Lesson Purpose
A lesson that asks students to examine document-based evidence related to George Washington and slavery. Students are asked to use evidence to write an essay that answers the essential question: What were George Washington’s views on slavery?
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Lesson Objectives:
- Students will analyze documents that present multiple perspectives on a central issue, specifically public vs. private perspective and change over time.
- Students will understand the societal, cultural, and economic conditions of 18th century American life that sustained the institution of slavery.
- Students will explore the relationship between George Washington and his slaves.
- Students will collaborate on a project that does not have a definitive final answer and will have to come to consensus or explain the reason for disagreement.
- As a group, students will create a thesis statement and evidence that answers the essential question: What were George Washington’s views on slavery?
- As individuals, students will write an essay based on the conclusions of their group.
Related Standards:
- Revolution and the New Nation
- Colonization and Settlement
- Writing an argumentative essay
- Reading Standards in Technical Subjects
- Reading and Writing Literacy in History/Social Studies
- Reading Informational Texts
- Use questions generated about an individual to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by historical context.
- Evaluating Sources
- Reading for Perspective
- Speaking and Listening
- Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past.
- Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific inquiry.
- Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources into a reasoned argument about the past.
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