TAH Lesson Plan
Teacher Megan Wilson, Special Educator
Grade 8
Title The History Behind The Ransom of Mercy Carter by
Caroline B. Cooney
Subject Area(s) English, Social Studies, Art
Overview A series of pre-reading activities that will help students
understand the historical setting of “The Ransom of Mercy
Carter” by providing background information about the
French and Indian War.
Essential Students will gain an understanding of the historical
Understanding setting of the novel.
Essential Questions What are the major reasons for the war? How did the
French use Indians to fight the war? How did the colonies
fight back?
CT Standards 1.1.2 Describe the influences that contributed to
American social reform movements.
1.2.10 Analyze the connections among local, state and
national historical events (e.g., immigration, Civil War
participation, trade, manufacturing).
1.3.13 Describe examples of the U.S. influence on other
cultures and world events (e.g., trade, wars, Monroe
Doctrine).
1.12.24 Identify and analyze specific factors that
promoted growth and economic expansion in the United
States.
2.4.9 Orally present information on social studies events
or issues and support with primary and secondary evidence.
2.5.11 Present persuasive pieces on historical
questions and use appropriate visual evidence.
Objectives To gain an understanding of the historical setting of The
Ransom of Mercy Carter.
TLYL Lesson Plan, The History Behind The Ranson of Mercy Carter, Megan Wilson 1
Materials •iPad 2
•Specific Apps:
•Mail and Photos native apps on iPad 2
•WordFoto
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordfoto/id4140020
91?mt=8
•Articles
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/articles/id31706568
9?mt=8
•Pages
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?
mt=8
•Posterous
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/posterous/id394252
521?mt=8
•LifeCards http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lifecards-
postcards/id304401787?mt=8
•ComicLife http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/comic-
life/id432537882?mt=8
•Phoster
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phoster/id3963066
70?mt=8
TLYL Lesson Plan, The History Behind The Ranson of Mercy Carter, Megan Wilson 2
Day 1 Details of the Activity
Reasons for French & Indian War
•Students will access prior knowledge about why
wars occur by using the WordFoto app (students are
given an image from the French & Indian War to view
in WordFoto, they choose one to three words that
represent one reason people go to war) (10 minutes)
•Students will use the Articles app to read about the
French and Indian War and answer the following
questions in the Pages app: when did the war take
place? Who was fighting who in the war? What was
the main reason they were fighting? (15 minutes)
•Students will then pair off and compare their
answers. (5 minutes)
•Students will participate in a group discussion about
their answers. (10 minutes)
•Students will repeat the intro activity using the
WordFoto app. This time they will choose one to
three different words than they used earlier that
represent why the French and Indian War occurred.
•Students will complete complete an exit slip by
sending an email the class Posterous site with both
WordFoto images that they created, along with an
explanation about why they chose the words that
they did (using their earlier research to support
their explanation). (10 minutes)
Homework
Students will view the class Posterous website and
comment on three other students’ WordFoto images.
TLYL Lesson Plan, The History Behind The Ranson of Mercy Carter, Megan Wilson 3
Day 2 Details of the Activity
How the French Used Indians to Fight the War
•Students will access prior knowledge by using the
LifeCards app to create a postcard with yesterday’s
WordFotos images and a short message about what
they know about why the French and Indian War
happened. (15 minutes)
•Students will use this statement to create a comic
in the ComicLife app: “One of the French strategies
was to create trading stations to acquire furs from
Native Americans.” Students will create a comic that
shows their understanding of this statement and the
reaction of the Indians. Students will be encouraged
to review yesterday’s article about the French and
Indian War. (30 minutes)
•Students will make a prediction about how this
might come up in the novel The Ransom of Mercy
Carter (5 minutes)
Homework
Students will post their comic to the class Posterous
website and comment on three other students’ comics: how
does the comic represent the statement “One of the
French strategies was to create trading stations to acquire
furs from Native Americans.”
Day 3 Details of the Activity
How the Colonies Fought Back
•Students will share their favorite comic from
yesterday’s class and explain why they feel it best
represented the statement “One of the French
strategies was to create trading stations to acquire
furs from Native Americans.” (10 minutes)
•Students will create a poster using the Phoster app
to appeal to the King for permission to obtain money
and create armies to defend themselves. (25
minutes)
•Students will use the class Posterous website to
post a comment about how the colonies fought back.
(10 minutes)
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Homework
Students will post their Phoster poster to the class
Posterous website and comment on three other students’
posters: if you were the king, would the poster persuade
you?
Suggested rubric
Assessment/Evaluation screenshots of apps
postings on the class Posterous website
teacher observation
classroom discussion
Rubric see attached
Possible Students can use the iBooks app to preview The Ransom of
Extensions/Resources Mercy Carter by highlighting any unfamiliar vocabulary
words and using the iBooks dictionary to create a note with
the definition.
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