TOPIC: Power during The French-Indian War
GRADE: 8th Grade
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
- What does power look like?
- What were the different reasons that the French, English Colonists, and Native Americans wanted to have power during the French and Indian War?
- Why did Benjamin Franklin push to unite the colonies?
TEKS:
§113.20. Social Studies, Grade 8
(2) History. The student understands the causes of exploration and colonization eras. The student is expected to: (A) identify reasons for European exploration and colonization of North America; and (B) compare political, economic, religious, and social reasons for the establishment of the 13 English colonies.
(4) History. The student understands significant political and economic issues of the revolutionary era. The student is expected to: (A) analyze causes of the American Revolution
(B) explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Benjamin Franklin
HOOK/ENGAGE: REVIEW INFORMATION
We are going to start our lesson today brainstorming quickly what we know about the French and Indian War. Who was a part of it? Why were they fighting? Gather any and all information that they have learned.
Thank you for all of your great ideas. This morning we are going to be talking about power, who had it and who didn’t. Who can tell me what power means? What does it mean to have power? What does it mean to not have the power? Why do you think people might want power?
EXPLORE: GREAT GAME OF POWER
Ask for a volunteer. Have the volunteer arrange the five chairs and water bottle, making one chair the most powerful compared to the other chairs and water bottle. The chairs can be placed in any way. Once the chairs have been arranged ask the student to sit and to just listen to the conversation. Remind students that in order to make sure we hear all ideas, please speak one at a time.
DESCRIBE: What do you see? Pull the students to describe what they see.
ANALYZE: What chair would you say is the most powerful? Why?
What do you see that makes you infer that that chair is the most powerful? What might the water bottle represent? Why?
At the end of this one, if the person who created the image would like to say what they were thinking since this one was done with a specific image in mind. Then go on to your next question..
To the student who arranged the chairs, what did it feel like to hear people interpret your arrangement?
Invite another student to arrange the chairs.
DESCRIBE: What do you see? Pull the students to describe what they see.
ANALYZE: What chair would you say is the most powerful? Why?
What do you see that makes you infer that that chair is the most powerful? What might the water bottle represent? Why?
We have seen two different images of what power can look like, for the next few times, I’d like us to think about what you have learned so far about the French and Indian War. I invite someone to come up and arrange the chairs to represent what the Native Americans wanted. Think about who they were fighting and who they were supporting, what they were fighting for, and let’s envision what having power might have looked like for them.
DESCRIBE: What do you see?
ANALYZE: What chair would you say is the most powerful? Why? Who do you think is being represented by the different chairs? What does the object represent? In what ways did the Native Americans try and assert this power or get what they wanted? Were they successful?
What was going on with the French during this time? Who were they fighting against and who was on their side? Can someone come up and arrange the chairs to look like what the French wanted? What do you think desired power looked like for the French?
DESCRIBE: What do you see?
ANALYZE: Which desk represents the French? Who do you think these other desks are? After identifying who the English Colonists are, So looking at the position that the English Colonists were in, how do you think they were feeling? At this point, were they united against the French?
That’s right, they weren’t. Keeping the French chair in the same place, I’m going to separate these 4 chairs to represent the separate colonies. How might you describe this image now? Does this change the power dynamics?
Benjamin Franklin pushed for the colonies to unite against the French and Native Americans. Based on what you see in this image, why do you think he did that? If you were trying to bring these chairs together to gain power, what are some tactics or strategies you might use to do so? An example might be to send letters to the governors of the colonies. What are some other ideas?
What you are going to learn about next is one of the ways that Benjamin Franklin tried to inspire the colonies to unite. As you learn about the cartoon that he made, think about the different images we created today and the amazing discussion that we had.