Course: US History I (Pre-Columbian- 1865)

Robertson Lesson Plan 1

This lesson discusses the importance of cultural perspective on social studies directly. Within it, students are asked to evaluate and discuss how looking at the American Revolution from the perspective of women and African-Americans changes the story. It is my job to ensure that my students appreciate the intricacies and complexities of history and its different perspectives, and I tried during this lesson in my student teaching to make my students aware. The goal here is not that the students always remember Peter Salem or Deborah Sampson, but that they understand the effect of different perspectives of the study of history.

Age Group: 6th Grade

Time Allotted: 90 Minutes

SOL(s) Covered: Essential Skills from USI.6b “The student will interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives” and USI. 6c” The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by. . .describing key individuals such as. . .Phillis Wheatley.”

Objective(s): The student will analyze and articulate the way the different perspectives of women and African-Americans challenge how the American Revolution is viewed through a discussion of Peter Salem, Deborah Sampson, and Molly Pitcher. They will identify and describe Phillis Wheatley.

Instruction: The students will enter the classroom and complete a bell ringer found on the ActiveBoard reviewing the previous day’s lesson. After completing this and discussing it, students will participate in a review of a lesson from the previous week on the Declaration of Independence with emphasis on the ideals of equality and natural rights. To do this, students will respond to teacher questions using a combination of “cold call” and volunteer responses. Then the teacher will lead the students in a discussion of whether or not these ideals were actually extended to everyone in the Revolutionary-Era United States using the following questions:

Were things like equality, justice, and natural rights given to everyone?
Who was excluded?
Why were those groups excluded?
How would you feel about the cause of independence if you were a woman, an African-American, or a Native-American?
Do you think these groups were actively involved in the American cause of independence?

From here, the students will move into a period of direct instruction about the role of African-American and women in the American Revolution. To do this, the teacher will alternate between reading from the textbook, engaging students in questions and discussion, and watching videos. Particularly the lesson will look at three key individuals: Peter Salem (African-American Continental solider who fought at Lexington and Concord and Saratoga), Deborah Sampson (Colonial woman who impersonated a woman for three years to join the Continental Army), and Molly Pitcher (Colonial woman who took up her husband’s post when he fell in battle). The videos used in this lesson are found at and through Discover Education. After covering these two groups, students will discuss Phillis Wheatley and her impact on the American Independence Movement. This will conclude with students filling in information about Phillis Wheatley on their “People of the American Revolution” notes frame and watching the video found at

Assessment: As an assessment of the essential skills, students will complete a one sentence exit slip describing how looking at the Revolutionary War from the perspective of a woman or African-American changes the story. This will be assessed again (along with more specific information) on the end of unit test.

Materials Needed: ActiveBoard flip chart open on projector, list of discussion questions, all videos opened and loaded.