Day 1 Procedures- Watergate Review and Ford/Carter Regimes
1. Students will be introduced to life after Nixon in the 1970s. Students will review Watergate and how the scandal ultimately led to the demise of Nixon's regime.
2. Next the students will begin the unit by filling out a KWL chart. The students will write down what they know about the 70s, culturally, politically, or any historical events. Then they will fill out what they want to know about this time period, and then later we will come back to it and they will fill in the "What I learned" column.
3. Next the students will read Section 2 in the textbook (Prentice Hall: United States History 1850 to the Present) The Ford and Carter Years. Students will then reflect on the reading by having a class discussion on the main points, such as Ford's pardon of Nixon, Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" plan, and the energy crisis under Carter. Students will be asked to provide details from the text as they make their points and they will be asked to relate what happened then to now.
4. For homework, the students will receive a transcript of Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" speech where they will read the speech and write down three main points from the speech.
Day 2 Procedures- "Crisis of Confidence"
1. The students will begin the class period by watching a portion of the "Crisis of Confidence" Speech. Students will watch the portion of the speech and then reflect on it by answering these three questions.
2. As a class, the student will review the homework and discuss the main points of the speech. We will then go into the questions that they answered, making connections between then and now, and giving their perspectives on the speech.
3. Students will then take the information they learned on the speech and from the reading and create their own speeches, using the events from this time period. It will be a 5-7 minute speech and it needs to have an attention getter, or hook, at the beginning, three main points, and then a stirring conclusion at the end. They will take the rest of the period to write the speech, if they don't finish then they will complete as homework.
4. For homework the students will complete their speeches, and then they are going to present their speech to a parent or guardian at home. They will need to present the speech to them and then answer three questions for reflection.
Day 3- Domestic Issues
1. We will start the period by getting into some of the other domestic issues that both Ford and Carter had during their presidencies. The students will receive a little background on Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" or "WIN" plan, Nixon's pardon, and then the Energy Crisis.
2. Next students will demonstrate how the Energy Crisis in the 70s affected the nation. Students will be given a writing assignment, all they need to do is write about their day. I will explain the importance of the assignment and how many points it will be for their grade. However, they can only use pencil and they can only use a pencil that I provide to them. The twist is I only have 15 pencils for a class of 25. Students will then need to be resourceful or wait patiently until one person is done with their pencil. This will show how the energy crisis cause massive headaches at the gas pump and how the American people had to be resourceful during this time.
3. Students will then write a short reflection (in pen or pencil this time) on what they experiences, giving specific examples of instances they experienced in class. Included int he reflection they will need to make the connection between what they experienced and the content that was presented to them.
4. For homework, the students will compare and contrast Ford and Carter's domestic policies with a Venn Diagram. Students will need to put Ford'd policies and other domestic issues on one side, and Carter's on the other, with what they did similar in the middle.
Day 4 Procedures- Iran Hostage Crisis- Robert C. Ode's Diary
1. We will begin day four by reviewing President Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" Speech, and discussing what happened with the speeches at home. The class will reflect and share their parent's reactions and their connections to today,
2. We will then look into one of the biggest foreign issues that President Carter faced during his presidency, and that was the Iran Hostage Crisis. We will preview the lesson by going over the facts on how it started and some of the factors playing into the embassy take over. After this the students should have a solid background to the even so they can complete the tasks come up later.
3. Students will break off into groups of 3-4 (I personally like to group the desks into 3-4 depending on how many students you have). They will then receive a portion of Robert C. Ode's diary, a first hand account of what it was like being a hostage in Iran. Each group will read their portion of the diary and everyone will receive a document analysis sheet, where they will answer the questions after they read their part.
4. Once the groups are finished with the document analysis sheet, they will take what they learned from the diary and write a three paragraph editorial that you would find in a newspaper. The editorial will be written in one of these perspectives:
Each person in the group will take a section and write in the editorial. They will need a good hook and good details to support their arguments. They can take information from the book, the diary, or from other resources.
5. Time permitting, once the students are finished with their editorials, they will trade with another group. They will then answer four analysis questions that will be from different perspectives and they will compare with their own editorials.
Day 5 "Miracle on Ice"
1. We will start this class period by reviewing the Iran Hostage Crisis from the day before and reflect on the diary and on the editorials. We will discuss what they felt when reading the diary and they will talk about opinions they had while doing any of the assignments.
2. Next we will get into the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team and their miraculous run through the olympic tournament. I will give a short background on what happened and the events leading up to it, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Carter's boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow.
3. Next we will take a look at the last 15 minutes of the film "Miracle," where we see the game between the USSR and the Americans. The students will watch the film clip and then they will answer these questions to reflect on it:
4. The students will then take the assessment for the unit. See the assessment tab at the top of the page.
5. TIme permitting I will show the actual game footage from the broadcast back in 1980, only the major highlights. This will be after the assessment.
1. Students will be introduced to life after Nixon in the 1970s. Students will review Watergate and how the scandal ultimately led to the demise of Nixon's regime.
2. Next the students will begin the unit by filling out a KWL chart. The students will write down what they know about the 70s, culturally, politically, or any historical events. Then they will fill out what they want to know about this time period, and then later we will come back to it and they will fill in the "What I learned" column.
3. Next the students will read Section 2 in the textbook (Prentice Hall: United States History 1850 to the Present) The Ford and Carter Years. Students will then reflect on the reading by having a class discussion on the main points, such as Ford's pardon of Nixon, Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" plan, and the energy crisis under Carter. Students will be asked to provide details from the text as they make their points and they will be asked to relate what happened then to now.
4. For homework, the students will receive a transcript of Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" speech where they will read the speech and write down three main points from the speech.
Day 2 Procedures- "Crisis of Confidence"
1. The students will begin the class period by watching a portion of the "Crisis of Confidence" Speech. Students will watch the portion of the speech and then reflect on it by answering these three questions.
- What mood did President Carter seem to be in? How can you tell?
- How would you feel if you were living in this time period and you saw this speech live?
- Would a U.S, President make a speech like this today? How would this speech go over with Americans today?
2. As a class, the student will review the homework and discuss the main points of the speech. We will then go into the questions that they answered, making connections between then and now, and giving their perspectives on the speech.
3. Students will then take the information they learned on the speech and from the reading and create their own speeches, using the events from this time period. It will be a 5-7 minute speech and it needs to have an attention getter, or hook, at the beginning, three main points, and then a stirring conclusion at the end. They will take the rest of the period to write the speech, if they don't finish then they will complete as homework.
4. For homework the students will complete their speeches, and then they are going to present their speech to a parent or guardian at home. They will need to present the speech to them and then answer three questions for reflection.
- How did your parent/guardian react to your speech? Was it positive or negative and why?
- How did you feel when you gave your speech? List any emotions you were feeling while you were presenting it.
- Compare your speech to Carter's. Do you feel that your speech was more or less effective at reaching the intended audience? Why or why not?
Day 3- Domestic Issues
1. We will start the period by getting into some of the other domestic issues that both Ford and Carter had during their presidencies. The students will receive a little background on Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" or "WIN" plan, Nixon's pardon, and then the Energy Crisis.
2. Next students will demonstrate how the Energy Crisis in the 70s affected the nation. Students will be given a writing assignment, all they need to do is write about their day. I will explain the importance of the assignment and how many points it will be for their grade. However, they can only use pencil and they can only use a pencil that I provide to them. The twist is I only have 15 pencils for a class of 25. Students will then need to be resourceful or wait patiently until one person is done with their pencil. This will show how the energy crisis cause massive headaches at the gas pump and how the American people had to be resourceful during this time.
3. Students will then write a short reflection (in pen or pencil this time) on what they experiences, giving specific examples of instances they experienced in class. Included int he reflection they will need to make the connection between what they experienced and the content that was presented to them.
4. For homework, the students will compare and contrast Ford and Carter's domestic policies with a Venn Diagram. Students will need to put Ford'd policies and other domestic issues on one side, and Carter's on the other, with what they did similar in the middle.
Day 4 Procedures- Iran Hostage Crisis- Robert C. Ode's Diary
1. We will begin day four by reviewing President Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" Speech, and discussing what happened with the speeches at home. The class will reflect and share their parent's reactions and their connections to today,
2. We will then look into one of the biggest foreign issues that President Carter faced during his presidency, and that was the Iran Hostage Crisis. We will preview the lesson by going over the facts on how it started and some of the factors playing into the embassy take over. After this the students should have a solid background to the even so they can complete the tasks come up later.
3. Students will break off into groups of 3-4 (I personally like to group the desks into 3-4 depending on how many students you have). They will then receive a portion of Robert C. Ode's diary, a first hand account of what it was like being a hostage in Iran. Each group will read their portion of the diary and everyone will receive a document analysis sheet, where they will answer the questions after they read their part.
4. Once the groups are finished with the document analysis sheet, they will take what they learned from the diary and write a three paragraph editorial that you would find in a newspaper. The editorial will be written in one of these perspectives:
- Middle-eastern American
- A regular U.S. citizen
- An American college student
Each person in the group will take a section and write in the editorial. They will need a good hook and good details to support their arguments. They can take information from the book, the diary, or from other resources.
5. Time permitting, once the students are finished with their editorials, they will trade with another group. They will then answer four analysis questions that will be from different perspectives and they will compare with their own editorials.
- Describe any possible bias the author might have and use quotes to depict this.
- What impact (if any) does the author’s bias have on the reader?
- After analyzing the editorial list three things that were important during this period.
- Compare and contrast your editorial to the editorial your read. What similarities were there, what differences? What do these similarities and differences tell us about American society?
Day 5 "Miracle on Ice"
1. We will start this class period by reviewing the Iran Hostage Crisis from the day before and reflect on the diary and on the editorials. We will discuss what they felt when reading the diary and they will talk about opinions they had while doing any of the assignments.
2. Next we will get into the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team and their miraculous run through the olympic tournament. I will give a short background on what happened and the events leading up to it, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Carter's boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow.
3. Next we will take a look at the last 15 minutes of the film "Miracle," where we see the game between the USSR and the Americans. The students will watch the film clip and then they will answer these questions to reflect on it:
- What were some of the emotions you were feeling during the clip? How would you feel if this was live?
- Think about the time period this was in. How would a moment like this affect Americans? Would it be positive or negative? Why or why not?
- Put yourself in the shoes of the Soviets, how are you feeling while this is going on and why?
4. The students will then take the assessment for the unit. See the assessment tab at the top of the page.
5. TIme permitting I will show the actual game footage from the broadcast back in 1980, only the major highlights. This will be after the assessment.
