Some of the challenges I think I would face as an instructor is to have the kids be motivated to want to do this type of lesson where they must write the dialogue. I have some concerns that some students wouldn’t take the assignment seriously. My other concern would be if I was to pair up a diverse group of students what roles they would play, and if “joking” racism would occur because of these pairs. (I put the word joking in quotations because I firmly believe it should never be joked about but kids at certain age levels still do make jokes at one another and themselves). I think that this lesson plan would have to be done at the high school level, maybe it could be done at the second half of their 8^th grade year, but I think to have the kids understand how to make this an appropriate and informative lesson a lot of rules and expectations would have to be set in place before the lesson is even started. My concern is that parents would think this assignment is racist or targeting the children of color in my classroom, attempting to ostracize them. 

·      Students were broken into five different groups: 

·      The students in each group would receive a handout that describes what each group is going through and what their thoughts are. As a group, they would discuss their ideas and questions that they would present at the Congressional Hearing. Some of the questions were; do you support the Indian Removal Bill? What questions do you have for members of the other groups that will be in attendance? What will you do if Congress passes this bill? What will you do if Congress does not pass this bill? 

 

A challenge that I could see about teaching this lesson would be making sure the students don’t take the role-playing too far or make any inappropriate or offensive comments. Another challenge would be if this lesson is “too much” for the school district. I think history is history and it shouldn’t be sugarcoated, but now some schools are limiting what teachers are allowed to teach in history. So, this would be a challenge for many other lessons as well. Lastly, another challenge would be if the parents would be comfortable with this being taught in the way that it is. 

 

The lesson in itself requires strong student engagement. They are encouraged to create their own interior monologues and detailed persona. By role playing and creating their character, students will gain a deeper understanding of their assigned group than they would by solely reading an article on the topic. They will also learn more about those involved in the Indian Removal Law by taking part in the teaching/negotiating/alliance building session and listening to the other sides during the discussion. Dialogue between students and groups is highly encouraged. 

This lesson is developmentally appropriate. High school students should have some understanding of US history. They should be able to successfully role play and have deep conversations regarding this topic. History should be understood from different perspectives and should not be sugar-coated. 

One challenge regarding this lesson plan is possible backfire from parents. They may not appreciate that their children are learning more about this part of history. Some parents may feel that it is not necessary for their children to learn about this topic or that they are not ready to hear about it. Others may be displeased that it paints their own country, state, or family history in a negative light. It also may be challenging to keep all students engaged. Some students may learn better by working independently while others would thrive in this situation. However, this challenge may be corrected by offering additional opportunities for students to write down their thoughts and taking time to digest this information independently before joining the group. 

I think that this lesson would work well for high school students as it will help their critical thinking skills and to put what they’re learning into a real-life dialogue. This lesson would work well for students who enjoy creative assignments such as writing a dialogue or creating scenarios/scenes but might be a challenge for students who like to work independently.  Another challenge could be backlash from parents’ who are not comfortable with the way this lesson is taught, for example thinking students might create dialogue that could be negative towards students of color in the classroom. 

 

An issue I see in this lesson is ensuring that the students do not take this role playing too far, or, on the other hand, that the students do not try. To make this lesson work, you'll need all of the students to participate and be fully devoted to it, but you'll also need to ensure that they're still respectful of one another. I can see parents becoming a challenge, if they do not want their children do not want to participate in something like this, It can become a bigger issue. 

As for possible challenges, I would have some concerns about students being appropriate while role playing, and ensuring that they are operating from factual information and not taking it too far. The opposite could also happen, with students minimally interested in the role playing, and not participating enough to really delve into the learning. I also would worry that individual biases may come up, or students may not be cognitively and emotionally prepared to participate in the activity - or that their parents would not approve of it. There can be large gaps in many high school classrooms with emotional and intellectual maturity levels and it definitely could be a challenge to ensure the activity was appropriate for everyone.