Goals & Objectives
Students will analyze and discuss Woodrow Wilson’s and America’s attitude towards the League of Nations.
California State Content and Common Core Standards
10.6 Students analyze the effects of the First World War.
10.6.1. Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders, the terms and influence of the Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the causes and effects of the United States’s rejection of the League of Nations on world politics.
CCS 9-10. 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCS 9-10. 6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
10.6.1. Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders, the terms and influence of the Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the causes and effects of the United States’s rejection of the League of Nations on world politics.
CCS 9-10. 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCS 9-10. 6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Lesson Introduction
Day 1: The teacher will present a political cartoon about the U.S.’s role in the League of Nations. The students will write in their journals what they think the cartoon means. The teacher will then lead a class discussion about what the cartoon is portraying asking students to brainstorm together on what is being described in the cartoon. The teacher will write on the white board important themes and ideas the students are presenting.
Day 2: The teacher will perform a quick whip around asking students to identify important ideas from the prior day’s lesson about the documents they analyzed.
Day 2: The teacher will perform a quick whip around asking students to identify important ideas from the prior day’s lesson about the documents they analyzed.
Vocabulary
The teacher will go over key vocab from the articles during the class discussion. The documents are primary sources, so the teacher will go over pre-selected terms that may not be recognizable to the students the list includes:
(League) Covenant
Magna Carta
Americanism
Philanthropy
Idealism
World Service
Maintenance of the United States
Conservative
Reactionary
(League) Covenant
Magna Carta
Americanism
Philanthropy
Idealism
World Service
Maintenance of the United States
Conservative
Reactionary
Content Delivery
Day 1: The teacher will give the students two primary source documents representing Woodrow Wilson’s views on why the U.S. should enter the League of Nations and another article on why the U.S. should not enter the League. The teacher will split the class up in groups of 4-5 students and have them read the documents together. The teacher will facilitate the groups and guide them if necessary, in analyzing the documents. The students will read a New York Times article reporting on Woodrow Wilson’s explanation on the need to join the League. The students will then discuss it with each other for 2 min. After, the teacher will have a class discussion about the ideas presented in the first document. The teacher will ask critical-thinking and comprehension questions such as, “what is the tone of the article?”, “what is the big idea of the article?”, and “what evidence does Wilson give that supports the U.S.’s need to join the League?” Next the students will read Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s address to the President opposing the League of Nations. The students will have a discussion in their groups for 2 mins. The teacher will lead a class discussion about the second document continuing to ask critical-thinking and comprehension questions such as, “what is the tone of the address?”, “What is the purpose of the address?”, “What is Senator Lodge trying to accomplish?”, and “What evidence does Senator Lodge give that supports his claims?” During the discussion of both documents, the teacher will pull specifics quotes from the text and have the students define the dialogue as a class in order to break the writing down.
The teacher will then split the class in half. One class will organize themselves on one side of the room and the same for the second half. Each group will represent one side of the argument if the U.S. should join the League of Nations. One group will act as a group that favors Woodrow Wilson’s argument and the second half will argue in favor of not joining the League. The teacher will allow the students time to discuss their side of the argument and organize their ideas to prepare for the next class meeting.
Day 2: The teacher will have the students meet back with their groups and give them 2 mins to refresh each other on their arguments. During the deliberation, the teacher will monitor the pace of the arguments to allow the students to receive the appropriate amount of time. In addition, he teacher will monitor the behaviors of the students to make sure that all students are respectful towards each other’s arguments.
The teacher will then split the class in half. One class will organize themselves on one side of the room and the same for the second half. Each group will represent one side of the argument if the U.S. should join the League of Nations. One group will act as a group that favors Woodrow Wilson’s argument and the second half will argue in favor of not joining the League. The teacher will allow the students time to discuss their side of the argument and organize their ideas to prepare for the next class meeting.
Day 2: The teacher will have the students meet back with their groups and give them 2 mins to refresh each other on their arguments. During the deliberation, the teacher will monitor the pace of the arguments to allow the students to receive the appropriate amount of time. In addition, he teacher will monitor the behaviors of the students to make sure that all students are respectful towards each other’s arguments.
Student Engagement
Day 2: Student will organize themselves in their groups and have 2 mins to collaborate with each other to refresh their argument.
Group 1 (pro League of Nations) will have 1 min to state their opening argument. Group 2 (against League of Nations) will have 1 min to state their opening argument.
Students will be given 2 mins to gather information, organize their counter response, and prepare questions they will propose to each the opposite group. 2 different students (one from each group) will lead the second engagement. They will be given 3 mins to discuss each other’s arguments.
Students will be given 1 min to prepare their closing statement. Each group will have a different student present their final argument for 1 min each.
Group 1 (pro League of Nations) will have 1 min to state their opening argument. Group 2 (against League of Nations) will have 1 min to state their opening argument.
Students will be given 2 mins to gather information, organize their counter response, and prepare questions they will propose to each the opposite group. 2 different students (one from each group) will lead the second engagement. They will be given 3 mins to discuss each other’s arguments.
Students will be given 1 min to prepare their closing statement. Each group will have a different student present their final argument for 1 min each.
Lesson Closure
Day one: The teacher will have the students will perform in their journals a 3-2-1 activity stating 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 question they have about the 2 documents they read that day.
Day two: After the deliberation, the teacher will have the students perform a quick write assessing how they felt the SPAR activity went and what they learned from it. The student will also write what they learned about both arguments on whether the U.S. should have entered the League of Nations or not, using evidence from the documents and deliberation.
Day two: After the deliberation, the teacher will have the students perform a quick write assessing how they felt the SPAR activity went and what they learned from it. The student will also write what they learned about both arguments on whether the U.S. should have entered the League of Nations or not, using evidence from the documents and deliberation.
Assessment
Formative: The teacher will assess the student’s responses to the critical-thinking and comprehension questions during the class discussion on the 2 documents. The teacher will use the class deliberation argument to assess the student’s knowledge of their group’s argument.
Summative: The teacher will collect the student’s journals and assess their response to the 3-2-1 activity and the quick write to analyze how well the students demonstrated their comprehension of the arguments made in the documents.
Summative: The teacher will collect the student’s journals and assess their response to the 3-2-1 activity and the quick write to analyze how well the students demonstrated their comprehension of the arguments made in the documents.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
English learners, striving readers, and students with special needs will be given a hand out with additional vocab words defined from the texts. Since the documents are primary sources, some words may not be recognizable to these students. In additions they will have a summary of the documents that is broken down into a simpler language that assists these students in understanding the main argument of the documents.