Author: Alex Pilat

Target Audience: This is particularly an abstract lesson, as it covers a wide variety of historical periods. However, its versatility makes it a Swiss-army-knife for a majority of the social studies department. Because the readings of these passages can be complex, this lesson is best suited for a group of high schoolers. Although the readings all serve a common purpose, they are spread out through history, so assimilating this lesson into one specific high school social studies course may be difficult. Specific course: dealer’s choice.

Lesson Context: This lesson takes students through different historic depictions of how authors and societies viewed a person’s ego. All of these documents are used in order to showcase the inevitable consequences of pride. Obviously, different themes can be traces within the lines of these stories, but their respective authors successfully highlight the inevitable outcomes of pride, boasting, and excessive self-esteem.

Historical Readings:

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• What claims does the narrator make about Ozymandias?
• How does the author want the reader to feel about Ozymandias’s claims of glory?
• What is the lesson hidden within the poem, specifically to the audience of the 1970s?

Icarus and Daedalus

• What is the hidden message within the story of Icarus?
• Assuming this story is passed by word-of-mouth, what is the intent of its performance?
• How do the lessons within this story compare to Shelley’s poem?

1 Samuel 17 note verse 1-11 & 40-54

• What does the story of David teach young Israelites from its respective time period?
• What does the story of David teach modern day Sunday school children?
• What is the story’s lesson about boasting, and how does it historically compare to the Greek Myth, and the poem of the 70s?

Teacher’s Guide: Within the multi-layer themes of three of these documents, there is a secret thread to the lessons associated with pride. Obviously, all three of these authors note the negative consequences of inevitable downfall. Although they are spread far throughout the timelines of history, their common themes are perpetual. Students should pick up on the similarities between all three stories, and connect them to one another. Each respective story warns their audience of the dangerous of pride, using its own historical period to paint a ranging variety of accounts.

Background: This is a perfect video to share with my students as we begin the year. Obviously Cornell notes are a huge part of our class, (and many other classes) and so making sure students know how to properly develop them after they are complete is crucial for their proper usage. Instead of taking the time to explain note development in class as I had done this term, I can post this video on my Google Classroom and assign it to my students before we even take a single page of notes. It’s very quick and pretty self explanatory. If students still have questions, or a difficult time understanding, they can read the hand out, or ask me directly. This video should give a quick rundown on how to develop the left hand column, and summary sections of our everyday ritual that is note taking.

Target Audience: The target audience for this lesson would ideally be a high school history class that covers European development through the Renaissance. Because of its diverse nature, if could easily slip into the context of an art, religion, and gender studies course, but by streamlining it into a purely historic lesson, we can save time and delve deeper into the topic of Renaissance marriage! This lesson would serve as a great introduction to Renaissance humanism, culture, and surprisingly, a little historic law as well.

Content: This succinct lesson will cover gender roles of the European Renaissance, particularly in Italy and Florence. I will discuss some key details about love, courtship, relationships, and marriage in the 14th-16th century. We will cover gender roles of renaissance singles, marriage expectations for those that had been wed, and a specific marriage-related court case which will give us a look into the micro-history of this gilded era.

Process: The lesson instruction will proceed as follows: The students will begin by going to the chat and writing a fact, or may something they have heard, about stereotypical renaissance relationships. Then I will read off and comment some of the things that are shared. This will serve as a great segue into a 10-15 min lecture period. Then the students will be split into two breakout groups which will represent a specific historic character discussed within the presentation. Each team will be given a link to a Google Form that will instruct them on their respective objectives. In this semi-skit, their job will be do defend their client to the best of their abilities, using the evidences and information covered in the lesson. Then we will regroup, hold the skit, and decide the verdict!

Resources: The students will not be responsible for completing any out of class readings. Upon arrival, we will begin a powerpoint, and in breakout groups, they will be given a link to a Google Form which will describe to them their group activity.

Delivery Consideration: With the use of Zoom’s break-out-room feature, and Google Forms, this lesson could easily be delivered via visual platform.

Target Audience and Setting: This lesson on love and marriage during the European Renaissance period would fit perfectly into multiple courses. Because of its diverse nature, it could be easily slipped into a history course that focuses on discusses the renaissance, a course about marriage and gender roles as they change through time, and a course on the religious reformation, as the gender roles within a 16th century family were impacted by the writings and experiences of Martin Luther.

Content: This lesson will include content on renaissance gender roles, the typical process of a legal marriage, a micro-historic case study which gives the students a first hand look at an actual renaissance relationship, Martin Luther’s new take on what it means to be married, and how his own marriage transformed gender roles within both religious and non-religious families in the post-renaissance era.

Process: The students will be given one or two readings which will give them a preview of what 14-16th century marriage would have looked like. Then they would be asked to open class with a partner/group discussion on how the renaissance relationship differs from one today. Then there would be a lecture period, interrupted by another group session where students could use a Google Slide in order to sort relationship characteristics into a Venn diagram. Finally, there would be a second lecture period after which a group/whole class discussion would take place.

Resources for Lesson: Some sources would need to be scanned and shared before class

• Francesco Barbaro, “On Marriage (1415)” in Renaissance Humanism, An Anthology of Sources, ed. Margaret L. King (United States of America: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2014)
• Marie Le Jars de Gournay, “The Equality of Men and Women (1622) in Renaissance Humanism, An Anthology of Sources, ed. Margaret L. King (United States of America: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2014)
• Phyllis Schlafly, “What’s Wrong with “Equal Rights” for Women? (1972)” Link.

Delivery Consideration: With the use of break out rooms and Google Slides, this lesson could easily be delivered via visual platform.