United States History

Focus Learning Unit Plan

Goal 2—Expansion and Reform (1801-1850)—The learner will assess the competing forces of
expansion, nationalism and sectionalism.

2.05—Identify the major reform movements and evaluate their effectiveness.

Essential Question for Unit—How do reform movements drive the political agenda?

Day 1—Utopian Communities

Essential Question

 What elements of change are present in today’s society?

Activating Strategy

 Students should write and answer the following questions:

o What elements of society today are in need of change?

o Do you believe that religious leaders would take an active role in bringing about
social change? Why or Why Not?

 In small groups the students should discuss their answers.

Teaching Strategy

Begin by reviewing the events of the early 19th century and be sure to include the Embargo Act,
impressment, the Indian Wars and the War of 1812. Explain to students that when James Monroe
became president in 1816 the county was in an “Era of Good Feeling;” we were not at war with
anyone. The country was expanding and there was time for philosophical experimentation.

Vocabulary: revivalist, Charles Finney, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret
Fuller, Dorothea Dix, utopian, abolition, temperance, Transcendentalism, reform, Horace Mann

List the following Reform Movements on the Board:

 2nd Great Awakening  Abolition

 Transcendentalism  Temperance
 Utopian Communities  Women’s Rights
 Education Reform  Changes in the Workplace
 Prisons and the Care of the Mentally Ill

Students should determine the work each reform did and leaders of each movement using their
textbooks and other available sources.
Summarizing Strategy

Sum-It-Up Sheet…attached

Homework

 Create a multimedia presentation depicting a reformer and a reform movement and the impact on
society. The following must be included in the presentation:

o Student created slogan

o Leaders of the movement
o Appropriate quotes/sources/prints/photographs
o Goals of the reform movement
o Status of the reform movement at the beginning of the Civil War
o Reference/works cited page

 Multimedia Guide

 Multimedia Presentation Rubric

 Multimedia Project is due on the 5th day. Make sure research and technology sources are
available before and after school for students.

 Reformer Websites
Day 2—Utopian Communities

Essential Question

 What elements of change are present in today’s society?

Activating Strategy

 Have students brainstorm how one reform movement might reflect on another.

Teaching Strategy

Randomly divide the class into groups of five or six. Each group will need a piece of paper. The names
of the group members should appear at the top of the page. In the groups students must respond to all
the questions below.

Your group is going to create a Utopian Society—a perfect place. Not every member of the group may
agree with the decisions however, majority rules. All questions must be answered and written down.

a. Describe where your society lives- this can be a real place or an imaginary place
b. Who can live in the Utopian Society? Include types of people, ages, numbers of people, etc.
c. What does the Society do for commerce?
d. What rules do the members of the Society live by and what are the consequences for
violating those rules. (at least 10 rules)
e. What type of government will the Society have?
f. Name the Society. (Brook Farm, Oneida can not be used)

Give each group 25 minutes to create their Society.

Now explain to students that you know some of the students are not happy with the rules and make up of
the Utopian Societies. Go around the room and read the answers to Questions A and B. Tell students
that if they would like to move to a place that is more perfect they may. Then read the C and D answers.
Again allow the students to move. In some cases a Society may no longer exists. Share the answers to
E and F and allow students to make one more move.

Next, list the members of each Society at the bottom of the page. Conduct a brief discussion about why
individuals moved. What made one Utopian Society better than another? What happened to the
Utopian Societies of the early 1800’s? Did any of those Societies bring about political change? Do any
exist today?

Summarizing Activity

Lesson Closure Framed Paragraph…attached.

Homework

Students should work on Multimedia Presentations.

Day 3—Women’s Rights

Essential Question

 How did the Women’s Movement lead to expanded rights for women?

Activating Strategy

Display Bloomer Costume on the Overhead or LCD projector. In pairs students should comment on the
outfit.

 What are the Pros and Cons of this type of dress?

 How would it be received in 1830s?

 How would it be received today?

Teaching Strategy

Share ideas about the costume. Explain to students what this was a big move from the gowns of
Antebellum and that many men became afraid women would take over the roles of men if the women
started wearing pants.

Explain the importance of the Seneca Falls Convention. See attachment for facts.

Have students then read Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. Explain that Truth was one of
many who worked for Women’s rights that originally or simultaneously work on Abolition Issues.

Lead a Socratic Seminar type discussion about the speech.

Give students a copy of the “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments.” Students should compare the
Declaration with the “Declaration of Independence.”

Vocabulary: Grimké Sisters, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Seneca Falls Convention, Lucrétia Mott, Amelia
Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony

Summarizing Activity

Venn Diagram for the declaration documents…attached.

Homework
Continue to work on Reformer multimedia presentation.

Day 4—Expansionism and Discrimination

Essential Question

 How did the movement of Americans to the Western territories lead to discrimination against
immigrant workers?

Activating Strategy

 Name products that are manufactured at home.

Teaching Strategy

Complete the Thinking Map attached as students read Section 4 of Chapter 4. In groups, have students
discuss issues concerning work for women, immigrants, African Americans and unskilled laborers.

Students should look at earnings in the 1830s and those in the 20th Century.

Create a transparency of the by State earnings and of the per job wages and look at this information with
the class. Discuss how wages and working conditions have changed.

Vocabulary: Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, The Liberator, railroads, Gold Rush,
Guadalupe Hidalgo, Gadsden Purchase, Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, Seward’s Folly,
Promontory Point

Summarizing Activity

3-2-1 Strategy…attached.

Homework

Finish Multimedia Presentation

Day 5—Presentation of Multimedia Projects

Activating Strategy

List current reform movements on the board or overhead. These may include:

 No Child Left Behind

 Anti-Drug Movements
 Health Care Reform
 Gay Rights
 Immigration Reform
 Environmental Reforms

Do these reforms help to bring about political change?

Teaching Strategy

Have each student present multimedia presentation. Score with a rubric.

Summarizing Strategy

History Frame…attached. (This is for one of the multimedia presentations and may be completed for
homework.)