Perspectives on Westward Expansion

SOLD! Thomas Jefferson just pulled off the real estate deal of the century, purchasing the entire Louisiana territory for a song while nearly doubling the size of the United States in the blink of an eye. America would acquire 830,000 square miles of land containing forests, farmland and an abundance of valuable resources for $15M (equivalent to approximately 3 cents per acre). In addition, America would now have vital access to the Gulf of Mexico, offering open and free commerce for goods traveling via the Mississippi River. Look out, world. America is about to become a continental power.

While the deal would be considered one of Jefferson's most notable achievements as President, it would have equally powerful, yet much less desirable cultural and social consequences for others - particularly, Native Americans, not to mention the Spanish, French and enslaved Africans who had also been living in that same territory at the time of the acquisition. In what ways did the deal affect EVERYONE involved?

Learners began researching and analyzing the impact this deal would have on varying groups of people - from its strongest supporters to its fiercest opposition. They then viewed this issue from the perspective of either a European American (federalist or democratic-republican), Native American, Spanish settler, French settler or enslaved African living in the territory in April of 1803 (just months before the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was ratified). What reasons would they have to support or oppose the deal? How would they show their support for the ratification of the treaty or will they try to convince France to withdraw their offer to sell the territory? Learners are in the process of creating public service announcement campaigns (PSAs) to inform the public about the issue from their perspective, offer a possible solution and request a call to action. The PSAs are being created in a variety of media formats (flyers, pamphlets, videos, etc.), as they learn about the powerful impact PSAs can have on influencing people's ideas and beliefs about important issues happening in the world around them. Couple that with social media and you're looking at future influencers capable of reaching all pockets of the globe and (ideally) becoming ambassadors for good. Stay tuned for more on this. We're using the skills and competencies we develop from this project as a springboard for a future PBL that connects our previous Atlantic Slave Trade unit with our upcoming Civil Rights unit. 

Empowered Thinkers

Learners have spent the last couple of weeks taking a deep dive into the one-term presidency of John Adams, the tumultuous presidential election of 1800 and the personal and political life of Thomas Jefferson and his attempts to unite a nation. Did these two presidents follow the advice of George Washington? What impact did these men have on the new republic in those formative years and the years to follow?

We can learn a lot about the beliefs and values of other people by listening to the words they say and paying close attention to their actions. What can be said about someone who acts in a way that is inconsistent with, or even the opposite of, their stated beliefs?  Learners examined a variety of primary source documents containing statements made by Founding Father and third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson, and investigated his actions to determine if he lived up to his word. Careful consideration was taken not to lead their thinking or offer any preconceived notions (my job is to teach children how to think, not what to think). This exercise was simply meant to offer students an opportunity to further develop their critical thinking skills and offer them opportunities to analyze and evaluate information so that they are able to make their own informed judgments about their research - one of the most important literacy skills we can develop in learners. The conversations during the Gallery Walk were certainly worth listening to. In hindsight, I should have recorded some of their exchanges. They were that good. They were most thoughtful in their evaluations and were careful to hone in on the evidence that would support their conclusions. Their discussions were less about opinion and more about facts - they were modeling for one another the type of thinking that happens when one feels empowered to choose their own thoughts about the information they are receiving. While students came to different conclusions about Jefferson's beliefs and values, each had solid evidence to support their thinking.

The BIG questions: What do we do with this information? How does this help us as learners? 

Learner Reflection: 

• I feel like I can decide for myself about how I think about information. I don't have to let someone else tell me how to think about what I read.

• This was challenging, but not frustrating. I was able to make sense of all of the information and decide for myself what it meant.

• This was kind of hard, but I did learn two new things: 1) that Thomas Jefferson's actions didn't always match up with his words and 2) that I can look at information and decide for myself what it all means.

• I feel smarter now that I can look at information and decide what it means. I'm a good bias detective and know that someone else's opinions and beliefs don't have to be my own opinions and beliefs.

This is what twenty-first-century literacy looks like.