StudySync Lesson Plan
Letter to the President
Objectives
1.
Students will read and listen to Albert Einstein's “Letter to the President.”
2. Students will respond to the text through writing and discussion.
3. Practice and reinforce the following Grade 9-10 ELA Common Core Standards for reading
informational text, writing, and speaking and listening:
READING: INFORMATIONAL TEXT - RI.9-10.1-6, 8-10
WRITING: HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES - WHST.9-10.7
WRITING: W.9-10.1-7
SPEAKING AND LISTENING: SL.9-10.1-6
Time
135 minutes (with an additional 110 minutes of extension possibilities)
Materials
SyncTV Premium Lesson on Albert Einstein's “Letter to the President.”
Overview
The StudySync lesson presents a letter written by Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt that
launched the great nuclear arms race of World War II. Einstein is not entirely direct in what he
wishes to accomplish, which makes the piece fascinating from a literary perspective. The piece is
also a first-rate primary source historical document. Students will read the text and
respond/analyze in a number of ways after watching the SyncTV video which models academic
discourse. This lesson will allow students to write well-informed responses that correlate to the
ELA Common Core Standards for grades 9-10.
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
Background (10 minutes)
1.
Watch the Preview (SL.9-10.1). As a group, watch the video preview of the premium
lesson. Ask students to share their impressions and connect the text they will read to
modern day. Use the following questions to spur discussion about the preview:
a. What do you know about the start of WWII?
b. When did the US become involved in the war?
c. What other socio-economic problems did the US face at the time?
d. Aside from relativity, what research was Einstein involved in at the time?
e. How might the world be different if the United States had not entered the nuclear
arms race?
Extension (additional 60 minutes)
f.
Research and Write (W.9-10.7). Ask students to take a closer look at the
geopolitical situation in August 1939 when Einstein wrote his letter to Roosevelt.
Assign students to find at least three key events that occurred in the three months
prior to Einstein’s letter. They should write short summaries of these events that
explain their significance and how they may have impacted Einstein’s decision to
write to Roosevelt.
Engaging the Text (90 minutes)
2. Read the Text (25 minutes)
a.
Read and Annotate (RI.9-10.1-6). Ask students to read the introduction and the
excerpt of Einstein’s Letter to the President. If the classroom has a projector, it
may be good to model good note-taking skills by reading and annotating the first
paragraph as a class. This would be especially important if the students have not
used this tool before; encouraging students to take notes and annotate for a
specific purpose will improve their reading comprehension. Students should pay
just as much attention to what Einstein writes as to what he implies. Ask students
to make at least 5 notes examining both the key ideas and details of the text as
well as its craft and structure.
Extension (additional 20 minutes)
b.
Listen (RI.9-10.4; SL.9-10.1-2). As a class, listen to the audio reading of the text.
Ask students to use context clues to define key terms (such as “uranium”). As a
group, work to define any other unclear terms or ideas. This also serves as a
good model for how students should use the audio supplement on their own in
conjunction with note-taking strategies.
c.
Comprehend (RI.9-10.1-4). Either distribute the multiple-choice questions or read
them aloud to the class. As a class, reread and discuss any passages of the text
about which students remain unclear.
d.
Explain (ELL). Use the following sentence frames to show how Einstein
establishes the problems without calling for war: Einstein writes because of
research into _________________. The _________________ does not have a
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
good supply of ore. The supply in ________________ is controlled by the
Germans. Einstein suggests making a person responsible for keeping contact
with ____________________ and _____________________________.
3. Watch SyncTV (40 minutes)
a.
Watch. Either watch the SyncTV discussion associated with “Einstein’s Letter to
the President” as a class or ask students to watch it on their individual computers.
b.
Focus (RI.9-10.5-6). Watch the portion of the episode from 2:46-3:10 again as a
whole class. Ask students to watch as Lila models two important skills. First, she
directs the group away from distracting side points and back to the task at hand.
Next, she demonstrates how analyzing Einstein’s first paragraph helps explicate
his use of rhetoric to establish his logic and credibility.
c.
Focus (SL.9-10.1). Look again at 4:05-4:22. Here, Todd asks Lila to summarize the
group’s findings thus far. This is a key skill in collaborative engagement, and Lila
does an excellent job offering the group a summary of where they are and where
they still need to go.
d.
Discuss (SL.9-10.1-6). After watching the model discussion, divide students into
small groups (2-3 students). Move around the room monitoring the groups as
students follow the SyncTV episode as a model to discuss some of the following
questions:
i. What (else) do you know about Einstein’s point of view in
regards to the categories mentioned in the video (religion,
background, nationality)?
ii. What information is not present in the text itself that would help
you understand his point of view more thoroughly?
iii. What can you tell about the author from reading this?
iv. Aside from establishing contact between physicists and
governments, what is the ultimate goal Einstein has in this
letter?
v. How would the world be different had this letter not been
written?
vi. Does it surprise you that this was written before World War II
even officially started?
e.
Evaluate (SL.9-10.1-6). Watch the SyncTV episode again (as a whole class if
possible). Before watching, assign each of your students one of the students in
the episode to follow. Have students examine each of the points that the students
in the video make.
4. Think (10 minutes)
a.
Respond (W.9-10.1-2, 4, 6). Ask students to read the “Think” questions, watch the
corresponding video clips, and respond to the questions.
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
5. Write (50 minutes)
a. Discuss (SL.9-10.1). Either read the prompt as a group and clarify or have students
read it individually and ask for questions. In either case, be sure to specify and go
over the rubric that you will be using to evaluate students.
b. Organize (RI.9-10.1-3; W.9-10.1-2, 5). Ask students to go back and annotate the text
with the prompt in mind. They should be organizing their thoughts and the points
they’ll address in their writing as they make annotations. This is an excellent place
to apply pre-writing strategies such as outlining.
c. Write (W.9-10.3). Have students complete and submit their writing responses.
d. Peer Review (W.9-10.4-6). Use the StudySync “Review” feature to have students
complete five evaluations of their peers’ work based on your chosen review
rubric. Have the students look at the peer evaluations of their own writing. In pairs,
ask the students to briefly discuss the peer evaluations. Suggested questions:
What might you do differently in a revision? How might you strengthen the writing
and the ideas?
Extension (additional 30 minutes)
e. Prepare (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6). Using one of the writing prompts that you did not assign,
as a whole class outline an essay on “Einstein’s Letter to the President.” Walk
students through the expectations of basic 5-paragraph essay writing.
1. First, have students individually develop thesis statement ideas. Then ask
several students to share these ideas.
2. Choose a solid idea that does not yet make an argument, and then as a
class develop that idea into an argumentative thesis. The following link
provides strong examples of this if needed:
http://www.slideshare.net/ctomlins/strong-thesis-statements
3. Break the students into small groups (2-3 students each) and ask them to
develop supporting points for the class’s thesis.
4. Have the groups list 1-2 examples from the text and 1-2 examples from
their own experiences that could bolster each point. Ask them to rank their
supporting evidence from strongest to weakest and eliminate the weakest
2 ideas for each point.
5. Lastly, bring the whole class together again to discuss good conclusions.
Go through the criteria given in the rubric for a good conclusion. Ask
students to write their own concluding sentences.
6. By the end of the exercise, each student should have his/her own essay
outline template.
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Key Vocabulary
1.
manuscript (n.) – author's text that has not yet been published
2. uranium (n.) – a gray, dense radioactive metal
3. radium (n.) – a rare radioactive metal
4. chain reaction (n.) – process in which the products themselves promote or spread the
reaction
5. Fermi (n.) – scientist who developed the first nuclear reactor
6. Szilard (n.) – scientist who first conceived of a nuclear chain reaction
Reading Comprehension Questions
1.
Who does Einstein start the letter talking about?
a. Nazis
b. The US Military
c. The President
d. Fermi and Szilard
2. What has been made possible in the past few months (at the time of writing)?
a. Nuclear chain reaction
b. War with Germany
c. Trade with Russia
d. New car engines
3. What problem does Einstein think might exist with the new bombs?
a. Cost
b. Power
c. Speed
d. Weight
4. Which of the following countries has poor uranium ore stores?
a. Canada
b. Czechoslovakia
c. The United States
d. The Belgian Congo
5. Einstein wants the President to…
a. Declare war
b. Invade Canada
c. Create a nuclear policy liaison
d. Invade Germany
6. What should this liaison do?
a. Keep Government Departments informed
b. Plan invasions
c. Stockpile weapons
d. Write press releases
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
7. How could experimental work be sped up?
a. Involving more people
b. Public awareness
c. Increased funding
d. Putting Einstein in charge
8. What has Germany done?
a. Attacked Pearl Harbor
b. Invaded England
c. Stopped the sale of uranium from Czechoslovakian mines
d. Nothing is mentioned
9. How long had WWII been going on when the letter was written?
a. Three years
b. Three months
c. Three weeks
d. It had not been started yet
10. Where was Einstein living at the time?
a. Washington
b. Boston
c. Detroit
d. Long Island
Answer Key
1. D
2. A
3. D
4. A
5. C
6. A
7. C
8. C
9. D
10. D
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President
Further Assignments
1.
Ask students to rewrite their written responses to the writing prompt based on their
peers’ feedback and/or their self-assessments. (W.9-10.10)
2. Assign students a StudySync “Writing” assignment which asks students to research the
beginning of WWII and the arms race in particular, including the Manhattan Project. Ask
students to write an essay focusing on how Einstein’s letter fits into the context of the
other historical events of the period. (WHST.9-10.7)
3. Put students into groups. Have groups go to http://www.alberteinstein.info/ or the
Einstein/Sachs collection http://www.mphpa.org/classic/COLLECTIONS/MPEinstein~Sachs/Pages/Ein-Sachs_Gallery_01.htm and compare the letter they read to at
least one other. They should then share these as a class and discuss (SL.9-10.5-6).
4. Place students into pairs and have them write a short script of what a conversation with
Einstein after the end of WWII might have been like. What would his comments on the
results have been like? (ELL)
5. Assign students a selection from Einstein Online at
http://www.westegg.com/einstein/#writings and have them write an essay that compares
his beliefs evident in their other selection to the letter to FDR. They should use this to
make a case for the original authorship of the letter to FDR—do they think Einstein wrote
it or Szilard did and Einstein signed? (RI.9-10.1-5, 7, 10; WHST.9-10.7)
6. Ask students to reread Einstein’s letter as a member of Roosevelt’s cabinet who was
skeptical about the United States pursuing nuclear weapons. Students should identify
each of the points in Einstein’s letter and seek reasons why they are invalid or fallacious.
(RI.9-10.8)
http://www.alberteinstein.info/ or the Einstein/Sachs collection
http://www.mphpa.org/classic/COLLECTIONS/MP-Einstein~Sachs/Pages/EinSachs_Gallery_01.htmand studysync.com
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Lesson Plan: Letter to the President