Today we are going to begin to think about how our country has changed throughout it's history. We will talk about ways that you have changed throughout your life and then we will break down the learning targets that we will be working on throughout the rest of the year.
Hook: New Years Resolution
Every year, millions of people around the world try to make a change in their lives by creating a New Years Resolution. I would like you to think about a New Years Resolution that you actually carried throughout the year as well as one that you gave up on. Why do you think some resolutions work? Why do you think others fail?
New Years Resolutions are examples of changes that we choose to make. Now, I would like you to think about a change that you have gone through that was not your choice but maybe just a natural evolution. Why was that a lasting change despite the fact that you didn't choose it?
Think about other ways that you have changed throughout your life. I would like you to write those changes down and then work in groups to try to come up with categories for those changes. We will share the categories when we are done. If there is something that you don't feel comfortable sharing, you do not have to share.
National Changes
Just as you have gone through many changes in your life that fall under different categories, the U.S. has also experienced change. We will think about possible changes that we know have occurred in our country and we will write them down on the board. Then we will discuss the learning targets that will match up with these reform units throughout the rest of the year.
Learning Targets
Understands how society and events evolve through transformations and reforms
Understands the factors that lead to economic transformation
Understands the way the US economic system and US policy shaped the growth and transition of the US today
Let's start with the first target:
Understands how society and events evolve through transformations and reforms
First we will breakdown the vocabulary words in the target. In your groups, find the words that you think it would be helpful for us to define and then look up the definitions of those words. You will share these in a few minutes.
Society - people living together in a more or less ordered community.
Evolve - develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form.
Transform - make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of.
Reform - make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it.
Take a minute and write this target in your notebooks. Then I want you to write it in the form of 1-2 questions. We will share those questions and then pick 5 that can be our essential questions for the next unit.
The first unit we will do using these targets will be our Native American Reform unit. If there is time before you leave, I would like you to ask 5 questions about the ways that life for Native Americans may have changed throughout history. If there is not time, this will be your homework.