Lesson
The Colonial World Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Mini-Lesson
Guiding question
How did different groups, such as religious communities, traders, and settlers in the American colonies, establish and practice self-government?
Founding Principles
Objectives:
- Students will define and understand the purpose of a thesis in historical writing.
- Students will analyze primary sources to develop a thesis in response to a historical question.
- Students will use a graphic organizer to outline their line of reasoning.
Materials
Student Resources
- Documents (choose a set):
- Unit 1: Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Graphic Organizer
- Colonial World Video
Teacher Resources:
Lesson Components
Document Set that address the question: In what ways did different groups, such as religious communities, traders, and settlers in the American colonies establish and practice self-government?
Scaffolded Document Set that address the question: In what ways did different groups, such as religious communities, traders, and settlers in the American colonies establish and practice self-government?
A graphic organizer to help students explore themes presented in the document sets.
Lesson Components
A pre-made slide deck to accompany this lesson.
A graphic organizer to help students explore themes presented in the document sets.
Scaffolded Document Set that address the question: In what ways did different groups, such as religious communities, traders, and settlers in the American colonies establish and practice self-government?
In this middle school history lesson, travel back to 1620 to examine how early American colonists took their first steps toward self-government. Using the painting Mayflower Compact 1620 by John Leon Jerome Ferris, students explore how pilgrims and other settlers aboard the Mayflower created a social contract that laid the foundation for democratic rule in the New World. How did different groups in the American colonies establish and practice self-government? Through guided historical thinking, students begin to craft a thesis and support it with reasoning, key skills they'll apply in the unit’s scaffolded Document-Based Question (DBQ) assessment.
Document Set that address the question: In what ways did different groups, such as religious communities, traders, and settlers in the American colonies establish and practice self-government?
Teacher support for implementing the Unit 1: Colonial World Deconstructed DBQ.
Lesson plan
More Information
Facilitation Notes
- This is a mini-lesson. It is intended to be short and directly related to a specific skill. It will take 30-45 minutes of class time. It accompanies the mini-lesson slide deck.
- This lesson is intended to lead students through the process of creating a thesis with a specific claim and established line of reasoning. Students coming from the elementary level will likely be familiar with topic sentences or thesis statements, but they are likely to use broad, general statements. If your students do not need this scaffolding, the Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Graphic Organizer alone may provide them with enough support, without the need for the direct instruction used in this lesson.
Standards
Related materials
In this middle school history lesson, travel back to 1620 to examine how early American colonists took their first steps toward self-government. Using the painting Mayflower Compact 1620 by John Leon Jerome Ferris, students explore how pilgrims and other settlers aboard the Mayflower created a social contract that laid the foundation for democratic rule in the New World. How did different groups in the American colonies establish and practice self-government? Through guided historical thinking, students begin to craft a thesis and support it with reasoning, key skills they'll apply in the unit’s scaffolded Document-Based Question (DBQ) assessment.