- Grade Focus
- Grade 6
- Age Level
- 11
- Subject
- Social Studies
- Technology Integration Activity
- Discovering the Internet
- Estimated Time of Completion
- 2 hours
Introduction
Between 1845 and 1848 the United States gained a vast amount of territory including Texas, Oregon and the Mexican Session. As new states were carved from these territories, Congress could no longer maintain the delicate balance between the number of free states and slaves states in the Senate that ensure that neither would have the majority. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had kept the balance and also prohibited slavery north of the Missouri Compromise Line. The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to join the Union as a free state and the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would be organized without mention of slavery. (The decision would be made by the territories' inhabitants later, when they applied for statehood.) The Fugitive Slave Law was enacted to appease the pro-slavery South. The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opened new lands, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allowed settlers in these territories to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries. The act established that settlers could vote to decide whether or not to allow slavery, in the name of popular sovereignty or rule of the people. The result was a bloody Civil War between proslavery and anti-slavery groups in Kansas. Abolitionist, John Brown believed that he was on a mission from God to end slavery and he led his small army into several conflicts. The situation was not resolved until the territorial governor called in federal troops.
Prerequisite Experience
Experience with using LiveBinders, saving images from the internet, and Internet Search EnginesTeacher Prep Time
(2 hours)
· Create a LiveBinder for student use. www.livebinders.com Search the Internet for resources available on different reading levels for the topic to insure that all students can equally participate
· Create a Magazine Cover - http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php · Instruct students on how to define and refine their internet searches for better content. - Use of quotation marks and logical operator (AND)· Instruct students on copying, pasting, and saving Magazine Covers
Project
Students will work in pairs to research the Kansas Nebraska Act and the violence/tension that followed. They will then become storytellers, using self selected digital images (Magazine Cover) and magazine headlines to help them tell the story of The Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas and how it all happened.Assessment/Grading
Two teacher made rubricsTime Management Tips
Only select three sites for students to use in LiveBinders.
Students may oly change color, and set up of Magazine after they have chosen theri image and have completed all of the headlines.
Lesson Plan Details
Engage
Tell the story of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 using the teacher created Magazine Covers as props. Explain to students that although Congress has worked hard to keep all sections of the country satisfied, more problems are on the way. A new Act is being put through Congress, the Kansas Nebraska Act. After researching the Kansas-Nebraska Act and what followed the students will create their own Magazine Cover about the Kansas Nebraska Act and Bloody Kansas. Students are to investigate what this new Act was all about, discover how people reacted to it and what the final outcome was.Explore
1. Students will search for images that they predict will be directly related to the topic and will be possible candidates for their magazine covers. During this process they will utilize refined search strategies Three images will be saved, but only one will be used.
2. Students will then research the Kansas Nebraska Act using the resources on LiveBinders. Students will use take notes using probing questions, as well as an overarching question (What could Congress have been done differently that would have avoided Bleeding Kansas?) set up in the Cornell Note format and fill in basic information for each topic as well as any information that they feel will ensure better understanding of the topic.
Explain
Whole class review of Cornell Notes to ensure students have a complete understanding of the topic. Students will then collaborate with their partner to narrow down the information to create a Magazine cover choosing a saved image and adding four to six headlines about Kansas Nebraska Act, the aftermath and the final results.Elaborate
The partners will present their magazine covers to the class, by telling the story of the Kansas Nebraska Act, thus justifying the choice of graphic and text. Magazine covers will be then be displayed.Evaluate
1. A teacher generated rubric based on the topic covered and whether or not the project included all the information needed to have a good understanding of the Kansas Nebraska Act-Bleeding Kansas.
2. Students will complete peer evaluations to evaluate the choice of images, text, and overall effectiveness of the Magazine Cover.