LESSON PLAN by ___________Justin Weber__________________
Lesson: Dred Scott
Length: 50 mins (1 Period)
Age or Grade Intended: 8th Grade.
Academic Standard(s):
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USH- 8.1.20- Analyze the causes and effects of events leading to the Civil War,
including development of sectional conflict over slavery.
Performance Objectives:
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The students will analyze the majority opinion of the Dred Scott decision; they will
then compose their own opinion as if they were a Supreme Court justice at the time
of the decision.
Assessment:
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The students will mainly be assessed on the historical accuracy of their opinion that
they draft, the opinion will also need to follow a specific structure that will be laid
out for them. They will also be graded on the grammatical structure and the
creativity of their opinion. The overall assignment will be considered a success if it
is completed with 80% accuracy.
Advanced Preparation by Teacher:
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Each student will need a copy of the rubric that the assignment will be graded on.
Each student will also need an excerpted version of Justice Taney’s opinion that was
developed in this case.
Predetermined groups so they can form an opinion as a group and an outline to
follow.
Procedure:
Introduction/Motivation:
The way I will introduce this lesson plan is by having a bell ringer activity on the board, and
that activity will be a 3-minute “quick-write”, the prompt for this will be…In your own
words (Gardner’s: Interpersonal), construct a definition of what a second class citizen is?
(Bloom’s: Synthesis). This will build a good plan for a brief discussion that will lead into a
brief background of the Dred Scott case. Be sure to mention that this is a shift from the
legislation that is passed by Congress (Legislative Branch) and goes more to a focus of the
judicial branch of government. It shows that all branches had an effect on the events that led
up to the Civil War.
Step-by-Step Plan:
1. The students will each get a copy of a brief version of Justice Taney’s opinion on the
decision of the Supreme Court for the Dred Scott case.
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html)
2. The students will then get into their assigned groups (Gardner’s: Intrapersonal),
within those groups they will listen to this clip
(http://www.teachushistory.org/files/dredscott/10.mp3) (Gardner’s: Linguistic) in
which we will pause periodically and discuss unclear parts. The students should
take some notes over this, picking out important points.
3. The students will then take some time to read the excerpt that was provided for
them.
4. Based on the excerpt they will create an outline that their group will need to follow
(Gardner’s: Visual/Spatial) That outline will follow the basis on why they would
overturn the decision of the Supreme Court of the time.
5. The outline should cover a few basic points, these will be written on the board,
making it easy for the students to refer to.
a. Basic background of the case (Bloom’s: Knowledge).
b. Summary of what you think Taney’s thought process was (Bloom’s:
Comprehension). Do you think that the decision was applicable for the time
period?
c. Assess what you think needs changed about the Taney decision (Bloom’s:
Evaluation).
d. Form an alternative solution for the case
6. These points should be discussed as a group to develop for an outline that will be
turned in for participation.
7. The students will then go on their own to draft an opinion.
Closure:
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After students have written their opinions, and if time allows, we will hold a class
discussion on the changes they would make in the case. We will be sure to discuss
whether or not the outcome of the case could have altered the Civil War and it’s
happening all together. Be sure to have the students turn in their work.
Adaptations/Enrichment:
Students with Learning Disabilities: For this lesson, the group collaboration will be good for
these students to feed off other’s ideas, it also helps organize the students thoughts. The
other adjustment I would make for these students would be to give them time to take the
opinion home and continue it there if they need extra time
Self-Reflection:
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Was the introduction as interesting as it needed to be to hook the students?
Was the timing adequate?
Did the students grasp the key concepts? If no, how could I reach out to help them
with this?