Content to be taught: The Common School Era

Learning Objectives:

Given an overview of the Common School Era, students will work in small groups to agree upon at least three important aspects of their respective topic and present them to the entire class.

Procedures

Phase 1: Provide Objectives and Establish Set

1. Individual members introduce themselves    

2. Laura – introduces group topic and topic’s importance and relevance

        We are the Common School Group and our period is from 1820-1850.

     * mention schooling before the Common School, they were private and public schools (charity)

     * The ideology of the Common School was using education to create common culture, morality, and political ideology, protects ideology of American Protestant culture

     * Common School was more about government.

     * The central ideology for the Common School is relatively similar for all groups, but motives and reasoning for supporting the schools differed

     * In the next 40 minutes we are going to cover 7 important aspects of the Common School: Irish-Catholics vs. Protestants, African-Americans, Native Americans, Workingman, Whigs vs. Democrats, Horace Mann, Inner-workings of the Common School,

     * you will work in small groups on these 7 topics, facilitated by one of us

     * verbalize lesson’s agenda that will be written on board (see agenda in this packet)

     * Mention end result: giant puzzle representing important points from each group’s discussion.

               (students will either already be in small group by table arrangement or we have a back up        plan: assigned groups and facilitators)

Phase 2: Demonstrate knowledge or skill

     * group facilitator inform small group about respective topic

Phase 3: Provide Guided Practice

     * Guiding/facilitating small group discussion about the individual topics

Phase 4: Check for Understanding and Provide Feedback

*  Questions facilitator posses about their topic in the small group

*  Group will write three important aspects to the topic on the puzzle piece

Phase 5: Provide Extended Practice and Transfer

*  smallgroup work ends

*  transition to volunteer group member to presenting group’s agreed upon important aspects of topic and placing puzzle piece on board/wall

*  after puzzle completes: visual representation of how all aspects of the Common School era fit together

Conclusion:  Restate important aspects stated in the introduction. Reintroduce the assessment questions

Post Instructional Tasks

Independent Practice (Homework)

Testing: Assessment Questions and Answers

1.      What were some central concerns of school reformer in the Common School Era?

* Create common American Protestant culture

* Morality of American Protestant culture

* Political ideology

2.       Explain a contribution from an important figure or group in the Common School Era?

                * Workingman wanted to insure political and economics power for everyone, not just the     upper class.

                * Horace Mann  he believed a common set of morals and political views would reduce violence and controversy in society

               * African American efforts in the northeast resulted in desegregation in the public schools

3.      Why were the Native Americans, African Americans and Irish Catholics segregated in the Common Schools?

                  *  They posed threat to Protestant American Ideology

Aspects/Contributors of Common School

Notes

Irish-Catholics vs. Protestants

African American

Native American

Workingman

Whigs vs Democratic

Horace Mann

Inner workings of the Common School