This unit plan is for a 9th grade U.S. History class made up of 20 students from various backgrounds. On Monday, the class will examine American imperialism and the acquisition of the Panama Canal. Students will develop critical thinking by considering whether the acquisition was legitimate or an exercise of power. Various media will be used, including a video on why the canal was built and blogs discussing its construction and debates over acquiring rights. To review, students will write a half-page blog on the factual details of how the U.S. acquired the canal and a page and a half expressing their view on whether it was legitimate or an abuse of power, citing sources.

1. Unit Plan Final
Monday ASSURE:
This class is a 9th grade U.S. History class made up of 20 students. In this class
there are 12 boys and 8 girls. 15 of these students are from the United States,
while 3 are from Mexico, and 2 foreign exchange students from Germany.
This is a very creative class, which prefers not to be stifled by close-ended
questions. Instead they enjoy being able to interact and give their own
opinions.
The objective for this day is to look at some of the events that have taken
place involving American Imperialism. Specifically looking at the Panama
Canal acquisition. Students will be able to develop critical thinking skills by
examining whether the acquisition was a true arrangement, or one that has
just been upheld due to power.
Various forms of media will be used to deliver this material to the students.
The class will get to watch a video on why and how the Panama Canal was
built. Students will also access a few blogs talking about some of the struggles
that occurred as well as the process of acquiring the rights to the canal.The
students will also have access to the textbook and teacher prepared slides to
reference, but these will not be mainstream usages in class.
The pieces of equipment that will be used for this day will be laptops, cell
phones, a projector, and sound system.
In order to review the material at the end, students will create their own blog
discussing how they feel about the process in which the Panama Canal was
acquired. The will need to start with the factual information of how the
United States acquired it, and then produce their feelings about this. This
blog should be a half page of facts (the process of) and then a page and a half
of whether they believe this was a legitimate purchase or one held up due to
power. Students may use the blogs, video, teacher slides, or textbook to draw
their conclusions. If referenced though, students must say where they got the
information.
Students will be expected to have 100% accuracy on the factual information
due to the available sources. The students will also be expected to have 100%
on the length of the blog. As far as their opinion on the purchase, that will be
graded on the information in which their conclusion comes from.