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Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW

Resident Teacher: Mr. Bryngelson


Date of Instruction: TBD
Lesson Title: The Trial of Daniel Ellsberg_______________________________
Course Subject: Modern American Studies
Grade Levels: 10-12
Amount of Time (e.g. 45 minutes): 2 Class Periods Approx. 45 minutes each
1. SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
A. 1-3 Wyoming State Social Studies SS12.1.1 Analyze unique freedoms, rights, and responsibilities of
Standards
living in a democratic society and explain their interrelationships
SS12.1.2 Explain and/or demonstrate how to participate in the
political process and form personal opinions.
SS12.6.1 Analyze, evaluate, and/or synthesize multiple sources of
information in diverse formats and media in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
B. 1-3 National Council for the Social
Studies Thematic Standards

NCSS Standard 2: Time, Continuity and Change


NCSS Standard 4: Individual Development and Identity
NCSS Standard 6: Power Authority and Governance

C. 1-3 District/Department/School
Standards if applicable
2. LEARNING TARGETS/OBJECTIVES (Must be measurable. Bold the learning verbs.)
A. Students will be able to
Report the major issues surrounding the trial of Daniel Ellsberg
B. Students will be able to

Debate Daniel Ellsbergs justification for leaking the classified


Pentagon Papers to the public

C. Students will be able to

Judge whether or not Daniel Ellsberg should be imprisoned or set


free

3. CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS
A. Central Focus of the Lesson (1)

What is the role and reception of whistle-blowers?

B. Essential Question (1)

Was Daniel Ellsberg justified in leaking the Pentagon Papers?

C. Supporting Question (2-4)

Why were the Pentagon Papers kept from the American public?
Was US national security jeopardized by the leak?
How do we perceive whistle-blowers today (e.g. Wikileaks)?

D. Academic Language: [List


vocabulary words and any
prefixes/suffixes, academic terms]

Espionage Act of 1917


Pentagon Papers
Court procedure (opening statements, rebuttals, etc.)
RAND Corporation
White House Plumbers

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW


New York Times Co. V. The United States
E. Disciplinary Connections

Daniel Ellsberg leaked classified documents because he felt that


the public should be made aware of government injustices. Whether
or not he was justified in doing so should be left up to debate. The
trial model allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the
people involved, their motives, and the outcomes.

F. Real World Connections

Whistleblowers are in the news currently and students can see how
Daniel Ellsbergs actions might have influence those of people like
Julian Assange. Additionally, students can better form judgements
about organizations like WikiLeaks based on how leaking
documents has been used historically.

4. OPENER (How will you catch or hook students to engage them in the beginning of your lesson?)
Hook:
The warmup for the first day will be evaluating two examples of
contemporary leaked documents. We will examine some of the
leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee and about
the interment prion at Guantanamo Bay. Both case studies should
illicit a powerful response from students and get them engaged. I
will guide students through a brief discussion about the emails and
documents and hopefully leave them with a lot of unanswered
questions, so that they will be ready to engage in the trial activity.
5. INSTRUCTION (Not all parts of the lessons body may be utilized)
A. Beginning of lesson
I will ask students if they have ever heard of Daniel Ellsberg.
Assuming few if any do, I will give a brief explanation about who he
is and what role he played in publishing the Pentagon Papers.
I will ask students to think about the connections between Ellsberg
and WikiLeaks.
In order to build a stronger background for students I will show a
portion of the documentary 1971 a film about the Pentagon Papers.
We will recap some of the issues covered in the film and I will ask
for students perceptions of Ellsberg based on the film.
Because this lesson will cover two days, I will try to get all of the
background covered, introduce the trial activity and assign roles
during day 1 so that we can spend the entire next day going
through the trial.
Students will receive handouts detailing their roles and the legal
context of the case to study as homework. We will be pressed for
time, so court prep needs to be done the night before the trial.
B. Middle of lesson

Day 2 we will get the courtroom set up and launch into the trial.
US attornies will provide opening statements.
Attornies for Daniel Ellsberg will provide their opening statements.
Each side will also receive time for rebuttals.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the judges will meet in a
small group and discuss their decision.

C. End of lesson

After the judges reveal their decision we will discuss the entire

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW


process as a class. I will ask what students thought about the
decision and how their perceptions have changed throughout the
trial.
I will assign a short reflection essay about the Trial of Daniel
Ellsberg. I want to know what they learned, what they thought of the
activity, and how I could improve it.
The exit ticket for day 2 will be an anonymous verdict for the trial
(innocent or guilty). I will share the results with the class the next
day.
6. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH CONTENT (Multiple pieces of evidence of student learning)
A. Low Level Questions
Verbal checks for understanding during the 1st day so that I can
(Knowledge/Remembering and/or
gauge how well students are engaging with the content.
Comprehension/Understanding)
B. Middle Level Questions
I will ask students to draw connections between Ellsberg and
(Application/Applying and/or
WikiLeaks and to discuss the significance of whistleblowers in
Analysis/Analyzing)
contemporary America.
C. High Level Questions
(Synthesis/Evaluating and/or
Evaluation/Creating)

This will be covered by the trial activity. Students will have to


construct arguments for and against leaking classified documents
and the judges will be asked to synthesize the arguments and
render their verdict.

D. Explain how the data informs


future instruction:

The activity is interactive and gets students to engage in content


which might otherwise be boring in lecture form. The trial format
gets students to focus on in-depth analysis of the events and
requires a higher level of understanding by having them create
their own arguments.

7. ENRICHMENT/ELABORATION (Include one enrichment activity for students who might finish early)
What enrichment activities are
We will be very pressed for time, but if students finish early on day 1
offered for students in this lesson?
they will be able to start prepping for the trial, and if they finish early
on day 2 they can start working on their reflection essay.
8. LEARNING SUPPORTS (Think about accommodations inside/outside of your classroom)
What supports are used to support I will connect the content to current events, which should help
struggling learners?
students understand the controversy surrounding Daniel Ellsberg
and the Pentagon Papers. Also, the documentary can help those
whom struggle with reading, or are more visual learners.
9. BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS (Think about accommodations inside/outside of your classroom)
What supports are used to support I will consider potential behavior problems when I am organizing the
behavioral issues?
groups for the trial activity.
10. MATERIALS & RESOURCES NEEDED (Describe any handouts, readings, materials, and resources)

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW


What materials are needed to have
ready to use for this lesson?

Documents from WikiLeaks


1971 Documentary
Handouts for the trial activity
Homework Assignment (reflection essay handout)

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