There is a story within the French and Indian War that is intriguing to my fourth graders. It involves the march of General Braddock and his men toward Fort Duquesne. According to one version of the story, George Washington, a volunteer fighter, was trying to persuade General Braddock not to march in rows through the woods with his army in their red coats. General Braddock was from England where facing the army in rows of battle formation was traditional and showed great courage. George Washington tried to explain that French and Indians did not fight that way but instead they hide and then attack. Because General Braddock was in charge, he made the decision to fight “British style”.  George Washington and other colonists were following behind. The British army was massacred and General Braddock lost his life and many of his men died.   (Content)

        There are woods outside my classroom with a walking trail in it. Every year the students look forward to re-enacting this battle. Some wear the red coats, others are the colonists, and others are the French and Indians. We re-enact it a couple times so everyone gets to try out each role. (Creative activity)

        As a class we talk about the conflict (standard, 8.1.1.B, 8.2.k.A,8.2.1.D,8.2.3.D)) between General Braddock and George Washington, we talk about those who are in positions of authority over us. (Moms, dads, policemen, teachers president, etc.)(DOK-1) We talk about the purpose of their authority (protect, guide, instruct, help) (DOK-2). Then, we talk about the fact that they can make mistakes, or even bad decisions. We give examples: the teacher misspells a word on the board, mom scolds her child but she did not have all the correct information, even government decisions etc. (DOK-3).  We discuss what is our role to voice our opinion or our objection about their decision. Respect is emphasized here. We end with students creating hypothetical scenarios and having the class suggest solutions. (DOK-4)

Domain 1a,1b, 2a,2b,,3a,3b,3c,3e.