Learning Goals
Students will be able to analyze Depression-era government policies and explain how they affected ordinary people's rights, security, and daily life.
Students will be able to evaluate primary-source propaganda and policy artifacts for credibility, purpose, and perspective.
Students will be able to compare totalitarian tactics in Germany and the Soviet Union and explain how they consolidated power.
Students will be able to interpret excerpts from The Hunger Games, Darkness at Noon, and Brave New World to infer how surveillance, propaganda, and control shape freedom.
Students will be able to construct a CER argument explaining when government action protects people and when it begins to threaten rights and freedoms.
Students will be able to rebut counterclaims by using corroborated evidence from historical sources and novel excerpts.
Students will be able to defend a case study position in a public showcase using citations, explicit warrants, and peer-question responses.
Products
Historical Argument Essay with Annotated Evidence Log
Each student writes a personal response essay arguing when government action protects people and when it threatens rights, supported by an annotated evidence log from historical sources and novel excerpts. The essay must include source credibility notes, explicit reasoning, and a counterargument with rebuttal.
History on Trial Case Study Defense Presentation and Podcast
Teams present a public defense of one crisis-era case study and publish a short podcast explaining the moral dilemma, strongest evidence, and competing interpretations. The presentation depends on each member’s individual research and includes authentic audience questioning plus a synthesis of where the evidence is strongest.
No rubric has been generated yet.