An Incident in Boston – March 5, 1770

In this activity students are asked, as jurors, to decide whether the historical evidence supports a verdict of murder or self-defense in the trial of British soldiers involved in the “Boston Massacre.”

word Version | pdf version
Answer Key
word Version | pdf version

Question:
Was the creation of the U.S. Constitution good for the people of the United States?

In this activity students work with primary and secondary source documents to develop an answer to a question debated during the period between the Constitutional Convention and the ratification votes.  It is designed to help students understand some of the key issues and dilemmas facing the nation at that time.

word Version | pdf version

The Federalist – Anti-Federalist Debate over Ratification of the Constitution

In this activity students work with primary and secondary source documents to develop an answer to a question that asks to them to consider the quality of the arguments made by Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the adoption of the United States Constitution.

word Version | pdf version

word Version | pdf version

Question:
Was Nat Turner’s Revolt a Success?

In this activity students work with primary and secondary source documents to consider whether Nat Turner’s Revolt was a success.  The activity culminates in a writing assignment that asks students read and revise, using the source documents, a textbook account of this significant historical event.

word Version | pdf version

Question:
Is John Brown an American Hero? updated 04/10

This set of lessons is asks students to consider and develop criteria for what makes an American hero. Using that criteria and historical sources they then decide whether John Brown should be considered an American hero.

To provide teachers the opportunity to modify the materials for their classroom context, two different versions of the assessment have been produced. A scaffolded version includes the question, source documents, and a set of reading, writing, and thinking activities to support student success in responding to the question. The clean version is modeled after the high school assessment, including only the question and source materials.

Addittional Resources - websites and readings

Assessment implementation memo word Version Note to teachers with testing window, scoring date, and implementation guidelines

John Brown Assessment - Clean Version word Version This version of the assessment includes only the question and source documents

John Brown Assessment, Spring, 2010 word Version This version of the assessment includes the question, source documents, and a series of reading, writing, and thinking activities designed to support student understanding of the issues raised by the question and student success in writing the essay.

Giving the assessment word Version
Giving the assessment - a step by step guide

John Brown Assessment 2010 - Answer Key word Version Possible answer key

John Brown Assessment - Hook Activity word Version This activity is designed to get students thinking about some of the key issues the will be grappling with as they develop their response to the assessment question - "What qualities define an American Hero?" It is included in the assessment packet, but may be used with clean version.

John Brown Slide Presentation - Overview and Historical Background Powerpoint file
This slide presentation is designed to provide students an introduction John Brown and the historical context in which he lived and acted

Working With the Slide Presentation - A Student Guide word Version
Student guide to slide presentation - this guide ask students to respond to a variety of questions connected to the assessment topic as they view the presentation

Point of View Study Guide - Working with the Textbook word Version This activity is connected to the 8th grade history textbook and is designed to help students gather additional background information for developing a thoughtful response to the assessment question. It asks students to interpret how individuals and groups mentioned in the book might view or respond to a specific historic event or individual.

Guided Essay Template word Version
This essay template, modeled after work from the DBQ Project, is designed to orovide a structured support for students as they develop their responses to the assesssment question