Education Standards
Grade 6-8 Inquiry: Differentiate between Fact and Assumption
Overview
This inquiry by Cynthia Yurosko, Evergreen Public Schools, is based on the C3 Framework inquiry arc. The inquiry provides students with the opportunity to analyze, through the evaluation of words, how conflicts between the U.S. government and Native American tribes arose. Students will be asked to investigate federal reports, speeches, and news reports to discern U.S. leaders’ perspectives and compare these biases to the words of Native American leaders Chief Red Eagle and Chief Tecumseh.
How can words lead to conflict?
Inquiry Description
This inquiry provides students with the opportunity to analyze, through the evaluation of words, how conflicts between the U.S. government and Native American tribes arose. Students will be asked to investigate federal reports, speeches, and news reports to discern U.S. leaders’ perspectives and compare these biases to the words of Native American leaders Chief Red Eagle and Chief Tecumseh.
This query is meant to challenge students to analyze the meaning of words and evaluate how these words said can cause conflict through three events: Andrew Jackson’s involvement in the War of 1812 and his presidency, the Sioux Ghost Dance, and Georgia v. Worcester. Students must also be able to think critically from Native American Chiefs’ perspectives to be able to accurately comprehend the power behind the U.S.’s conflicting words. The final summative assessment asks students to write an argument using evidence and a counterargument addressing how words lead to conflict.
The inquiry opens up in the first task of asking students “Should people be held accountable for words/statements made in the past?” Students will determine the meaning of words that the Native American Chief Red Eagle, Native American Chief Tecumseh, and Andrew Jackson express. Next, using this information, students can then start differentiating between fact and opinion in U.S. journalistic reports. Finally, using the previous documents, students can delineate the point of view the federal government gave when deciding upon the Supreme Court Case of Georgia v. Worcester. Students should continue to circle back to the idea that words have power and words can cause conflict given the circumstances in which they are used.
The initial performance task is centered on students’ abilities to deconstruct a speech. Students may need to use skills that require them to think deeply about the author’s meaning of words. The speeches presented by the selected Native American Chiefs use statements such as “I would have raised corn on one bank of the river and fought them on the other” (“Creek Chief Red Eagle”) and “Sell a country?! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?” (“Shawnee Chief Tecumseh”). Students should be prepared to analyze the words in a more figurative way.
A key feature of this query is reading Creek Chief Red Eagle and Shawnee Chief Tecumseh’s speeches. Both of these Chiefs use their words to engage in dialogue and explain that they fight to preserve their people, culture, and ancestral lands. These speeches give context to the Native American perspective and allow students a base to compare the future documents that feature misconceptions and outright lies against Native American people. After this query, it is recommended that students learn about their local tribe and engage in their local government to preserve Native American rights.
NOTE: This inquiry is expected to take six to eight class periods. The inquiry frame could expand if teachers think their students need additional instruction experiences (i.e. supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources). Teachers might want to consider communicating with their local tribes to integrate local history and/or current events into this lesson. Teachers are encouraged to adapt this inquiry in order to meet the needs and interests of their students. Resources can also be modified as necessary to meet individualized education plans (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans for students with disabilities.
Attribution and License
Attribution
Cover image source: Wikipedia.org
License
Except where otherwise noted, original work in this inquiry by Cynthia Yurosko, Evergreen Public Schools is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Sections used under fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) are marked.
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