EDUC 547

Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
Teacher: Lesson Title: Southern Plantations and Society
Alexandra
Peterson

Grade Level: 8

Subject: Social
Science

Time frame:
Four 45-minute
class periods
Goals and Student Learning Outcomes:
Goal 1: Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the features of a plantation, and the working
conditions of plantation slaves in the South.
Student Learning Outcome 1: Students will individually read and take notes on the overall working conditions of
slaves using Google Docs.
Student Learning Outcome 2: Students will discuss with three different partners how plantations were divided
between living and working spaces.

Goal 2: Students will be able to categorize the different social and economic classes found within Plantation Society.
Student Learning Outcome 1: Students will analyze the lifestyle differences and similarities of two primary source
narratives of Southern slaves using a digital archive of slave narratives.
Student Learning Outcome 3: Students will write a fictive one-page narrative of a slave his/her plantation owners’
family, identifying their places of origin, the location of the plantation, and their statuses.
Student Learning Outcome 3: Students will use the live of a real slave to create a Google Earth Pro Tour of a
Southern plantation, the families that lived there, and the nearby routes of the Underground Railroad that slaves could
have used to escape.
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Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
Content and Technology STANDARDS

Common Core Standards

CCSS English Language Arts

Grade: 8th
Content Area: English Language Arts
Strand: Writing Standards 6-12

6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and
ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a
standard format for citation.

CCSS English Language Arts

Grade: 8th
Content Area: English Language Arts
Strand: Speaking and Listening Standards 6-12

4. Present claims and findings (e.g., argument, narrative, response to literature presentations), emphasizing salient points in a
focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact,
adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. CA
a. Plan and present a narrative that: establishes a context and point of view, presents a logical sequence, uses narrative
techniques (e.g., dialogue, pacing, description, sensory language), uses a variety of transitions, and provides a conclusion
that reflects the experience. CA
5. Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add
interest.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
(See grade 8 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
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Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
CCSS English Language Arts
Grade: 8th
Content Area: English Language Arts
Strand: Language Standards 6-12

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.
b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood. d. Recognize and
correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.
b. Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission.
c. Spell correctly.

Technology Standards

ISTE.1: (Empowered Learner): Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating
competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
1 a. (Empowered Learner): Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operation, demonstrate the
ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore
emerging technologies.
ISTE 3: (Knowledge Constructor): Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge,
produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
3 a. Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual
or creative pursuits.
3 c. Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of
artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
ISTE 6: (Creative Communicator): Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes
using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
6 a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or
communication.
EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
California K-12 Social Science Content Standards

8.7.3 Examine the characteristics of white Southern society and how the physical environment influenced events and conditions
prior to the Civil War.
Materials: Digital INTELLIGENCES
• Chromebook at school with access to: • Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal,
• Internet Logical-Mathematical, Intrapersonal

• Google Drive Word Processor • Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal

• Google Earth Pro application • Logical-Mathematical, Verbal,

Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
• Screen Projector • Visual-Spatial, Kinesthetic

• Online dictionaries and encyclopedias (Merriam-Webster, Oxford, • Naturalistic

Britannica, etc.)

• Online timer from the Internet • Logical-Mathematical

• Padlet classroom page for student discussion and questions on plantation • Interpersonal, Naturalistic
definition and purpose

• Online article on Southern plantations • Verbal, Logical-Mathematical

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html

• Google Docs • Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal

• YouTube Virtual Tour of a South Carolinian Plantation • Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q_9euUyOk0

• Google Earth Pro application • Naturalistic, Visual-Spatial

EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
• Website on Cash Crops and Geographical Regions • Logical-Mathematical, Naturalistic,
Verbal
• Google or Bing search engines • Logical-Mathematical
Procedure
Day One:

(7 Minutes)
The class has finished learning about the origins of the African slave trade, and
how cash crops led to a growing demand for slaves in the South/Southern region
of North America. Students will now be introduced to plantations as unique and
powerful entities, predominately in the South.
Activity 1:
The teacher will have students get a Chromebook in order to work on defining Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, Interpersonal,
what plantations are. The teacher will set a digital timer on the teacher’s desktop Verbal
for 3 minutes. Students will work independently to use Google or Bing search
engines to define “plantation” using an online dictionary or encyclopedia.
Students will write the definitions in their own words and post their note on the
class’ Padlet (a way to make a post-it wall using a website). The teacher will
make sure to instruct students to write their first and last name on the note, so the
teacher can identify which students participated on the Padlet wall. There should
be a total of 24 post-its. The teacher will check off next to each student’s name on
the printed roster if he or she participated in the Padlet.

Once the class has posted possible definitions, the teacher will set the desktop
timer for 2 minutes. The teacher will have students turn to an elbow partner to
discuss what they think a plantation is and its purpose, based on the class’s wall
of definitions. Then, the teacher will bring the class together by counting down
from five. Spent two minutes discussing with the class how to create one
unanimous definition of a plantation, based on the answers on the Padlet page.
The teacher will then type the definition on the Padlet with the title, “Class
Definition of Plantation.”
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Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
(10-12 Minutes) Activity 2: Assignment 1: Logical-
The teacher will have students keep the Padlet page open. In another tab, have Mathematical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal
them sign in to their Google Drive account. The teacher will model for students
using the teacher’s desktop computer and the document camera how to create a
new Google Doc and title it “Antebellum Slavery Notes.” The teacher will have
students create a new Google Doc and give it the same title. Then, as the first set
of notes, the teacher will have students copy and paste the class’ definition of
plantations from the Padlet page. The teacher needs to model how to do this in
case students are still unfamiliar with copy and paste features. The teacher will
explain to students that they will be working independently to read an article on
slave plantations in the South, found at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html

Students will individually read the article found on PBS and then work with an
elbow partner to answer the following questions:

1. What was the average size of a plantation in terms of the number of slaves
who worked there?
2. What types of crops were commonly grown on plantations?
3. What were the working conditions and living conditions for slaves on
plantations?
4. How were slave women treated differently than slave men?
5. How did the Southern laws and courts keep control of slaves?
6. How did slaves use their communities and religious practices to help
survive working on a plantation?
7. If you were a slave, would you try to run away? Why or why not?

The teacher will explain to the students that they do not need to type each
question, as the questions will remain posted on the projector screen. Students
will need to number their answers to match the question number and write in
complete sentences. Students are required to type a minimum of two sentences for
each question. When students are done discussing with a partner what the answers
are and typing their answers on their own Google Doc, each student will email a
 EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
copy of his/her notes to the teacher, to confirm completion of the assignment. The
teacher will explain that students will receive credit towards their class
participation grade for completing the notes, not for the quality of notes.

The teacher will set the timer for 10 minutes. Once the timer goes off, the teacher Progress Check: Kinesthetic
will ask the class to do a check in on progress. Students will do a thumbs-up sign
if they are done with the notes and emailed them to the teacher. Students will do a
thumbs-down sign if they need additional time. The teacher will give two more
minutes to the class if students voted for more time. The teacher will set the
online timer so that students know when they are moving on to the next activity.

(14 Minutes)
Students will then go to YouTube to watch a virtual tour of a South Carolinian Activity 3: Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial,
plantation called Boone Hall Plantation. Intrapersonal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q_9euUyOk0

Students will watch the 11-minute tour on their Chromebooks, focusing on what
the environment is like at a plantation, its features, and what it would be like to
live there. When the class is done, students will do a hand-up, stand-up, pair-up,
raising their hands and finding a student from the other side of the room to stand
and discuss two things that they learned from the video. Students will have 90
seconds to share. The teacher will set the digital timer so that students know how
long they have to discuss with their first partner. Students will then do a second
hand-up pair-up to find a partner from another side of the room. Students will
share two other things that they learned from the video. Again, the teacher will set
the timer on the desktop so that students have a signal when to stop their
discussion. After the timer goes off, the teacher will have students return to their
assigned seats.

(2 Minutes) Activity 4: Interpersonal, Visual-Spatial,

The teacher will introduce students to the main assignment of the lesson, a Naturalistic
Google Earth Pro Tour presentation that they will be working on with a partner.
Students will be given the rubric for the assignment (See Rubric Attachment).
EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson

Day Two:
(5 Minutes) Activity 1: Logical-Mathematical
Students will follow along as the teacher goes through the rubric of the Google
Earth Pro Tour presentation in detail. The teacher will explain to students that
they must work with a partner to create a one-page narrative of their imaginary
Southern plantation and a Google Earth Pro Tour that has at least four pinned
locations. Pairs will then be required to deliver a five-to-six-minute presentation.
The teacher will also inform students that they will have two days of class time to
work on the project, but any work not completed will need to be done as
homework. The teacher will then choose students at random to read each section
of the rubric, so that the entire class knows what is expected of them.
Activity 2: Visual, Kinesthetic
(8 Minutes)
Students will follow along as the teacher models how to use Google Earth Pro
Tour. Students will follow along and practice the following skills that the teacher
will instruct the class on:
1. Zooming in and out of a location, showing the view of the earth, the view
of a continent, the view of a state, and street view of a specific location
2. Creating a pin, a saved location that the presentation will go to
3. Titling a pin
4. Adding a website, typed paragraphs, images, and videos to a pin
5. Changing the order of pins (multiple locations that will be discussed)
6. How to correctly save the presentation and send it as a file via email

(15-20 Minutes) Activity 3: Assignment 2: Interpersonal,

The teacher will set the digital timer for 20 minutes. During this time students will Verbal, Logical-Mathematical, Naturalistic
choose their partner and use their Chromebooks to create a shared Google Doc,
which they will title “Google Earth Pro Tour Narrative.” Students will use their
notes from the PBS article from the class before, as well as use either Google or
Bing as a search engine to research plantations in a particular Southern state
(Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland, Texas).
Students will need to determine what crops were commonly grown in plantations
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Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
in that state, and where most slaves came from (internal slave trade in North
America, a specific region in Africa, the Caribbean). The teacher will explain that
students will need to use this information and parenthetically cite it in their
fictional historical narratives of their plantation. Students will then write a one-
page narrative in which they include the following information:

1. The location of the plantation (city, state)

2. The title of the plantation
3. The name of the owner
4. The name of the owner’s family members
5. The ages of the owner and his family members
6. The number of slaves that the plantation has
7. Where the slaves come from (a specific region in Africa, the Caribbean,
another colony/state in North America)
8. The crop or crops that the plantation grows
9. Where the crops are sold to (must choose one location in either North
America, the Caribbean, or Great Britain)
10. The different ways that buyers used the crops

Once pairs have completed their narrative, they will check in with the teacher by
showing her their rough draft. The teacher will either provide suggestions on what
to change, or tell the pair that their narrative is complete, and that they should
move on to the Google Earth Pro Tour part of the project. By the time that the
timer goes off, all partners will have checked in with the teacher as a progress
report on their narratives.

(12-15 Minutes)
The teacher will set up the digital timer for 12 minutes of the class. The teacher Activity 4: Assignment 3: Visual-Spatial,
will explain that students will work on one of the two following options: complete Kinesthetic, Naturalistic, Interpersonal
narrative rough draft, or, begin Google Earth Pro Tour. By the end of the period,
all pairs need to at least have a completed narrative rough draft. Most pairs should
have begun creating pins for the location of their plantation, the location that the
plantation slaves came from, and the location where the crops are sold to. Student
 EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
pairs that are creating pins of their three locations will need to decide what level
of zoom they will use for their presentation (Earth view, continent view,
state/colony view, street view). At the 12-minute mark, students will be asked to
pause what they are doing. The teacher will remind the class that pairs who did
not show the teacher their narrative will be required to show their progress to the
teacher. Students who are working on the presentation will continue to work on
their project for three more minutes.

(3 Minutes)
Students will save their work and shut down their Chromebooks to put away in
the Chromebook cart.

Day Three:
The teacher will inform students that the day will focus on check in activities.
Students will receive participation points for the day based on their focus, and
whether they are meeting each check point.

(10 Minutes) Activity 1: Assignment 4: Verbal,

The teacher will set the digital timer for 10 minutes for this check point activity. Interpersonal, Visual-Spatial, Logical-
The teacher will explain that after the 10 minutes that students need to show the Mathematical
teacher their progress on the project, that they have a title for their Google Earth
Pro Tour, that there are three pins, that each pin has a title that includes its subject
(plantation, slave origin, customer location) and its actual location (City, State; or,
Country, Continent). Students will work with their partners using the
Chromebooks to complete the basic components of their Google Earth Pro Tour
before focusing on the additional elements (primary source image, video, website,
etc.) that are required to be added to the tour. Students will have ten minutes to
finish creating pins for their three mandatory locations: plantation location, origin
of slave workers, location where crops are sold to. Students can ask the teacher
for help if there are technical problems. Students will receive a check next to their
name on the roster as confirmation that they are meeting the check points.
 EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
(25 Minutes) Activity 2: Assignment 5: Logical-
The teacher will set the digital timer for 25 minutes for the second check point Mathematical, Visual-Spatial, Naturalistic,
activity. Students will work with their partner to use Google or Bing as a search Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
engine in order to find the following elements that must be included in the three
pins of the tour presentation:
- 1 primary source picture. This may be of a plantation building, slave
quarters, a slave, the crop itself, etc. Must be related to the presentation
content. A citation in MLA must be included underneath the image.
- 1 video. This must be related to the plantation narrative. The video can be
of a plantation, can discuss crops, can discuss how slaves were treated,
etc. The video must have an MLA citation underneath it. The video must
also play, as part of it will be played during the presentation.
- 1 website. The URL and an MLA citation must be included. Students will
need to explain either verbally or in a text box what the website is, what
the content is, and how it helps with the audience understanding your
plantation.
- 2 textboxes in total. Students will need to have two text boxes (1 text box
per pinned location). Text box must include relevant information to the
plantation and must have complete MLA citations of any sources used at
the end of the text box.
Students are expected to work with their partners to find these elements and begin
adding them to their Google Earth Pro Tour presentation. It is up to the pairs to
decide how they are working together, if they will look for the same elements or
will divide tasks. Students are given the option to use a Google Doc to add all of
the relevant information first, or to find the information and then add it directly to
the presentation as they go along. The teacher will warn the class that they cannot
copy and paste information found online directly onto their presentations but must
write everything in their own words. During this 25 minutes, students will need to
check in with the teacher at least once to demonstrate progress, as well as receive
constructive feedback on their presentations. Students will receive a check next to
their name on the roster as confirmation that they are meeting the check point and
are progressing well.
 EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
(10 Minutes) Activity 3: Assignment 6: Logical-
The teacher will set the timer for nine minutes. During this time, students will Mathematical, Visual-Spatial, Naturalistic,
continue to work on their Google Earth Pro Tour presentations. Students are Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal
expected to finish the tour during this time. Students who finish will practice with
a partner how they will present to the class. During this time the teacher will
circulate the room to provide informal feedback on student projects, as well as
watch the practice presentations to offer constructive feedback to pairs. Students
will be told that any work that they have not finished after this time will need to
be homework, as presentations will happen during the next class. For the last
minute of class, students will return their Chromebooks to the Chromebook cart.

Day Four: Activity 1: Assignment 7: Final Project and

(45 Minutes) Presentation
Student pairs will spend 4-5 minutes to present their Google Earth Pro Tours to Logical-Mathematical, Visual-Spatial,
the class. The class has a total of ten pairs. It is estimated that the entire class will Verbal, Naturalistic, Interpersonal
present that period. The teacher will assign the order of the pairs, in order to
maximize class time for the presentations. Students will be graded according to
the rubric, and will receive their overall scores of the narrative, tour, and
presentation by the beginning of next week.

Product and Assessment Rubric

Google Earth Pro Tour Rubric
Multiple Beginning Adequate Proficient Exemplary Score/Level
Intelligence (1) (2) (3) (4)
Narrative Interpersonal, Narrative is Narrative is Narrative is Narrative
Intrapersonal, missing missing two missing one includes all
Verbal, three or of the of the of the
Naturalistic, more of the following following following
Logical- following elements: elements: elements:
Mathematical elements: Narrative Narrative one page of
one page of includes all includes all double-
double- of the of the spaced
spaced following following typed text,
typed text, elements: elements: the location
the location one page of one page of of the
of the double- double- plantation,
plantation, spaced spaced the name
EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
the name typed text, typed text, and ages of
and ages of the location the location the slave
the slave of the of the owner and
owner and plantation, plantation, his family,
his family, the name the name the location
the location and ages of and ages of that the
that the the slave the slave slaves
slaves owner and owner and originated
originated his family, his family, from, and
from, or the the location the location the location
location that that the that the that the
the crops slaves slaves crops are
are sold to. originated originated sold to.
from, or the from, or the
location that location that
the crops the crops
are sold to. are sold to.
Google Interpersonal, Google Google Google Google
Earth Pro Intrapersonal, Earth Pro Earth Pro Earth Pro Earth Pro
Tour Project Verbal, Tour project Tour project Tour project Tour project
Naturalistic, is missing is missing is missing includes all
Logical- two of the two of the one of the of the
Mathematical, following following following following
Visual-Spatial elements: elements: elements: elements:
Title, 3 Title, 3 Title, 3 Title, 3
locations locations locations locations
(plantation, (plantation, (plantation, (plantation,
slave origin, slave origin, slave origin, slave origin,
where crops where crops where crops where crops
are sold to), are sold to), are sold to), are sold to),
1 video with 1 video with 1 video with 1 video with
citation, 1 citation, 1 citation, 1 citation, 1
primary primary primary primary
source source source source
image with image with image with image with
citation, 1 citation, 1 citation, 1 citation, 1
website with website with website with website with
citation, 2 citation, 2 citation, 2 citation, 2
text boxes. text boxes. text boxes. text boxes.
Presentation Interpersonal, Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentation
Intrapersonal, is not within is not within is within the is within the
Verbal, the 4-to-5 the 4-to-5 4-to-5 4-to-5
Naturalistic, minutes minutes minutes minutes
Logical- requirement. requirement. requirement. requirement.
Mathematical, Only one Both Both Both
Visual-Spatial student students students students
speaks. speak at speak at speak at
Students least once. least twice. least twice.
zoom into Students Students Students
EDUC 547
Lesson Plan
Author: Alexandra Peterson
their three zoom into zoom into zoom into
pinned their three their three their three
locations. pinned pinned pinned
Students locations. locations. locations
miss three Students Students and discuss
or more of miss miss their
the following discussing discussing plantation
elements: two of the one of the name and
their following following location, the
plantation elements: elements: owner and
name and their their his family,
location, the plantation plantation the slaves,
owner and name and name and the origin of
his family, location, the location, the the slaves,
the slaves, owner and owner and the
the origin of his family, his family, plantation's
the slaves, the slaves, the slaves, crops,
the the origin of the origin of where the
plantation's the slaves, the slaves, crops are
crops, the the sold, and
where the plantation's plantation's what
crops are crops, crops, resources (1
sold, or where the where the primary
what crops are crops are source
resources (1 sold, or sold, or image, 1
primary what what video, 1
source resources (1 resources (1 website, 2
image, 1 primary primary text boxes)
video, 1 source source were used
website, 2 image, 1 image, 1 and
text boxes) video, 1 video, 1 included.
were used website, 2 website, 2
and text boxes) text boxes)
included. were used were used
and and
included. included.