Change in a democratic society (Lesson 1 of 3)

This lesson will demonstrate how art can imitate society. Students will learn about democracy in America through an examination of and a Paideia seminar on "The Sword of Damocles," an oil painting by British painter Richard Westall. This lesson should be used after a study of colonial times in America and through the American Revolution.

A lesson plan for grades 8–12 Social Studies

By Sharyn West

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• Changes in a democratic society (Lesson 2 of 3) This lesson is the post-seminar activity to follow Changes in a Democratic Society, Lesson 1. Students will participate in tiered assignments reflecting on the Westall painting, "The Sword of Damocles," and the prior day's Paideia seminar on that painting.
• Changes in a democratic society (Lesson 3 of 3) This lesson is a follow-up to Changes in a Democratic Society, Lessons 1 and 2. Students will reflect upon and respond to a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, "Monument for the Defense of Paris." Permission has been granted by Ackland Art Museum to use the following sculptures: "Monument for the Defense of Paris" (Auguste Rodin) and "Wisdom Supporting Liberty" (Aime-Jules Dalou).

Related pages

• Changes in a democratic society (Lesson 2 of 3): This lesson is the post-seminar activity to follow Changes in a Democratic Society, Lesson 1. Students will participate in tiered assignments reflecting on the Westall painting, "The Sword of Damocles," and the prior day's Paideia seminar on that painting.
• Changes in a democratic society (Lesson 3 of 3): This lesson is a follow-up to Changes in a Democratic Society, Lessons 1 and 2. Students will reflect upon and respond to a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, "Monument for the Defense of Paris." Permission has been granted by Ackland Art Museum to use the following sculptures: "Monument for the Defense of Paris" (Auguste Rodin) and "Wisdom Supporting Liberty" (Aime-Jules Dalou).
• The Declaration of Independence: In this interdisciplinary lesson, students will examine the role of the Declaration of Independence in the development of the American Revolution and as part of the American identity. They will also analyze the argumentative structure and write their own declaration.

Related topics

• Learn more about American Revolution, American history, Constitution, Damocles, Dionysius, North Carolina, Paideia, academically gifted, arts, democracy, government, history, interdisciplinary, and social studies.

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This lesson plan is the first in a series of three. The other two are:

• Changes in a Democratic Society Lesson 2
• Changes in a Democratic Society Lesson 3

Learning outcomes

Concept Goal

• Students will gather information from primary and secondary sources to learn about the formation of American democracy.
• Students will develop an understanding and appreciation of the American system of government.
• Students will examine art work which reflects the theme of democracy.

Content Goal

• Students will understand the history of democracy in the U.S.
• Students will investigate the framework of the Constitution as the scaffold of democracy.
• Students will be able to identify the key components in the Constitution which established democracy.

Process Goals

• Students will develop reasoning skills in Social Studies.

Content Outcome

• Learners will identify implications of democratic change.
• Learners will examine how democracy requires change to persist or endure to meet the changes in society.
• Learners will investigate how change in a democracy is caused by the influence of individuals and groups.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2-3 Days

Materials/resources

• Copy of the U.S. Constitution
• Research materials in the media center and on line American history textbook, such as The American Journey
• Current newspapers and magazines
• Television news
• Selected art work from the Ackland Museum

Technology resources

• Internet
• PowerPoint

Pre-activities

Vocabulary work:

• Small groups will brainstorm words about democracy. Then the groups will share their words and sort as the groups compare lists. Additional terms can be added by the teacher. A suggested vocabulary list is included.
• Students will generate things they believe that a democracy is. For example, a democracy is man-made. Democracy has limits. Democracy exists through procedures and standards. Citizens have the right to participate.
• Students will follow up with things that a democracy is not. Such as, a democracy is not totalitarianism. A democracy is not a monarchy. A democracy is not repressive, or is it?

Activities

The first lesson in a series using the resources of the Ackland will be a Paideia seminar using the oil painting by British painter Richard Westall entitled “The Sword of Damocles.” The students will view the 1812 painting by Mr. Westall at the museum or on-line. Also, the attached PowerPoint presentation contains a downloaded copy of the painting and some discussion questions. Permission has been granted by Ackland Art Museum for use of the painting. Teachers may find the PowerPoint a quick access to the work. Teachers MUST be Paideia trained to facilitate this component of the unit.

Pre-Seminar Activity

1. In class, discuss the meaning of the idiom: The grass is always greener on the other side. Students then write responses to the following questions:
• Have you ever wanted to trade places with someone? Why?
• Have you traded places with someone only to discover that their situation was not everything you thought it would be?
2. This is an in-class assignment. Students will exchange papers and read them. At the bottom of the partner’s paper, the student will record one positive response and one suggestion for improvement and return the paper. Teacher will collect papers.
3. Investigate the story of the sword of Damocles. Students will need to be able to identify Damocles and Dionysius. They will need to explain the significance of the sword. Sources about Damocles are limited on the web. Perhaps printed sources from the media center would be more helpful. In summary, Damocles was a courtier in the court of the tyrant Dionysius. Damocles talked enviously about the extravagant life of the rich and famous Dionysius. Damocles is invited to a lavish dinner where he is so impressed by the feast that he does not originally notice the sword that is “suspended by a single thread.” The lesson Dionysius was enacting was that the fates of those in power can be as dangerous as the situation that Damocles faced.

Seminar Activity

1. If time allows, begin the seminar with a very quick, 3-question pop quiz to ensure that students have read the information about Damocles, Dionysius, and the sword. Collect it and grade it. The pop quiz and seminar questions are attached.
2. If your class membership is 20 or less, all students can participate in the inner circle. However, if you have more than 20 students in your class, you will have to assign some students to the outer circle.

Assessment

Assessment will be two fold. The outer circle students will be evaluated on their response to the Outer Circle handout that they used during the seminar.The inner circle will be evaluated by the teacher with the expectation of four quality responses for an A, three quality responses for a B, and two quality responses for a C. Teacher will document this during seminar with a roster of students to document number and quality of individual responses. The quality of a response is outlined in the Outer Circle Assessment handout.

Supplemental information

Comments

This activity was compressed into two forty-five minute class periods because of the availability of the computer lab for the next lessons. The students had a good time thinking about changing places. The next class was the first seminar of the year and it went very well. Students were well behaved and engaged for the seminar.

The students felt successful in the seminar. The outer circle activities focused the students on the discussion. The inner circle had a strong discussion. Students, overall, did quite well.

More flexibility in scheduling would have been helpful. With a campus of 70+ teachers sharing a lab, the scheduling was based on availability rather than best timing.

This unit was developed during and following summer institutes at William and Mary on Curriculum for High-Ability Learners and at LEARN NC for integrated curriculum using visual art through Ackland Art Museum.

This lesson plan was created in a LEARN NC workshop held in Chapel Hill. This workshop was funded by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics for the purpose of giving teachers the time, energy, and resources to create lesson plans. Using the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill was an inspiration for helping us to incorporate the elements of arts education into our series of lessons.