Mary Kathryn Bigger
Fall 2015
Socratic Seminar Lesson
Early Abolitionists: William Lloyd Garrison and “The Liberator”
Topic: Writings of the Antebellum Abolitionists
Standards: SOL USI.1a, d, e; USI.8d; NCSS 1.c, 5.b, 10.8 (Middle Grades)
Grade Level: 6th Grade
Class: United States History I
Length: 1 hour (one class period)
Overview: This lesson will be nearing the end of the unit on Westward Expansion. The students
will have covered the accumulation of new territory, settlers moving west, and the
inventions. This lesson will be part of the final portion that bridges this unit to the next one,
which is the beginnings of the Civil War, by introducing abolitionist sentiments. Students
will be learning about early abolitionist leaders. They will have already learned what an
abolitionist is, and this lesson will specifically give students a look into the words of one of
the leaders, William Lloyd Garrison himself, to give them an opportunity to analyze and
discuss the ideas that he and other abolitionists were suggesting at the time.
Background Information: As the U.S. progressed further into the 1800s and the nation as a whole
was growing and expanding, ideas of social change that had been developing for decades
began to be discussed more openly in society. Two of these primary ideas were women’s
suffrage and the abolition of slavery. Several figures are known for leading the abolitionist
movement before the Civil War: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and William Lloyd
Garrison. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison are both famous for writing antislavery newspapers that brought attention to the issue, especially in the North.
Rationale: This lesson serves to expand on the student’s knowledge of the anti-slavery media,
especially the writings of William Lloyd Garrison in his paper, The Liberator. Students will
read an article from an issue of The Liberator, and engage in a Socratic seminar to discuss its
themes and ideas, as well as how that fits in with the basic knowledge that they have
regarding the abolitionist movement. Developing and answering their own questions
throughout the process of the Socratic Seminar will bring a new layer of understanding and
engagement on the part of the students to what people were writing about slavery in the
decades before the Civil War.
Instructional Model:
The key components of a Socratic seminar are a text to focus the discussion on, opening
questions, core questions, and a debrief at the end. Also important are established norms that are
held throughout the discussion. Using this model promotes text analysis, drawing connections,
productive discussion, and oral communication of ideas, as well as content knowledge. Students
can engage in a text (or video) that is relevant to the content that they are learning, draw
connections between its themes and ideas, and communicate with their peers about the piece and
what it signifies. Engaging in a Socratic seminar for this particular text allows the students to
discuss and come to an understanding of the themes that it is portraying regarding the abolitionist
movement, which may have been difficult for the students to understand if they simply read
through the text themselves, without answering questions, annotating the text, or discussing it
with their peers. This lesson fits into the 6th grade standards for US History, and the students will
learn how to discuss appropriately.
Objectives:
– Students will examine and interpret an article from William Lloyd Garrison’s The
Liberator to understand his perspective as an abolitionist and that the article is calling for
the end of slavery.
– Students will discuss orally as a class the ideas found in the passage.
– Students will know the motivations and position of abolitionists in the first half of the
1800s, as assessed by a later quiz from this discussion and relevant lessons.
– Students will analyze the text, as assessed by a completed seminar ticket before
participating in discussion.
– Students will demonstrate the instructed norms during the seminar discussion.
USI.1
The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and
responsible citizenship, including the ability to
a) identify and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase
understanding of events and life in United States history to 1865;
d) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;
e) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;
USI.8 The student will demonstrate knowledge of westward expansion and reform in America
from 1801 to 1861 by
d) identifying the main ideas of the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements.
NCSS.1 Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity, so that the learner can: c) explain and give examples of how language, literature, architecture, the arts, other artifacts, traditions, beliefs, values, and behaviors contribute to the development and transmission of culture. NCSS.5 Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among, individuals, groups, and institutions, so that the learner can: b) analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and elements of culture. NCSS.10 Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizens in a democratic republic, so that the learner can: d) practice forms of civic discussion and participation consistent with the ideals of citizens in a democratic republic. Assessment:
Students will be assessed formatively through the seminar entrance ticket, to ensure that
they have read the text beforehand. The discussion itself will not be formally graded, but
participation will be monitored and written feedback will be given individually to
students afterwards, so that they can reflect and prepare for further discussions of this
type. The content discussed in this seminar will appear on a later quiz that includes other
lessons regarding the antebellum abolitionists.
Content and Instructional Strategies:
I Seminar Text: “On the Constitution and the Union,” by William Lloyd Garrison
A Issues: slavery and trying to energize the abolitionist movement
B Ideas: slavery will tear the nation apart, people must start speaking against it
C Values: the unity of the nation, human rights in response to slavery, public action
II Preparation for the Seminar
A Before class: Students will receive the text the day before the seminar, and the teacher
will model how to annotate the text as they read (marking opinions/reactions, underlining
what they think are important points, circling what they do not understand), as well as go
over the vocabulary words in the word bank. Students will then read the text the night
before the seminar, answering the entrance ticket questions and writing three thoughts or
questions they have from reading the text.
B Room arrangement: 20 chairs will be arranged in a circle around the room, with the rest
arranged behind them, as space will allow. All students who have completed the entrance
ticket will be involved in the discussion, and those who did not complete it will sit
outside of the circle, not discuss, and take notes on the discussion.
C Seminar Norms: throughout the discussion, an overview of the discussion norms and
sentence starters will be projected onto the board. We will review these and model them
to check for comprehension before beginning the discussion.
III Opening Questions: The teacher will ask one opening question at a time, alternating with
relevant questions from the entrance ticket to ensure that students feel comfortable
participating with their prepared responses.
A What does it mean to be an abolitionist?
B What parts of the passage show that Garrison is an abolitionist?
C Why do you think Garrison is addressing this to the people of the North?
D What does Garrison think is going to happen to the union?
IV Core Questions: The teacher will ask the remaining questions intermittently, when the
discussion lags or becomes too off-topic. Otherwise, students will be encouraged to ask their
own questions and develop more off of comments made by their classmates.
V Follow-up Questions: Students may ask any questions that they still have at the conclusion of
the seminar, and those who are sitting outside of the circle may contribute any questions or
comments that they would like to add.
VI Debrief: We will go around the room, and each student will say either something that they
learned from the seminar, or their thoughts on how discussing it in this manner affected how
they thought about the topic.
Resources:
– Copies of the text and entrance ticket for each student, pencils
§ Garrison, William Lloyd. “On the Constitution and the Union.” The Liberator.
December 29, 1832.
– White board and projector
Differentiation:
This lesson is differentiated through content, process, and assessment. Regarding content,
scaffolding is offered by having a short vocabulary list included with the text. Regarding process,
students may take their time to review the text and entrance questions at home in preparation for
the seminar. For assessment, students my contribute as much or as little as they want, as long as
they speak more than once, do not speak so much as to hinder other students, and follow the
discussion norms. Students are also expected to come up with their own questions, so some will
be more challenging than others.
Adaptations: for the student with a 504 plan for anxiety/ADHD, she will have time at home to
prepare for the discussion and instructions will be repeated and modeled.
Reflection:
I think that the students will really love having the chance to openly discuss the text that
they have read, but I do anticipate having to really work hard to enforce the discussion norms so
that they will remain respectful and not get too loud or rowdy. This is also my rationale for
having the entire class discuss as one group, to keep the noise level and potential disorder at a
minimum. I anticipate some students not participating, even though they will have prepared
some thoughts for the seminar, but they will have the chance in the beginning and at the end to
speak, so that should boost their confidence some. Some students in each class will definitely
dominate, but I will try to step in and steer the discussion some until others feel comfortable
speaking, since it would be in response to me and not their peers. The students will definitely get
off track, in which case I would step in again and ask a question to get them back on topic. I
think that having the seminar norms and prepared questions will make this go a lot more
smoothly.
Post-Reflection:
This lesson went well in terms of higher order thinking through interpreting the
paragraph, substantive conversation in that the students discussed at length the implications of
what was said in the article, ethical valuing about “freedom,” connections were made outside of
the classroom to racial inequalities today, and integration occurred through connecting these
inequalities from the past to the present, and through involving sociology by discussing this as
well. I had to keep redirecting the conversation because it kept becoming heated in terms of
discussing racism, and I personally liked that these conversations were occurring, but I feel that
such topics need more time to be addressed and cannot properly be addressed during a seminar
such as this. Perhaps more structure ahead of it if I were to do this again.
“On the Constitution and the Union”
By William Lloyd Garrison. From The Liberator, December 29, 1832
1 “People of New-England, and of the free States! Is it true that slavery is no concern of
2 yours? Have you no right even to protest against it, or to seek its removal? Are you not the main
3 pillars of its support? How long do you mean to be answerable to God and the world, for spilling
4 the blood of the poor innocents? Be not afraid to look the monster SLAVERY boldly in the face.
5 He is your implacable foe—the vampire who is sucking your life-blood—the ravager of a large
6 portion of your country, and the enemy of God and man. Never hope to be a united, or happy, or
7 prosperous people while he exists. He has an appetite like the grave—a spirit as malignant as that
8 of the bottomless pit—and an influence as dreadful as the corruption of death. Awake to your
9 danger! The struggle is a mighty one—it cannot be avoided—it should not be, if it could.
10 It is said that if you agitate this question, you will divide the Union. Believe it not; but
11 should disunion follow, the fault will not be yours. You must perform your duty, faithfully,
12 fearlessly and promptly, and leave the consequences to God: that duty clearly is, to cease from
13 giving countenance and protection to southern kidnappers. Let them separate, if they can muster
14 courage enough—and the liberation of their slaves is certain. Be assured that slavery will very
15 speedily destroy this Union, if it be left alone; but even if the Union can be preserved by treading
16 upon the necks, spilling the blood, and destroying the souls of millions of your race, we say it is
17 not worth a price like this, and that it is in the highest degree criminal for you to continue the
18 present compact. Let the pillars thereof fall—let the superstructure crumble into dust—if it must
19 be upheld by robbery and oppression.”
Pillars:
in a building, poles to support a roof. Here, people who support an idea.
Implacable:
restless, unstoppable
Ravager:
someone/something who destroys
Prosperous:
wealthy, gains a lot of benefits
Malignant:
evil, has a bad influence
Corruption:
ruin, destruction
Promptly:
quickly, soon
Countenance: in this case support
Muster:
to gather
Liberation:
freedom
Compact:
in this case an agreement
Superstructure: an idea or institution built on a larger idea (here, slavery)
Name: ____________________________
The Liberator Entrance Ticket
1. Who is Garrison trying to speak to by writing this?
2. What does he want to get rid of?
3. What does he think slavery is doing to the nation?
4. What are some things he compares slavery to in this passage?
What are three more questions/thoughts you would like to discuss about the text?
1. 2. 3. Notes from discussion: