Instruction and Management Plan

The Enlightenment and French Revolution unit has a total of ten lessons. This was not the
original intention, but the discussion that was the hook for the enlightenment unit turned into its
own lesson.
1. The problems the Enlightenment thinkers addressed
2. The Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas
3. Applying enlightenment thinker's ideas to Fossil Ridge High School
4. The causes of the French Revolution
5. What is the Third Estate?
6. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
7. The death of the King
8. The Reign of Terror
9. The rise and Fall of Napoleon
10. French revolution Timeline/Review
The enlightenment is the philosophical and ideological underpinning of the French
Revolution (as well as the American Revolution). As such, it is foundational and predates, so it
was covered first. The enlightenment lessons fit together in that they began by having the
students consider the types of questions that the enlightenment thinkers considered. For example,
is man naturally selfish or moral? What is government and what should it do? Are people
naturally cooperative? After students wrote answers to and discussed these questions, they then
looked at the enlightenment philosophers themselves, and compared the thinkers to their own
class and discussion. Finally, Students applied what they had learned about the thinkers to their
own school.
As for the French Revolution, the lessons follow the events chronologically, but also
trace the movement of the revolution from the causes, to the moderate phase, including
connecting the rights of man and citizen to the enlightenment, and then to the radical phases of
the revolution. This is followed by a look at Napoleon, specifically seeing how he ends and
continues the revolution, by returning to an autocratic political arrangement, but one that
enforces some enlightenment ideas. Thus the unit is coherent not only due to chronological
accuracy, but also as a progression from thought through the stages of the revolution and how
they differ, culminating in a review and sequencing with the timeline.

The unit integrates literacy, numeracy, technology and 21st century skills. In terms of
literacy, the unit includes primary and secondary sources, both provided by the instructor and
discovered through student research. Students read these documents with the intention of
discovering the conclusions reached and the points of view expressed. Students worked to write
and speak clearly and coherently using Standard English.
Students utilized numeracy in the unit as they analyzed the third estate by numbers as
well as taxation. Students also created a timeline, which required them to place the events of the
enlightenment and the French revolution into a coherent and quantified sequence.
Technology was used extensively in this unit. Students researched using computers and
created presentations about enlightenment thinkers using Google slides. Students also used
Google docs collaboratively to read and analyze primary and secondary sources on the Reign of
Terror. Students utilized a program that employed a spreadsheet to create their timelines.
Students used Piktochart (a website) to create headlines about Napoleon. Thus technology was
utilized extensively in this unit.
The unit also worked to incorporate and teach 21st century skills. Students worked
collaboratively on a number of assignments for the purpose of improving collaborative skills.
Students utilized technology to research, with sourcing as a particular concern. Students also
used a variety of technologies for the purpose improving skills with different websites and
technologies depending on the purpose. Students were tasked with analysis and judgment in a
variety of ways, in order to instill critical thinking skills
The unit also employed a variety of instructional strategies. The first strategy was
Socratic seminar, in which students discussed the questions of the enlightenment thinkers. The
second was cooperative learning, which was utilized to research the enlightenment thinkers, to
analyze primary documents, and to create Napoleonic headlines. Another strategy used was
simulation. Students were distributed popcorn according to their estate and were taxed (or not)
depending on their estate. Discussion was used repeatedly throughout the unit. Students shared
their ideas and explained concepts to one another, as well as answering essential questions
through group discussion. Inquiry was also used, as students worked to determine whether the
Reign of Terror was justified in France during the later stages of the revolution. Finally, direct
instruction was also utilized, though sparingly. Generally direct instruction was used to give
background to the circumstances of the lesson and to explain vocabulary and concepts.