Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

Middle Childhood Education Lesson Plan Template v. 2

Teacher Candidate Name: Clara Devine
Lesson Title/#: Introducing the Articles/1
Grade Level: 8

Content Standards
*Science and SS should also include
common core for reading/writing

Learning Objective(s)
Students will

Lesson Foundations

S.S. 8.7 Problems arising under the Articles of Confederation led to debate over the adoption of the US
Constitution.
RL. 8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
LO1- Students will be able to identify and understand the main problems that arose under the Articles of
Confederation by closely reading primary and secondary sources. (understand)
LO2- Students will be able to analyze the problems that arose under the Articles of Confederation by closely
reading primary and secondary sources. (analyze)

Prior Academic
Knowledge and Skills
What have you or your mentor
taught previously that will inform
what students are learning today?

Essential Questions:
1. How did the problems, causes, effects, and impacts lead to the debate of creating a new form of
government?
Students know what a primary and secondary source is.
Students know about the events [in American history] that led up to the creation of the Articles of
Confederation.
Students know and understand the process of questioning the author.
Students know and understand what a main idea is and how to determine what the main idea of a piece of
writing is.
Students know how to close read.
Students know the expectations of detailed notes.

Materials & Resources

One primary source

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Seminar 2

Three secondary sources per student

Two different colored highlighters
Cause, effect, impact chart
Pencil
Paper
Social studies notebook
Exit Ticket
Old English words and phrases reference sheet

Assessments

Describe the assessments that will be used in this lesson to monitor students mastery of the lesson objective(s). List assessments in order in which they appear in the lesson.

Name and number of

Assessment
Identifying the
Problems (A1)

Description of assessment
In this formative assessment
students will be given two
secondary sources to read with
their elbow partners and
conclude the main problems
that arose under the Articles of
Confederation by using close
reading strategies. The students
will also be given a graphic
organizers that will be filled out
with their partners. The class
will come back together after
ten minutes to discuss and
determine the main problems
under the Articles of

Evaluation Criteria - What is the evidence (the answers) of student learning?

Specifically list evidence of learning and learning objectives.
LO1

Middle Childhood Education

Cause and Effect

(A2)

Confederation. The students

will also be required to think
about and write why there were
so many problems under the
Articles. Students will be
required to cite textual evidence
to support.
- The students will be
provided with a graphic
organizer to complete
this task.
- Guiding Questions:
- 1. What were the
problems that made the
Articles of
Confederation weak?
Find seven.
- 2. How did these
problems come to be?
- The teacher will pass out
the cause, effect, and
impact charts-each
student will receive one.
The teacher will then
instruct the students to
write each of the
problems under Cause.
The teacher will then
instruct the students
that they will be
working with their
elbow partner, plus
another group. Each
group will be given a
number (1-7). The
number the group

Seminar 2

There were many problems under the Articles because they were weak.
From the documents given, there were seven main problems under the Articles of
Confederation were:
1. All 13 states must agree to make any changes (amendments) to the Articles.
2. To enact laws nine of the thirteen states needed to approve it.
3. Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes.
4. Congress had no power to regulate foreign trade.
5. Congress had no power to enforce laws.
6. There was no executive branch [of government].
7. There was no national court system.
Many of the rules came to be because of the experience that the colonist had just
overcome. Many were fearful of creating a government that would become tyrannical
and have too much power ultimately oppressing the peoples voice. As a result of this
fear of creating a government that would have too much power, many of the above
problems were included in the Articles of Confederation.

LO1

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Seminar 2

receives will be the

cause that they will be
analyzing to determine
the effect of that cause.
The class will then come
back together to review
each of the causes and
determine the effects.

Problems Facing the

Nation (A3)

In this formative assessment

students will secondary sources
to determine the impact of the
effects on the nation. After
about 20 minutes the teacher
will get the class back together
to discuss the impacts that the
students came up with. Students
will then determine the main
impacts that the Articles had on
the nation.

Cause and Effect:

1. Cause: All 13 states must agree to make any changes (amendments) to the
Articles. Effect: There was no way to make changes to the governments
powers.
2. Cause: To make laws nine of the thirteen states needed to approve it. Effect: It
was difficult to make and approve laws.
3. Cause: Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes. Effect: There was
always little to no money in the government.
4. Cause: Congress had no power to regulate foreign trade. Effect: Fights broke
out among states and it was difficult to trade with other countries.
5. Cause: Congress had no power to enforce laws. Effect: The national
government had to depend on states to enforce laws.
6. Cause: There was no executive branch. Effect: There was no effective way to
bring the governments work together.
7. Cause: There was no national court system. Effect: The central government
had no way to settle disputes among the states.
LO2

Middle Childhood Education

Exit Ticket (A4)

Students will have their

notebooks as well as
their cause, effect, and
impact chart.

Seminar 2

The impacts of the Articles on the nation:

1. Cause: All 13 states must agree to make any changes (amendments) to the
Articles. Effect: There was no way to make changes to the governments
powers. Impact: It made the government very inflexible and unable to adapt
to problems that might arise.
2. Cause: To make laws nine of the thirteen states needed to approve it. Effect: It
was difficult to make and approve laws. Impact: It made the government very
inflexible and unable to adapt to problems that might arise.
3. Cause: Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes. Effect: There was
always little to no money in the government. Impact: Led to the national
government having no power because there was no revenue. For example the
government could request $20 million dollars from each state and only receive
$5 million from some states, or no money from some states.
4. Cause: Congress had no power to regulate trade. Effect: Fights broke out
among states and it was difficult to trade with other countries. Impact: States
taxed each other, there was ban on some trades, there were multiple
currencies within the United States, and the economy was on the verge of
collapse.
5. Cause: Congress had no power to enforce laws. Effect: The national
government had to depend on states to enforce laws. Impact: The government
was forced to rely on state militias.
6. Cause: There was no executive branch. Effect: There was no effective way to
bring the governments work together. Impact: The national government
could not respond to a crisis within a state like Shays Rebellion for example.
7. Cause: There was no national court system. Effect: The central government
had no way to settle disputes among the states. Impact: There was no way for
the central government to settle disputes, which caused tension between the
states, and then threatened to divide the states.
The teacher will handout an
LO1
exit ticket. The teacher will
Student Answer One: I believe that the biggest problem with the Articles of
instruct students to conclude
Confederation was the fact that there was no executive branch of government. I
what problem had the biggest
believe that this was the biggest effect because without an executive branch there
effect on the nation and support was no one to enforce the rules and no one to help bring the governments work
their answer.
together.

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Seminar 2

Students can chose any of the problems that they wrote on their graphic
organizer. Answers should resemble the above answer.

Instructional Procedures/Steps

Each portion of this section should be aligned with learning objectives. Note when you are addressing a learning objective and when enacting an assessment.

Teacher will

Include instructional practices, questions you will ask, checks for

understanding, differentiation, evidence of culturally responsive
teaching practices.

Opening
8 Minutes
-

Hook?
Activate prior
knowledge?
Communicate LOs?

Student will

What will students be doing?

What evidence of learning will students demonstrate?
Student-centered learning/opportunities for practice and application.

How did the problems, causes, effects, and impacts

lead to the debate of creating a new form of
government?
Begin thinking about any problems that you think
arose under the Articles of Confederation and how
they were effecting the nation.

Students will write down three problems that they believe

arose under the Articles of Confederation and the effect that
they had on the nation

The teacher will instruct the students to:

- Using your prior knowledge about the Articles of
Confederation, Write down three predictions
about the problems that arose under the Articles
of Confederation and the effects of those
problems. You will have five minutes to do so.
(predict)

The students will share their predictions.

The teacher will then ask for students to share their

predictions.
The teacher will ask follow up questions, such as:
- What prior knowledge do you have to back up the
predictions that you made? (explain)
- Why do you think these problems came to be?
(explain)

The students will respond to the follow up questions.

Middle Childhood Education

Instruction
40 Minutes
Procedures and steps to
the lesson.
Strategies?
Assessments?
Q & A?
Evidence of learning?
CRP?
Planned supports?

Seminar 2

(A1) The teacher will instruct students to get with

their elbow partner and closely read through their
sources to conclude on what the three main problems
under the Articles of Confederation were.
Guiding Questions:
1. What were the problems that made the
Articles of Confederation weak? Find seven.
2. How did these problems come to be?

Transitions: Identify when

you are transitioning and
how you will make that a
smooth transition?

While the teacher will then pass out the cause, effect,
and impact graphic organizer and say:
- (A2) In front of you, you have a cause, effect, and
impact graphic organizer. You will be first filling
in the cause side. Your cause side will include the
problems that we just discussed. Please take a
minute and fill in the seven problems on the cause
side of your graphic organizer.
- You will then work with your elbow partner plus
another group of elbow partners. Each group will

Students will answer:

There were so many problems under the Articles because
they were weak.
The main problems under the Articles of Confederation:
1.
All 13 states must agree to make any changes
(amendments) to the Articles.
2.
To enact laws nine of the thirteen states needed to
approve it.
3.
Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes.
4.
Congress had no power to regulate foreign trade.
5.
Congress had no power to enforce laws.
6.
There was no executive branch [of government].
7.
There was no national court system.
Many of the rules came to be because of the
experience that the colonist had just overcome. Many were
fearful of creating a government that would become
tyrannical and have too much power ultimately oppressing
the peoples voice. As a result of this fear of creating a
government that would have too much power, many of the
above problems were included in the Articles of
Confederation.

Middle Childhood Education

be given ONE of the seven causes. Your job is to

determine the effect the cause. You will do this by
analyzing primary and secondary sources.
The teacher will then ask: How do we analyze
texts?
The teacher will then tell the students that they
have about 20 minutes to do this before each
group shares their effects.
The teacher will then divide the students into
groups, assign each group their cause number,
and pass out the primary and secondary sources.

After about 20 minutes the teacher will have each

group share their findings.
- All of the groups should now be ready to share.
We will go around the room starting with group 1.
Each group will share what their cause was and
what the effect then was. The other groups should
be listening to and taking notes on what the group
that is explaining their cause and effect is saying.
The teacher will then ask a few students to repeat the
directions back.

Seminar 2

Students will fill in the cause side putting all seven problems
on the cause side.
Students will listen to instructions.

The students will respond: By closely reading the texts,

taking notes, identifying the authors purpose, thinking
about who the author is/was, and looking at the nature of
the sources.

The students will then work with their groups to identify

the effect to their cause.

Cause and Effect:

1. Cause: All 13 states must agree to make any changes
(amendments) to the Articles. Effect: There was no
way to make changes to the governments powers.
2. Cause: To make laws nine of the thirteen states
needed to approve it. Effect: It was difficult to make
and approve laws.

Middle Childhood Education

The teacher will then ask students to:

- Think about how the effects of the Articles were
impacting the nation. Please focus on the effect
that you presented to the class. Please make a
prediction on how you believe this effect
impacted the nation. You will write your
predictions under the think space on your
graphic organizer. When you are done you will
discuss your predictions with your group. When
you are discussing your predictions keep in mind
the following questions:
- What impacts seem the most likely to have
happened?
- How do you this know this?
- The above questions will be up on the smartboard
as the students are discussing.

The teacher will hand each group a secondary source.

The teacher will then instruct the students to:
- You will be working with your group members to
read, analyze, and conclude what was the impact

Seminar 2

3. Cause: Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes.

Effect: There was always little to no money in the
government.
4. Cause: Congress had no power to regulate foreign
trade. Effect: Fights broke out among states and it was
difficult to trade with other countries.
5. Cause: Congress had no power to enforce laws. Effect:
The national government had to depend on states to
enforce laws.
6. Cause: There was no executive branch. Effect: There
was no effective way to bring the governments work
together.
7. Cause: There was no national court system. Effect:
The central government had no way to settle disputes
among the states.

Students will begin to think about the how the effects of

the Articles were impacting the nation. The students will
then write their predictions and then discuss with their
group members. Example of a student answer: I think
that the impact of all of the states having to agree to get
a law passed was that no laws got passed.

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

of your effect. You will be writing your impacts in

the impact section of your graphic organizer. You
will have 15 minutes to do this before we share
out our conclusions.
After 15 minutes the groups will share.
All of the groups should now be ready to share.
We will go around the room starting with group 1.
Each group will share what their cause was and what
the effect then was. The other groups should be
listening to and taking notes on what the group that is The students will work with their group members to conclude
explaining their cause and effect is saying.
what the impact of their effect was.
The teacher will then ask a few students to repeat the
directions back.

The impacts of the Articles on the nation:

1. Cause: All 13 states must agree to make any changes
(amendments) to the Articles. Effect: There was no
way to make changes to the governments powers.
Impact: It made the government very inflexible and
unable to adapt to problems that might arise.
2. Cause: To make laws nine of the thirteen states
needed to approve it. Effect: It was difficult to make
and approve laws. Impact: It made the government

Middle Childhood Education

3.

4.

5.

6.
The teacher will facilitate a discussion that will center
around the Cause, Effect, and Impact chart. The
teacher will put the guiding questions for the
discussion on the board.
Guiding Questions:
1. Did any of the impacts surprise you? Why or why
not?
2. Were the impacts the intent of the founding
fathers?
3. What were the founding fathers going to have to
change about the Articles based on the impacts the
Articles were having on the nation?

7.

Seminar 2

very inflexible and unable to adapt to problems that

might arise.
Cause: Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes.
Effect: There was always little to no money in the
government. Impact: Led to the national government
having no power because there was no revenue. For
example the government could request $20 million
dollars from each state and only receive $5 million
from some states, or no money from some states.
Cause: Congress had no power to regulate trade.
Effect: Fights broke out among states and it was
difficult to trade with other countries. Impact: States
taxed each other, there was ban on some trades, there
were multiple currencies within the United States, and
the economy was on the verge of collapse.
Cause: Congress had no power to enforce laws. Effect:
The national government had to depend on states to
enforce laws. Impact: The government was forced to
rely on state militias.
Cause: There was no executive branch. Effect: There
was no effective way to bring the governments work
together. Impact: The national government could not
respond to a crisis within a state like Shays Rebellion
for example.
Cause: There was no national court system. Effect:
The central government had no way to settle disputes
among the states. Impact: There was no way for the
central government to settle disputes, which caused
tension between the states, and then threatened to
divide the states.

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

Student Answers:
1. The impact that surprised me the most was that
there was no way for the government to settle
disputes. This surprised me because you would think
that there would be some way for the government to
settle disputes since their always seems to be
disputes between people in power.
2. I do not think that the impacts were the intent of the
founding fathers because I do not think that the
founding fathers wanted a government that could
not accomplish or do anything.
3. The founding fathers were going to have to change
the Articles in way that would give the central
government more power to get things done.
Closure
5 Minutes
-

Assess?
Wrap up?
Set-up?

The teacher will handout an exit ticket (A4, LO1):

-

The teacher will instruct students to:

You will be concluding what problem you believe
had the biggest effect on the nation. Remember to
support your answer with text evidence.
(conclude)

-Students will respond on the exit ticket:

I believe that the biggest problem with the Articles of
Confederation was the fact that there was no executive
branch of government. I believe that this was the biggest
effect because without an executive branch there was no one
to enforce the rules and no one to help bring the governments
work together.
Students can chose any of the problems that they
wrote on their graphic organizer. Answers should resemble
the above answer.

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

Modifications/Accom
modations/Enrichme
nt

IEP Students: For a student that has an IEP for eye sight: he will be in the front row, his handouts will feature larger
print, the paper color and text color feature colors that are easy for him to see, and he will be allowed to use a text
magnifier.

Differentiation: How will

you provide students with
specific learning needs
instructional support? How
will you provide students
access to learning?

504 Plans: For a student who is discriminated against: They will be paired with a student who the teacher knows will
not discriminate against them. For a student with ADD: They will be placed in an area in the room with little to no
distractions and will be seated around students who will not be distractors.
ELL Students: Will have more one on one instruction with the teacher, the charts will be filled out together, will be
seated close to the teacher, and will have an additional reference sheet that will contain complex words and their
synonym(s). In addition those students will not be cold called during the lesson or selected to read aloud. When
these students must read primary/secondary sources their partner will be instructed to read out loud to the student.
Gifted/Talented: Will be given more complex primary and secondary sources to analyze.

Academic Language
What language function do
you want students to
develop in this lesson?
What vocabulary do
students need to support
learning of the learning
objective for this lesson?
What supports do you have
in place to assist students
with AL?

Struggling Students: Are supported by being having peer support- and may receive additional peer support/small
group instruction, additional one on one instruction, and are seated by the teacher. In addition those students will
not be cold called during the lesson.
Identify
Planned Supports
Language Function:
Language Function:
Analyze
- Modeling
- Peer support
- Whole class support
- Graphic organizers
- Bolded words
- Reference sheets
- Discussions (whole class and peers)

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

Vocabulary:
- Impact
- Cause
- Effect
- Various Old English phrases and words

Vocabulary:
- Impact will be defined on the top of the students
handout. If there is still further confusion the teacher
will ask students to come up with an example of an
impact that the students would see in their everyday
life.
- Cause students will work with partners as well as a
class to find the causes of the Articles.
- Effect students will be involved in a whole class
discussion determining the effects of the Articles.
- Various Old English phrases and words: There will be
a word wall of these various phrases/words as well as a
reference sheet of what those phrases/words mean/

Syntax or Discourse?
Syntax

Syntax or Discourse?
Syntax: The students are provided with a graphic organizer
to help them visually see and understand the cause, effects,
and impacts of the Articles.