Julie Podorsek

Kyle Greenwalt
TE 407
Unit Planning Assignment
For my unit plan I would cover the American Revolutionary period. This time period I
would break down starting with the Proclamation of 1763. This proclamation really was the first
big point of contention between Great Britain and the Colonies. I would then end this Unit with
the ratification of the constitution. By ending it at this point I can smoothly transition into the
breaking the constitution down for my students and looking at the development of the new
government system. For this period I would like my overarching question to be What impact
does the American Revolution have on today? I would like to be able to go over this question
from many different perspectives such as from a military perspective, an economic perspective,
and especially a cultural perspective. For this unit I would use a test at the end to help me as a
teacher make sure that I could make sure that all my students have a firm grasp on the details I
want them to. Such as the political atmosphere and major player such as George Washington,
Samuel Adams, John Adams and others. I would also include on the test a chronological section
where they would have to put battles in order and another sections where they would have to put
the acts in order of when they occurred. Essay questions will allow me to see how many details
the students absorbed and some of the students thinking on the issues of the American
Revolution. I would also like to use some checkup tools such as thumbs up and down as we go
through the unit to see how students feel about the material. A pop quiz for this unit toward the
middle would also allow me to gage the progress and anything I might need to revisit.

There are many key historical reasons why the American Revolutionary period was
important. This was the founding of the nation that we are all part of and it is important to make
sure that students know the ideals that founded their home. This ties into the civics portion of the
standards, the standards say that we should teach the students reasons why we separated from
Great Britain using the list of grievances that the colonists sent to King George. This primary
document will give students a chance to do a deep reading. Another thing that was highly
emphasized in the standards was educating the students on the governments at the time and the
changing views to a more republican model with an emphasis on freedom, common good,
individual rights, and representative government.1 With all this talk about rights and governments
it would be interesting to do some voting in the classroom so show how each persons vote
counts in the system of government that the colonists were fighting for. I also think that anything
about the founding fathers is important to teach about. These men are idealized in our country
and play an important role in making people feel proud to be American. This topic is the base
and foundation for everything that happened in the country after its founding. Many standards,
precedents, and structures, came about during this time period and to not teach about it would
make learning about anything post it hard to follow. From the global perspective this was the
beginning of a country that will be an important trade partner as well as a political and later
military power in the world. The foreign relations started during this time will effect events in the
future. Historians look at all of the later implications of this time period and think about it in
terms of why did people act the way they did, who was involved, was this really a radical
revolution?, how much separation from Britain did the colonists actually get? And how does this
affect the world today? Or does it? These questions can all be discussed with students.

1 https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SSGLCE_218368_7.pdf pg 73

Bens classes are predominantly white and I know fifth hour has 3 to 4 English language
learners and one child of African American descent. The class I believe is pretty much split
gender wise. One of the white children in the class is Harry, this student is a little bigger and
generally has a slight attitude. What I have noticed with Harry, is that if you can engage him
directly and get his to focus he can recall almost all the questions and enjoys discussing things.
He sits next to a students that has a negative effect on his attitude and on his participation, his
inconsistency in caring about paying attention is what will kill his grade as a whole. The students
that sits next to Harry is Fred. Fred is an English Language Learner and he speaks English almost
fluently. I believe he may still struggle with the language of History and written English. He
tends to lose attention when Ben talks for too long or there is an in class reading assignment.
When Fred loses attention he tends to try and distract other students. Fred as a great sense of
humor and likes to challenge Ben on material which sometimes great conversation. I think that
calling on Fred more might be helpful in keeping him focused he is not shy or afraid to talk so
this might help him to stay focused so he can answer correctly and not embarrass himself with
the wrong answer. The more he focuses the more Harry focuses, so their seating arrangement
may not be the best fit for those two.
I think the students will find my unit interesting. The beginning of this country tells a story and
the story has great heroes, traitors, battles, kings, and ordinary people that stepped up and made a
difference for the better. Every great story has these elements and by relating the drama and the
story to the students, it will hopefully draw them in like an actual story. The unit also helps to
show the students where some of the rights they enjoy or will enjoy come from. The fight for
individual rights and to have a say in their country are thing they will be able to have in the
future. This connects them to the past. The two students I picked are both a little rebellious and I

think the story of this country rising up and breaking the mold of a normal colony to be
something more will spark the interest of my two students and the class. Men from the wealthy
or just middle class were able to rise up to be forefathers of a country, political leaders, and
remembered for hundreds of years for their deeds might give hope and inspiration to the any
students thinking about politics. It will hopefully inspire my students that fighting for what you
believe in can make a difference for years to come.
For my community events I attended the Mr. Growers concert at the Mystery Garage.
This event was nothing like what I thought it was. The music and atmosphere were awesome.
This event allowed me to meet other teachers at Haslett, as well as observe that as a teacher it
does not have to be your whole life and you can allow time to pursue other dreams and hobbies.
My second event was the pep rally for the homecoming. This was such a fun experience that
allowed all the groups of the school to talk about what they participate in and how to get
involved. This was ultimately a way for the students to let off some steam and have some fun.
My third event was the Beauty and the Beast the school play. This was so much fun and the
students really did a beautiful job preforming.
Through these events I didnt have much parent interaction, but being part of the Haslett
program and interacting with the teachers has let me gather information about the way the parent
body at Haslett has been extremely supportive of the students, and the teachers. They let 10 MSU
seniors in to practice teaching and they care about having a variety of clubs and groups so that
their children can explore themselves and academia. Ben or any of the other Haslett teachers
have not said a single negative thing about the parents. I do not think that the parents of this
school would have many problems with me teaching about the American Revolution unless it

was sparking a revolution in their children at home. If any parents did find the material to be
unsatisfactory I would set up a meeting with those parents to talk about how important it is for
their son or daughter to understand their roots and how this unit will hopefully make them proud
of their history and inspired to continue to be good Americans and have hopes for continuing and
valuing the freedoms the American Revolution gave to the American people. In words if not in
action during this time.