Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 9-12
Curriculum Focus: World History
Lesson Duration: One to two class periods
Program Description
Civilizations can rise, change, and die according to the quality of their leadership. Through the
video’s examples, students discover the complexities of leadership and the factors that influence
the outcome of conquests and uprisings. Segments address Europe, the Near East, and Colonial
America. This program includes one feature segment and three short segments.
Onscreen Questions
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How did Alexander the Great help spread Greek culture?
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What impact did the Enlightenment have on the American colonies?
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How does Machiavelli’s The Prince reflect the ideas of the Renaissance?
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How did Napoleon’s actions in Russia eventually lead to his downfall?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Research a great leader, focusing on the thinkers who influenced that individual.
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Write an essay exploring the relationship between leaders and great thinkers.
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Apply the concept to contemporary leaders.
Materials
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Politics and Leadership video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Paper and pencils
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Computer with Internet access
Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
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Procedures
1. Begin the lesson by showing students the “Enlightenment and Revolution” segment, which
focuses on the relationship between Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of
Independence, and John Locke, a philosopher during the Enlightenment.
2. Next, discuss how great thinkers influence great leaders. Ask the class these questions:
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What do great leaders learn from great thinkers?
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Do you think the leaders’ ideas would have been different without the influence of these
thinkers?
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Do you think that great thinkers are ahead of their times?
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Is the influence of great thinkers always positive?
3. Group students into pairs. Tell them their challenge is to choose one of three great leaders and
then find out how that individual was influenced by a contemporary great thinker. Their
options are:
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Alexander the Great, influenced by Aristotle
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Thomas Jefferson, influenced by John Locke
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Napoleon Bonaparte, influenced by Niccolò Machiavelli
4. A good starting point for this lesson is to watch the entire program. The following Web sites
also provide valuable information:
Alexander the Great and Aristotle
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http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?ParaID=20
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http://wi.essortment.com/alexanderthegr_rxdz.htm
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http://www.interesting.com/stories/alexander/#story
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http://www.sonic.net/~exactsci/ancient/greek/Aristotle.htm
Thomas Jefferson and John Locke
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http://www.anesi.com/q0033.htm
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http://www.llpoh.org/locke1.html
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http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/john_locke_works.html
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http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/locke/locke.htm
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http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/birth/1bc2.html
Napoleon and Machiavelli
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http://lilt.ilstu.edu/drjclassics/syllabi/IH/Machiavelli.shtm
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http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture15a.html
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http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/m/machiave.htm
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
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http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/N/napoleon/rebel.html
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http://www.the-prince-by-machiavelli.com/niccolo-machiavelli-biography.html
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5. Give students time in class to work on this project. Remind them to consider how each leader
used what he learned from reading the great thinker to accomplish his own goals.
6. When the pairs have completed their research, have them write a 500-700-word essay
explaining how their leader was influenced by a great thinker of his time. Students may need to
finish the essay as homework.
7. Ask for volunteers to read their essays to the class. Try to have all three leaders covered in the
student presentations.
8. Conclude by asking students if they think contemporary great thinkers have influenced leaders.
If so, ask for specific examples. Ask students if they believe great thinkers are important to
powerful leaders. Have students provide evidence to support their opinions:
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
•
3 points: Students participated actively in class discussions; wrote an interesting,
informative, and creative essay comparing the relationship between a leader and a great
thinker; applied what they learned to other leaders.
•
2 points: Students participated in class discussions; wrote a competent essay comparing the
relationship between a leader and a great thinker; applied some of what they learned to
other leaders.
•
1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions; did not complete their essays; had
difficulty applying what they learned to other leaders.
Vocabulary
Alexander the Great
Definition: A great leader who lived between 356 and 323 B.C.; he conquered the Persian empire
and spread Greek culture throughout the world.
Context: Aristotle was taught by Plato and became head of the Academy in Athens after Plato’s
death.
Aristotle
Definition: Greek philosopher who lived between 384 and 322 B.C.; he taught Alexander the
Great. A deep thinker, he studied logic, science, ethics and politics, and literature.
Context: John Locke’s writings emphasize his belief that all people have certain rights, including
liberty, life, and the ownership of property.
John Locke
Definition: English philosopher who lived between 1632 and 1704; his Two Treatises of
Government influenced Thomas Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence.
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Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
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Context: John Locke’s writings emphasize his belief that all people have certain rights, including
liberty, life, and the ownership of property.
Machiavelli
Definition: Renaissance Italian statesman and writer who lived between 1469 and 1527; author of
The Prince; considered the father of political science
Context: Machiavelli believed that it was the responsibility of an effective leader to maintain the
health and safety of the state at any cost.
Napoleon
Definition: Emperor of France who lived between 1769 and 1821 and whose empire included
most of Western and Central Europe
Context: Napoleon’s experience in Russia was the beginning of the end of his rule; he met his
downfall at Waterloo and spent his remaining days on the island of St. Helena.
Thomas Jefferson
Definition: Author of the Declaration of Independence; this governor, congressman, and third
president of the United States lived between 1743 and 1826.
Context: A leader in the Continental Congress, Thomas Jefferson was selected to write the
Declaration of Independence, considered his greatest work.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit http://www.mcrel.org/.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Language Arts—Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media; Writing: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process, Gathers
and uses information for research purposes
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
NCSS has developed national guidelines for teaching social studies. To become a member of NCSS,
or to view the standards online, go to http://www.socialstudies.org
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
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Time, Continuity, and Change
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Individual Development and Identity
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Power, Authority, and Governance
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
5
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail
icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief
descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press
Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read
the accompanying text description and click again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total
running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV
remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. Alexander the Great (6 min.)
By the age of 23, Alexander the Great had already begun creating the most powerful empire the
world had ever seen. Learn about this great ruler’s accomplishments and victories.
II. Enlightenment and Revolution (6 min.)
In their quest for freedom and inalienable rights, the leaders of the American Revolution embodied
the ideas of the Enlightenment. See how the Enlightenment helped spark a revolution.
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Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
III. The Politics of The Prince (5 min.)
What makes a good leader? In The Prince, a book of guidelines on politics and leadership, Niccolò
Machiavelli tried to answer that question. Explore the teachings of The Prince.
IV. Napoleon Meets His Match (30 min.)
Napoleon’s march into Russia was his biggest military mistake. Journey back in time to watch as
this emperor meets his match, the Russian landscape.
Curriculum Units
1. Alexander Comes of Age
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you know about Alexander the Great?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Should Alexander have returned to Greece after his victory at Issus?
A: Answers will vary.
2. The Hellenistic World
Pre-viewing question
Q: What are some similarities between ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What were the influences of Hellenistic society?
A: Hellenistic society was a combination of Greek, Persian, and Asian cultures.
3. The Stirrings of War
Pre-viewing question
Q: What caused the American Revolution?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What did Enlightenment thinkers believe the government should do?
A: They believed that the government should promote the natural rights and freedoms of its
citizens and work to solve society’s problems.
4. Declaring Independence
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think some Americans opposed the American Revolution?
A: Answers will vary.
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Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
7
Post-viewing question
Q: What were the ideals put forth in the Declaration of Independence?
A: Equality, inalienable rights, and the ability of the citizens to alter or abolish the government if it
hindered these rights.
5. Renaissance Men
Pre-viewing question
Q: Who were some of the great thinkers of the Renaissance?
A: Answers will vary, but may include Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, and Nicolas Copernicus.
Post-viewing question
Q: How did the standards of education change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance?
A: During the Middle Ages, education was centered on the church and dealt mostly with religion
and the afterlife. Renaissance scholars turned their attention to individual achievements in the here
and now. They studied science and mathematics, as well as history, literature, the fine arts, and
philosophy.
6. Teachings of The Prince
Pre-viewing question
Q: Are there limits to what a ruler should do to maintain power?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What were some of the teachings in The Prince?
A: If possible, a prince or leader should not deviate from what is good. Yet, he or she should know
how to do evil if it is necessary. Machiavelli also advised rulers to maintain their power by any
means necessary.
7. Unearthing the Past
Pre-viewing question
Q: Have you ever been betrayed by fear?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did Napoleon plan to invade Russia?
A: He had entered into an alliance with the Russian czar against England, France’s archenemy. But
when the czar continued to trade with England, Napoleon wanted to seek revenge.
8. Rattled by Fear
Pre-viewing question
Q: Would you be willing to lay down your life for your country?
A: Answers will vary.
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Politics and Leadership: Teacher’s Guide
8
Post-viewing question
Q: Why were the French soldiers so young?
A: By the time France invaded Russia, Napoleon had been fighting nonstop for 16 years. Because
there were no other men left to fight, he had been forced to draft young men and boys.
9. Obstacles in Russia
Pre-viewing question
Q: What strategies would you employ in a battle against a larger, stronger army?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What were some of the obstacles Napoleon’s soldiers met in Russia?
A: Exhaustion, dehydration, disease, and rain storms that turned roads to mud and caused supply
wagons to be left behind. With their supply wagons stuck, the soldiers were forced to live off the
land. However, the Russians torched everything in their path, leaving French soldiers with nothing.
10. Fighting Russian Forces
Pre-viewing question
Q: Who has been the most inspirational person in your life?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did the Russians torch Moscow?
A: They knew that in Moscow, some 2,000 miles from home, the French troops would be unable to
survive the winter without adequate supplies.
11. Retreat from Moscow
Pre-viewing question
Q: What would you need to survive the winter in Russia?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did anarchy rise within the French troops?
A: They believed Napoleon had lied to them when he promised a short war, and they were angry at
his selfishness and greed in invading Russia in the first place.
12. Out of Luck
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think were Napoleon’s greatest errors?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did Napoleon leave his troops outside Vilnius?
A: Napoleon wanted to reach Paris before news of his army’s failure had arrived there.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.