Time allotted: 2-90 minute blocks or 3-55 minute class periods
Objectives
Students will:
Read the primary source document of Indian
Removal Act
Listen to music relating to the Indian removal
act
Create their own music/text about the Indian
removal act
Learning
Plan
Intro:
Pass out questions for students to answer
(handout #1) Do Now: How would you feel if you were forced to
leave your home? What items would you take with you if you were only
allowed to take what you could carry? Would be most upsetting about what
you would have to leave behind? Where would you go? What if you couldn’t
go there?
Students share their answers with one another,
and then a small class discussion of ideas/feelings related to the
questions.
Body:
Teacher begins to introduce the IRA of 1830 to
students by explaining the background info related to the writing of the
IRA in the context of Andrew Jackson’s administration.
Pass out the IRA of 1830 primary source
document (handout #2) for students to read, highlight, and make notes
on. Students should be instructed to pick out the most important words
and phrases as they go.
Note: teacher can choose to have students read
and make notes individually, or proceed as a class, reading and
analyzing by paragraph.
When students are done with reading they
should share the words and 2-3 word phrases with the class. Teacher
should write the words on the board, or on paper strips and post on the
board.
Teacher can engage students in a discussion of
the word choices, and can discuss which of the words are most powerful,
have similar meaning, or opposite meanings. (it is recommended that you
use paper strips to allow students to move the words into lists and
categorize more easily.)
Teacher then introduces the song “You Will Go”
by Lynda Roth to the class, and explains that Roth used the IRA as
inspiration for the lyrics.
the class will first read the lyrics as a poem
(preferably aloud)
students can then review the poem and notice
which words Roth picked out from the document, and whether they were
similar to the words that the class had picked out, and debate reasons
for any differences.
Students will then listen to “You Will Go” 2
times
First time: Students listen and try and feel
what the music evokes. They should write down anything the music
reminds them of.
Second time: Students will pick out the
devices that the composer uses, and the most powerful parts of the
song. They can also name each verse, number them in importance, and
anything else that the teacher wants.
Students will then discuss the emotions of
“You Will Go” and compare this with the emotions (or lack thereof) of
the IRA.
Students will compose their own text from the
IRA based on “You Will Go” (handout #3) (this can be completed as
homework, although I recommend that students have the opportunity to
share with one another in pairs and also as a class)
Closing:
2 minute response: how did this lesson make
you feel? Write at least 5 sentences explaining how you felt and why.
