Students learn how religious and moral ideas during the early 1800s inspired Americans to address social problems. They discover how reformers worked to improve education, prisons, temperance, and care for people with disabilities, transforming American society.
Students view an illustration of an early 1800s public school and read introductory text about how different social needs and values shape a fair and successful society. They respond to a poll selecting which priority (such as education, public health, economic security, equal rights, or care for the sick) they think matters most for building a fair society. Students then read an overview of the experience and the learning objectives, focusing on how religious beliefs and concerns about fairness and opportunity led to reforms in education, prisons, temperance, and care for people with disabilities.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the experience by summarizing how students will explore social reform movements and reviewing key vocabulary. Preview that students will later work in small groups on a jigsaw about different reform movements, and consider pre-teaching the term “temperance.” After the poll, lead a discussion about patterns in student responses, prompting them to explain their reasoning and connect their priorities to broader concerns about fairness, morality, and community improvement during the First Age of Reform. Encourage students to listen to and build on one another’s ideas, then review the lesson objectives before moving on.
Students examine an image of a camp meeting and read background text connecting the First and Second Great Awakenings. They read The Second Great Awakening in the United States and watch The Second Great Awakening to identify key ideas about the movement’s beliefs, practices, and social impact. Using what they learned, students answer multiple-choice questions about the causes of the Second Great Awakening, characteristics of camp meetings, the message of Methodist and Baptist preachers, and the movement’s effects on American communities and reform efforts.
Teacher MovesFrame the scene by explaining that students are exploring how renewed religious interest reshaped ideas about personal responsibility and community life. After students complete the questions, facilitate a discussion about the problems religious leaders believed existed in American society and the solutions they offered through revivals and preaching. Emphasize how emotional sermons and camp meetings encouraged personal renewal and community improvement. Help students connect the Second Great Awakening to the rise of reform movements such as temperance, abolition, and education, highlighting how the movement’s focus on moral improvement and responsibility contributed to the First Age of Reform. Organize students into small groups before moving to the next scene.
Working in small groups, students are assigned one reform area—temperance, public education, prison reform, or care for people with disabilities. They read their assigned section of Social Reform Movements During the First Age of Reform and use a graphic organizer to record the causes and motivations, key characteristics, and effects of their movement. Groups then present their findings to the class. As they listen to each presentation, students discuss the most important details with their group and complete a second graphic organizer summarizing each reform movement. Finally, students respond to a discussion wall prompt explaining how new ideas about society in the 1800s led to social reform and change in American society.
Teacher MovesAssign each group a different section of the reading so all four reform movements are represented, allowing multiple groups per movement if needed. Monitor group reading and completion of the first graphic organizer, then facilitate a structured share-out in which groups present the problems reformers addressed, the causes of each movement, and the solutions and examples they proposed. After each presentation, prompt non-presenting groups to summarize what they heard and record it in their organizers, while presenting groups note that it was their focus movement. Listen for key ideas in each movement (such as temperance pledges and rallies, tax-supported public schools, improved prison conditions, and more humane care for people with disabilities) and highlight them for the class. Once all movements are shared, lead a whole-class discussion about patterns and shared goals across the reforms, encouraging students to use evidence from the presentations and readings. As students post to the discussion wall, prompt them to support their ideas with specific examples, explore connections among movements, and consider how some reformers’ actions relate to civil disobedience.
Students revisit their ideas from the Explain scene by writing a paragraph that extends their response to the question of how new ideas about society in the 1800s led to social reform and change. In their paragraph, they state a clear claim, include at least two pieces of evidence from sources used in the experience, and explain how each piece of evidence supports their claim. They post their paragraph to a shared wall for others to view.
Teacher MovesExplain that this optional extension helps students turn their thinking into a stronger historical argument by clearly linking claims, evidence, and reasoning. Check in with students about what a claim is and guide them to restate their discussion-wall answer as a claim supported by a “because.” Help them select relevant evidence from the sources and articulate reasoning that connects each piece of evidence to their claim. Offer sentence stems as needed to scaffold writing. After students complete their paragraphs, facilitate a brief peer review in which partners look for a clear claim, accurate evidence from reform movements, and reasoning that explains how the evidence supports the claim. Provide time for revision before students finalize their responses.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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