Goals & Objectives
Students will learn about the concept of a separation of Church and State. Students will identify, understand, and deliberate the main concepts and arguments on how to incorporate religious freedom and separation of Church and State by examining the critical-thinking questions.
California State Content and Common Core Standards
11.3.5 Describe the principles of religious liberty found in the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment, including the debate on the issue of separation of church and state.
RH. 11-12.6
Evaluate the authors' differing points of view on the same historical events or issue by assessing the authors claims, reasoning, and evidence.
RH. 11-12.6
Evaluate the authors' differing points of view on the same historical events or issue by assessing the authors claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Lesson Introduction
The teacher will handout then read a quote from Thomas Jefferson on the separation of Church and State. The Teacher will explain the fundamental meaning of the quote to prepare the students for the pair talk group exercise.
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other
for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other
for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
Vocabulary
The students will address the main vocabulary in the student engagement and content delivery. The students will explore the
vocabulary through the pair talk activity.
-Religious Freedom
-Separation of Church and State
-Pluralism
-State established-religion
vocabulary through the pair talk activity.
-Religious Freedom
-Separation of Church and State
-Pluralism
-State established-religion
Content Delivery
The bulk of the lesson content will be a pair talk activity on the primary document handout. Before the activity, the teacher will lead a brief discussion on the separation of Church and State and primary document handouts. The teacher will engage the students and the students will respond to the documents and questions. The teacher will lead a discussion on the balance between religious freedom and separation of Church and State. The teacher will use the critical-thinking questions as a prompt for student reflection and responses.
Student Engagement
The teacher will facilitate a pair talk exercise to engage the students in critical-thinking. The teacher will split the students into groups of two. The teacher will then have the students discuss and deliberate the primary documents and critical-thinking questions. During the discussions, the teacher will move around the room checking for comprehension, asking questions, and keeping students on task.
The teacher will then direct the pair groups to join the group to their left and form groups of four. The teacher will then direct the students to discuss and deliberate with the new group what they concluded about the concepts in the handouts.
The teacher will then direct the pair groups to join the group to their left and form groups of four. The teacher will then direct the students to discuss and deliberate with the new group what they concluded about the concepts in the handouts.
Lesson Closure
The teacher will direct students to break from their groups and return to their individual seats. Having discussed the critical-thinking questions in groups the teacher will direct students to answer the questions in their own words and their individual understanding of the concept of separation of Church and State.
Assessment
Formative- The teacher will assess the student’s critical-thinking skills and help direct the discussion if necessary during the
pair talk group discussions.
Summative- The teacher will assess the students individual critical-thinking question responses to check for their knowledge
comprehension of the lesson concepts and content.
pair talk group discussions.
Summative- The teacher will assess the students individual critical-thinking question responses to check for their knowledge
comprehension of the lesson concepts and content.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers, and Students With Special Needs
The teacher will support comprehension for English Learners, Striving Readers, and Students with Special Needs with additional content materials. The teacher will provide copies of the critical-thinking handout with further elaboration on the questions (not full answers). The English Learners will be placed with native speakers and if possible classmates of varying proficiency to broaden exposure and participation.