space.template.Women+of+the+Revolutionary+War

= Women of the Revolutionary War = A 5th Grade Study

Unit Plan: Understanding by Design  Cover Page Alexa & Jasmine **Unit Title**: Women of the Revolutionary War **Grade:** 5th **Subject/Strand/Topic Area:** Revolutionary War-Women of the Revolutionary War **Time Frame:** 2 weeks

The students will be working on the clear undiscovered, and frankly, unspoken about woman’s role in the Revolutionary War. Of Course it is told, rehearsed, and written all through history that the Revolutionary War was headed by strong, fearless, and powerful men whose lives were put into danger, and many killed on the brink of warfare all for the fight and protection of Independence of the common man. However, what ever happened to the woman of the war? Were they no where to be found, hidden behind their husband’s defense, more or less stagnant to contribute to the war effort? This is entirely false, but unfortunately all that we were taught was “important” to know. Think about, these students are learning about a time, decades ago where women were no where considered “equals” in the eyes of men, which also goes for “strong, fearless, brave, or capable” of anything more than domestic. Though, uncovering the truths behind the lies, there is more to the story of a woman’s role in the Revolutionary War. What the students will be doing is investigating the truths about what really went on behind the battle lines between men and women. Women played more roles in the Revolutionary War backing their men to be able to take to the battle field with strength and courage, helping them recover when injured, establishing the war effort propaganda, and even bravely stepping behind the battle lines in covert operations because fighting for freedom meant more than fear of gender discrimination. The students will be engaged in a few different activities where they will be able to “step inside the shoes of a woman” in the Revolutionary time period and experience what life was like being in a man’s shadow. They will be reflecting through online blogging with their classmates about new findings, experiences, and questions that incite their curiosity. Further, they will be creating real-life situations of women on the battle lines, posing as males focusing both on men seeing the woman’s side, and women understanding and experiencing situations from a man’s perspective.
 * Brief Summary of Unit: **


 * California State Standards: **
 * United States History and Geography: Making a New Nation **
 * 5.6 ** Identify the different roles women played during the Revolution (i.e., Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Molly Pitcher, Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren)


 * 2.0 Reading Comprehension:**

2.5 Distinguish facts, supported inferences, and opinions in text.

 * 1.0 Writing Strategies:**

1.4 Create simple documents by using electronic media and employing organizational features (e.g., passwords, entry and pull-down menus, word searches, a thesaurus, spell checks).
Understanding)s): Students will understand
 * Big Ideas: **
 * Women had a much bigger position, importance, and job in the Revolutionary War than ever given full acknowledgement for
 * Men’s position about a woman’s role in society
 * Woman’s persecution and discrimination based on gender
 * Changes women made to the war efforts
 * Gender-biased history that was not documented for societal normalcy


 * Essential Question(s) **
 * 1) 1. Why were women regarded as the “weaker” sex so much so as to write them out of history?
 * 2) 2. Did women ever fight for equalization on the battlefield, or did they rather sneak their way to the front?
 * 3) 3. Who first realized that woman needed acknowledgement for histories mistake?
 * 4) 4. Was the U.S essentially fighting two different wars simultaneously?


 * Students will know the following vocabulary words: **


 * 1) 1. Colonists
 * 2) 2. Liberty
 * 3) 3. Loyalist
 * 4) 4. Minutemen
 * 5) 5. Parliament
 * 6) 6. Proclamation
 * 7) 7. Freedom
 * 8) 8. Independence
 * 9) 9. Propaganda
 * 10) 10. Justice
 * 11) 11. Representation
 * 12) 12. American Revolution
 * 13) 13. Stamp Act
 * 14) 14. Intolerable Acts
 * 15) 15. Slavery
 * 16) 16. Boycott


 * Students will be able to (Processes & Skills) **


 * Investigate the hidden truths of the woman’s role in the war effort
 * Discover why the truths were hidden for so many decades
 * Obtain detailed accounts from actual women fighting against the discrimination
 * Figuratively step inside the shoes of a woman’s fight
 * Play the role of both male and female to experience both sides of the “same coin”
 * Use blogger to document both advancement or retreatment in comprehension of a woman’s position, feelings, and missed opportunities that lead to a need for devious acts of defiant behavior towards mans unjust law

** Stage 2 **  ** Performance Task— **
 * Goal: ** The students will be expected to research multiple different resources, with at least 4-6 gathered evidential records to make accurate comparisons, standpoints, claims, and supportive evidence to answer the essential questions posed throughout the unit lesson. The students are ensuring, at ever point of their learned understanding of the new found information, that there is enough data to support and uphold a proper stance on woman’s treatment and forced secrecy during war time.


 * Role: ** The role that the students are playing are very much like investigative journalists, who are trying to uncover the truths through the use of only old books, diaries, and web-based research data analysis from primary and secondary resources. Primary and secondary resources are hard to come by, but relying on accurate data resources, which means having to figure out which is the most appropriate and truthful information gathered by use of further investigation and comparison of multiple articles. The students will also be playing roles of both the men and the women (men experience life as woman, and visa versa) to get a better understanding of the mindset within opposite sex—women’s maltreatment, and men’s dominance. Were all men to blame for the women’s abuse?


 * Audience: ** The audience is more or less, the rest of the classroom, outside of the immediate group.


 * Situation: ** The situation takes place during the time of the Revolutionary War. However, there is an unrenowned twist to this specific event- the students are focusing on the role of women in the Revolutionary War, both on the frontlines, and behind the action fighting for the same freedom. Now, what is so intriguing about this study and investigation of universal truths, and uncovered secrets is that the role of women was never quite questioned in those times; women had their place and role in society that was never thought to be taken of any concern to most men because they were the stronger “sex.” Women were regarded as the domestic, “scared” and “weaker” sex so thinking that they would have such a powerful role as solider was never to be questioned.

What the students are doing, both male and female, are questioning, researching, investigating, and experiencing the reality of a woman’s life during those dangerous times:


 * 1) 1. What role did women play in the war effort
 * 2) 2. Were their women who became soldiers
 * 3) 3. How much or little were they allowed to participate in the war effort
 * 4) 4. What consequences arranged if they did not comply?

The students are to be able to step inside the role of a woman, after extensive research and analysis on the hardships, restrictions, and gender discrimination placed on women’s liberty to participate in actions beyond the house. This project is more than finding out about what covers were placed on the findings of woman’s persecution, but more about researching the truth, finding the reasons why, questioning the decisions made by those in charge, and figuratively learning how to place oneself in another shoes to figure out the course of action he/she would have taken if in the same situation. The Revolutionary War was a fight for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness-were women not part of the same fight?


 * Product/Performance: **

The students will be working on a number of different activities that will incorporate a number of different intelligences for the benefit of each individual student. As an educator, it is our duty to understand our students on their own level of learning-without this, student learning will be underachieved. For example, the students, boys first, will be engaged in an activity such as, //A Woman Like Me,// where they are supposed to place themselves in the shoes of a specific woman of the Revolutionary War (chosen from Mary & Martha Washington, Lucy Knox, Abigail Adams, Mercy Warren, Catherine Barry, Sybil Ludington, Nancy Heart, Esther Reed, and Margaret Corbin) and obtain their worldview on the matter.

For day 6, lesson 6, what the boys and girls will be doing throughout the week is getting to know and understand the perspective views from both sides of the coin. For instance, there will be a peddler activity where the girls will be dressing as a man and acting the part, and men trying to figure out which one is the "spy" or Ann Bates. This first activity allows the students to drop their guard of immediate gender defense, and after extensive research, walk, talk, and act just as the actual man or woman felt being in the position and mindset that they were in at that time. What the students will be doing after this activity is having a whole group share out of what they felt, noticed, discovered, and maybe how their views have changed from previous speculation of Ann Bates. The essential question at the end will be: //“Was Ann Bates in the wrong?"// Also working with E-newspapers in lesson 7&8 as well as written letters for woman's propaganda under the terms of Martha Washington gets the students to see how and what difference a woman can make to the war effort if not for physical violence like their counterparts//.//

The students will also be working, on day 10, with an activity creating a hand-drawn map comparing two soldiers "rides" across a certain amount of milage and stretch across land. For instance, the two comparisons are of Sybil Ludington and Paul Revere, which in essence they are working with the differences between a man and a woman ability to do the same job. *Important to note is that there are SDAIE strategies, especially designed for the English Language Learners, and even Special Needs students where it is a necessity to create an activity where movement, character/role change, hand gestures, and structured speech is promoted within the activities for differentiated instruction.

Essentially, what the students are learning is to judge, make an opinion about something based on their own experience and comprehension of what is evidentiary truth and fact by having the ability to "see" from a different perspective.


 * Standards/Criteria for Success: **

What the students need to be able to do is be able to do proper and accurate, widespread investigative work to find reasons for woman’s role deficiency in the Revolutionary War. They must be able to work in teams, in a collaborative setting to research, analyze, and conclude main points advocating pro women, and even counterarguments posing as the male to ignite insightful conversation for general feedback and comprehension.

Throughout the entire unit plan, the students will be working each day to find a new angle, research new evidence, and learn new insight about a powerful woman standing behind the lines, in the shadow of a man who could not stand on his own two feet without the hand of a woman. There is so much information, testimonies, and even fallacies on the web that can help alter the truth, but the role of the student is to uncover those untold stories of bravery and courage coming from none other than the female race. Through project collaboration and individual explanation, retelling through oral and short written reporting (Prezi and Fodey applications), the student will touch on varies points of view (male and female), and conclude their final analysis on the unspeakable role of women in the Revolutionary fight for independence.

The students will not be participating in tests or quizzes on the unit plan simply by the fact that the assessment for comprehension will be through both collaborative group projects and individual write-ups, or mini projects for presentation to the whole group.
 * Other Evidence: **


 * Student Self-Assessment: **

The students will have the opportunity to challenge their own thinking, and be analysis of their own work by, for example, participating in a question and response forum with another person from the opposite “side of the fence” opinion. Also, the students will be actively engaged in their own learning process by incorporating technology, and interpersonal, interpersonal, logical, and musical perceptions into the activities finding the individualistic strengths multiple intelligence in each and every one of them. Through the presentations, both individual and group, the students will be expected to reiterate the goals and objectives of the lesson. Moreover, by being able to restate the reasons for the conclusions given, the students are becoming better learners and thinkers because it is no longer about memorization and now focused on getting the "why" out of the answers stated.

=** Week 2 Lesson Plans: **=

Ann Bates

Deborah Sampson Woman Soldier Revolutionary War Archives

Martha Washington

Sybil Ludington

Student Work Prezi Sample:

Public Opinion Newspaper

BrainPop Video:

Student Fodey Newspaper: Deborah Sampson