LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Battling for liberty: Tecumseh's and Patrick Henry's language of resistance

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=72

A lesson plan for Grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies

Provider: IRA/NCTE

About this resource

Appropriate grades
8
Subjects
English language arts (literature, reading, speech, writing), social studies (United States history), thinking skills (critical literacy)
Provider
IRA/NCTE

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This lesson challenges students to think critically about how people resist oppression through the spoken word. By examining two speeches by Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee alongside Patrick Henry's famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, students develop a new respect for the Native Americans' politically effective and poetic use of language. The class brainstorms a list of speeches that students are familiar with and free-write about what makes them recall these speeches. After the teacher models how to complete a speech analysis, students read Patrick Henry’s speech, identifying techniques of repetition, emotionally charged words, metaphor, rhetorical questioning, tone, volume, and other qualities. Students respond to their initial notes about the speech to compare pre-reading impressions with post-reading thoughts. Once the teacher reminds students of the setting and situations for Tecumseh's speeches, they brainstorm about the ways that translation and transcription might affect a speech. After hearing a translation of Tecumseh’s speeches, students discuss why the translator may have used certain words that we would find offensive today, to describe Native Americans. As students practice analyzing text for rhetorical techniques, they identify the key techniques, such as repetition, parallel structures, concrete natural images, concise sentence structure, and rhetorical questioning that are used in Tecumseh's speeches. When students have completed this activity, they evaluate the translator’s affect on the speech. In groups, students compare and contrast Chief Tecumseh's speeches and Patrick Henry's speech, using the chart that they filled in as they went along. After a class discussion, each group translates a passage from Henry's speech into the rhetorical style of Tecumseh. Once students have had the opportunity to present their re-writes to the class, they consider the implications of translations of writers’/authors’ works. Readwritethink provides links to helpful web and print resources for completing the activities in this lesson. This lesson plan provides links to several helpful web resources.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 8

  • Goal 1: The learner will analyze important geographic, political, economic, and social aspects of life in the region prior to the Revolutionary Period.
    • Objective 1.05: Describe the factors that led to the founding and settlement of the American colonies including religious persecution, economic opportunity, adventure, and forced migration.
    • Objective 1.07: Describe the roles and contributions of diverse groups, such as American Indians, African Americans, European immigrants, landed gentry, tradesmen, and small farmers to everyday life in colonial North Carolina, and compare them to the other colonies.

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 8

  • Goal 1: The learner will use language to express individual perspectives through analysis of personal, social, cultural, and historical issues.
    • Objective 1.02: Analyze expressive materials that are read, heard, and viewed by:
      • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
      • reviewing the characteristics of expressive works.
      • determining the importance of literary effects on the reader/viewer/listener.
      • making connections between works, self and related topics.
      • drawing inferences.
      • generating a learning log or journal.
      • maintaining an annotated list of works that are read or viewed, including personal reactions.
      • taking an active role in and/or leading formal/informal book/media talks.
    • Objective 1.03: Interact in group activities and/or seminars in which the student:
      • shares personal reactions to questions raised.
      • gives reasons and cites examples from text in support of expressed opinions.
      • clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so, and asks classmates for similar expansion.
    • Objective 1.04: Reflect on learning experiences by:
      • evaluating how personal perspectives are influenced by society, cultural differences, and historical issues.
      • appraising changes in self throughout the learning process.
      • evaluating personal circumstances and background that shape interaction with text.
  • Goal 2: The learner will use and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
    • Objective 2.01: Analyze and evaluate informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
      • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
      • recognizing the characteristics of informational materials.
      • summarizing information.
      • determining the importance of information.
      • making connections to related topics/information.
      • drawing inferences.
      • generating questions.
      • extending ideas.
    • Objective 2.02: Use multiple sources of print and non-print information to explore and create research products in both written and presentational forms by:
      • determining purpose, audience, and context.
      • understnaing the focus.
      • recognizing and/or choosing a relevant topic.
      • recognizing and/or selecting presentational format (e.g., video, essay, interactive technology) appropriate to audience.
      • evaluating information for extraneous detail, inconsistencies, relevant facts, and organization.
      • researching and organizing information to achieve purpose.
      • using notes and/or memory aids to structure information.
      • supporting ideas with examples, definitions, analogies, and direct references to primary and secondary sources.
      • noting and/or citing sources used.
      • recognizing the use of and/or employing graphics such as charts, diagrams,and graphs to enhance the communication of information.
  • Goal 4: The learner will continue to refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials.
    • Objective 4.01: Analyze the purpose of the author or creator and the impact of that purpose by:
      • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
      • evaluating any bias, apparent or hidden messages, emotional factors, and/or propaganda techniques.
      • evaluating the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
      • evaluate the effects of the author's craft on the reader/viewer/listener.
    • Objective 4.02: Analyze and develop (with limited assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
      • using knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques.
      • drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
      • considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.
    • Objective 4.03: Use the stance of a critic to:
      • consider alternative points of view or reasons.
      • remain fair-minded and open to other interpretations.
      • construct a critical response/review of a work/topic.
  • Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
    • Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
      • using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
      • reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
      • reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
      • assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
      • leading small group discussions.
      • taking an active role in whole class seminars.
      • analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, charaterization, style, mood, and tone.
      • discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
      • analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
      • extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
      • analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
    • Objective 5.02: Study the characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:
      • reading a variety of literature and other text (e.g., young adult novels, short stories, biographies, plays, free verse, narrative poems).
      • evaluating what impact genre-specific characteristics have on the meaning of the text.
      • evaluating how the author's choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work.
      • evaluating what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text.