American Creed by

Learning objectives

lordaj724 — 2025-09-16 14:15:14 UTC

Students will be able to define “creed” and connect it to American Identity with 85% accuracy.

Students will be able to examine multiple perspectives on American Values with 85% accuracy.

Students will be able to compare and contrast how different groups and individuals interpret American ideals with 85% accuracy.

Students will be able to reflect on their own developing “creed” as young Americans with 85% accuracy.

lordaj724 — 2025-09-16 14:15:36 UTC

Founding Perspective: Students will discuss what equality means to them, including who was included and excluded.

Critical Perspective: How does Douglass challenge the Founders’ ideals?

Immigrant Perspective: How do immigrants expand/redefine the creed?

Contemporary Perspective: How do modern Americans interpret these values in today’s context?

Strategies/skills:

Graphic Organizer chart completion
Collaborative discussion (station group work

lordaj724 — 2025-09-16 14:16:57 UTC

8.8b The postwar United States experienced increasing immigration, debates over immigration policy, and an increase in cultural diversity.

RH6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view, stance, or purpose (e.g, rhetorical, language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts, images, visuals, etc.).

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:19:07 UTC

7 minutes

Explain task (30 seconds -1 minutes): Ask students to take out a piece of paper and explain that they will be completing a short

Quick write & Pair share (1-7 minutes): “What does it mean to be American?” After, students share with peers around them, and if time allows, class discussion

Builds background knowledge and engages students in analyzing multiple perspectives, supporting objectives with 85% accuracy

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:20:42 UTC

25 minutes
Explain task (7-8 minutes): Depending on class size, 4-5 students will be placed in a group for the four stations. At each station, students will read the excerpts provided and fill in the graphic organizer that answers the question. After about 6 minutes, students will rotate counterclockwise to the next station. (8- 33 minutes)

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:21:22 UTC

5 minutes

Exit ticket Writing (33-38 minutes): Students will reflect on the question “What does it mean to be American?” and explain if their answers have changed or stayed the same after the graphic organizer activity.

Contribution to objectives: Checks understanding; reinforces synthesis; supports objectives with 85% accuracy

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:21:53 UTC

Provide sentence starters and graphic organizers
Strategic grouping for peer support
Offer sources at varied reading levels if necessary

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:22:09 UTC

Tech fails: use printouts of graphic organizers

Lesson short: Make the exit ticket part of a class discussion

Lesson Long: Assign exit ticket as homework due next class

joroa373 — 2025-09-16 14:22:24 UTC

Finish the exit ticket, if not finished in class

Graphic Orginizer

lordaj724 — 2025-09-18 19:20:45 UTC

Overview

lordaj724 — 2025-09-18 19:26:24 UTC

This lesson for 8th grade social studies explore four sources from differing perspectives on what it means to be American. Students begin by reflecting on what it means to be American to them in an introduction activity. Next they will rotate through four stations looking at differing perspectives and answering the correlating questions. The lesson concludes with students answering the question they were given at the beginning of class about what it means to be American and if it has changed after reading the multiple perspectives from the station.

American Creed clip

lordaj724 — 2025-09-18 19:37:23 UTC

Emma Lazarus Poem

lordaj724 — 2025-09-18 19:38:23 UTC

Graphic Orginizer

lordaj724 — 2025-09-18 19:38:46 UTC