James Madison University College of Education

Social Studies Lesson Plan Format

MSSE 470/570/571/471/675/690
Name: Maggie Jones_______ Date: 4/12/15__ circle one: Original / Revision
Subject/Class: World History II___ Grade Level: ___10th Topic: Christopher Columbuss letter to King
Ferdinand and Isabella, Interactions between Europeans and Native Americans
Concept: Exploration, Analysis_____
Essential Question(s): (label unit/lesson)
How can we effectively use primary sources with a clear bias as historical evidence?
Is context just as important as text?
SOLs--summarize with heading number & letter:
WHII.4

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the impact of the European Age of Discovery and expansion into
the Americas, Africa, and Asia by
a) Explaining the roles and economic motivations of explorers and conquistadors;

Your own written objectives (U/K, D, Values)

Students will be able to evaluate a primary source
for bias.
Students will be able to evaluate a primary source
for context.
Students will be able to use primary sources to form
their own opinions.

Value: Students will be able to recognize the

connection between bias and honesty. Is being
biased the same as being dishonest? Students will
also recognize the importance of and connection
between honesty and trustworthiness.
Students will understand that Christopher
Columbus thought that he found the West Indies
but really landed somewhere in the Caribbean.

Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education

modified by Dr. Cude 1/15

Your assessment: formative and

summative
Think/pair/share in which students
will identify bias in the Christopher
Columbus letter.
Journal entry in which students will
identify the context in the Christopher
Columbus letter.
Short essay in which students evaluate
the letter for bias and decide whether
or not they think Columbus is being
intentionally dishonest in the letter
(summative).
Students will reflect on the
connections between bias and honesty
during the HOOK activity and will
also reflect on this while working on
their writing assignment.
Journal entry in which students
identify the bias in the letter. (The fact
that Columbus was not actually in the
Indies should be identified when
students identify the bias.

Content Outline (1 pg.) (with embedded questions):

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain financed Christopher Columbuss expedition in 1492.
Columbus was looking for a route to Asia and, specifically, India.
The Spanish wanted to find an all water way route to Asia in order to avoid high taxes imposed on Asian
goods (specifically spices) by the Ottoman Empire.
Spain wanted an all water way route to Asia in part because Portugal had already found their own all
water trade route to Asia.
Columbus ended up in the Bahamas but thought he was in the West Indies.
Columbus explored the Caribbean for several months all the while thinking he was in the West Indies.
European explorers thought that that natives in newly discovered lands needed their help to survive.
Columbus did find spices in the Caribbean which contributed to his belief that he had actually found the
Indies.
Bias refers to
a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especiallyone that is preconceived or unreas
oned.
Context refers to the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event,situation, etc.
Instructional Plan:
Type of activity;
timing
5 mins
15 mins

10 mins

What the Teacher Will Do/Say:

Warm-up: Teacher will project an image of Columbus landing in San Salvador and
ask students to reflect on the image in their notebooks. Do they think this is an
accurate depiction of what happened? Why or why not?
Hook: As a hook, the teacher will tell a story that is very obviously one sided. After
telling the story, the teacher will ask students to think about whether they think the
story they just heard is the truth. Is the teacher lying or is she simply telling the story
from her point of view? Students will be given a minute or so to think about this
question. One or two students will be asked to share their opinion. (In order to not
give away the lesson, the teacher will not comment on whether or not she was
actually telling the truth.) Once one or two students have shared the teacher will
explain the idea of bias and context. She will tell students that, in order to figure out
someones argument or why they are saying what they are saying, it is vital to know
their bias and context. From here, the teacher will introduce the Christopher
Columbus letter as the topic of the day.
Introduction of topic/ Short review: The teacher will introduce the Christopher
Columbus letter and tell students that they will be reading the letter to determine if
there is any bias in it and to determine the context.
Before students read the letter, the teacher will quickly review some facts about
Columbuss expedition to the New World with a PowerPoint presentation. Questions
will be built into the review.

Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education

modified by Dr. Cude 1/15

15 mins

The teacher will pass the letter out to students. Before they read the letter on their
own, the teacher will re-iterate what bias and context are and tell students that, as they
read, they should be trying to identify the context of the letter and determine if
Columbus has any sort of bias in the letter.
Is Columbus lying in this letter or is he simply telling the story of the conquest of the
Caribbean from his point of view?
Students will read an excerpt of the letter independently.

5 mins

The teacher will ask students to write in their journal and identify the context of the
letter.

5-10 mins

Students will participate in a think/pair/share activity in which they discuss if there is

any bias in the letter with two partners. After discussing with partners, one student
from each group will share their thoughts with the class.

20 mins

The class will discuss as a whole whether or not they think the letter is biased and what the
context of the letter is. The teacher will guide the discussion and try to lead students to the
conclusion that the letter is, in fact, biased. The teacher will then ask the students if biased
sources should still be considered historically significant. The teacher will ask the students
if we can learn important things from a biased primary source. She will ask them to think
back to the story they heard at the beginning of class. Does the source (meaning the author
in this instance) matter? Students will then discuss this. The teacher will guide the
discussion by asking students if they can think of any historical documents that are not
biased or if they think that everything has at least a hint of bias.
The teacher will introduce the assignment that will be due the next class period. The
teacher will explain that students will need to write a short essay in which they decide
whether or not they think Columbus is biased in his letter. They also must identify the
context the letter. In a second paragraph, students will identify another primary document
in which they have found bias. They will identify the bias and context of their primary
document. In a third paragraph, students will discuss the implication of bias in primary
sources. Does bias take away from the validity of a document or, if we are able to
recognize bias, does it allow us to learn even more from the document?
The teacher will walk around the room and answer any questions students may have about
the assignment. Students will begin working on the assignment.
Closure: As students are beginning to work on their assignment, the teacher will quickly
bring the class back together to go over what was discussed in class that day. The teacher
will ask a student what was discussed (bias and context in primary documents) and, once
she has gotten the correct answer, will remind students what they need to do to complete
their assignment. Students will work on the assignment until the end of class.

5-10 mins

5 mins
3 mins

Materials Needed for the Lesson:

Powerpoint
Writing assignment prompt
Excerpt from Christopher Columbus letter
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude 1/15

Bibliography/Resources Used: (in APA format)

Columbus reports on his first voyage, 1493. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/exploration/resources/columbus-reports-his-first-voyage-1493
Epistola Christofori Colom ...de insulis Indie supra Gangem. (1493, April 1). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/t-01427.pdf
Adaption/Differentiation:
ELL/struggling
readers
ADHD

Gifted

ELLs and struggling readers will be given a handout with definitions of

more difficult words along with the excerpt of the Columbus letter to make
it easier to understand for them.
This lesson involves a lot of different activities in order to keep ADHD
students engaged. Students will also be able to get up and move around the
room when they get into groups for the think/pair/share activity.
Gifted students will be expected to participate more fully in the discussion
and will be expected to write a longer and more in-depth essay.

REFLECTION:
1. How/where does this lesson exhibit connection to student lives/authentic learning?
This lesson focuses heavily on recognizing and understanding bias. Bias affects nearly every aspect of
life. It affects what news gets reported, what political events get covered, and countless other things. Being able
to recognize bias and evaluate a source for its bias and context is a skill that students need in their everyday
lives as well as a skill they need in Social Studies class.
2. How/where does this lesson lead to H.O.T. (higher order thinking) and deep knowledge?
This lesson asks students to take information that they have accepted as truth for the majority of their
lives and examine whether or not that information is actually true. It asks students to analyze information and
form their own opinions. I think it is impossible to analyze something and form an opinion without a great deal
of higher order thinking.
Points
/5 ea.

Rubric for Lesson Plans See full rubric for detailed description of expectations. See Dr. Cude for
further explanation.

Goals & alignment: EQ which is essential; objectives well written and significant; assessment
aligned with objectives--formative & summative; lesson logically flows; scaffolded appropriately

Structure: HOOK, closure, timing, detailed/accurate content, diverse strategies, differentiation,

includes ancillary materials [such as PPT, notesheet], on time, use of primary sources & visuals

Quality: [PASS criteria] uses higher-order thinking, links to students lives, includes
ethics/democratic values, employs historical/critical thinking & rigor, includes significant portion of
active/student-directed learning, and makes meaningful connections.
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude 1/15

TOTA
L

13.5 15 = exemplary (A)

12- 13.25 = meets target (B)
10.25 11.75 = meets target (C)
10 and below = needs improvement/redo & resubmit

Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education

modified by Dr. Cude 1/15