Procedures

• Set Up

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  Resource: Jigsaw (Google Slides).

  By making a copy of each resource, you can adjust the instructions to meet the needs of your class and provide that copy to your students. Your students can also make a copy and complete the assignments digitally in the spaces provided.

• Warm Up and Introduction

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students: "Who were the three most important military leaders of the American Revolution? Why did you choose these three individuals?" Have students record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  Play this introductory video clip (3:28) for your students. Direct your students to answer the following questions on their graphic organizer:

  1.) Describe the life of Marquis de Lafayette prior to coming to America.

  2.) Why did Lafayette want to fight in the American Revolution?

  3.)What ideas were a part of this Age of Reason that Lafayette describes?

• Vocabulary

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define/describe the vocabulary terms that will appear in the jigsaw activity in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this lesson page. As the lesson covers an expanse of American and French history, the vocabulary list is lengthy. If time allows, we recommend having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one-to-two words. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

• Jigsaw

  Direct students to their jigsaw activities and indicate that they can self-select (or the teacher can assign) three topics of study. The topics and related video clips included in the jigsaw can be found below.

  After viewing the videos and answering the questions for two individuals, students should respond to the Jigsaw Reflection prompts on their graphic organizer:

  1.) What topics did you learn about?

  2.) What is one key takeaway from each section you studied?

  3.) What is one question you have from each section you studied?

  When all students are finished, the teacher should direct students to share their findings with the class. While students share their findings, all students should record the responses for each individual.

• List of Jigsaw Clips

  • Early Life: Clip 2 (2:52), Mike Duncan talked about the Marquis de Lafayette and his childhood and early life. The Strand Book Store hosted this online program.

  • First Experiences in America: Clip 3 (5:33), Author and historian Marc Leepson talked about the history of the Marquis de Lafayette and the impact of his leadership on the American fight for independence. In 1777, at the age of twenty, the Marquis de Lafayette traveled from France to the colonies to volunteer his services with George Washington’s Continental Army.

  • Lafayette and George Washington: Clip 4 (5:43), Mike Duncan and Alexis Coe talked about the Marquis de Lafayette and his comparison to George Washington.

  • American Revolution: Clip 5 (5:35), A discussion was held about the Marquis de Lafayette between David Clary, author of Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution, Harlow Giles Unger, author of Lafayette and The Unexpected George Washington: His Private Life, and Thomas Fleming, author of Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge.

  • Lafayette and Money: Clip 6 (2:45), Laura Auricchio talked about her book, The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered, in which she recalls the life of Marquis de Lafayette, a French-born military leader who fought in the American Revolution under the tutelage of George Washington.

  • French Revolution: Clip 7 (5:51), Colonial Williamsburg’s Mark Schneider, portraying Marquis de Lafayette talked about the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille in 1789 from Lafayette's perspective. He also discussed with Monticello’s Bill Barker, portraying Thomas Jefferson, about the history of the Estates General.

  • Leadership After the Bastille: Clip 8 (6:55), Author and historian Marc Leepson talked about the history of the Marquis de Lafayette and his life after the Storming of the Bastille.

  • Return to the United States: Clip 9 (5:43), Heidi Campbell-Shoaf, chief curator of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, discusses Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for America in the Revolutionary War, and his return visit to America during the 1820's.

  • Legacy: Clip 10 (3:46), Author and historian Marc Leepson talked about the history of the Marquis de Lafayette and the impact of his leadership on the American fight for independence. Mr. Leepson also responded to questions from members of the audience.

• Closure

  After all students are finished presenting their sections of the Jigsaw, direct your students to their graphic organizers to complete two final tasks.

  First, have students respond to three questions immediately after listening to their classmates’ findings for their jigsaw sections:

  1.) What are five things you learned from your classmates’ findings?

  2.) What similarities or differences did your classmates' sections have from your sections?

  3.) Were any of your questions answered and/or do you have any new questions?

• Final Reflection

  Finally, have your students respond to a culminating reflective thought as an exit ticket: What impact did The Marquis de Lafayette have on America and in France?