obstacles to “gain access.” (Could be done during
writing/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
Books for read-aloud of individual people who have made it against difficult odds:
Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.
Connection:
Last time we learned how access to various institutions affects a person’s ability to acquire
justice, power and reward and the ability to exercise his or her human rights.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to learn about some of the factors that can cause people to be denied
access, and also learn how people can overcome obstacles to gain access.”
Engagement:
Take about fifteen minutes to talk about the book Fly Away Home. “What do you think can cause
someone to lose a home?” Write the words “Lost Our Home” where the class can see it. In this
discussion help the children to see the connection between institutions. The children might
answer this question by saying a person doesn’t have a job, or has a job but doesn’t make enough
money (draw lines from “lost our home” that link to possible causes); so then ask why might a
person not have job or a job that makes enough money? This could lead to a variety of factors
including the amount of education he or she has: dropped out of high school, high school
diploma, or a college education (draw lines that link these factors to no job or low-paying job).
Then ask why a person might drop out of high school, and then why a person wouldn’t go on to
college or another type of training school (for example, culinary arts.) Again a variety of factors
could cause this: can’t get a loan for more education (sometimes due to gender or race), not
enough money to continue education in the family (single parents often have a harder time
making ends meet), coming from a family that has some problems and it’s hard to study and do
homework, has to work after school to help the family, maybe nobody in their family has ever
gone to college and it’s not something that has been modeled or even thought a possibility,
maybe he or she hangs out with people who don’t value school, maybe the person doesn’t like
school and hasn’t been motivated to do well, maybe doing well in school is really hard, etc.
(Again link these possible factors with lines to dropping out of high school and not going on to
college—separate categories.) Then take one of these factors and ask why a family wouldn’t
have enough money to help their children pay for college? This leads back to jobs with a decent
salary, family inheritance and education. The point is for the children to see how access to one
institution—jobs, family, education—can affect access to another institution. Depending on the
circumstances that people are born into, “gaining access” for some people can be a lot harder
than for other people. Is that fair? No. Tell them at the end of this unit, they will be learning
about how groups of people have fought to gain access, but today we will look at what individual
people have done to try and gain access.
43
Link:
Read Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco and think about what individuals can do to
overcome obstacles in their lives and gain access. After reading it have the children “walk and
talk” (they walk around the room with a partner) about what it took for Patricia Polacco to learn
to read. What institution was she gaining access to? Education. Then come back and begin a list
of “How People Overcome Obstacles to Gain Access.” This could include:
 Getting help from someone and using that help: Patricia was willing to let Mr. Falker and
the other teacher try and help her to read
 Perseverance: Patricia kept trying as she worked with Mr. Faulkner and the other teacher
 Believing in herself: Patricia’s grandmother loved her and believed in her smartness and
deep down Patricia maybe knew she was smart and could learn to read
 Motivated: Patricia really wanted to learn to read
 Risk taking: She thought it was hard and scary, but Patricia kept coming back and trying
Independent Practice:
Have the children journal-write and or sketch about a time that was challenging for them and
think about what they did or could have done to help them overcome this problem. (This could
be a homework assignment if there isn’t enough time.)
Follow-up/Share:
Have the children share their challenges and choices of how they overcame or could have
overcome problems. Add new ideas to the “How People Overcome Obstacles and Gain Access”
list. As they share it might be interesting to pay particular attention to how many situations
involved the help and support of other people versus gaining access on your own. Remind the
students that at the end of the unit they will study how groups of people fought to gain access
and exercise their human rights. Organizing with others is one path some people choose when
individual efforts fail due to institutional roadblocks. In studying these groups they will see how
the power of the group can help individual people to act with courage, risk taking, and
perseverance: some of the qualities we have on our list. For example, this happened during the
civil rights movement when people would protest by locking arms and singing “We Shall
Overcome.” (The standard refers to how “different groups” have gained access.)
Notes:
Another good book to read showing individual qualities in overcoming obstacles is When
Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick.
Other people you or the students can read about include the following: Nelson Mandela, Helen
Keller, Harvey Milk, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X, Clara Barton, Mother Jones, and
Sojourner Truth. Some of the children will learn about Chief Joseph, Frederick Douglass, Susan
B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King when
they research how groups of people gained access in order to exercise their human rights (Lesson
#24). As you read add and refer to the list of “How People Overcome Obstacles to Gain
Access”. I think it’s also interesting to keep reflecting on the role of the individual versus the
role of the individual working with others that enables people to “gain access.”
44
Lesson #12
Title: Analyzing History for Universal Ideas: Using primary sources (This could be done
during a reading/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
*Three copies of the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet for all students and an additional
three copies for you to use with the whole class
*Copies of the two first-hand accounts of the event on March 5, 1770 in Boston (“Boston
Massacre”) for each student and one of each for the whole class to see
*Two pictures of “Boston Massacre”—Paul Revere’s and one with Cyprus Attucks in center (in
unit kit)
Connection:
We’re continuing to build on the two universal ideas that need to be considered when studying
history in order to be fair to all people. Getting all perspectives or sides of the story and
knowing to what extent were the groups of people involved able to exercise their rights as
human beings.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to practice being detectives or critical readers so we can investigate these
questions of perspective and access in studying history.”
Engagement:
Review all of the questions on the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet. Call on children to
read the questions aloud. (When reading the definition of bias ask if they remember the
definition of prejudice (to prejudge someone before getting to know them, usually in a negative
way) from the fourth grade “We All Belong Here Unit.” “Now I am going to read you a piece of
history about something that happened in Boston on March 5, 1770, between the colonists and
the English soldiers.” (Here you may want to provide some background information). “We are
going to be detectives or critical readers and read this primary document. We are going to be
looking for facts, opinions, interpretations and the extent to which the groups involved were able
to exercise their human rights.” Remind the class of the difference between an opinion and an
interpretation. Tell them that sometimes it can be difficult to see the difference between these
two, buy it’s important to at least distinguish between facts versus opinions and interpretations.
Read “Perspective 1: an anonymous colonist.” As you read it stop and ask the children if they
noticed a fact, opinion or interpretation and underline these parts using different colors. Model
this and have the children do the same on their papers. Then go over all of the questions on the
sheet. Also go over the use of a glossary as a nonfiction text feature. (Use the sheet with the
questions I have answered to help you with this: see attached.)
Link:
“Now you are going to read a second perspective about what happened that day in a team and
answer these questions yourselves. Then we’ll go over it.”
45
Independent Practice:
The children in teams of two read the second perspective (Captain Prescott) and answer the
questions. You can meet with the children who need extra support. You can read it to them as
they follow along or do a choral reading. You could then fill out one sheet together as a group.
Follow-up/Share:
Go over the questions. Remind the children about the important work they have done today:
being detectives or critical thinkers in order to consider the two universal ideas that need to be
considered in order to be fair to all the people involved in an historical event.
Notes:
I have included another primary source in the unit kit: a picture of an engraving of the “Boston
Massacre” done by Paul Revere. This is an excellent source for teaching children to analyze
illustrations using the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet. There is also a second illustration
of the “Boston Massacre” (in unit kit) showing Crispus Attucks being killed. This could be
compared with Paul Revere’s picture.
46
Human Rights and Perspective Sheet
Name:
Historical Event:

From whose perspective is this history written? Who is telling the story?

Are any perspectives or sides of the story missing? If so, whose?

Why is it important when learning history to get all perspectives or sides of the story?




Does one group have a greater ability to exercise their human rights than another group?
Yes_______ No________
If yes, which group has more________________ Which group has less:_______________
Give one example of how one group has a greater ability to exercise their human rights than
another group:
List one fact stated in this document.
7. List one opinion or one interpretation you find in this document. An opinion is a personal
belief and an interpretation is using facts or information to form a new idea.

(Do you think this is an opinion or interpretation?
_________________________________________)
7. Do you think any facts were left out or were possibly not accurate?
_____Yes ____No
If yes, give one example:
8. Is there bias in this historical writing? Bias is a prejudice in favor or against one person, or
group over another.
____Yes ___ No
If yes, give an example of the bias:
9. Why do you think the author wrote from this perspective?
47
1
Just learning to
answer questions
2
Accurately answers
questions 1-5
3
Accurately answers
questions 1-6
4
Meets score point 3
and correctly
answers at least two
of questions 7-9
Using Primary Sources:
Two Perspectives of the events on March 5, 1770
Headnote: These primary sources provide two first-hand accounts of the events on March 5,
1770 in Boston (known from a colonist perspective as the “Boston Massacre”), told from
different perspectives.
Perspective #1: An anonymous colonist
On Friday, the 2nd a quarrel arose between some British soldiers and some rope-maker
apprentices which got to the point where it became dangerous to the lives of each group. Many
of them on both sides ended up being wounded. These bad feelings between the soldiers and the
colonists continued until the Monday evening following, March 5. That night the British officer
Captain Prescott along with seven or eight British soldiers went to guard the Custom House.
(This is where the King’s money is kept.) In getting to the Custom House the soldiers pushed
several colonists with their bayonets. They did this in such a rough manner that it seemed they
wanted to create a problem. This caused some of the colonists to throw snowballs. This seems to
be the only thing that the colonists did that would provoke the soldiers. Mr. Knox said that while
he was talking with Captain Prescott, the soldiers attacked the people with their bayonets and
that there was not any cause for this. The colonists had their backs toward the soldiers when they
were attacked. He also said that Captain Prescott seemed to be in a great hurry and very annoyed.
There were about seventy or eighty colonists there. The British soldiers were formed in a half
circle and within a short time began to fire upon the people. Captain Prescott is said to have
ordered them to fire and to have repeated that order. One gun was fired first. Then others were
fired until ten or twelve guns were fired. Eleven people were killed and wounded. Captain
Prescott and his soldiers are now in jail. An inquiry is underway in this unhappy affair.
Source: History Wiz Primary Source
Word bank (glossary):
apprentice: someone learning to a trade like a being a ropemaker
provoke: to make someone angry
inquiry: an investigation to find out what happened
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Perspective #2: Captain Prescott
About nine o’clock in the evening some of the soldiers came and informed me that town
colonists were assembling to attack the troops. About 100 people passed towards the Custom
House where the king’s money is kept. They immediately surrounded the British soldier who
was there to guard it. With clubs and other weapons they threatened to attack him. Then a
person in the town told me that the colonists were planning to carry off the soldier and probably
murder him. I was afraid that they would then steal the king’s money. I immediately sent an
officer and 12 men to protect the Custom House and the king’s money. The soldiers rushed
through the people by pointing their bayonets at the end of their muskets. This kept them the
colonists who were gathered there at a little distance. The mob still increased and were more
outrageous, striking their clubs and calling out, “Come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you
lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare . . . fire.”
At this time I was standing between the soldiers and the mob, trying with all my power to
persuade them to leave peacefully, but to no purpose.
Some well-behaved people in the crowd asked me if the guns were loaded and I replied, “Yes.”
Then they asked if I intended to order the men to fire. I answered, “No.” While I was speaking,
one of the soldiers received a severe blow with a stick from one of the colonists. Then he
stepped a little to one side and instantly fired his musket. When I turned and asked him why he
fired without orders, a colonist struck me with a club on my arm. For some time I couldn’t use
my arm. If that blow had been placed on my head, it most probably would have killed me. Then
the soldiers were attacked with a great number of heavy clubs and snowballs. All of our lives
were in immediate danger. Then three or four soldiers fired their muskets, one after another, in
confusion and hurry. The mob ran away, except for three unhappy men who instantly died.
When I asked my soldiers why they fired without orders, they said they heard the word “fire”
and thought it came from me. They might have heard “fire” because many of the people in the
mob called out “fire, fire,” but I assured the men that I gave no such order. In fact my words
were, “Don't fire, stop your firing.” In short, it was hardly possible for the soldiers to know who
said, “Fire” or who said, “Don't fire” or “Stop your firing.”
Source: Excerpt from the report of Captain Prescott
Word bank (glossary):
mob: a group of angry people
Sources:
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/D/1751-1775/bostonmassacre/prest.htm
http://www.historywiz.org/primarysources/eyewit-boston.htm
Note: These have been modified to make them easier to read for students.
Optional Primary document # 3: Picture of Paul Revere’s Engraving of “Boston Massacre” (in
unit kit). Drawn to excite the colonists against Great Britain and to make money. You can use
this to show how readers need to be detectives or critical thinkers when looking at pictures or
illustrations too. The same questions on the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet can be
answered by substituting the word “shown” for “stated,” but question #7 would not be answered.
An alternative perspective with Crispus Attucks in the center could be used as another example
of point of view and bias in pictures: see http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2p24.htm
This was drawn soon after to remind people that a black man was the first to fall. Revere’s
illustration leaves Attucks out.
49
Human Rights and Perspective Sheet
Name:
Historical Event: What happened on March 5, 1770 in Boston
1. Whose perspective is this history written? In other words: Who is telling the story?
It sounds like a colonist who observed what was happening.
2. Are any perspectives or sides of the story missing? If so whose?
The British soldiers’ perspective is missing.
3. Why is it very important that when learning history we get all perspectives or sides of the
story?
These are some of the ways that this question can be answered:
So we are fair to all the people involved. This is the minimum answer you are looking for. Have
them write it. Then tell the children by using the word “bias” it shows they really understand
the importance of getting all sides of the story, but it is important for them to explain what it
means. So they could add: Getting only one side of the story is biased because it favors one side
over another. If it hasn’t come up, tell them another way they could answer this question is: So
we are fair to all the people involved. It’s just like with children in school or adults in a courtroom.
If there is a problem it is fair to get all sides of the story.
4. Does one group have more of an ability to exercise their rights as human beings than
another group? (Remind the children that the ability to exercise your rights depends on
a person’s access to various institutions and acquiring justice, reward and power.)
Yes X No__
 If yes, which group has more: British soldiers Which group has less: the colonists
 Give one example of how one group has more of an ability to exercise their rights as human
beings than another group:
Because the soldiers have guns and shot at the colonists so the colonists right to be respected was
taken away. If children are able to explain how one group has more ability to exercise their
rights than another group without actually naming the right, the answer is still acceptable.
You could also say to the class that the right to argue with the soldiers without getting hurt
might have to do with their right to participate in government being denied.
5. What is one fact that is stated?
Possible answers: some people wounded in a situation that happened between soldiers and
colonists, 7 or 8 soldiers were detached, soldiers fired on colonists, it happened on March 5, people
died, Captain and other soldiers are in jail
6. What is one opinion (an opinion is a personal judgment or belief and is not based on evidence)
or (an interpretation is an analysis or statement based on evidence)?
Possible opinions: Captain Prescott was in a “great hurry and annoyed,” the colonists were pushed
in a “rough manner,” “there was not any cause” for the soldiers attacking the colonists with their
bayonets quarrel arose
Possible interpretations: Unhappy affair is based on people dying and being put in jail.
The quarrel became dangerous is based on the fact that people died.
The soldiers were provoked is based on the colonists throwing snowballs at them.
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7. Do you think any facts were left out or were questionable and not accurate?
X Yes __No
If yes, give one example:
There are no facts stated about what the colonist were doing before the soldiers fired on them.
It can be questionable that the “colonists had their backs to the soldiers and that the soldiers
attacked without any cause
8. Was their bias (favoritism toward a certain perspective) in this historical writing?
X__Yes ______No
If yes, give an example of the bias:
The author says that the “soldiers attacked the people and there was not any cause for this.” You
are not getting the soldiers’ side of the story.
9. Why do you think the author wrote from this perspective?
I think the author wrote it from this perspective because he or she was a colonist who felt bad for
the colonists who died.
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Lesson # 13
Title: Analyzing History for Universal Ideas: Using secondary sources (This can be done
during a reading/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
*Two copies of the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet for all students and an additional two
copies for you to use with the whole class.
*Copies of the two second-hand accounts of the Tea Act of 1773 for each student and one of
each for the whole class to see and refer to
Connection:
Last time we practiced being detectives or critical readers with primary documents or first-hand
accounts of an event.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to continue to practice being detectives or critical readers, but this time we
will use secondary sources, where authors use another historian’s writings about an event.”
Engagement:
“I am going to read to you a secondary source about perspectives on the Tea Act of 1773. This
was an act passed by the King and England that forced colonists to buy tea from the East India
Company and to pay a tax for it. Like last time we are going to be detectives or critical thinkers
and answer the questions that connect with the universal ideas about history in order to be fair to
all the people involved in this event. It will be interesting to see which facts the writers decided
to use in telling the story. Remember how we learned that historians collect evidence and then
make interpretations? That writing is called a secondary source.” Read perspective # 1 to the
class and answer the questions on the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet. (Again, another
option is to have them read it themselves and answer the questions on the sheet and then go over
it as a class before having them read the second document.)
Link:
“Now you are going to read another secondary source perspective on the Tea Act in a team and
fill out the questions on the “Human Rights and Perspective” sheet on your own. Then we’ll go
over it.”
Independent Practice:
In teams of two children read perspective #2 and answer the questions on the “Human Rights and
Perspective” sheet.
Follow-up/Share:
Put up a copy of this writing for the whole class to see and go over the questions. Discuss again
why it is important that they are learning to be detectives and critical thinkers when studying
history.
52
Notes: You can use the “Human Rights Perspective” sheet with a source that attempts to provide
both sides of the story (some current textbooks attempt to do this). I have provided one source at
the end of Lesson #13 that attempts to provide a balanced view (Two Perspectives: The Boston
Massacre). Children will notice the difference in answering questions 1 and 2 for this source, but
an interesting discussion could involve answering the question, “Can any source be ‘perfectly’
balanced?”
Using secondary sources:
Two perspectives on the Tea Act of 1773
Perspective 1: The King and the British perspective on the Tea Act
The Tea Act passed the Parliament of England in May of 1773. The King didn’t really want to
tax (make the colonists pay extra money) the colonists. He just wanted to help the East India Tea
Company. This was a tea company that traded tea from Asia. The company had also lost a lot
of money. So the King and the British government agreed to allow the company the right to sell
the tea in the American colonies. By making the colonists buy the tea from the East India
Company and taxing the colonists on the tea, the King was trying to help the company to make
money. Even though the King was telling the colonists who to buy tea from and was taxing the
tea, he didn’t think it would hurt the colonists very much because the cost of the tea would still
be cheaper than the Dutch tea the Americans had been using. His real goal was to help the East
India Tea Company.
Note: This was modified to make it more readable.
Source:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_british_view_of_the_tea_act#ixzz1DhRCVgRe
Perspective #2: The colonists’ perspective on the Tea Act
Many colonists were against the Tea Act, and not because it helped the East India Company.
What made the colonists oppose it was that it reminded them of all the other acts the King and
the British had passed that taxed the colonists. The colonists did not like the idea that the King
and England could just impose the tax and that the colonists would have no say. This was
“taxation without representation.” If they agreed with the Tea Act they would be sending a
message to the King that he could do whatever he wanted to the colonists. Anger over the Tea
Act resulted in the Boston Tea Party. Three ships carrying tea from the East India Company
entered Boston Harbor. Before the tax could be collected, Bostonians took action. On a cold
December night, angry townspeople stormed the ships and tossed 342 chests of tea into the
water. Disguised as Native Americans, the offenders could not be identified.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Act#Response
Note: This text has been modified to make it more readable.
53
Lesson #14
Title: “Human Rights and Perspective” Assessment: Performance Task #1 (This can be done
during a reading/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
*Two “Human Rights and Perspective” sheets with rubric at bottom for each student and one for
you to use with the class
*Copies for each student of Columbus’ journal (primary source) and Thomas Jefferson’s Views
on Women (secondary source) and copies for the class to see
*Copies of “Two Perspectives: The Boston Massacre” for children who finished the assessment
early (see “Independent Practice”).
*Information about Deborah Sampson Gannett and Penelope Barker (see lesson details below).
Connection:
Last time we practiced being critical readers using secondary documents.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to see how well you can do this detective work on your own.”
Engagement:
“I am going to give you two historical documents. One is a primary source. It is Columbus’
journal that he wrote when he arrived across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain and landed in what is
now Haiti. The other is a secondary source about Thomas Jefferson’s views on women.”
Remind the children to use the glossary to help them understand some of the words in the texts.
(It is OK to help children to read these sources. This is an assessment of their ability to analyze
perspective and human rights in sources, not a reading assessment.)
Link:
Go over the rubric and explain how to meet the standard (answering questions 1-6 correctly) and
how to get a 4 by answering at least two of questions 7-10 correctly. Tell them that anybody who
needs help reading and understanding the text can join you. This is an assessment to see if they
can be detectives and critical thinkers and find out who is telling the story, which people have the
ability to exercise their rights, and if they can separate facts from opinions and interpretations.
Independent Practice:
Introduce the assessment of Columbus’ journal by reading the title, the headnote, and the note
explaining that is has been modified. If children finish early they can try the “both sides of the
story” secondary source assessment on the “Boston Massacre.”
54
Follow-up/Share:
Ask the children what they thought of Thomas Jefferson’s view of women. To provide another
perspective, you could use another literacy time to have the students read the attached
information about two women who did not fit Jefferson’s stereotype and expectations: Deborah
Sampson Gannett and Penelope Barker. You could then compare Jefferson’s views of women
with what they learned about these two women.
Notes:
Primary Source for Performance Task #1
Columbus’ Arrival in the New World
Headnote: This is Columbus’ description of his arrival on an island in the “New World” (in the
Caribbean). He is writing to the King and Queen of Spain.
Friday, October 12, 1492
The vessels were waiting for daylight and on Friday they arrived at a small island. We saw naked
people. We went on shore in an armed boat. We took two banners of the green cross and a
crown. We saw trees very green, and much water, and fruits of many kinds. I saw no animals on
the island except for parrots. We took possession of the island for the King and for the Queen of
Spain.
I saw that the natives were very friendly to us and thought that they could be made to become
Christian by being gentle with them instead of using force. I presented them with some red caps,
and strings of beads to wear upon the neck, and many other gifts of small value. They were much
delighted with these gifts, and became wonderfully attached to us. Afterwards they came
swimming to our boats, bringing parrots, balls of cotton thread, and other things that they traded
for glass beads and bells. There was much good feeling.
But they seemed on the whole to me, to be a very poor people. All I saw were young, not above
thirty years of age, with fine shapes and faces. They had no weapons. They are not familiar with
them either for I showed them swords that they grabbed by the blades and cut themselves. They
have no iron. Their javelins are nothing more than sticks, though some have fish-bones at the
ends.
It appears to me, that the people are smart and would be good servants. They very quickly learn
such words that are spoken to them. I am of the opinion that they could very easily be made in to
Christians, as they appear to have no religion. If it pleases your Lord (the King), I plan on my
return to Spain to bring back six of them to your Highness so that they may learn our language.
55
Word bank (glossary):
armed: with weapons
banners: flags
green cross: Christian religion
crown: symbol of the King
possession: ownership
javelins: spears
servants: like slaves
Source: Columbus’ Journal
Website for picture of Columbus landing in New World:
file:///Users/brentsclafani/Desktop/Google%20Image%20Result%20for%20http:upload.wikimed
ia.org:wikipedia:commons:9:97:Christopher_Columbus3.webarchive
Note: The language and phrasing of this journal has been modified from the original to make it
easier to read.
Secondary Source for Performance Task #1
Thomas Jefferson’s Views About Women
Headnote: Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. In reading this
source you will learn his views on women during the 1700s.
Thomas Jefferson felt that it was the women’s job to make sure the family was happy. He felt
that a woman’s interests should focus on having and raising children. Her other main job was to
think about her husband and how she could helpful to him. He also thought women shouldn’t
think about politics and should just agree with their husbands’ opinions (if married). Jefferson
felt that women just weren’t capable of the kind of thinking necessary for politics. He said that it
would only give them headaches and wrinkles on their foreheads.
Since women shouldn’t be thinking about politics, Jefferson didn’t see the need to give women
the right to vote. Since they weren’t going to be involved with voting and politics, Jefferson also
felt that women didn’t need to be educated. He wanted them to use their brains for simple things
and only focus on being good companions to their husbands and good tutors for their children.
How women dressed was also very important to Jefferson. For example, he felt a wife of a
wealthy plantation owner should dress in a way that had style and taste that would show she
comes from a wealthy family. He told his daughter that from the moment she woke up in the
morning she should be thinking about how she dressed so that men would admire her.
In conclusion, Jefferson felt that a woman’s main role in life was to get ready for marriage and
then to serve her husband. He told his daughter at her wedding that her main purpose now was
to make her husband happy and that this was even more important than being loving to him. He
felt that girls and women were meant to please men: first their fathers and brothers, and then
their husbands.
56
Word bank (glossary):
politics: having to do with making decisions and laws about how people live companions:
friends
plantation: a very large farm
Source: http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall97/jeffersn.html
Note: This was modified to make it more readable.
Two Perspectives: The Boston Massacre
Headnote: This is a secondary source that tries to give two sides of the story of the “Boston
Massacre.”
In 1770, the colonists were still angry that British soldiers were living in their towns and
cities. They thought the soldiers were loud and rude. The soldiers weren’t happy either. They
were far from home and not getting along with the colonists who made their job more
difficult.
In Boston the relationship between the colonists and the soldiers became worse. The
colonists showed their hatred of the soldiers by making fun of their red coats. They called
them names like “lobster backs.” And some soldiers went out of their way to bother the
colonists. Before long, name calling and fistfights were common in the streets.
On March 5, 1770, the bad feelings erupted into violence. A soldier was standing in front
of a building where the British collected taxes on the colonists. He was guarding it. It was
bitter cold night. Sometime before 9:00 pm a crowd began to gather. People in the crowd
called the soldier names. Some threw stones and snowballs. Captain Thomas Preston and
seven soldiers hurried to the soldier’s side. Loading their muskets, they stood in front of the
crowd.
The crowd taunted the soldiers. More snowballs and chunks of ice were thrown. No one
is sure what happened next. Afterward, some people said that Captain Preston told his
soldiers not to fire their guns. But one soldier said he heard the word “fire” and so he shot
into the crowd. When the crowd moved toward the soldiers they panicked and fired. Within
moments, five colonists lay dead or dying. Six more were wounded.
The colonists called this tragic event the “Boston Massacre.” Samuel Adams, a leader of
protests against the British, made sure the news of what happened spread through all of the
colonies.
Word bank (glossary):
Lobster backs: the soldiers’ uniforms were red like cooked lobsters
muskets: guns
taunted: tease and insult
Massacre: when people are murdered who can’t defend themselves
57
Information about Deborah Sampson Gannett
Physical examinations and proof of identity or age were not required to join the Continental
Army. On May 20, 1782, Deborah Sampson, 5 foot 7 and a half inches tall, disguised herself as a
man and enlisted with the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment under the name Robert Shurtleff. She
gave her age as 19 rather than her actual 21 to avoid suspicion about her lack of facial hair. She
served on patrols and saw combat in upstate New York. She was wounded in a battle near
Tarrytown and cared for her own wounds rather than be found out. In 1783, while hospitalized in
Philadelphia for a fever, an army surgeon discovered she was a woman. She was never punished
for masquerading as a man. On October 23, 1783, General Henry Knox at West Point honorably
discharged her. After the war she married Benjamin Gannett, had three children and adopted a
fourth.
Sources:
http://www.paulreverehouse.org/gift2/details/4651.pdf#search=paul%20revere%20deborah%
pages 39-41
“Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up?”, by Emily J. Teipe,
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/summer/pitcher.html
Information about Penelope Barker
Penelope Barker was born in North Carolina in 1728, Barker married John Hodgson at a
young age. By age nineteen, she was widowed with two children of her own and raised three
more from her husband’s previous marriage. She remarried a wealthy planter named James
Craven. He died when she was twenty-seven years old and, as he had no other heirs, she
inherited all of his estate and became the richest woman in North Carolina. She remarried again
to Thomas Barker, who frequently traveled to England on business. While he was away, she
managed their estates. She also bore three more children.
Tired of the British taxing the colonists while not letting them have a say in the government
(“taxation without representation”), Barker wrote a public statement in which she endorsed a
boycott of tea and other British products, such as cloth. Ten months after the famous Boston Tea
Party organized by men, Barker led a “Tea Party” on October 25, 1774, in the Edenton Home of
Elizabeth King. She and fifty other women signed the protest statement. At the meeting, Barker
said, “Maybe it has only been men who have protested the king up to now. That only means we
women have taken too long to let our voices be heard. We are signing our names to a document,
not hiding ourselves behind costumes like the men in Boston did at their tea party. The British
will know who we are.” (1) Part of the declaration stated, “We, the aforesaid Ladys will not
promote ye wear of any manufacturer from England until such time that all acts which tend to
enslave our Native country shall be repealed.”(2)
Barker sent the proclamation to a London newspaper, confident the women’s stance would
cause a stir in England. British journalists and cartoonists depicted the women in a negative light,
as bad mothers and loose women, and did not take them seriously. However, the Patriots in
America praised the women for their stance. Women all over the colonies followed Barker’s lead
and began boycotting British goods. Barker died in 1796.
(Some consider Penelope Barker the first woman political activist.)
58
A Statement of North Carolina Citizens, August 22, 1774
Resolved, That we will not directly or indirectly after the first PART of January 1775, import
from Great Britain any East India goods, nor any merchandise whatever, medicines excepted nor
will we after that PART import from the West Indies, or elsewhere, any East India or British
goods or manufactures, nor will we purchase any such articles so imported of any person or
persons whatsoever, except such as are now in the country, or may arrive on or before the first
PART of January, 1775.
...Resolved, That we will not use, nor suffer East India tea to be used in our families, after the
tenth PART of September next, and that we will consider all persons in this Province, not
complying with this resolve, to be enemies to their country.
“For The Publick Good”
“The Edenton Resolves,” October 1774, quoted in Peter Force, comp., American Archives
(Washington, D.C., 1834), 4th ser., 1, p. 891.
Source: National Women’s History Museum
59
Lesson #15
Title: Two perspectives of Columbus’ arrival in the New World: Columbus and Native
American (The reading part of this lesson can be done during a reading/literacy block and
the drama part done during a social studies block.)
Materials Needed:
*Copies for each student of Columbus’ journal
*Four cut out footprints in two different colors (white and brown)
*Copies for each student of “Taino Perspective on Encounter with Columbus”
*Picture of Columbus coming on to the beach in the “New World”
(http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=picture+of+columbus+on+beach+with
+native+americans&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8).
*Picture of Columbus leaving the Caribbean—native perspective (in unit kit)
Connection:
During the assessment you read Columbus’ journal that gave you his perspective on coming to
what the Europeans called the “New World.” Columbus was one of many explorers who came
for a variety of reasons.
Teaching Point:
“Today we will discuss why European explorers came to what was called the ‘New World.’
Europeans called this the ‘Age of Exploration.’ We will then review Columbus’ perspective on
the encounter with native people that you read for the assessment last time, and read a Native
American perspective on this encounter.”
Engagement:
Get a few ideas on why the children think explorers came to the New World: to find gold and
silver, so they would have a job, for adventure, they loved sailing, to spread Christianity, to
claim the land and its resources for their mother country. They claimed the land by putting down
the flag of their country—show them a picture (see website above) and mention how readers
have to be critical thinkers when looking at illustrations too: from whose perspective is this
picture taken from and what does it tell us about each groups’ ability (native people and
Columbus and his men) to exercise their human rights? Next hand out and read as a class
Columbus’ journal entry. List some of the opinions and interpretations that Columbus made:
natives are poor, good bodies, friendly, make good servants, easily become Christians, have no
religion, etc. Now tell them they are going to read a Native American perspective on Columbus’
arrival. Put children in teams of two, and you can meet with the children who need support
reading this. You might want to read it to them and highlight and discuss it as you read it. Ask
the children to highlight what they learn about the Taino people from this perspective that they
didn’t learn from Columbus’ journal. Come back as a class and list some ideas: they were
friendly and generous, they were able grow lots of food, knew geography, built houses that could
last 90 years, etc. Finally, show them the picture, from a Native American perspective, of
Columbus leaving the Caribbean. Ask what they can infer from this picture.
60
Link:
“In teams of four you will perform a drama activity called ‘In their shoes.’ Two of you will
represent Columbus and his men while the other two create a scene where you represent Taino
men, women, and children. In your scene the two Taino and Columbus people will be talking to
each other. For example, Columbus could say, ‘Take us to your gold!’ A Taino could respond,
‘We will bring you food instead’ and the conversation could continue, taking place at any point
in the encounter: when they first meet or later on when the Spanish have become enemies of the
Tainos. When we come back together to share the four of you will stand on these sets of different
colored footprints as you represent your side of the story. Take a few minutes to brainstorm some
things that each side could say to the other. Columbus and his men: This is a beautiful island;
Where did you get this gold? We are going to bring some of you back to Spain for our King; We
claim this land for Spain; I think you will make good Christians. Taino: Who are you and where
did you come from? Why did you come here? Why do care so much about the gold? We are
peaceful people, but we will defend ourselves; We have brought you food and gifts.
Independent Practice:
Children practice their lines, the order in which they will speak, and where they will stand.
Remind them to use the tools of an actor: facial, body and voice expression.
Follow-up/Share:
Children come together and share. Each group places the colored footprints where they want
them and recites their lines. Conclude by reminding the children of the importance of
perspective and discussing why some people, including many Native Americans, have a problem
with the phrase “Columbus discovered” America.
Notes:
During read aloud time read about the other explorers who came to the “New World” and show
on a map or globe the routes they traveled (History Alive: Ch. 5): John Cabot, Ponce de Leon,
Hernan Cortes, Jacques Cartier, Vasquez de Coronado, Henry Hudson, Robert de La Salle.
Mention that Samuel de Champlain also came to this part of the world and we will learn about
him during the fourth grade social studies curriculum. You can also read Encounter by Jane
Yolen (in unit kit) for another Native American perspective on Columbus’ arrival. You could
mention that some native people have a problem with this text because it portrays the Taino
people as passive when, in fact, there were many battles between the Indians and the Spanish. A
good book on explorations from another viewpoint is We Asked for Nothing: The Remarkable
Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Waldman. A free source of de Vaca’s primary account is The
Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza De Vaca (1542):
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/one/cabeza.htm
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Taino Perspective on Encounter with Columbus
When Columbus landed in the Caribbean in what is now Haiti, he learned that the native people
there called themselves “Taino.” The Taino culture influenced the cultures of the entire
Caribbean and is still present today. The word Taino meant “people of the good,” and from
what we know about them they were good people. They had developed a culture where people
were gentle, generous and kind. They respected and celebrated their animal and natural food
sources, as well as natural forces like the seasons and weather. The naked people Columbus
wrote about lived in a rainforest on a tropical island. They built shelters with a single tree and
made canoes that could carry more than one hundred people. Their houses were made of palm
trees that could last up to ninety years. The people lived in small, clean, villages along rivers and
along the coast. They were a handsome people who had no need of clothing for warmth. Their
skin color was olive brown to copper and their thick black hair was short in front and long in
back. They liked to bathe often. They were rarely taller than 5 feet 6 inches. They painted their
bodies with earth dyes and wore shells and metals. Men and women often wore gold in their
ears and nose or as pendants around their necks. Some had tattoos. The Taino people spoke a
language called Arawak.
The Taino world was a thriving place when Columbus arrived in 1492. They showed no signs of
hunger or of wanting anything (unlike peoples of Europe). Native people had lived there for
thousands of years before Columbus came. At the time Columbus arrived there were strings of a
hundred or more villages of 500 to 1,000 people living along the coast or by rivers. The Tainos
valued growing food and feeding everyone in the community. Their primary value was that all
of the people had a right to eat and that food needed to be produced in cooperation and was to be
shared. They used their natural resources to make cotton, rope, chairs, bowls, hammocks,
baskets, mats and fishing nets. They grew corn, yucca, beans and yams and had fruit orchards
covering whole valleys. They stored bread, dried fish and other food in sunlight-tight and
watertight sheds. They kept thousands of fish and turtles in corrals made with reeds. So the
Taino people were well fed, healthy and well governed. The council of elders was shown great
respect. They had ball games, held ceremonial dances and social dances. Columbus observed
few disagreements among the Taino people.
When Columbus first arrived men paddled out in dug out canoes to the strange giant Spanish
ships. They had bows and arrows, but also food and other gifts. Columbus wanted information
about the golden amulets (object kept for good luck) he received as gifts. We know what
Columbus thought of these new people, but one can only wonder what thoughts crossed the
Tainos’ minds at this first encounter. The Tainos might have thought Columbus and his men
strange enough to be gods and the bearded men with hairy, sand-color faces, with ships of many
sails to have come from the sky. Although they sometimes fought with different groups of people
living in the Caribbean, the Taino were considered a peaceful civilization. So, naturally friendly,
the Taino people’s first idea was to make peace. They freely gave Columbus and his men dried
fish, nuts, bread and other food. Columbus wrote, “They are so free with all they have that no
one would believe it who has not seen it. If it is asked of them, they never say no. On the
contrary, they invite you to share it and show as much love as if their hearts went with it.” He
would also see that they were completely honest and found them to be quick witted. For
example, they knew their geography and could express themselves well. Columbus found that
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they knew “more than one hundred islands by name.” He wrote to the King and said “there is
not a better country nor a better people in the world than these.”
It would take a full season for the Tainos to lose their good will for the Spanish who demanded
women, continued to take captives, and strongly announced their hunger for gold. Powerful
investors from Spain, who wanted a return on their investment, provided the money for
Columbus’ voyage. So Columbus’ log shows a concern for finding large quantities of gold and
estimating the value of the land, slaves, fruits and other natural resources. When Columbus and
his men demanded that the Taino people bring him gold, they offered instead to provide him and
his men and even some of the people back in Spain with all the food they would need and they
wouldn’t have to work for it. But Columbus wanted gold.
The conquest of the Taino and other native people really began on Columbus’ second trip, when
he came with seventeen ships. This time he came with ex-prisoners and ex-soldiers who had
experience in fighting. They came seeking their own private fortunes (gold) and would do
whatever was necessary to get them. They came with steel armor and swords, muskets and
crossbows. The Spanish almost immediately started military campaigns against the Taino
villages. The fighting went back and forth and by 1496 only one third of the native population
was left. Some historians think it took longer. Diseases like malaria and smallpox also played a
big role in destroying the Taino population. They were captured and forced to work in the gold
mines as slaves. Thousands more people who lived in poverty in Spain came to this land to find
gold.
The Spanish had no regard whatsoever for the human life of a Taino. They would cut off
people’s hands and test the strength of their swords on captured Tainos. In an act of revenge for
a Taino attack, Spanish soldiers captured 700 villagers and stabbed them all to death. Some
soldiers tried to protect the children, but other soldiers would kill them. For fifty years there
were many battles where the Taino defeated the Spanish, but Spanish cannons, steel swords,
horses and dogs overwhelmed the dwindling number of Taino, who were sometimes worked to
death. One Spanish man named Hatuey tried to warn the Indians on other islands (Cuba,
Jamaica, Santa Domingo and Puerto Rico) about the Spanish and their quest for gold, but he was
captured and executed. Some of the Indians escaped into the mountains or to other islands and
were able to preserve some of their culture.
Five hundred years later we can wonder what the Spanish could have learned from the Taino
people had their humanity been respected and their knowledge and intelligence understood.
Even though they were called “primitive” and “backward” their ability to house and feed people,
even today, has arguably not been improved upon. Also, when we look at the Taino people’s
relationship with nature it can be seen in a positive light today. Most of the history of European
contact with America has not been written from an Indian perspective. Even though the Indians
response to the Spanish was usually friendly, curious and respectful, what came back was an
arrogant and a superior attitude. What followed was unrelenting brutality. Some people
today still think this was necessary to bring “civilization” to people who were savages.
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Word bank (glossary):
Arrogant: thinking you are better than someone else
Unrelenting: not stopping
Brutality: being very cruel
Civilization: a way of living that is considered polite
Savages: people who are wild with no manners
Note: This writing was modified to make it more readable.
Source: Adapted from the article “A Note on Tainos: Whither Progress?” By Jose Barreiro from
the book View From The Shore: American Indian Perspectives on the Quincentenary, Jose
Barreiro
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Lesson #16
Title: Plymouth Settlement from the settlers’ perspective (The reading part of lesson could be
done during a reading/literacy block and the drama part during a social studies block. This
will probably take two sessions with the drama activity happening during the second social
studies session.)
If you are interested in inviting families to school to listen to their children state their positions
on going to war against England, this would be a good time to plan the date. The children will
be writing their positions in Lesson #21 and you will probably want to take a little time to have
them practice for the sharing day.
Materials Needed:
*Background information, “The Mayflower Arrives in Plymouth,” a first-hand account by
William Bradford of the Mayflower’s arrival and exploring the land in Plymouth, and Edward
Winslow describing “The First Thanksgiving”. Copies for each student.
*Map of 13 colonies—History Alive, p. 68
*Summary information about Roanoke, Jamestown, and the13 colonies (Chapters 6 and 7,
History Alive).
Connection:
After the explorers landed here more people came to settle in the “New World.”
Teaching Point:
“Today we will read first-hand accounts by William Bradford and Edward Winslow, which will
give us the settlers’ perspective about their arrival and settlement in Plymouth (which is now part
of Massachusetts), and what has been called “The First Thanksgiving.” We will also learn how
the first settlements at Plymouth and Jamestown led to the establishment of the 13 colonies.”
Engagement:
Read “The Mayflower Arrives in Plymouth.” Pass out copies so the students can follow along.
Then read Bradford’s “When the Mayflower First Landed.” Again the students can follow along.
Have the students listen for the details of what happened: what the “pilgrims” saw, did and felt.
Record these details on a chart. Then have the students read the sections “Exploring the Land”
and “The First Thanksgiving” independently or in teams of two while you meet with students
who need extra support. Have them look for the same details and record them on a chart as a
class. Next tell the children they will be representing the settlers’ perspective from what they
learned and acting this out in a statue-like activity.
Link:
“Having read these first-hand accounts, your job now is to imagine yourself as a settler in one of
these situations: just arriving on land for the fist time, exploring the land, or the first
Thanksgiving.” Tell the children they will be creating a tableau (from Flynn Theater’s “Words
Come Alive”) and choosing one way to represent the settlers’. A tableau is a statute or frozen
picture created as a group. Each person in the tableau says one line and the group decides the
order in which the lines are spoken. To practice this you can ask for four volunteers to create a
tableau of Columbus and his men encountering Native Americans for the first time. Take some
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of the lines that the children used in the last lesson or use the ones below, and decide on the
order. The children get into their tableau and freeze. When you say “action,” each person will
says his/her line in order and return to their frozen position.
Example
Columbus: We claim this land for the King and Queen of Spain.
Man: I think you will make good Christians.
Taino: We have our own spiritual ways. Who are you and where did you come from?
Taino: No one can own the land. Did you come as friends or to do harm?
Independent Practice:
Divide the class into groups and areas of the room to create their tableaus. Assign each group
the scene that they will create. It’s OK that some groups will be working on the same topic. If
you prefer, you can let children decide for themselves, but encourage all three scenes to be
chosen. Then they go off and create their lines, the order in which they will say them and their
tableaus.
Follow-up/Share:
Children perform their tableaus. Then provide some general information on the other first
settlements, Roanoke and Jamestown (Chapters 6 and 7 in History Alive), and explain how these
early settlements led to the formation of the 13 colonies as more people from England as well as
other countries in Europe—Ireland, Holland, Scotland and Germany— came to the “New
World.” Show a map of the colonies. Make the connection between the 13 colonies and the 13
stripes on our flag and the term “New England.” This information can also be provided during
read-aloud, or you can make copies from History Alive and have children read it themselves
during a reading block.
Notes:
The Burlington fifth grade curriculum includes a focus on pre-colonialism and exploration by the
Europeans through the American Revolution. Since this unit focuses primarily on the time of the
American Revolution, this lesson provides some background knowledge for the students.
Background information: The Mayflower Arrivers in Plymouth
Headnote: The Mayflower was the ship that in 1620 brought people from England to Plymouth,
Massachusetts (on Cape Cod). The people who came over on the Mayflower disagreed with the
religious teachings of the Church of England. They were members of a group of people called
Separatists. The Plymouth settlers did not refer to themselves as “Pilgrims.” They called
themselves “Saints”; others called them “Separatists.” Some of the settlers were “Puritans,”
dissidents of the Church of England, but not separatists who wanted to “purify” the Church. (It
wasn’t until around the time of the American Revolution that the name “Pilgrims” came to be
associated with the Plymouth settlers.) At this time, the Church of England was the same as the
Government of England. In other words, King James I was the head of both the country and the
church. Not belonging to the church meant not obeying the king. This was treason. So they left
England, in search of a safe place to practice their religion. They chose to go to Holland. They
worshipped there for 12 years, but the Pilgrims were also poor. Many of them were forced to
work difficult jobs, for little money. They had found religious peace in Holland, but they were
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making barely enough money to survive. So they decided to sail to North America. They didn’t
want to join the Jamestown colony, founded in 1607, because they feared that the English people
there would treat them badly because of their religious beliefs. So they settled on the northern
part of the Virginia Territory, at the mouth of the Hudson River (near what is now New York
City). Then they found businesspeople willing to give them money in exchange for a share of the
profits they made in America. They bought a small ship and sailed back to England. They stayed
long enough to get more people to join them and a larger ship, the Mayflower. There were 102
passengers and a crew of 25-30 on the boat. It left England on September 6, 1620. It was a very
difficult journey and took 66 days. The Mayflower planned to go back to the northern Virginia
territory, but by October the winds became stronger and storms more frequent. No one really
knows for sure why Capt. Christopher Jones went to Cape Cod and Plymouth instead of Virginia
and many theories have been suggested. Eugene Stratton writes that one reason was that they
wanted to be outside the jurisdiction of the Anglican Church, which was the established church
in Virginia. However, Mr. Stratton states, “Bradford and Winslow went to their graves
maintaining that they arrived at New England either by accident or by the treachery (he tricked
them) of Capt. Christopher Jones.”
Journal of William Bradford
When the Mayflower first landed: Some men left the ship and came on shore while the rest
stayed on the boat. When they were first safe on land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the
God who had brought them safely over the ocean. I stood amazed at the condition of our
people. After passing over the ocean we now were on land with no friends to welcome us, no
inns to refresh us and no houses or towns to go to. When we met the barbarians they showed
great kindness in providing us with food, but they were also ready to fill our sides with arrows.
The season was winter. The winters of this country have cruel and fierce storms and it is a time
that it is dangerous to travel and search the coast. But there is nothing to search for anyway for
all they could see would be wilderness, full of wild beats and wild men. If we look behind us all
we see is the mighty ocean, which we have passed over, and is what separates us from the civil
parts of the world. Our only hope is in the Spirit of God and His grace.
Exploring the land: We found a river and sixteen well-armed men went off to explore it. On
November 15 they saw five or six persons with a dog coming toward them who were savages.
But they ran away and the men ran after them to see if they could speak with them and to see if
there were might be more of them lying in ambush. When night came they found places to sleep
and set up guards through the night. In the morning they began to search again for the savages.
They were very thirsty and found water to drink. As they marched on they found clear ground
where the Indians had stored corn and there were also some graves. Then they found where a
house had been and did some digging. They found Indian baskets filled with corn. They
returned to the ship and took some corn with them. After this they set out again for a better
discovery of this place. This time there were thirty men. They found more corn and beans of
various colors. Through the great mercy of God they also found seed to plant corn the next year.
If they had not found these things they might have starved for the ground was now all covered
with snow and frozen.
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Word Bank (glossary):
condition: state that the people were in
barbarians: people who are wild with no manners
civil: to act polite and with manners
Source: Bradford, William Journals: Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647. Edited by Samuel
Morison. New York: Knopf, 1976. The history of Plymouth (to 1647) as recorded in the
retrospective history of its second governor.
Headnote sources:
• http://www.richmondancestry.org/pilgrim.shtml
• http://stufffromthelab.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/why-did-the-pilgrims-come-to-the-newworld/
• http://www.oyate.org/resources/longthanks.html “Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First
Thanksgiving’” by Judy Dow (Abenaki) and Beverly Slapin
Note: The language and phrasing of this journal has been modified from the original to make it
easier to read.
“The First Thanksgiving”
Headnote: This is a journal of Edward Winslow describing what has been called “The First
Thanksgiving” in 1621 with the people who came over on the Mayflower.
To begin our harvest our governor sent four men out to kill as much fowl as they could so that
we might in a special manner rejoice together to celebrate the fruits of our labors.
We exercised our arms and many of the Indians joined us including their great King Massasoit
with some 90 of his men. For three days we entertained and feasted. The Indians went out and
killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our Governor and the
others that were there. And although food has not always been so plentiful, as it was at this time,
by the goodness of God, we are so far from want.
Word bank (glossary):
labors: work
bestowed: gave
governor: man in charge of the Plymouth Plantation
Source: http://www.oyate.org/resources/longthanks.html
Notes: The language and phrasing of this journal has been modified from the original to make it
easier to read.
Point out to the children that men in those days used the masculine “he” to include women (who
were really property of men) and that once the native people realized there was going to be a
celebration, it would have been strange for them not to include women and children.
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Lesson #17
Title: Plymouth Settlement from a Native American perspective: this lessons continues
providing background information on the establishment of the colonies, leading to the study of
different groups of people living in the colonies prior to the American Revolution. (The reading
part of lesson could be done during a reading/literacy block and the drama part during a
social studies block. This will probably take two sessions.)
Materials Needed:
•Native perspectives on the Mayflower’s arrival and the “First Thanksgiving” for each student
(attached)
•Information about what eventually happened between native people and settlers and how
contemporary native people feel about Thanksgiving (attached).
Connection: Last time we read a Pilgrim’s perspective about the group’s arrival and settling in
Plymouth.
Teaching Point:
“Today we will learn about the settlement of the Pilgrims in Plymouth and what is called the
“First Thanksgiving” from a Native American perspective.”
Engagement:
To learn about the native perspective we are going to read secondary sources written by native
people. We can’t find primary sources of how native people felt back then because they had an
oral or spoken tradition. Stories and information were passed down orally and not written down.
First read “Background information on the Mayflower’s arrival.” Pass out copies so the students
can follow along. Next read the section “When the Mayflower First Landed” (again students can
follow along) and record what the Wampanoags saw, did and felt including how students think
the Wampanoags might have felt when they first saw the Mayflower and the people coming onto
the land. Then have the children read individually or in teams of two native accounts about
“exploring the land” and the “first Thanksgiving.” Come back as a class and record what they
learned from reading these passages.
Link:
Tell the children they will again be creating tableaus from these descriptions. “Your job now is
to imagine yourself as a Native American in one of these situations: when the Mayflower first
arrived, when the settlers went exploring, or the “the First Thanksgiving.” Tell the children that
like last time, they will be creating a tableau (from Flynn Theater’s Words Come Alive) and
choosing one way to represent the Native American perspective. “In the first two scenes, imagine
you are a Wampanoag watching the settlers. What would you be thinking and saying to each
other? For the Thanksgiving scene you can imagine yourself first hearing the shots and then
hunting for food, or when you have joined the settlers to eat. Remember, a tableau is like statute
only you create a frozen picture as a group where each person says one line and the group
decides the order in which these lines will be spoken. Remember we are looking for the skills of
good acting: voice, body, and facial expression.”
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Independent Practice:
Divide the class into three groups and assign them areas in the room to create their tableaus. Tell
them which scene they are to create. The children then create their tableau, their lines, and the
order in which they will speak. It’s OK for groups to create the same scene.
Follow-up/Share:
•Children share their tableaus.
•Find a time to either read or have the children read the last section about “What would happen
between the Native people and the settlers” and “How native people feel about Thanksgiving.”
Notes:
Other resources that could be used to provide the Native American perspective are Squanto’s
Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac and A New Look at
Thanksgiving by Margaret Bruchac (in unit kit).
Background Information on the Mayflower’s Arrival
From the native perspective the settlers’ arrival would be considered an invasion (they were
being attacked). By 1620, hundreds of native people had already been to England and back,
most as captives (they were forced to go); so the Plymouth colonists knew that the land they
were settling on was inhabited by native people, but they believed that any land that was
“unimproved” (not fenced in and claimed) was “wild” and theirs for the taking. This was a white
European way of looking at land. The native people didn’t believe in fencing in land. The
Pilgrims had very strong religious beliefs and they came to the New World fully intending to
take the land away from its native inhabitants and establish a new nation, their “Holy Kingdom.”
The Mayflower’s Arrival and “The First Thanksgiving”
A Native American Perspective
When the Mayflower first landed:
When the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 and landed on the rocky shores of what
became known as Plymouth, there were native people called the Wampanoag (Wam pa NO ag)
who were already living there. We can only guess what the Wampanoags thought when they
first saw the strange ships of the Pilgrims arriving on their shores, but their custom was to help
visitors. The Wampanoags treated each other with respect. Any visitor to a Wampanoag home
was provided with a share of whatever food the family had, even if the supply was low. This
same courtesy was extended to the Pilgrims. It was mainly because of the kindness of the
Wampanoags that the Pilgrims survived at all.
Notes: These writings have been modified to make them more readable.
Sources:
*The Center For World Indigenous Studies
c/o The Fourth World Documentation Project
P.O. Box 2574
Olympia, Washington
98507-2574
70
Exploring the land:
Just a few days after the Mayflower landed, a party of about 16 settlers followed an Indian trail
and came upon an iron kettle and corn buried in the sand. They took the corn and returned a few
days later with more people. This larger group found a larger store of corn, about ten bushels,
and some seed corn, and took them too. They also found several Native American graves and,
according to one source, took things that were buried in a child’s grave. There is no record that
the colonists ever gave anything back to the Wampanoags for what they stole. The Wampanoag
did not soon forget the colonists’ being disrespectful to their graves or stealing their seed corn.
“The First Thanksgiving”
According to oral accounts from the Wampanoag people, people nearby heard the gunshots of
the hunting colonists. They thought that the colonists were preparing for war and that Massasoit,
their leader, should be informed. When Massasoit showed up with 90 men and no women or
children, it can be assumed that he was being careful. When he saw there was a party going on,
his men then went out and brought back five deer and lots of turkeys. Both the Wampanoag and
the English settlers were long familiar with harvest celebrations. So the coming together of two
peoples to share food and company was not entirely an unusual thing for either. But the visit that
by all accounts lasted three days was most likely one of a series of political meetings to discuss a
military agreement where they would be at peace with each other. (In general, women would be
at these events. They played an important role in negotiations.) This was because neither side
totally trusted the other: The Europeans considered the Wampanoag soulless heathens (people
who don’t believe in God) and instruments of the devil, and the Wampanoag had seen the
Europeans steal their seed corn and rob their graves. Neither the Wampanoag nor the Europeans
referred to this feast/meeting as a “Thanksgiving.”
Notes: These writings have been modified to make them more readable.
Again point out that that once the Wampanoags realized there was going to be a celebration, it
would have been strange for them not to include women and children.
Sources:
*The Center For World Indigenous Studies
c/o The Fourth World Documentation Project
P.O. Box 2574
Olympia, Washington
98507-2574
71
What would happen between the native people and the settlers:
A mere generation later, the balance of power had shifted so enormously and the theft of land by
the European settlers had become so egregious that the Wampanoag were forced into battle. In
1637, English soldiers massacred some 700 Pequot men, women, and children at Mystic Fort,
burning many of them alive in their homes and shooting those who fled. The colonies of
Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay observed a day of thanksgiving commemorating the
massacre. By 1675, there were some 50,000 colonists in the place they had named “New
England.” That year, Metacom, a son of Massasoit, one of the first whose generosity had saved
the lives of the starving settlers, led a rebellion against them. By the end of the conflict known as
“King Philip’s War,” most of the Indian peoples of the Northeast region had been either
completely wiped out, sold into slavery, or had fled for safety into Canada. Shortly after
Metacom’s death, Plymouth Colony declared a day of thanksgiving for the English victory over
the Indians.
How native people feel about Thanksgiving
For many Indian people, “Thanksgiving” is a time of mourning, of remembering how a gift of
generosity was rewarded by theft of land and seed corn, extermination of many from disease and
guns, and near total destruction of many more from forced assimilation. As currently celebrated
in this country, “Thanksgiving” is a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for
friendship.
Source: http://www.oyate.org/resources/longthanks.html
“Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First Thanksgiving’” by Judy Dow (Abenaki) and Beverly
Slaping. This website also has a native perspective about how Squanto and Samoset became
friends with the Pilgrims, helped them survive, and joined them at “the First Thanksgiving.”
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Lesson #18
Title: Different groups of people living in the colonies prior to the American Revolution and the
extent to which they were able to exercise their human rights. (This work might take two days to
complete).
Materials Needed:
* Copy of chart: “Groups of people living during the time leading up to the American Revolution
and their ability to exercise their human rights” for the whole class to see and 13 additional
copies for children to use in teams (attached).
*Put children into teams of two or three to learn about the different groups—there are 13 groups
of people, but it’s OK to not to cover all of the groups. In creating your teams consider the
level of the reading material. I have made a comment regarding reading level next to each group
to help you assign teams. I have also made a column for you to record team names.
* Copies of information and resources each team of children will need to learn about their group
(see “groups and resources”).
*Information about the life of Adam Waterford in Cobblestone: People of Williamsburg, p. 25
(in unit kit).
*Assign “colonial perspective roles” for each student and cut these out (attached). Inferring the
person’s perspective on going to war against England will be easier for some roles than for
others (this work will happen in lessons 19 and 20). I have made a comment below about some
of the roles to help you assign easier and more complicated roles to different children. I have also
made a section for the student’s name that is assigned the role.
*Maps of US and world and of the 13 colonies (see notes below)
Connection:
We have learned about people coming from Europe to the New World and establishing
settlements in Jamestown and Plymouth that eventually led to the 13 colonies. We have learned
this from both a Pilgrim and Native American perspective.
Teaching Point:
“In studying the period leading up to the American Revolution, we are going to apply the two
universal ideas we have learned that need to be considered when studying history in order to be
fair to all the people involved: making sure we get all sides of the story, or perspectives, from the
people involved; and finding out to what extent different groups of people were able to exercise
their human rights. Today we are going to focus on the question: During the time of the America
Revolution, to what extent were different groups of people able to exercise their human rights?”
Engagement:
Tell students that to answer this question we need to first learn what groups of people we’re
talking about. “To help us learn about these different groups of people I am going to pass out the
colonial roles that each of you will represent. Taking the perspective of this person, you will
decide how you feel about the Declaration of Independence and going to war against England.
Above your person’s name is the group that he or she belongs to.” The children will be excited
to learn about their person, so give them a few minutes to read the description and get help if
they need it to read it. Then get their attention and have them share the person’s role: craftsman,
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apprentice, etc. List these groups (see “groups and resources”) and briefly explain what the
terms mean: for example, an indentured servant was someone who worked for another person,
often to pay off the cost of traveling to America. Have them put their roles away in their social
studies folders. Next show the children the chart that you will be using to determine each
group’s ability to exercise their human rights. Model use of this chart by reading about Adam
Waterford, a freed slave who was a barrel maker (Cobblestone: People of Williamsburg, p. 25, in
unit kit). Mention that occasionally, but rarely, a master would free a slave because of how hard
he/she worked, or an enslaved person would find a way to pay for his or her freedom, or
escape—so a “freed slave” is another category. Read page 25 and the last paragraph on p. 27. As
you read, ask the students to think about to what extent Adam Waterford was able to exercise his
human rights. Then model filling out the chart as you refer back to the article and decide on an
ability to exercise human rights score for each right, along with a brief comment (see my filled
out example). Also model making inferences where you can: for example, as I did with
housing. Finally, model coming up with a summary score: I came up with 2 (see my
explanation). Now the students will get to do this same work in a team, learning about the life of
another person who represents a group of people. Then we will come together and share what we
have found out. Remind the students that it’s OK if they can’t find out about many of the
institutions. They can just put a question mark by those rights they aren’t sure about. Tell them
that there are both primary and secondary sources in the materials you will be handing out.
Independent:
Assign the teams and the group they will be working on. Tell them it doesn’t matter if the group
they are working on doesn’t match their individual colonial role. Give them the resources they
will need and a chart. A way of organizing this work could be to assign more skilled children to
work independently and give them another group when they are done, while you work with a
group of children who need extra support. You could pass out the reading material, read it as a
group, and fill out the chart as a group with you being the scribe. Remember it’s OK if not all
of the groups are covered. The point is for the children to see that different groups of
people living at the time had different levels of ability to exercise their human rights, but
you may want to continue this work for a second day.
Follow-up/Share:
•Collect the material and come together to share the information as a class. Again the point is for
children to see that different groups of people had different abilities to exercise their human
rights. If any of the scores seem way off you can take a minute to talk about the team’s
reasoning.
•It’s important for children to understand that even though we are talking about “groups” (that is
the wording of the standard) to help us understand how different people were able to exercise
their human rights, not every person within each group had exactly the same ability to exercise
their human rights. For example, some indentured servants were treated with more respect and
kindness than others and some merchants or craftsmen were better off than others. In addition,
not all people within a group shared exactly the same values or acted the same way. For
example, some slave owners treated enslaved people with more cruelty than others.
74
Notes:
 If you can, during a read-aloud time read about the events leading up to the Revolution
before the next lesson, or wait if you want the students to read it themselves. See what has to
be read in lesson #18.
 This would be a good time to introduce geography: Students need to see the location of the
13 original colonies (History Alive shows this) and, perhaps, a flag with the 13 stars (google:
original US flag). They can compare the 13 colonies to a map of the US today. Burlington
and state standards include locating and studying physical features and landmarks of the US
and the political regions, and selected cities (Boston, NYC, etc.) and capitals. Finally,
students can see a map of the world and locate England and see how the colonists came
across the ocean. Local standards also include learning about latitude and longitude and
mapping coordinates.
 Another resource that you can use for reading blocks is Houghton Mifflin: Voices of
Revolution (grade 5). It includes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction pieces. Addresses fact versus
opinion and includes constructed responses. It was used in 2011 by two of the teachers
piloting the unit. Multiple copies are located at the Sustainability School and the Integrated
Arts Academy.
75
Groups and Resources
Reading Level
My example
Cobblestone: Fifth
grade or close to
fifth grade level.
Same as above
Groups
Freed slave (this
is the one I am
using as an
example)
Small farmers
Resources
Cobblestone-The People
of Williamsburg: Adam
Waterford p. 25 (in unit
kit)
CobblestoneWilliamsburg: Martha
Cripps-starts on p. 22
Tavern Owner
CobblestoneWilliamsburg: Jane
Same as above
Merchant
Vobe-starts on p. 8
Cobblestone-Williamsburg:
Same as above.
Master
Craftspeople
and
Apprentice
*Cobblestone: Colonial
Craftsmen (in unit kit)
pp. 8-11
and pp. 10-11
This material can be
used for two groups
of people:
craftspeople and
apprentices. A
sophisticated team
could read the
material and fill out
two separate charts,
or you can make two
copies of the
materials and have
one team do
craftspeople and the
other
apprenticeships.
Same as above.
Team
William Prentis-starts on
p. 12
Craftsperson
team:
Apprenticeship
Team:
Housewife
craftswoman
CobblestoneWilliamsburg- starts on
p. 27
76
Reading Level
This material is a
little more
complicated because
it involves several
documents, including
two primary sources
that graphically show
how Africans were
treated as property.
The reading material
is fifth grade level.
Fifth grade reading
level. Explain to this
team that there are
two primary
documents that show
indentured servant
contracts and how
these
people/children were
bound by law to work
for a certain number
of years.
Groups
Enslaved Africans
Resources
Indentured
Servants
*American Voices From
Colonial Life, chapter on
Daily Life – An
indentured servant tells
his story pp. 53-55
*Attached copies of
indentured servant
contract of Michael
Gyger and indentured
service contract of a 12year-old boy.
Easier reading
material.
Plantation owner
Life on the Plantation:
pp. 4, 6, 8, 14
*American Voices From
Colonial Life: chapter 4
on The First Americans
*Life on the Plantation:
pp 8,9,12,16
*Primary documents
listing in will a “negro
boy” as property and
“Public sale of Negroes”
Team
77
Reading Level
Fifth grade level.
Groups
Educated Men
and Women
Easier reading
material
Governor
Easier reading
material.
Preacher
More difficult
reading material
(attached in the
teacher guide).
Native Americans
Fifth grade level.
Quaker
Resources
*History Alive!
America’s Past: Sam
Adams p.120
*Voices From Our
Country –p.35-36 (in unit
kit).
Explain to this team
that these are letters
that Abigail Adams
wrote to her husband
John Adams, who was a
representative to the
Continental Congress,
telling him to
“Remember the
Ladies”—to remember
that they should have
some political rights too.
Team
History Alive! America’s
Past: Lord Dunmore and
Thomas Hutchinson, pp.
115, 117
History Alive: America’s
Past: Jonathan Boucher,
p. 116
“How did Native
Americans respond to
Declaration of
Independence”
(attached after list of
roles)
Cobblestone: Quakers,
p. 16
78
Groups of people living during the time leading up to the American Revolution
and their ability to exercise their human rights
Team: ____________________________________
Group of people you are studying:______________________________________
1-no ability to exercise
their human rights
Institution
Housing
Score
2-a little ability to
exercise their human
rights
3-some ability to
exercise their human
rights
4- a lot of ability to
exercise their human
rights
Comment: Because…
Medical care
Choice of work
and fair wage
Fun and rest
Respect
Love
Freedom and say
in government
Own property
Equal protection
under the law
Education
Food, water, and
clothing
Summary of group’s ability to exercise their rights as human beings
1-no ability to exercise
2-a little ability to
3-some ability to
4- a lot of ability to
human rights
exercise human rights
exercise human rights
exercise human rights
Group of people you are studying:_________________________________
Summary score:_____
79
Chart showing groups of people living during the time leading up to the American
Revolution and their ability to exercise their rights as human beings
Team: Teacher
Group of people you are studying: freed slave craftsmen
1-no ability to exercise
their human rights
2-a little ability to
exercise their human
rights
3-some ability to
exercise their human
rights
4- a lot of ability to
exercise their human
rights
Institution
Housing
Score
3
Comment: Because…
The article mentions Adam buying land and going home. So it sounds like he
owns his own home.
Medical care
?
Put a question mark for any right you aren’t sure about.
Choice of work
and fair wage
Fun and rest
2
Respect
2
Love and family
1
Freedom and say
in government
Own property
1
It sounds like he makes a decent wage for being a barrel maker, but being
enslaved at one time, I’m not sure how many choices he had for a job
He gets to go home after work so it sounds like he has some time for fun and
rest.
It seems like he gets some respect for the baskets he makes, but there is still
so much prejudice toward black people.
His wife is enslaved and they can’t live together unless he can save enough
money to buy her and the owner has to be willing to sell her.
It says that he can’t vote.
3
It says that he bought his own land.
Equal protection
under the law
Education
1
The law doesn’t allow him to live with his wife and allows his wife to be a
slave.
He learned to read and write, which is unusual for someone who was
enslaved in the South, but not unusual for people enslaved in the North.
Food, water, and
clothing
3
2
2
It seems like he makes enough money to buy the food and clothing he needs.
Summary of group’s ability to exercise their rights as human beings
1-no ability to exercise
2-a little ability to
3-some ability to
4- a lot of ability to
human rights
exercise human rights
exercise human rights
exercise human rights
Group of people you are studying: freed craftsmen slaves
Summary score: 2
I gave a summary score of 2 because there were five 2s. That is most of any number. Also there were three 1s and
two 3s and they kind of average out to about a 2. I could also just find the average: The points added up to 20 and
there were 10 categories that if filled out so 20/10=2.
80
Colonial Perspective Roles
Writer
1. Mercy Otis Warren: You are a writer of plays and poems who lives near Boston,
Massachusetts. You believe that the Declaration of Independence should apply to women
and not just men and that “all people are created equal.” You believe that women should
have the right to vote and to be elected to positions in government. Your husband James
holds meetings in your house with other colonists who feel that England and King George is
treating the colonies unfairly.
Student_______________________
This is a more complicated role to interpret and a good role to give a girl who has some
awareness of or interest in women’s rights. This role involves additional reading: give the
student information on Mercy Otis Warren in Voices From Our Country, pp. 35-36 (in unit
kit). Explain that these are letters that Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams,
who was a representative to the Continental Congress and helping to decide if the colonists
should go to war against England. She was telling him to “Remember the Ladies” and that
women should have political rights too. Explain that these letters could help a student see
how Mercy might have felt about her political rights, since both women were educated and
lived near Boston.
Politician
2. Sam Adams: You went to Harvard College outside of Boston. You have studied about
democratic governments and wrote a paper on people’s rights to fight and change unfair
governments. You are a full-time politician in Boston, helping to make the laws for the
colony of Massachusetts.
Student_______________________________
This role and the next one would be good for students who have some understanding of
democracy as our form of government compared to more autocratic governments.
Professor
3. Phineas Sprague: You live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, and
teach at Harvard College. You have studied the Roman Republic and Greek Democracy and
would like to see these ideas put into motion. Now is a good time to start, by imparting
these ideas to your students at Harvard College.
Student_______________________________
81
Craftsman
4. Pieter Van Dyck: You are a master silversmith living in Albany, New York. You are
concerned about the British government’s rule over the colonies because many of your
customers can’t afford to buy luxuries such as silver products as a result of the high
British taxes.
Student_________________________________
Apprentice
5. John Carter: You are an apprentice to Pieter Van Dyck and live in Albany, New York.
You are learning to become a master silversmith. You hear Pieter complain that many
people can’t afford to buy his silver products because of the high British taxes. You hope
to be a master silversmith like Pieter one day.
Student_________________________________
Preacher/Minister
6. Francis Gilliam: You are a Methodist minister who lives in New Bern, North Carolina.
You are excited to be in a new land where you can practice your own religion. You would
like to have a break from England so that you don’t have to worry about having to follow
the Church of England.
Student____________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
Merchant:
7. William Prentis: You are one of the wealthiest men in Williamsburg, Virginia. You own a
store that sells many products that come from England, including clothing, shoes, hats,
gloves, paper, books, tools and food. A good relationship with England is very important to
you and your business. You also entertain many of the powerful and wealthy people of
Williamsburg in your home.
Student________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
82
Merchant’s Wife:
8. Mary Brooks Prentis: You are the daughter of a very successful tavern owner in
Williamsburg, Virginia. Your family’s success allows you to become acquainted with William
Prentis, who you marry. William is one of the wealthiest men in Williamsburg. He owns a
store that sells different kinds of British goods. You know that the success of your
husband’s business relies on a good relationship with England. You also entertain many of
the powerful and wealthy people in Williamsburg.
Student_________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
Enslaved Woman
9. Judith: You are the family cook for William Prentis, who is one of the wealthiest men
in Williamsburg, Virginia. William owns a store where he sells many English goods and some
local goods too. Your work is long and demanding. You get up early to serve breakfast and
then start preparing the dinner, which is the biggest meal of the day. You have children
who live with you, but you have little time to see them. You wonder if all the talk about
“liberty” and “freedom” and the Declaration of Independence will help African-American
people who have been enslaved. You long for the day that you and your family can be free.
Student_________________________________________
This is a more complicated role to interpret.
Craftsman
10. James Griffin: You are a master woodworker living in Port Royal, Georgia. You make
beautiful furniture, which you sell to wealthy people in your town. Many of your customers
are very content with their lives and support the King. You have a very successful business
and are very happy with your life, too. You also have an indentured servant who you are
training, named Thomas Clayton.
Student________________________________
83
Indentured Servant
(Indentured signed contracts to work for people for a certain number of years. Being an
indentured servant allowed people to pay for their voyage to the American colonies.
Sometimes parents signed indentured contracts for their children.)
11. Thomas Clayton: You are an indentured servant to master woodworker James Griffin.
You are working for James to pay off the cost of your voyage to America. You live in Port
Royal, Georgia. James is doing a very good business selling his furniture to wealthy people
living in your town. You hear the customers complaining about those who are screaming for
independence from England, but you never hear James complain about the King. You hope
to follow in his footsteps.
Student_______________________________
Large Plantation Owner
12. Elizabeth Knowlton: You live outside of Charleston, South Carolina. You are married
to a wealthy, gentleman cotton farmer (Thomas Knowlton). You married in London and you
have many relatives back in England who are loyal to the King. You manage the house and
the house slaves. You have a very good life that you don’t want disturbed with thoughts of
a revolution.
Student________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
Large Plantation Owner:
13. Thomas Knowlton: You own a large cotton plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. You
have studied law in England and have many relatives there who support the King. You
manage the money and the farm. You have many people working for you: slaves, indentured
servants, craftsmen, and an overseer who watches over the slaves. Other than worry
about your slaves running away or maybe starting a rebellion against you, your life couldn’t
be any better. You also happily married to your wife, Elizabeth Knowlton.
Student___________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
84
Enslaved Woman and Poet
14. Phylis Wheatley: You were kidnapped in Africa (Senegal) and purchased as a child by
a Boston tailor named John Wheatley. You quickly learned the English language and with
your master’s help published a book of 39 poems where you challenged the idea that blacks
were inferior to whites and wrote about freedom for slaves. In 1774, after the death of
John Wheatley, his widow freed you. You married John Peters, a freeman in Boston, and
had two children who died in infancy.
Student__________________________
This is a more complicated role to interpret and involves additional reading material:
Cobblestone: Starting a Nation and Primary Sources: African Americans.
Preacher/Minister’s Wife
15. Lydia Boucher: You are married to a minister named Francis Mallory and live in New
Bern, North Carolina. He is a minister in the established church, the Church of England.
You have family in England. Like your husband, you believe that the King’s power comes
from God and that disobeying the King is like disobeying God and is act of treason.
Student_____________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
Preacher/Minister
16. John Boucher: You are a minister in the Church of England in New Bern, North
Carolina. You have family in England. You believe that the King’s power comes from God
and that disobeying the King is like disobeying God and is an act of treason.
Student_____________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
85
Governor
(Governors were in charge of the colony and appointed by the King of England.)
17. John Murray: You are the Governor of Virginia. You British title is “Lord Dunmore,”
which comes from you being the head of an important family in England. King George named
you the royal governor of Virginia. You are very loyal to the King for appointing you to this
important and powerful position.
Student_______________________________________
This is an easier role to interpret.
Small Farmer
18. Martha Cripps: You are a widow with four children who live on a small farm in
Virginia. You main concern is providing for your family. About twice a week you go to
Williamsburg to sell milk, butter, eggs, fruits, and vegetables that you make on the farm.
You work very hard and all of the children have jobs to help you. Who rules the country
won’t make any difference to how you live.
Student_________________________________________
This is a potentially more complicated a role
Tavern Owner
19. Elizabeth Howes: You are widow with seven young children who runs a successful
tavern in the city of New York. Most of your guests are gentlemen of power who have
strong ties to England. You are worried about losing your tavern license and being
punished if you side against the King.
Student_____________________________________
This is a potentially more complicated role to interpret.
86
Both native American roles are more complicated to interpret and involve additional
reading material: attached.
Native American
20. Mohawk Woman: For generations as part of the Iroquois nation your ancestors have
lived in the northeastern woodlands. Your tribe has followed the seasonal schedule of
hunting, fishing, and gathering wild food and the growing of crops. You have seen the
French and English fight over the land where you live and now the colonists and England
may go to war. Some of your family members say that supporting the British will stop
settlers from taking over your land, but you’re not sure. You worry about your how your
tribe will survive.
Student________________________________
Native American
21. Mohegan man: For generations you and your ancestors have been part of the
Algonquian tribes. Your tribe lives in wigwams (bent small trees in a dome-shaped frame)
and relies on the animals in the woods (turkey, deer, and beaver) for clothing and food.
Your ancestors have lived like this for thousands of years. The settlers are taking over
more and more of the land your people live on. Now the colonists and the English might go
to war. Your tribe trades with some of the colonists. You wonder if you should support
the colonists, but think that it is a “family fight.” What you worry most about is how your
tribe will survive as the white people take over more and more of the land you live on.
Student___________________________________
Quaker
22. John Barret: You are a Quaker living in Philadelphia and as a child you attended
Quaker schools. You believe in pacifism. This means you do not believe in violence of any
kind. You spend much of your life trying to understand and become friends with African
slaves and Native Americans. You have traveled south to see slavery firsthand. You are
the first Quaker to open a school for African children and you formed the first
abolitionist society (an organization that believes that all slaves should be freed).
Student____________________________________
This is a more complicated role to interpret and involves additional reading material:
Cobblestone: Quakers.
87
Additional roles if needed: You could also create more roles for apprentices, indentured servants.
23. Merchant
John Barrett: You live in Philadelphia and own a store. You sell clothing and food to all
kinds of people. You are concerned about the taxes you are paying and many of your
customers are complaining about the taxes too. You get news of what is happening in
Boston from your relatives there.
Student__________________________
24. Enslaved woman
Lysander Pettijohn: After being stolen from Africa and a horrible “middle passage” you
are sold to Thomas Knowlton. You work hard in the fields of his cotton plantation in
Charleston, South Carolina, from the early morning to when the sun goes down. You have
been allowed to marry and have children, but are always worried that your family will be
sold and separated. You wonder if all the talk about “liberty” and “freedom” and the
Declaration of Independence will help African people who have enslaved. But you have also
heard that the British will offer freedom to any slave who leaves his or her master and
joins the fight against the colonists. One thing you know is that you want to be a free man.
Student_______________________________________
This is a more complicated role.
25. Craftsman
Thomas Townsend: You live in Newport, Rhode Island, and own a furniture business. You
are doing well making furniture, but you are paying more and more British taxes and that is
hard on you. You have no relatives in England. You don’t want to be left out, as you feel the
tide of power is shifting from the King to the colonists demanding independence.
Student________________________________
This is a more complicated role.
88
26. Apprentice
(An apprentice works for someone and in return learns a trade or skill.)
Gayle Clark: You are a female apprentice learning to be a silversmith in Williamsburg,
Virginia. You work in James Craig’s silversmith shop. People see you with your sleeves
rolled up, sweating, and swinging a heavy hammer over a thick piece of silver. You laugh
when people are surprised to see a woman doing this work. You would like to see women
have more opportunities in their lives.
Student________________________________
This is a good role for a girl who is interested in women’s rights and involves additional
reading material: the article “With All the Grace of Sex.”
How did Native Americans respond to the Declaration of Independence?
Iroquois representatives left Philadelphia in June just before Thomas Jefferson presented the
Declaration.
While we do not have records to tell us how Native people felt about the
Declaration, it is logical to imagine that many Indians would have found the Declaration
offensive (something they felt strongly against). This is because in the 18th item of a list of
complaints against King George of England, the Declaration states that the British King "has
excited domestic insurrections [fights] amongst us and has endeavored [tried] to bring on the
inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages [cruel and heartless] whose known
rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. [Indians kill
everybody without any consideration for age or sex or anything else.]"
But Indians responded to the American Revolution both as individuals and as tribes.
Small numbers of individual native people who had left their villages and had been learning
Christianity and the English language supported the patriots and the Declaration. These were
native people who were adopting ways of the white colonists.
But the majority of eastern Indians responded tribally, and these national groups mostly saw
the Declaration and the Revolution as a family disagreement and stayed neutral. In 1775 an
unidentified Oneida leader said this to Governor John Trumbull of Connecticut.
"Possess your minds in peace respecting us Indians [think in your minds that Indians will
stay peaceful]. We cannot intermeddle [get involved] in this dispute between two brothers. The
quarrel seems to be unnatural. You are two brothers of one blood. . . . We are unwilling to join
on either side in such a contest, for we bear an equal affection to both you Old and New England.
Should the great king of England apply to us for aid, we shall deny him; if the Colonies apply,
we shall refuse."
Some Indian nations chose to support the Declaration and the Revolution. Their reasons for
siding with the Americans varied, but basically each had experienced bad treatment from British
authorities, and those disagreements centered on arguments over land. During the French and
89
Indian War many Indians had helped the British fight against the French. Some of these Indians
had turned to Christianity and were living in towns like Stockbridge village in Massachusetts.
But English officials allowed white settlers to move into the town and take Indian land. This
happened throughout New England. With the Declaration of Independence and the possibility of
going to war against England, Stockbridge Indians and other Indians saw a chance to regain lost
lands by siding with the patriots and for the Declaration and Revolution. But the Indians in
Stockbridge wanted a guarantee for their loyalty and connected to the idea of “rights” as stated in
Declaration of Independence. They made this statement to the patriots who supported the
Declaration: "If we are conquered [by the British] our Lands go with yours [we will lose our land
to the British just like you will], but if we are victorious we hope you will help us recover our
just Rights [and get our land back.]"
Even though Indians fought and died (up to 40 Stockbridge Indians were killed in New York
during the Revolutionary War) with the patriots after the war, they would not get their land back.
Whites would take over all of Stockbridge town.
When Thomas Jefferson presented the Declaration of Independence some Native Americans
supported the British and were against the Declaration. Native tribes in the South saw those who
signed the Declaration as “unegal-stis-gi” (Native word) or white troublemakers. Tribes such as
the Cherokee saw white settlers continually try to take their lands. The Cherokees had signed 13
treaties with the colonists and thirteen times these treaties were broken between 1721 and 1798,
as more and more white settlers moved on to their land. This is what a Cherokee headman named
Corn Tassel said to Virginia state officials in 1787, two years after the signing of the Treaty of
Hopewell: “I observe in every treaty we have had that a bound[ary] is fixed, but we always find
that your people settle much faster shortly after a Treaty than Before. It is well known that you
have taken almost all of our country from us without our consent [agreement]....Truth is, if we
had no land we should have fewer Enemies.”
The Cherokees gave over 82,000 acres of land in the hope of preventing what eventually became
the forced removal of most of their people to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. The
Declaration of Independence did not stop the Cherokee from losing their land, and so many
Cherokee declared their support for the British and were against the Declaration. The price had
been high (they lost their land and their way of life) for opposing the patriots and for not
supporting the Declaration of Independence.
But then the price paid by the Cherokees was not unlike the suffering and loss experienced by
those Indians who had supported the patriots and the Declaration. Although most Native
Americans viewed the American Revolution as a civil war between brothers, it turned out to be a
civil war fought on Native homelands, and the results of the war left many Indians continuing to
lose their way of life and their lands. While the Declaration embraced the promises of good
government, fairness to all humankind, a social contract, and a sense of individual investment in
a democratic movement, the reality excluded Indians from the ideology [these beliefs].
Source: This writing has been modified from "MERCILESS INDIAN SAVAGES" AND THE DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE: NATIVE AMERICANS TRANSLATE THE ECUNNAUNUXULGEE DOCUMENT by John
R. Wunder*, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
90
Notice: Contract is for three years and states, “Michael Gyger shall behave himself and be obedient and faithful in
all things as a good and dutiful servant should do,” and the servant shall be provided “during that time with
sufficient meat, drink, clothing, lodging and washing.”
91
Lesson #19
Title: Events leading up to the American Revolution (This can be done during a
reading/literacy block if the students are going to read the events themselves.)
Materials Needed:
 History Alive, chapter 10. One copy of each event leading to the Revolutionary War for
groups to use (excluding the Proclamation of 1763) and pages 126-129 on Declaration of
Independence in a tableau.
 If children are going to read the summary of these events themselves, see Engagement
below—you will need to make copies of the summaries of each event in ch.10.
 Large copy of Declaration of Independence
Connection:
Last time we learned about the different groups of people living at the time leading up to the
American Revolution and their ability to exercise their human rights. Now we are going to begin
to focus on the other universal idea: perspective, or getting all sides of the story.
Teaching Point:
“Today we are going to learn about the events that led some people to take the perspective of
wanting to declare independence against England and fight in the American Revolution. Next
time you will be thinking about the perspective your person might have taken on this issue.”
Engagement:
Using chapter 10 of History Alive read about the French and Indian War and how it left Britain
with lots of unpaid bills. Next read about each event that led the colonies on the road to the
Revolution and record a brief summary of each on chart paper. (Another option is to copy these
summaries, have the children read them in teams or with you, and record summaries and then
come back as a class to go over them.) Then read to the class the Declaration of Independence on
pages 126-129. (You might want to show the large copy again as you do this—in the unit kit.)
1. The Proclamation of 1763
2. The Boston Massacre: 1770 (The children are already familiar with this event so just
quickly review it.)
3. The Boston Tea Party: 1773
4. The Quartering Act: 1765
5. The Stamp Act: 1765
6. The Intolerable Acts
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Link:
“Now you are going to be put into groups where you will create a tableau to represent one of
these events (except the Proclamation of 1763). This time you will come up with only one line
that all of you will say together when I point to your group. For example, a tableau for the
Proclamation of 1763 could show people building a house with the line: ‘Don’t tell us where we
can build our homes!’” Invite some volunteers to model this by creating a tableau. When they are
ready point to the group and have them say the line. Put the class into five groups to create a
tableau and line for an event. Give each group a copy of what you read about the event so they
can remember what it was about.
Independent Practice:
In different sections of the room the children agree on a tableau and a line to say as a group and
practice using good acting skills.
Follow-up/Share:
Explain that you will now play orchestra. This is how it works: Each team will be in an area of
the room and get into their tableaus. As you point to the group and say their name (The Stamp
Act, The Intolerable Acts, etc.) they say their line. First you can go in chronological sequence
and then you can point randomly. Sum up by saying it was these events that led some people to
want to declare independence and fight against England in the American Revolution, but not
everybody took this perspective. Take a couple of minutes to see what the children think about
this question: Can you think of any reason why someone might not want fight against England in
Revolutionary War? Tell them that next time we will learn about the factors that would influence
a person’s decision on this question and they will have to decide what their person’s perspective
would be.
Notes:
If you have time, read about the Declaration of Independence in chapter 12 of History Alive (pp.
126-129) prior to the next lesson. A terrific book on perspectives of the Revolutionary War is
George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides, by Rosalyn Schanzer.
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Lesson #20
Title: Planning sheet for Performance Assessment #2 (This can be done during a
writing/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
 “Perspectives and Factors” sheet: Copies for each student and one for the class to
see
(attached).
 Copy of Performance Task #2 with assessment rubric for class to see (attached).
 Planning sheet for “Perspectives on the Declaration of Independence and going to
war
against England” for each student and a class copy (attached).
 Chapter 12 of History Alive: pp. 126-129 (Declaration of Independence)
 Children’s copies of the colonial roles, which they should have in their folders
 Voices From Our Country: Abigail Adams’ letters to her husband
 Article “How did Native Americans respond to Declaration of Independence” from lesson 18
 Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak by Kay Winters (optional)
Connection:
Last time we learned about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War that led some people
to want to be independent from England.
Teaching Point:
Those events led to the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence (if you haven’t
already, read from History Alive, pp.126-129). “Now that the colonies have declared
independence from England, each person will be thinking about how they feel about this
decision. This is what you will be doing”: Read performance assessment #2. Mention that
Patrick Henry was a Virginia lawyer who went into politics and was a great speaker. Briefly
discuss his quote, “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Engagement:
Read score point 3 on the assessment rubric for performance task # 2 and tell the students that to
answer this question for the person you represent, you have to think about the factors that would
affect a person’s perspective. What do you think they might be? After getting a few ideas from
the students, pass out the factors paper and go over it.
Link:
“Now you are going to consider how these factors would have influenced the person you
represent, and think about that person’s perspective. You will fill out a ‘Perspectives on the
Declaration of Independence and going to war against England’ planning sheet.” Model how you
would do this using the role of cooper Adam Waterford, who you have already read about (use
my attached example).
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Independent Practice:
Pass out the planning sheets, the factors sheet, and the performance task/rubric sheet. Make sure
the children take out their colonial roles to refer to. For children who have a native person, also
give them a copy of the article “How did Native Americans respond to Declaration of
Independence” from lesson 18.
Follow-up/Share:
Ask if anyone is still confused about how they can connect the factors with their perspective on
the Declaration and going to war against England. Invite the entire class to help each other make
these connections. Have them put the “perspective and factors” paper in their folders to use for
next time. Collect the children’s planning sheets and see if any follow-up teaching is necessary
with individuals or small groups.
Notes:
Plan for special share day when children read their perspectives on the Declaration and going to
war as an actor (see the performance rubric). Consider inviting families to hear the children
present their perspectives—see notes for lesson #21. (See also the optional assessment in the
stage 2 assessment section of the unit.) A terrific book connected to different colonial roles is
Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak by Kay Winters. Students could read these as performance
pieces. This could be a great lead-up to their reading their positions on the war.
Performance Task # 2
It’s July 4, l776. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia has just approved the Declaration of
Independence. Men on horseback are bringing copies to all of the colonies. Do you agree with
Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty of give me death,” and is willing to die for
independence from England; or do you think this is an act of treason and support the King?
Maybe you don’t support either side. Assuming the role that has been assigned to you of the
person living at this time, answer this question in one paragraph (see rubric): “Have you heard
the news about the Declaration of Independence? It looks like we’ll be going to war against
England! What do you think about this?”
Rubric for Performance Task # 2
1
Just learning to write a
persuasive paragraph
stating a position on going
to war against England,
using one specific,
credible, accurate reason
or argument connected to
the factors.
2
Writes a persuasive
paragraph stating a
position on going to war
against England and backs
it up with one or two
somewhat specific,
credible, accurate reasons
or arguments connected to
the factors.
3
Writes a persuasive
paragraph stating a
position on going to war
against England and backs
it up with one or two
specific, credible, accurate
reasons or arguments
connected to the factors.
4
Meets score point 3 and
also uses an exceptionally
convincing tone and/or
exceptionally well-chosen
and/or insightful reasons or
arguments connected to the
factors.
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Rubric for Acting for Performance Task #2
1
Just learning to use of
body and voice (volume,
pause, tempo and
inflection) to enhance your
role and help the audience
understand what you are
communicating.




2
Some use of body and
voice (volume, pause,
tempo and inflection) to
enhance your role and help
the audience understand
what you are
communicating.
3
Good use of body and
voice (volume, pause,
tempo and inflection) to
enhance your role and help
the audience understand
what you are
communicating.
4
Excellent use of body and
voice (volume, pause,
tempo and inflection) to
enhance your role and help
the audience understand
what you are
communicating.
Perspectives and Factors Sheet
Perspectives on the Declaration of Independence and going to war against England
Patriots (Whigs): for the war and independence from England (estimated 2/5 of
colonists)
Loyalists (Tories): against the war and supporting the King (estimated 1/5 of colonists)
Neutralists: didn’t take sides or were undecided (estimated 2/5 of colonists)
Don’t care: too busy just trying to survive to get involved
Factors Affecting a Person’s Decision: Many of these factors human rights
Enslaved men and women may have:
 supported the Declaration because they thought that the talk about liberty in the Declaration might lead to their
freedom.
 supported the King because the British said that they would free any slave running away from their master and
who fought with them.
 not taken sides because felt they couldn’t trust either side to help them exercise their human rights.
Native American men and women may have (also see article “How did Native Americans feel about the
Declaration of Independence” in lesson #17):
 supported the King because they thought that the British would stop the colonists from taking over their land.
 supported the Declaration because they had relationships with colonists and wanted to continue trading with
them.
 not taken sides because they felt that the fight between the colonists and England had nothing to do with them.
 not taken sides because they felt that they couldn’t trust either side to help them exercise their human rights
White Women may have:
 supported the Declaration because they felt that the talk about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” might
include them (Abigail Adams asked her husband John Adams to “remember the ladies.” See the letters she wrote to
him in Voices From Our Country, p. 34, in unit kit.)
 not been sure because if they were single women who were tavern owners or merchants they would be concerned
about paying British taxes, but also concerned about getting their customers mad who supported the king.
 supported the Declaration because if they were indentured servants their lives would be difficult and they might
have felt that the talk about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” might include them.
 supported the King because they were married to men who supported the King (this was common).
 supported the Declaration because they disagreed with their husbands who supported the King (this was less
common).

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Educated people may have:
 supported the Declaration because they studied Greek democracy and believed that the colonies should have
their own democratic government and not be ruled by a king.
A person’s way of making a living may have made them:
 support the king if they were a governor of a colony because the King appointed governors.
 support the Declaration if they were an owner of a business whose customers were complaining that the King’s
taxes made buying products too costly.
 support the King if they were an owner of a business and didn’t want to disagree with their customers who
supported the King.
 support the King if they were an owner of a business who depended on the British for supplies and wanted to
keep a good relationship with the King.
 not care if they worked so hard to make a living and survive (for example, a widowed small farmer) that they
didn’t even think about the Declaration.
A person’s relatives may have made them:
 support the Declaration if they had relatives in Boston who wrote them letters describing the Boston Massacre
and the Boston Tea Party and complaining about the British.
 support the King if they had relatives who lived in England and supported the King.
A person’s religion may have made them:
 support the King if they part of the Church of England, which believed that God had given the King his power.
 support the Declaration if they had a different religion and if they believed in religious freedom
 not take side if they were a Quaker, because they did not believe in violence of any kind (see the materials on
Quakers mentioned in lesson #17).
Modeling use of the planning sheet for Performance Task #2
Model using the steps on the planning sheet:
Steps:
1. Read about your role.
2. Find factor categories that would affect your person’s decision.
3. Read the bullets in that factors category and think about which ones make sense to you
and why they make sense: your reasons or arguments.
4. Make a decision: Patriot, Loyalist, Neutral, Don’t care
5. Fill out the planning sheet.
Step 1: Re-read the information about your role:
Cooper: Adam Waterford
You a free black man who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. You are tight cooper who is very
skilled at making barrels from white oak that do not leak and last a long time. Your wife is a
slave to a tavern owner. Any children you and your wife have would belong to the tavern keeper.
You dream of buying her freedom just as you bought your own freedom, but you know it will
take a long time to save this much money.
Step 2: Find the factor categories that apply to your person.
Model a “Think aloud” and say something like the following: “As I look at the factor categories
the one that most involves my role is “enslaved men and women,” because my wife is enslaved.
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Step 3: Read the bullets:
“Let me read the bullets. The first one supports the Declaration because it might lead to the
freedom of all enslaved people, but why did the colonists enslave my people in the first place?
How can I trust them to free Africans when they are the ones that allowed them to be enslaved?
Let’s see, the second bullet supports the King and England because they will free slaves that run
away. Yes, but why didn’t the King free us long ago? I think they want to use us to help them
win the war. The last bullet says that you can’t trust either side. I think that is how I feel. Now I
could also read the category about ‘A person’s way to make a living,’ but I don’t care if my
customers support the King or the Revolution. I just care about my wife’s freedom and the
freedom of all Africans. So now I’m ready to fill out my planning sheet.
Step 4: Make a decision on planning sheet:
Check “neutral”
Step 5: Write down reasons/arguments on planning sheet:
Arguments/reasons:
1. The King and England and the colonists have all allowed the slave trade and for African
people to be treated like property. So why should I trust either of them to really care about
freeing us?
2. The British only seem to care about using Africans to help them win the war.
Now it is the students’ turn to do this thinking and fill out the sheet on the next page.
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Planning Sheet for Perspectives on Declaration of Independence and
going war with England
Name___________________________________
Role____________________________________
Steps:
3. Read about your role.
4. Think about the factors that would affect your person’s decision and look for the
categories that apply to your person.
5. Read the bullets in that factors category and think about which ones make sense to
you and why they make sense: your reasons or arguments.
6. Make a decision: Patriot, Loyalist, Neutral, Don’t care
7. Fill out the planning sheet.
Perspective on Declaration of Independence and going to war against England (check one):
____Patriot: for Declaration of Independence and going to war against England
____ Loyalist: against Declaration of Independence and going to war against England
____Neutral: not taking sides on Declaration of Independence and going to war against
England
____Don’t care: too busy just trying to survive to get involved.
Arguments or Reasons Connected to Factors:
1.
2.
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Lesson # 21
Title: Writing Performance Task #2 (This can be done during a writing/literacy block.)
Materials Needed:
 Planning sheets that students filled out during the last lesson
 Class and individual copies of the model for writing (see attached)
Connection:
Last time we learned about the factors that would influence a person’s perspective on the
Declaration of Independence and going to war against England and students filled out a planning
sheet to show the perspective of the person they represent.
Teaching Point:
“Today you are going to use that planning sheet to write a paragraph stating your perspective on
the Declaration of Independence and going to war against England.”
Engagement:
“I am going to model how to do this using the planning sheet that I made yesterday.” First go
over the rubric again and explain that you are going to model getting a score of 3 and then a
score of 4. (See model for doing this on the following page.)
Link:
“Now you are going to write your own perspectives.” This could be a time for any students who
still need help on the planning sheet to meet with you.
Independent Practice:
Children write their perspectives and give themselves a score. They can also practice reading
these as actors if there is time.
Follow-up/Share:
You can go over the performance task #2 rubric and have some of the children read their
perspectives as actors. Collect these writings and assess them.
Notes:
Schedule a time for the children to share their writings as a class. Consider inviting families to
this event—see the invitation in Stage 2 assessment. Students can dress up. Teachers who have
done this have found it a very powerful experience for both the students and their families. It
allows families to get some insight into how you are teaching history from the lens of multiple
perspectives and human rights, and it allows students to share the importance of learning history
through that framework. I had the students do some tableaus showing events leading up to the
war prior to their reading. I also had them explain how we have been learning about history using
the two universal ideas. Then I would read the information about a student’s role: “This is…”;
say the name of the person the student is playing and read the description about the person.
“What do you think…” [again say the name of the person the student is role playing] “about
going to war against England?”
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1
Just learning to write
a persuasive
paragraph stating a
position on going to
war against England,
using one specific,
credible, accurate
reason or argument
connected to the
factors.
Modeling the writing for Performance Task #2
2
3
4
Writes a persuasive
Writes a persuasive
Meets score point 3
paragraph stating a
paragraph stating a
and also uses an
position on going to
position on going to
exceptionally
war against England
war against England
convincing tone and/or
and backs it up with
and backs it up with
exceptionally wellone or two somewhat one or two specific,
chosen and insightful
specific, credible,
credible, accurate
(good thinking and
accurate reasons or
reasons or arguments creative) reasons or
arguments connected connected to the
arguments connected
to the factors.
factors.
to the factors.
Cooper: Adam Waterford
You a free black man who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. You are tight cooper who is very
skilled at making barrels from white oak that do not leak and last a long time. Your wife is a
slave to a tavern owner. Any children you and your wife have would belong to the tavern keeper.
You dream of buying her freedom just as you bought your own freedom, but you know it will
take a long time to save this much money.
Arguments or reasons from the planning sheet:
1. British and colonists have both allowed the slave trade and for African people to be
treated like property. So why should I trust either of them to really care about freeing us?
2. The British only seem to care about using Africans to help them win the war. I don’t
trust them.
You can show them this writing and explain how you went from the arguments/reasons to
writing it or model writing it.
I am going to start my “ABC” proof paragraph with the “A” which is my perspective.
There is no reason for an African American to trust the British or the colonists about ever
freeing my people, so I’m staying neutral. [Now I’m going to write my first “B” or back it up,
referring to my planning sheet. Normally we try to have 3 Bs but I only have two—some of you
may only have one, but you can elaborate on them like I do.) First, the British and the colonists
have allowed my wife and I to be stolen from Africa and sold as slaves. My wife is still enslaved.
Why should I trust either side to free her when they could have done so long ago? [Second B]
Suddenly the British say they will free slaves who escape or help fight for them. Why didn’t they
try to free us before? [Now the “C” or comment or conclusion.] How can I support either side
when my people have been treated this way? You won’t find me helping either side.
You can go back to the rubric with the children to see if this meets the score of 3. What about
trying for a 4? Now you can show them a second draft that uses a more convincing tone and
more insightful arguments. The bold is what was added to try and improve the writing.
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There is no reason for an African American to trust the British or the colonists about ever
freeing my people, so I’m staying neutral. [Now I’m going to write my first “B” or back it up,
referring to my planning sheet. Normally we try to have 3 Bs but I only have two—some of you
may only have one, but you can elaborate on them like I do.] First, the British and the colonists
have allowed my wife and I to be stolen from Africa and sold as slaves. My wife is still
enslaved. Even if we marry, the tavern keeper will still own her and our children. We are
treated like animals and property and denied the most basic human right of respect and
dignity. Why should I trust either side to free her when they could have done it long ago?
[Second B] Suddenly the British say they will free slaves who escape or help fight for them.
Why didn’t they try to free us before? All they care about is getting help to win the war.
[Now the “C” or comment or conclusion.] The colonists write about “inalienable rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” but those words don’t mean anything to my people.
The only freedom these colonists care about is freedom from King George and the only
people I’d risk my life for are African people. I’m staying neutral and out of this fight.
Do you think I have added more insightful arguments/reasons and have a more convincing
tone? 4?
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Lesson # 22—This will take two sessions (the first part can be done during reading/literacy
block.)
Title: Essential question #5: What were the important ideas about human rights in the
Declaration of Independence? After the colonists won the Revolutionary War, did these ideas
survive the writing of the U.S. Constitution?
Materials Needed:
3. Large copy of the Declaration of Independence
 History Alive: pages 128-129 and copies for each student.
 From Colonies to Country: chapters 39 and 40 (in unit kit; make copies of both chapters for
each student)
 Copies of the summary of the Bill of Rights for each student (attached)
 Copies for each team of “Important Human Rights Ideas” from the Declaration and the
Constitution and the chart (attached)
 Copies for each team of the chart “Did the important ideas about human rights in the
Declaration of Independence get incorporated into the U.S Constitution?”
 Copies of human rights (attached)
Connection:
Last time students wrote their perspective on the Declaration of Independence and going to war
against England.
Teaching Point:
“Many of you had roles of people who weren’t able to exercise all of their human rights. From
now until the end of the unit we will be learning about what happened to these people. Today we
will focus on this part of essential question #5: What were the important ideas about human
rights in the Declaration of Independence? After the colonists won the Revolutionary War, did
these important ideas survive the writing of the U.S. Constitution? First let’s review our list of
human rights that we came up with earlier. Then we’ll look at the important ideas in the
Declaration of Independence that connect to human rights.”
Engagement:
1. Show the large copy of the Declaration so they remember what it looks like. Read the words
of the Declaration from History Alive pages 128-129 and think about the ideas that deal with
human rights (students can follow along with their copy). List these(this is what I decided on,
your class may include others):
2.
Important Human Rights Ideas from the Declaration of Independence
5. “All men are created equal” and are born with “certain inalienable rights” including “life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
6. People have the right to change a government when it acts unfairly to the people
To see if these ideas survived the writing of the U.S. Constitution, hand out copies of chapter
39 of From Colonies to Country and ask children to think about the important ideas in the
Constitution that have to do with human rights. Highlight these ideas, for example:
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2.
3.
4.
Important Human Rights Ideas in the U.S. Constitution
There are three branches of government with no branch having too much power (the
colonists didn’t want anybody having too much power like a King): the legislative branch
(Senate and House of Representatives), the executive branch (President), and the judicial
branch (Supreme Court).
People would govern themselves by electing representatives
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and has more power then even the President
The Constitution can be changed through amendments
6.
7.
8.
9.
Next pass out copies of chapter 40. Read and discuss the preamble at the beginning of the
chapter. Now have the students read chapter 40 to learn more about the important ideas in the
Constitution that have to do with these human rights. Put them in teams of two while you
work with students who need extra support. Have the students highlight these important
ideas. Then meet as a whole class and add these to the list of important ideas from the
Constitution (my list includes the following):
Women, Native Americans, and black people could not vote
White men who owned property could vote
Native Americans weren’t allowed to be citizens
The Constitution allowed slavery
1.
Finally, explain to the students that a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, which
makes up the first 10 amendments. Pass out copies of the summary of the Bill of Rights
(below) and read them as a class. Ask which amendments address the human rights? For
example, several deal with the right to be treated with “respect,” one deals with “equal
protection under the law,” etc. Add these amendments to the list of important ideas from the
U.S. Constitution: I included the first, fifth, sixth and seventh dealing with a fair trail, and the
third and fourth).
Link:
“Now we are going to try and answer the essential question: After the colonists won the
Revolutionary War, did the important ideas about human rights survive the writing of the U.S.
Constitution? You will answer this in your teams of two. You will use the lists we created and a
chart to help you answer the question.” Show them the chart and go over how they will have to
look at each bulleted idea in the Constitution and decide which column to put it in: as a class,
decide on an example that would fall in both columns (see my completed chart). Once the chart
is done the students will answer the question at the bottom.
Independent Practice:
Have the children go off in teams of two to fill out the chart and answer the question.
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Follow-up/Share:
Come together as a class and go over how they filled out the chart and answered the question.
The answer is that some human rights ideas survived, but only for some people. So some
students might say “no” because it didn’t include all people, but other students might say “yes”
and “no.” The important point is that the ideas of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,”
along with the right to change a government, clearly did not survive the writing of the
Constitution for all people. Remind students that as it mentions in the textbook, fortunately the
Constitution has a process for making amendments or changes to correct this denial or human
rights. (That is subject of the report writing to come.)
Notes:
Summary of the Bill of Rights
4.
5.
6.
7.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press
The Second Amendment says that people can carry guns
The Third Amendment says that soldiers can’t be put in your house without your agreement
The Fourth Amendment says that the police can’t search your house, unless they have proper
legal papers
8. The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments have to do with a fair trial. For example,
you have the right to a trial.
9. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments say that any powers that aren’t given to the federal
government belong to the states or the people
Human Rights
10. To have food, clean water and clothing
11. To shelter
12. To health care
13. To an education
14. To be safe
15. To have love and a family
16. To own property
17. To recreation and rest
18. To be respected
19. To have equal protection under the law
20. To have freedom and a say in government
21. To have a choice in work with a fair wage


Important Human Rights Ideas from the Declaration of Independence
“All men are created equal” and are born with “certain inalienable rights” including “life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
People have the right to change a government when it acts unfairly to the people
105
Important Human Rights Ideas from the U.S. Constitution
Three branches of government with no branch having too much power like a King: the
legislative (Senate and House of Representatives), the executive (President), and the
judiciary (Supreme Court)
 People would govern themselves by voting for representatives
 The Constitution can be changed through amendments
 Women, Native Americans, and black people could not vote
 White men who owned property could vote
 Native Americans weren’t allowed to be citizens (so they had none of the rights in the
Constitution) [that’s not strictly true, some constitutional rights are supposedly
available to anyone who resides in the country whether or not they are a citizen]
 Constitution allowed slavery (enslaved people had none of the rights in the Constitution)
 The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press
 The Fifth, Sixth, seventh and Eighth Amendments have to do with a fair trial. For
example, you have the right to a trial.
 The Third Amendment says that soldiers can’t be put in your house without your
agreement
 The Fourth Amendment says that the police can’t search your house, unless they have
proper legal papers

106
Team____________________________
Did the important ideas about human rights in the Declaration of Independence
survive the writing of the U.S Constitution?
How the U.S. Constitution helped all or
How the U.S. Constitution denied all or
some people acquire the rights of “life,
some people from acquiring the rights of
liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
right to change their government:
and the right to change their government:
 People would govern themselves by
 Women, Native Americans, and
voting for representatives
black people could not vote
 The Constitution can be changed
 White men who owned property
through amendments
could vote
 The First Amendment guarantees
 Native Americans weren’t allowed
freedom of speech, religion, press
to be citizens (so they had none of
the rights in the Constitution)
 The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth
Amendments have to do with a fair
 Constitution allowed slavery
trial.
(enslaved people had none of the
rights in the Constitution)
 The Third Amendment says that
soldiers can’t be put in your house
without your agreement
 The Fourth Amendment says that
the police can’t search your house,
unless they have proper legal papers
Did the important ideas about human rights from the Declaration of Independence survive the
writing of the U.S. Constitution?
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Team_____________________________
Did the important ideas about human rights in the Declaration of Independence
survive the writing of the U.S. Constitution?
How the U.S. Constitution helped all or
How the U.S. Constitution denied all or
some people acquire the rights of “life,
some people from acquiring the rights of
liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
right to change their government:
and the right to change their government:
Did the important ideas about human rights from the Declaration of Independence survive the
writing of the U.S. Constitution?
108
Lesson # 23
Title: Last part of essential question #5: How did the Constitution affect everyone’s ability to
exercise his or her human rights?
Materials Needed:
 Copies for each student of “Did the important ideas about human rights in the Declaration
of Independence survive the writing of the U.S Constitution?” developed in the last
lesson.
 Copies of the human rights list for each student
 Put a copy of each of these up for students to see
 Copies of the rubric for Performance Task 3 and the frame sentences for each student
(attached)
Connection:
Last time we learned that some of the important ideas from the Declaration of Independence
survived the writing of the U.S. Constitution, but not for all people.
Teaching Point:
“Today we will work on the last part of essential question #5: How did the Constitution affect
everyone’s ability to exercise his or her human rights? To do that you will think about the
person you represented and how the Constitution affected this person’s ability to exercise his or
her human rights.
Engagement:
“First let’s review the list of human rights ideas in the Constitution” (read the list developed in
the last lesson). “Based on what you know about your person and the Constitution, give me a
thumbs up or down if you think the Constitution helped or denied your person’s ability to
exercise his or her human rights. Just take a guess at what you think. You’ll have a chance to
think more about this in a few minutes.”
Link:
“I will model the thinking you have to do to take a closer look at this question.”
“Next read about your person, cooper, Adam Waterford” (see above, lesson 21).
Then model a think aloud. “As I look down the list of human rights and look at the ones that the
Constitution denied people from acquiring, I think the Constitution didn’t help me very much.
Since my wife is still enslaved, I am denied the right to ’love and a family’ and also the right to
be respected. Also, since I don’t own land, I am denied the right to vote and have a ‘say in
government.’ Now if I look at the rights that the Constitution helped people acquire, I guess I
have the right to practice any religion I want so that is a way to be respected. Also, since I have
a right to a fair trial that helps me to have ‘equal protection under the law.’ Finally, the fact that
soldiers can’t be put in my house without my consent and the police can’t search my house for
no reason helps me to feel safe.” Then show how you would go from this thinking to filling out
the frame sentence(s) and show the rubric that goes with this activity.
109
Independent Practice:
The students now do the same kind of thinking and complete the frame sentence(s).
Follow-up/Share:
Have children share their answers. One way is to create a class Venn Diagram. Have students
stand in one place where the Constitution denied them the ability to exercise their human rights,
and in another place where the Constitution helped them acquire their human rights. In the
middle have students stand where the Constitution both helped and denied the ability to exercise
human rights. Then have the students say who they were, including the group they belong to.
What conclusions can the class draw about which groups were helped by the Constitution and
which groups were not?
Notes:
110
Rubric for Performance Task #3
1
Is just learning to
provide one logical
reason explaining how
the U.S Constitution
either helped or
hindered the character
from exercising his or
her human rights.
2
Provides one or two
logical reasons
explaining how the
U.S. Constitution
either helped or
hindered the
character from
exercising his or her
human rights.
3
Provides three
logical reasons
explaining how the
U.S. Constitution
either helped or
hindered the
character from
exercising his or
her human rights.
4
Provides at least
four logical
reasons explaining
how the U.S.
Constitution either
helped or hindered
the character from
exercising his or
her human rights.
Name__________________________
Complete one or both of these sentence frames.
The U.S. Constitution helped my person exercise his or her human rights by…
1. It helped me acquire the right to
2. It helped me acquire the right to
The U.S. Constitution denied my person’s ability to exercise his or her human rights by…
1. It denied me the right to
2. It denied me the right to
SAMPLE:
The U.S. Constitution helped my person exercise his or her human rights by…
1. It helped me acquire the right to be safe by stopping soldiers from coming into my house
and stopping the police from searching my house without a good reason.
2. It helped me acquire the right to be respected by allowing me to practice my religion.
The U.S. Constitution denied my person’s ability to exercise his or her human rights by…
1. It denied me the right to have love and a family because it kept my wife enslaved.
2. It denied me the right to vote because I didn’t own land.
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Lesson # 24 Title: Report writing—Essential question #6 and Performance Task #4: How have
different groups of people, denied their human rights in the U.S. Constitution, acquired what was
theirs as a right of birth? What were their main obstacles and how did they overcome them? Do
you agree with their methods or would you have done things differently? How can we use our
knowledge of how groups of people struggled to acquire their human rights to make our world a
better place? (This can be done during a writing/literacy blocks.)
Materials Needed:
*State of Vermont report rubric (see link below)
*List of social movements for human rights for class to see and individual copies for the children
(attached)*
*See list of resources below
Connection:
We have just learned that the U.S. Constitution denied or partially denied certain groups of
people the ability to exercise their human rights.
Teaching Point:
“Now we will learn about what happened to these groups of people: Did they ever gain the
ability to exercise their human rights? Some of you know that they did or at least gained some
ability to exercise their human rights. So another important question is, how did they ‘gain
access’ to their human rights? This is Essential Question #6: How did different groups of people,
living during the time of the American Revolution and the writing of the U.S. Constitution, gain
the ability to exercise their human rights? What were their main obstacles and how did they
overcome them? Do you agree with their methods or would you have done things differently? To
answer this question you will do Performance Task #4: You will write a report about how one
group of people who were denied or partially denied their ability to exercise their human rights
during the time of the American Revolution and the writing of the U. S. Constitution, found
alternative ways to gain access to various institutions, acquire justice, rewards, and power and
the ability to exercise their human rights.” (See my suggested organization of this report writing
in the notes section below.)
Engagement:
“After the writing of the U.S. Constitution, which groups of people were denied or partially
denied access and the ability to exercise their human rights?” Make a list:
 Free Blacks
 Native Americans
 All women
 Indentured servants
 Enslaved people
 White men who didn’t own land
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Link:
Have a discussion around this question: “Does anyone have any background knowledge on
which groups of people were able to gain access and how they did it?” Tell the children there
were different movements by groups of people to help them gain access and exercise their
human rights. See the list on the page after next. Explain that there have been other social
movements. For example, the gay and lesbian rights movement is still in progress and has
changed laws in some of the states like Vermont, where there are now civil unions.
Independent Practice:
Children choose three social movements they would like to research and explain why they want
to study these. They should put these in the order of interest. Explain that they will have the
opportunity to research one of these choices and you will try to give everyone their first choice.
(I do it this way so that I have some flexibility in how I group children to do the research.)
Follow-up/Share:
*Explain how the U.S. Constitution created an amendment process to change it. Explain this
process by reading from the text From Colonies to Country and mention specific relevant
amendments: #13 in 1865 that abolished slavery and #19 in 1920 that gave women the right to
vote. You can also mention that there were other ways besides constitutional amendments that
changed people’s access to rights. For example, individual states at different times changed their
laws so that white men could vote without owning land. Also, in 1964 the U.S. Congress passed
a Civil Rights Act that outlawed different kinds of discrimination against blacks and women. It
also ended certain voter registration requirements that made it hard for black people to vote.
Child labor laws that protected children from being abused were passed by individual states and
the national government. “All of these changes required movements of people and that is what
you are going to research. Finally, it’s important to remember that within these movements
certain individuals—some of them leaders of the movement—exhibited qualities that helped the
group as a whole gain access: qualities that we learned about earlier in unit (lesson #11) like
courage, perseverance, risk taking, and belief in yourself. What I think you will discover as you
research these movements is that the power of the group helped individual people within the
group obtain these qualities. For example, during the civil rights movement people would often
join arms and sing ‘We Shall Overcome’ to help them face the angry and scary situations.”
*Also mention that for Native Americans life got even harder after the Revolutionary War. The
Proclamation of 1763 that prevented settlers from moving onto Indian land west of the
Appalachian Mountains ended. By the late eighteenth century white settlers began migrating
from the original thirteen colonies over the Appalachian Mountains and into the "West." Around
the turn of the nineteenth century they slowly began to move into the eastern parts of the
Northwest Territory, which had been established in 1787, and into parts of the Old Southwest, or
Alabama, Mississippi, and western Kentucky and Tennessee. They viewed the Native peoples
who resided there as an obstacle to be conquered or pushed further westward. Eventually much
of land that Native people were living on was taken away and they were moved onto
reservations—land that the government told them they had to live on.
113
Notes:
*Some of the social movements on the list are more directly connected to the time of the
American Revolution than others. You might want to point out to children the following:
 Child labor movement: to end the unfair treatment of children in the work force. Although
this movement grew from abuses in the 20th century, it can connect back to the use of
children for indentured servants and, of course, children who were enslaved and did work.
 Adult labor movement: to get decent pay and work conditions for workers. Again, although
this movement doesn’t directly go back to the time of the Revolution, even then some people
had lots more “justice” and “reward” for the work they did than other people.
 Chicano-Migrant farm workers’ movement: Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
fighting for decent pay and working conditions. This movement also connects to all workers
having justice and reward, which certainly wasn’t the case at the time of the American
Revolution.
 Other movements to consider:
-Disability rights movement
-Gay rights movement
-Senior fighting for rights
Organization of report writing: See the Vermont Department of Education website for a fifthgrade report rubric and for benchmarks:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_curriculum/literacy/writing/benchmarks/grade_5/
grade_5_1_8_report.pdf
Introduction and controlling idea:
The introduction introduces the topic and states the controlling idea. Time Magazine for Kids
suggests that in introducing a topic students could provide a strong visual image, an anecdote, or
a surprising fact or piece of information. The following is one way of wording the controlling
idea: “The _______ group of people were denied their human rights and had to struggle to
acquire what was theirs as a right of birth. This report will explain the obstacles the group faced
and how they overcame these obstacles.”
Proof Paragraphs (body):
In the Burlington School District we teach children to write an “ABC proof paragraph.” The
“A” is the answer or the topic sentence of the paragraph. The “B” backs up the “A” with details:
in report writing these details are facts. The “C” represents a comment or “I think” statement
about what was written by the author.
Proof paragraph 1: Describes the main obstacles the group faced in exercising their human
rights.
Proof paragraph 2: Describes the strategies the group used to overcome these obstacles.
These strategies could include:
 Protest
 Disobeying a law
 Boycotts
 Strikes
 Soliciting help
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Concluding paragraph:
In Burlington we use a “wrap up 1, 2, 3” for the conclusion. Wrap up 1 restates the controlling
idea. Wrap up 2 is an “I think” statement about the report. In this case the students can address
this essential question: Do you agree with the methods the group used to overcome the obstacles
or would you have done things differently? For wrap up 3 we want students to address what they
would like the reader to “think, learn or do” as a result of the writing. This is the “so what” of
the writing and should address this essential question: How can we use our knowledge of groups
of people being denied their human rights and having to struggle to acquire what was theirs as a
right of birth to make our community and world a better place? These questions should be
discussed before the students write their answers. See the “Socratic Discussion” suggestion.
Modeling the process:
To model the process you could choose one of the social movements listed below or another
movement like the one that ended apartheid in South Africa.
Socratic Discussion
Who was Socrates? A Greek philosopher (470-399 BC) who believed that the way to attain
knowledge was through disciplined conversation.
Purpose of Socratic seminar: To seek a deeper understanding of complex ideas through
thoughtful discussion. It is not a debate, but an opportunity to learn from different perspectives.
How it works: It begins with a question that has no right or wrong answer. The students sit in a
circle.
The more opportunities students have for these discussions the more comfortable they are with
them and the more they get out of them.
Leader’s role:
 Keep discussion focused on what has been learned (students can bring notes, sketches, etc.)
 Ask follow-up questions
 Help students clarify positions when it gets confusing
 Involve reluctant participants (it’s OK to “pass”)
 Restrain more vocal participants
 Periodically summarize what has and what has not been dealt with or resolved
Participant’s role:
 Listen carefully
 Share ideas and questions in response to other people’s ideas and questions
 Use evidence and examples from what you have learned to support your ideas
 Stay on the point being discussed (make notes for other points you want to make)
 Ask clarifying questions (don’t stay confused)
 Take turns (no hand raising)
 Speak up so all can hear
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Sample ideas:
8. Here is my view and I how arrived at it
9. I agree because….
10. I disagree because….
11. How did arrive at your view…
12. I didn’t understand….
Possible resources: This is a beginning list. I am sure that your school learning center teacher
can help you locate other sources that contain a variety of reading level materials.
In unit kit:
 The Montgomery Boycott by Jake Miller
 Cobblestone: The History of Labor
 Cobblestone: The Anti-Slavery Movement
 Cobblestone: Voting Rights
 Cobblestone: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
 Time for Kids: Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Pioneer
 The Story of the Women’s Movement by Maureen Ash
 From the Reform Movements in American History series (Chelsea House Publishers): The
Ethnic and Group Identity Movements (excellent information with chapters on gays, people
with disabilities, seniors, American Indians rights, Chicanos), The Civil Rights Movement,
The Women Rights Movement, The Abolitionists Movement
Other possible resources:
 For the Civil Rights movement (also to link efforts of white people who were important in
the movement, like Ann Braden), PBS teachers: Civil Rights Movement
 Anti-Slavery movement: John Brown
 Migrant Farm workers: Vermont Migrant Farm Worker Solidarity Project
 American Indian Movement: I emailed Joe Bruchac* asking for ideas on how to approach the
idea of social movements with respect to Native Americans. This is what he wrote back to
me:
Hi Brent,
Thanks for your e-mail. I admire the approach you are taking with the fifth grade curriculum.
Quite frankly, the history of every tribal nation in North, South and Central America—and
the current survival of our tribal nations—has been centered on a combination of resistance and
adaptation.
The Cherokees are a classic example. Turning from armed resistance to acculturation to the
point where in their original homeland they were competing on equal terms with their white
neighbors, publishing their own newspapers, founding school and colleges—until gold was
discovered on Cherokee land and the Cherokees ended up on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.
And there they once again adapted and began to thrive. I've written two books on the Cherokees.
One is called THE TRAIL OF TEARS, the other is THE JOURNAL OF JESSE SMOKE.
116
You might find it useful to take a look also at a viewer’s guide I created to go with the
documentary film I co-authored and produced on the life of Jim Thorpe, the American Indian
athlete. There's an entire chapter in that guide on American Indian resistance. Just go to
<jimthorpefilm.com>** to download the guide.
Peace,
Joe
In a follow-up email this is what Joe had go say about the adaptation when I wondered if it was a
forced adaptation:
Hi Brent,
Actually, not completely. The Cherokees, for example, decided that the way to survive was
to beat the Europeans at their own game. Sequoia codified the language into a syllabic script (the
first case ever of anyone creating a written language for a formerly oral culture) and within a few
years virtually every Cherokee could read and write their own language in the syllabary and
there were books and newspapers being printed in it. They made the decision to adapt that way.
It wasn't forced on them.
Chad Smith, the current chief of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma, is a friend of mine. The
way Chad puts it is that every time the Cherokees have had a roadblock put in front of them over
the last 2 centuries they have not just survived, but adapted and then thrived.
You could go back further in American history and look at the way the tribes of the west
adapted to change—they had no horses before the 17th century, but when the horse was
reintroduced onto the continent, they rebuilt their culture around being some of the world's
greatest equestrians and as mounted warriors fiercely resisted the United States military.
Peace,
Joe
*For over thirty years Joseph Bruchac has been creating poetry, short stories, novels, anthologies
and music that reflect his Abenaki Indian heritage and Native American traditions. See his
website: www.josephbruchac.com/
**If you go this website and go to the teacher guide, chapter 2 has information about native
resistance to white people in the 1800s. This information could be used for report writing about
Native American resistance and adaptation. Or, students could focus on individual tribes: two
examples are the Cherokee (Flynn Elementary has 5 copies of Joe’s Trail of Tears book) and
Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce (Hunt and Edmunds Middle Schools have Chief Joseph: Leader
of Destiny by Kate Jassem, and the elementary schools have other books on Chief Joseph). A
final thought is to have the students research the Abenaki’s attempt to gain state recognition in
Vermont: this would demonstrate their efforts to “gain access” and is an issue that is very
current.
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Name_________________________
List of social movements to help groups gain the ability to exercise their human rights







Woman suffrage movement: to help women get the right to vote
African Americans: Abolitionist movement to end slavery
Civil Rights movement: to end racial discrimination and guarantee the vote for black
people
Child labor movement: to end the unfair treatment of children in the work force
Adult labor movement: to get decent pay and working conditions for workers
Migrant farm workers movement: Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers to get
decent pay and work conditions
Native American resistance and adaptation
My first three choices are:
1.
I want to study this because
2.
I want to study this because
3.
I want to study this because
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Optional Performance Task #5
Students who have studied the fourth-grade unit “We All Belong Here” will have had experience
with organizations that help people promote human rights and with identifying a human rights
problem and solution. They may have also written an optional persuasive essay about this topic.
This is such an important part of learning to be a responsible citizen that it might be worth
repeating on a fifth-grade level with, perhaps, more collaboration with a community partner
dealing with a human rights issue the student is concerned about.
You will research a specific problem where a group of people in Burlington have not been able
to exercise some of their human rights. Then you will write a persuasive letter to the Mayor and
the City Council convincing them why this group deserves to exercise their human rights. You
can use the state of Vermont persuasive essay rubric:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_curriculum/literacy/writing/benchmarks/grade_5/
grade_5_1_11_persuasive.pdf
This task addresses Essential Question #7:
What can our community do today to help all groups of people gain the ability to exercise their
human rights?
It also brings the study of human rights to life in our own community by addressing these
standards:
 Standard 3-4:17: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by
describing ways in which local institutions promote the common good
 Standard 3-4:16: Civics, Government and Society
Students examine how different societies address issues of human interdependence by explaining
how a community can promote human rights
The children could work with community partners in learning how a group of people in our
community is trying to find alternative ways to exercise their human rights. Here are two
examples:
 CVOEO—Coordinated Statewide Housing Services that helps people acquire affordable,
accessible, safe, and secure housing for all Vermonters
 The Burlington School District’s Equity and Diversity office and Vermont Partnership for
Fairness and Diversity, who work to make sure that all students in the Burlington School
District and adults in our community are respected and treated without discrimination and
prejudice.
In a persuasive writing/letter to the City of Burlington, in the introduction the students would
state the problem and what the community partner is doing to help the group gain access. In the
proof paragraphs they would provide reasons or arguments why the city should help this group
exercise their human rights.
If this assignment is too involved, an alternative would be to invite community members into the
school so the children could learn about human rights problems in our city, what alternative ways
are being used to help people gain access, and what the city could do to address these problems.
119
The following is a list of agencies, the groups with whom they work, and the “rights” that
they help to promote.
Agency
AARP, State
Office
Agency Of
Human Services,
Department For
Children and
Families
Location
Burlington
Commitment to community members "rights"
To improve the lives of people over 50 years
old, through advocacy, community service,
information and education.
Right(s)
addressed
Respect, health
care, say in
government
Aikido Of
Champlain Valley
/ Samurai Youth
Program
Burlington
Alzheimer's
Association,
Vermont Chapter
Williston
Committed to protect children and strengthen
families, in partnership with families and
communities.
Teaches kids principles of conflict resolution
to bully prevention, leadership skills, and
character development. Committed to
providing scholarships for youth with financial
limitations.
To enhance care and support for individuals,
their families and caregivers in Vermont and
New Hampshire, and to advance research to
eliminate Alzheimer's disease.
Williston
The American Cancer Society is a nationwide
community-based voluntary health
organization dedicated to eliminating cancer
as a major health problem by preventing
cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering
from cancer through research, education,
advocacy and service.
Health care
South
Burlington
AFSP is the leading national not-for-profit
organization exclusively dedicated to
understanding and preventing suicide through
research and education, and to reaching out
to people with mood disorders and those
impacted by suicide.
Health care, love
and family
American Cancer
Society, Northern
New England
Region
American
Foundation For
Suicide
Prevention
Vermont (AFSP)
Association Of
Africans Living In
Vermont
The BHA
Network For
Education And
Technology
St. Albans
Burlington
Burlington
The mission of the Association of Africans
Living in Vermont is to promote the equal
opportunity, dignity, and self-sufficiency of
refugees, regardless of race, ethnic group,
religious or political affiliation, or sexual
orientation. AALV also serves African
Immigrants who are not refugees.
The BHA Network for Education and
Technology exists to provide and increase
access to information, computer technology,
and job skill software training in support of
greater self-sufficiency among low-income
and disabled Vermonters.
Love and family,
respect
Respect, love
and family
Health care
Housing,
education,
respect, choice
of work at a fair
wage
Education,
choice of work at
a fair wage
120
Bike Recycle
Vermont
Burlington
Boys and Girls
Club of Burlington
Burlington
Bike Recycle Vermont's mission is to repair
donated bikes and provide them at nominal
charge to Vermonters of very little or no
means. BRV also provides job skills training
for disadvantaged and/or disabled adults and
at-risk youth
To inspire and enable all youth, regardless of
circumstances, to realize their full potential as
productive, responsible and caring citizens.
Burlington
The Burlington Children's Space is a licensed,
non-profit, nationally accredited, communitybased childcare center serving families of all
backgrounds from the greater Burlington area.
We provide high-quality care, and promote
public education and community involvement
in our program and in childcare issues.
Respect,
recreation and
rest, education
Burlington
The Community Justice Center responds to
crime through Restorative Justice Principles.
In our traditional justice systems, we are
taught to ask, “How should the perpetrator be
punished for what he/she did?” Using
Restorative Justice, we ask ourselves different
questions: “Who has been hurt? What are
their needs? How can the offender make
amends to affected parties and learn ways not
to reoffend?” Restorative Justice also allows
for the direct participation of community
members in response to crime. Victims and
community members are elevated from the
position of bystanders to equal participants.
Respect
Burlington
The Burlington Emergency Shelter provides a
clean living space, clean bed, hot meal and
shower for homeless men and women; assists
in finding employment for those adults able to
work; assists in finding permanent housing;
assists those who want to return to a
productive role in society.
Housing, food
Burlington
To provide and preserve affordable housing
for low-income individuals, families, seniors
and persons with disabilities.
Housing
Burlington
Children's Space
Burlington
Community
Justice Center
Burlington
Emergency
Shelter
Burlington
Housing Authority
Burlington Police
Department
Burlington
The Campus
Kitchen At UVM
Burlington
We are committed to policing with the citizens
of Burlington to achieve a safe, healthy and
self-reliant community. INTEGRITY—We
adhere to the highest ethical standards,
assuring the community that their public trust
is well founded. SERVICE—We provide the
highest level of service and protection.
The mission of The Campus Kitchens Project
is to use service as a tool to: *Strengthen
Bodies by using existing resources to meet
hunger and nutritional needs in our
community; *Empower Minds by providing
leadership and service learning opportunities
Recreation and
rest, education,
choice of work at
a fair wage
Recreation and
rest, respect
Respect,
freedom and
safety
Food, education
121
to students.
Catamount Trail
Association
Burlington
CEDO—City of
Burlington
Burlington
Champlain
Community
Services
Colchester
Channel 17
Chittenden
Community
Action
Chittenden
Emergency Food
Shelf
Burlington
Burlington
Burlington
Committee on
Temporary
Shelter (COTS)
Burlington
DREAM program
Winooski
The CTA is a member-supported nonprofit
that works to build, maintain and conserve the
Catamount Trail, a 300-mile public ski trail the
length of Vermont, and enhance the health
and wellbeing of the public through Nordic
skiing.
CEDO works to achieve economic vitality,
preserve the environment and promote social
equity within a sustainable city. CEDO works
in partnership with citizens, the public and
private sector and other city departments.
Our mission is to help individuals with
developmental disabilities experience all of
life's opportunities by enhancing self-esteem,
maximizing independence and enabling
community membership. We envision a
society that embraces all of its members and
values the contributions that every person can
make.
To make government more accessible and
understandable to Chittenden County
residents. Using cable television and
interactive programming, Channel 17 provides
citizens with a direct link to local, regional and
state government and public policy makers,
promotes citizen involvement in government,
and furthers government accountability.
To address fundamental issues of economic,
social, and racial justice and to work with lowincome people to achieve economic
independence
The Chittenden Food Shelf works to alleviate
hunger by feeding people and cultivating
opportunities
Our mission is to provide emergency shelter,
services, and housing for people who are
homeless or marginally housed in Vermont.
We advocate for long-term solutions to end
homelessness. We believe in the value and
dignity of every human life, that housing is a
fundamental human right, that emergency
shelter is not the solution to homelessness.
DREAM builds communities of families and
college students that empower children from
affordable housing neighborhoods to
recognize their options, make informed
decisions, and achieve their dreams.
Recreation and
rest
Respect,
housing, food,
Respect
Say in
government
Choice in work
with a fair wage,
respect
Food
Housing
Education
122
Fletcher Allen
Health Care
Burlington
Our mission is to improve the health of the
people we serve by integrating patient care,
education, and research in a caring
environment.
Health care
Food, education
Freedom and
safety,
recreation and
rest
Friends of
Burlington
Gardens
Burlington
Good News
Garage
Burlington
Friends of Burlington Gardens is a grassroots
nonprofit dedicated to community, school, and
neighborhood gardening in the city of
Burlington and across Vermont. Our mission
is to create, enhance, and preserve
community-based gardens through advocacy,
education, and community outreach
Good News Garage creates economic
opportunity by providing affordable and
reliable transportation options for people in
need.
Burlington
The Greater Burlington YMCA has been at the
heart of the community for more than 143
years. Today, we touch more than 13,000
lives through 2 fitness branches, 24 childcare
sites, and we offer more than 80 youth and
family development programs within five
counties. We live our charitable mission by
providing life-changing experiences and
assistance to everyone of all ages,
background, ability, race or religion.
Recreation and
rest, love and
family, respect
Burlington
Howard Center’s Child, Youth and Family
Services (formerly Baird Center) provides
prevention, assessment, treatment, crisis and
educational services, and support to children
and youth and their families. Programs include
First Call for Children and Families, a 24-hour
per day crisis service, counseling, case
management, and school-based services,
intensive family-based services, day treatment
and special education services, residential
programs, Pine Forest childcare, and
Community Friends Mentoring.
Love and family,
respect,
education
YMCA
Howard Center
Hunger Free VT
South
Burlington
Intervale
Burlington
King Street
Center
Burlington
Hunger Free Vermont (formerly Vermont
Campaign to End Childhood Hunger) strives
to end the injustice of hunger and malnutrition
for Vermonters.
Stewarding agricultural and conservation
lands in Burlington to create dynamic
opportunities to build and support local food
enterprises and farms that supply high-quality
food to the community.
King Street Center's mission is to promote
personal and social wellness through
educational, recreational, and social
programs. Our goal is to give children, youth,
and families the life-building skills necessary
for a healthy and productive future.
Food
Food
Education,
recreation and
rest, respect,
love and family
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The Nature
Conservancy of
Vermont
Montpelier
Outright
Burlington
Peace and
Justice Center
Burlington
Local Motion promotes people-powered
transportation and recreation for healthy and
sustainable Vermont communities.
To preserve the plants, animals, and natural
communities that represent the diversity of life
on Earth by protecting the lands and waters
they need to survive.
The mission of Outright is to build safe,
healthy, and supportive environments for gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and
questioning youth (ages 13-22). Our goal is to
make Vermont the safest, most supportive
and empowering state for queer youth in
America
Our mission is to create a just and peaceful
world. To this end, we work on the
interconnected issues of economic and racial
justice, peace, and human rights through
education, advocacy, training and non-violent
activism and community organizing.
Transitional
Services For
Youth And
Families
Burlington
TSYF's mission is to provide innovative and
integrative social service and educational
programming to youth and their families that
encourages the cultivation of personal growth
and wellness through strengths-based,
restorative justice, and solution-focused
practices.
United Way Of
Chittenden
County
South
Burlington
Vermont Dept of
Health
Burlington
Local Motion
Burlington
Vermont Family
Network
Williston
Vermont Housing
Finance Agency
Burlington
To build a stronger Chittenden County by
mobilizing our community to improve people's
lives.
As the state's lead agency for public health
policy and advocacy, we developed a plan
known as Healthy Vermonters 2010. It
represents the work of dozens of
organizations and individuals under the
leadership of the Vermont Department of
Health, and sets forth specific and measurable
objectives to improve health and prevent
disease.
Vermont Family Network empowers parents,
families, children, and adults who have, or are
at risk for, special needs to be effective
advocates for their health, education, and
wellbeing. We provide information, support,
advocacy, and promote family-centered
policies and practices.
To finance and promote affordable, safe and
decent housing opportunities for low- and
moderate-income Vermonters.
Recreation and
rest
Clean water,
recreation and
rest,
Respect
Education,
respect
Love and family,
education,
respect
Love and family,
respect,
education,
recreation and
rest, choice of
work at a fair
wage, food,
clothing, housing
Health care
Love and family,
education
Housing
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