Grades 6-8 Lesson Plan - Politics in a Multicultural Context

Map 14 Main Page

Core Map: Henry Schenck Tanner, "North America." In his New Universal Atlas (Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1845). Newberry Library call number: Case os oG1019. T2 1845. (Printable version of the Core Map)

Overview
This lesson has students explore the multicultural context of the political development of North America in the 1840s and the significance of the Mexican War on the political boundaries of the United States and Mexico.

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. identify the different peoples and nations having political organizations in North America in the 1840s.

2. define the different types of political bodies in North America in the 1840s.

3. characterize the political status of North America in the 1840s.

Materials
Computer image or overhead of core map, map of North America in 1854 (see Resources), detail from John Disturnell's map of Mexico in 1846 (see Resources), dictionary, crayons or colored pencils

Time
Approximately 50 minutes

Getting Started

1. Set up the lesson by introducing the terms country, state, territory and colony. Have students look up definitions and write them down on a sheet of paper. Explain that definitions are important to their activity.

2. Lead the class through a careful examination of the core map, identifying with them the different kinds of political entities that are present. Construct a list or table of these entities by category. Your list should include: independent countries (The United States, Mexico, Texas, and Haiti); colonies (British Dominions, Russian America, Bahama Islands, and Greenland); states (Illinois, New York, Delaware, Virginia, Louisiana and your own state, if present); territories (Missouri Territory, Indian Territory, and Oregon Territory); and Indian nations (Apaches, Snake, Moqui, Comanche, Guacoros).

3. Point out that the Indian nations listed on the map may have different names today and that many Indian nations were not included on the map. Display John Disturnell's map of Mexico in 1846. Compare and discuss the differences in the way that Indian nations are described on the core map and the Disturnell map, noting that these differences are partly explained by differences in map scale and levels of generalization.

Developing the Lesson

1. Introduce the students to the map of North America in 1854. Have students scroll around and zoom in on the map.

2. Organize the students into groups of 3-4 and have them construct a list of political entities in North America similar to that created in Getting Started. Ideally the students should look for the same entities that were discussed earlier. Instruct the students to include the name and date of the map on the list.

3. Have the students synthesis the two lists into a table comparing the status of these entities in 1845 and 1854. The table should note any changes in the name, size, or shape of these entities. The tables should also note at least three US states or territories that did not exist in 1845. We have supplied a sample table, but you may want to have students prepare their own.

4. Go over the tables made by the groups and combine them into a class table.

5. As homework, have students research and write a brief essay of 3 - 5 pages accounting for these changes. This essay should include references to the US-Mexican war, the settlement of the Oregon dispute with Great Britain, and the dates of the creation of new states and territories in the United States.

Evaluation
Using a 1-4 scale (4=excellent, 3=good, 2= fair, 1=poor) assess student performance as follows:

Map analysis
For 4 points, the student successfully analyzes maps to identify pertinent information related to task.

For 3 points, the student successfully analyzes maps but does not identify enough pertinent information or includes some irrelevant information related to task.

For 2 points, the student is partially successful in analyzing maps but does not identify much pertinent information related to task.

For 1 point, the student does not successfully analyze the maps.

Table
For 4 points, the student successfully creates a table containing pertinent information related to the task.

For 3 points, the student is largely successful in creating a table containing pertinent information related to the task.

For 2 points, the student is largely unsuccessful in creating a table containing pertinent information related to the task.

For 1 point, the student does not successfully create a table.

Essay
For 4 points, the student writes a clear, well-developed essay with an introduction, a discussion of the three topics outlined in the assignment, and a solid conclusion.

For 3 points, the student writes a fairly clear, well-developed essay with only minor flaws. The essay has an introduction, a discussion of the three topics outlined in the assignment, and a conclusion.

For 2 points, the student writes a weak essay with major flaws. The essay has an introduction, a discussion of at least two of the three topics outlined in the assignment, and a conclusion.

For 1 point, the student writes an essay without a clearly identified introduction or conclusion, and discusses only two of the three topics outlined in the assignment.

Extension
Have students develop a plan to settle the southwest region from the perspective of an Indian group, a European nation seeking to colonize, or a group in the United States planning to expand into the region.