Teacher Lesson Plan

Description:

Students will read a flowchart and look at corresponding photos to learn about the anti-communist fears in the mid-20th century and the impact Senator Joseph McCarthy had on those fears.

Outcomes/Core Learning Goals:

CLG 2, Expectation 1, Indicator 3: The student will examine how interactions among individuals and groups from various ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds influenced the development of the United States.

CLG 2, Expectation 2, Indicator 3: The student will analyze the impact of the policy of containment on United States domestic and international politics since World War II.

CLG 3, Expectation 1, Indicator 4: The student will evaluate the importance of different types of transportation and communication networks as factors contributing to the development of the United States. (emphasis added)

Time Frame:

Depending on how you do this, it could take one or two 45-minute class periods. I think if you have the students do it by thenmselves, they will do it more quickly. If you do it at the front of the room with a projector, you can spend more time discussing and explaining, and it could take longer.

Materials/Technology/Teacher Differentiation:

You can take the class to a computer lab and have each student proceed at his/her own pace. You can also do this lesson using a projector at the front of the room, and discuss each step as you get to it. I recommend only doing this if you have the technology to project on the screen, however. It you project on a television, the words and photographs may be too small for students on the other side of the room.

Teacher Preparation:

Please, please, please do the activity yourself first to make sure that you understand the timeline and can anticipate your students' questions. Also make sure that all links work, and contact Mary Wagner if a link fails. (Email me at Mary_Wagner@fc.mcps.k12.md.us and I will try to fix it for you.)

Student Differentiation Options:

I designed this lesson with regular kids in mind, especially the ones with slower reading skills. The multitude of websites on these subjects contained very complicated vocabulary, so my goal was to distill this information into a format that kids who had trouble reading would be able to understand. Please give me feedback so I know if it worked for your kids (regular, special education, and ESOL). Email me at Mary_Wagner@fc.mcps.k12.md.us.

Student Prior Knowledge and Skills:

Students should know that there was a revolution in Russia that created the Societ Union. They should be familiar with the Red Scare of the 1920s. It would be helpful if they were familiar with Allied fears about the Soviet Union during and after World War II, but this timeline starts in 1938, so some of that will become evident.

Lesson Design/Learning Sequence:

Before you begin, make sure that students understand the significance of the different chapes and colors on the timeline. Tell students to read through the timeline carefully. Then, assign one of the BCRs or the ECR for them to write. You may want to give them the writing assignment first, so that they can take notes on the information that will best support their essays.

Lesson Evaluation: