tlp_11_ldedeus

=Teacher Lesson Page (Student Side) -- Luke Dedeus=

TEACHERSIDE

Lesson Plan
//Rome and Lawrence on Strike// // : The Plebeians and Bread and Roses Struggle for Equal Rights //

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework 5.27 Explain how American citizens were expected to participate in, monitor, and bring about changes in their government over time and give examples of how they continue to do so today.
 * State Standards:**

6-7
 * Grade Level:**

How did immigrants participate in bringing about change to their government?
 * Essential Question:**

• How were the respective populations of the plebeians and the Lawrence strikers similar? • What struggles and/or discrimination did immigrants in Lawrence and plebeians in Rome face? • How did plebeians and the Lawrence strikers go about changing their situation to solve their problems? • How long did it take for positive change to take effect for each of these groups? • Did the plebeians and Lawrence mill workers differ in any way regarding their approaches to forcing change?
 * Lesson Question:**

**Introduction:**
How can underrepresented groups effect change in their government? In this lesson we will look at two different groups -- plebians in the Roman Republic c. 450 BCE and immigrant strikers in Lawrence, MA in 1912 -- to see what life was life for each of them and how each group tried to get their government's attention in order to change their situation**.** To do so, we will learn about the historical circumstances of each group, learn about the political process in Rome and in the United States, see what actions each group took to change their circumstances (if any), and what the outcomes were. What do the experiences of Roman plebians and Lawrence strikers tell us about the process of political and governmental change?

Task:
You will create a letter to the editor acting either as a Roman plebeian in 450 BCE or a Lawrence mill worker in 1912. To do this, you will be given several primary and secondary source governments to help you understand the nature of each conflict and what the results were All of these will be discussed as a class. A Venn diagram portion will be performed by all students comparing and contrasting the plebeians and the mill workers. A reenactment portion will give you some insight into how the actual process of change might have been made in Rome, and, to a lesser extent, in America through the use of the democratic process. You will then learn about the results of both the plebeians' and the Lawrence mill workers' actions, and then construct your letter and demands based upon all previous activities. Through this process, you should develop an answer to the question "How can underrepresented groups effect change in their government?"

Day 1-2
You explore information on each underrepresented group (Roman plebeians and Lawrence strikers). You will break into smaller groups.

A. First, let's look at information on Roman society and Roman government.

Let's look at the life and political power of plebians. What role could plebians have in government? Was there a way for plebians to express their opinion or make change? Did plebians ever try to change their lot in life? Let's look at the following documents to discover the answer to these questions. Look at this picture of Roman residents circa 450 BCE. What can you assume about each type of person based on their appearance? What might their jobs be? Who would be part of the ruling class? What about the working class? Would all of the people in the lower classes necessarily be in Rome completely by choice? Why or why not? Could the Roman government (dominated by patricians) be taking advantage of these people in some way?

Now, read this article. // [|Background of Plebeians' Struggle for Rights] // Did your ideas prove to be true? Also, is a "secession" akin to a strike? Why?

B. Now let's look at information on about the Lawrence textile mills c. 1912 and the immigrants who lived and worked there. As immigrants, what were their political powers? What role could these immigrant workers have in government if they were citizens or if they were not? What key right in a democratic system was unavailable to non-citizens? Was there a way for them to express their opinion or make change? Did they ever try to change their lot in life?

Let's look at the following documents to discover the answer to these questions:

1. [|Struggle of the Orders] Find out in greater detail the nature of the struggle for rights in Rome.

2. This picture shows some of the nationalities of the mill workers of Lawrence, MA. Would this be the type of work that plebeians in Rome might do? Looking at all of the nationalities that are present, what can we assume one major similarity is between the plebeians and the Lawrence mill workers?

3. Now, read this article on the background on the strike in Lawrence. [|Background of the Bread and Roses Strike]

Did your assumption prove to be true?

C. Using what your learned about Roman plebeians and Lawrence strikers, create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts these two groups. What does this chart tell you about the similarities and differences between the two groups?

At the end of this lesson, you will form two groups. Each group will be assigned one position -- patrician or plebeian. A speaker/presenter will be elected by each group to serve as the patrician/plebeian representative in tomorrow's "hearing" in front of the "Senate." The group will team up to write a speech for the presenter citing the reasons for their position on the patrician/plebeian conflict. Additional creative preparations can be made here for effect--dressing as a Roman the next day, props, etc.!

Day 2 - 3
Today you will be part of a reenactment that will show how the political process worked in the Roman Republic and how the plebeians eventually became part of the Roman political process. In what ways did they manage to make their voices heard? What was the public's opinion? Did the national government respond? Did any of this hold true for the situation in Lawrence as well? The reenactment will consist of each group's speaker making a case for why the patricians or plebeians are correct in their position. The rest of the class, serving as the Senate, will vote in favor of one or the other. [This could be done by dropping "stones" into buckets, similar to the way in which voting during this era is described.]

After the vote, you will examine this primary source document:



After viewing this cartoon, what parts of the Lawrence mill workers' lives were revealed to the public? What effect could this have on how the public felt about their cause? Pay attention to the living conditions and facial expressions of the people in it. What types of feelings would it generate from a casual observer who wasn't entirely familiar with the mill workers' situation? How would they feel about the workers themselves? Would they feel pity? Something else? Would the majority of Rome's citizens have the have a similar view of the plebeians if they were shown something like this?

Day 3-4
Today, individually, you will create a list of demands in the form of an editorial letter that the plebeians or Lawrence strikers might have written explaining why these demands are necessary to make the Roman Republic a better place. Using your prior knowledge of the plebeians’ struggle for rights and your newfound knowledge of the Lawrence strikers’ actions, assume that you are a plebeian who is trying to justify his/her fight for equal rights. You will do this in the form of a 1-paragraph letter to the senate explaining yourself along with a list of 5 demands that you have. Refer to the rubric for what comprises a good letter and list of demands.

Before you write, think of the following questions and read the following document:

[|12 Tables] (Twelve Tables, the plebeians' solution/demands to their problem)


 * What sort of mindset would these people have? Think about how you would feel if you were in their situation.
 * In what ways are the plebeians or mill workers valuable to their respective socieites?
 * How can a written list of demands unite people and give attention to their cause (think of past law codes we've studied earlier in the year)?

You will then share your letter with the rest of the class as part of a display. A certain section of the room will be designated as a place to post your letters, and the rest of the class will have time to see everyone's later on.

Lawrence was obviously a far different time and place than 450 BCE Rome.. Was their solution more complicated or difficult than the plebeians' solution? (i.e. Since democracy was still fairly new during the Roman Republic, was it easier to create [this change at that time? Why? How did the strikers in Lawrence try to force change? Did they find a way to draw attention to their cause and get neutral members of the public aware of their situation and on their side?)

What have we learned about the ability of non-citizens to change their government?

**Conclusion:**
Now that you’ve seen how certain differences can cause certain types of people to be disempowered and not given a voice in their government despite all the hard work they contribute, you also can see that it is most definitely possible to make changes for the better. Although sometimes it seems that doing things such as going on strike and protesting might be counterproductive, it can still force influential people to listen to what you are saying and maybe even agree with what you are saying. Over time, we were able to see that both the plebeians and the Lawrence strikers were able to make others see their cause as being a legitimate concern that affected many people and caused changes that made both of their respective situations better.

Have we seen anything like this in the past few years in America? Were recent movements in America (such as the Tea Party and Occupy movements) similar to the Romans or the Lawrence strikers in the way that they gained awareness and support from otherwise neutral people? Is this type of action common? Does it always result in a positive gain?

Using your prior knowledge of the plebeians’ struggle for rights and your newfound knowledge of the Lawrence strikers’ actions, assume that you are a plebeian who is trying to justify his/her fight for equal rights. You will do this in the form of a 1-paragraph letter to the senate explaining yourself along with a list of 5 demands that you have. Refer to the rubric for what comprises a good letter and list of demands.
 * Assessments:**

//Alternative assessments could include something along the lines of having students create their own “twitter feed”(inspired by social networking’s role in the Tea Party and Occupy movements of the 2010s) for either the plebeians or the Lawrence strikers trying to rally public support for their causes to show how social networking might have been used in times when it didn’t yet exist//

Assessment Rubric

(20 points) || Less than 3 historically correct and reasonable demands. (12 points) || 25 points ||  ||   ||
 * Students will be able to.... || Strong || Good || Adequate || Inadequate || Weighting ||
 * Identify the social differences between patricians and plebeians, similarities between plebeians and the Lawrence strikers and what types of work plebeians were expected to do using the Venn diagram. || The student identifies all major differences between the patricians and plebeians, similarities between the plebeians and Lawrence strikers gives a strong description of what work plebeians did using the Venn diagram. – (25 points.) || The student identifies most of the differences and most of the types of work plebeians did and similarities between the plebeians and the Lawrence strikers, just stopping short of a complete answer in the Venn diagram.(22 points.) || The student identifies some of the differences and plebeian/Lawrence striker commonalities in the Venn diagram and either doesn’t identify or inadequately identifies the type of work plebeians did. (20 points.) || Incomplete or incorrect identification of most or all parts of the benchmark. (12 points.) || 25 points ||
 * Explain why the plebeian council was formed and its goals. || Student thoroughly describes in the letter to the editor why the council was formed and its goals using facts and details used in class. (25 points.) || Student describes why the council was formed and its goals but may have inadequate factual support in the letter to the editor. (22 points.) || Student describes why the council was formed and what its goals were, but may have some missing or inaccurate information in the letter to the editor. (20 points.) || Student fails to explain why the council was formed and its goals in the letter to the editor. (12 points.) || 25 points ||
 * Include reasons why the plebeians and/or Lawrence strikers are important to their respective communities || A list of 5 correct accomplishments. (25 points) || A list of four correct accomplishments. (22 points) || A list of 3 correct accomplishments. (20 points) || A list of 2 or fewer correct accomplishments (12 points). || 25 points ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * End with a list of 5 demands that the plebeians have. || 5 historically correct and reasonable demands (25 points) || 4 historically correct and reasonable demands. (22 points) || 3 historically correct and reasonable demands.


 * Resources:**

Warm-up Activity Photo Photo of differences in Roman population. This photo was taken from [])


 * A**


 * Background on Roman Plebians**

http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/histlink.html
 * to see possible resources**:

PBS -- Roman Empire in the 1st Century @http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/index.html

Roman Plebeians’ Demands and Background []

Plebeians’ Secession []

The History Guide -- Lectures on Ancient and Medieval History Lecture 11: Republican Rome 509- 31 B.C. -- see the section on "The Struggle of the Orders" (patrician v. plebian) @http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture11b.html Lecture 13: A Brief Social History of the Roman Empire @http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture13b.html


 * B**
 * Background of 1912 Bread and Roses Strike**


 * [Luke -- look at this BA Blog entry to see possible resources -- click to links embedded in the entry -- thanks! -- Cath]**

[]

Photo of Lawrence Strikers



Article Detailing Lawrence Strike Threat



Political Cartoon Showing Effects of Strike and Personal Sacrifice



Additional Resources: [] (outlines class differences between patricians and plebeians)

// Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922); // January 28th, 1912. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe (1872-1979) Pg. 9 // Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922); // January 12th, 1912. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe (1872-1979) Pg. 10
 * MANY NATIONALITIES REPRESENTED AMONG THE STRIKERS IN LAWRENCE **
 * BIG STRIKE IS THREATENING: Lawrence Mill hands Hold Meeting; Want Pay as Before 54 **

// Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922); // March 15th, 1912. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe (1872-1979) Pg. 18
 * WHAT THE END OF THE STRIKE MEANS IN HUNDREDS OF LAWRENCE HOMES **

RESEARCH
Lesson Planning 4 Primary Source Research Log -

BPL Research Day - 11/8/2011
Closeups of the 1926 Lawrence Map
 * NOTE: **According to Ronald Grim the following maps will NOT be available for digitization because they must be conserved before any high resolution scans can be made.