Problem-Based Learning units for Grade 8 U.S. history to 1877. Each unit moves students from building knowledge (surface) to organizing it (deep) to solving a real, ill-structured problem as a stakeholder (transfer).
Vocabulary, key facts, jigsaw reading, map & data work.
Competing-interests concept map, primary sources, points of view, argument.
Meet the problem, take a delegate role, investigate, propose a framework, debrief.
The summer of 1787. The government is failing under the Articles of Confederation, and delegates gather in Philadelphia. Students become delegates and work the question of what framework — and what compromises — could hold the union together. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → US History · §113.20It is 1845, and "Manifest Destiny" is in the air. Expanding west means annexing Texas, risking war with Mexico, moving onto Native and Mexican homelands, and reopening the fight over slavery. Students become stakeholders and work the question of how far — and how — the nation should expand. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → US History · §113.20It is 1848. Abolitionists want to end slavery, women demand rights and the vote (Seneca Falls meets this year), and others push for temperance, schools, and prison reform. Change is urgent but the nation is divided, and reformers disagree over goals and tactics. Students become reformers and work the question of which cause to take up — and how to change the nation. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit →| TEKS SE | What students do |
|---|---|
| (c)(3) | Explain the foundations of representative government in the United States. |
| (c)(4) | Analyze the political and economic issues of the revolutionary and constitutional eras. |
| (c)(5) | Explain the challenges the young nation faced under the Articles of Confederation. |
| (c)(15)(A–B) | Identify the American beliefs and principles in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution — limited government, republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights. |
| (c)(16) | Explain the purpose of and process for amending the U.S. Constitution. |
| (c)(21) | Explain the importance of consensus and of different points of view in a democratic society. |
| (c)(29)(A–H) | Analyze primary and secondary sources; identify points of view, bias, and frames of reference; develop and support a claim with evidence. |
| (c)(31)(B) | Use the problem-solving process: identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, weigh advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate its effectiveness. |
🧑🏫 Teacher supports: UDL · ELPS · PBL facilitation guide · Activity → TEKS correlation