The students working in groups and as an individual will write about and debate the similarities and differences between Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel as it pertains to its origins as well as modern day America.
California Academic Standard(s)
11.2.7 - Analyze the similarities and differences between ideologies of Social Darwinism and Social Gospel.
Goal
The students will learn critical thinking skills to analyze the similarities and differences between the Social Gospel and Social Darwinism.
Time Frame
(2) 50 minute lessons (Good for Block)
Learning Styles
- Auditory
- Linguistic
- Physical
- Social
- Intrapersonal
- Logical
Anticipatory Set
The instructor will write a question on the board that states "What do you think the role of government should be in regards to its poorest citizens?" The instructor will write the answers on the board.
Direct Instruction
The instructor will briefly discuss the ideologies of Social Darwinism and Social Gospel. The instructor will tell the students that they will be working in groups of two to answer the following questions:
- What is Social Gospel?
- What is Social Darwinism?
- What are the differences of each?
- What are the similarities of each?
The instructor will provide one difference and one similarity of Social Gospel and Social Darwinism.
Guided Practice
The instructor will place the students into groups of two. The students will answer the questions about the two ideologies.
Checks for Understanding
The instructor will randomly call on students to answer the questions and write the answers on the board.
Independent Practice
The students working independently will write a paper explaining which ideology is most prevalent in today's society. The students must provide a minimum of three examples to prove their hypothesis.
Checks for Understanding
The instructor will tell the students to stand up and move to different sides of the room based on which ideology they believe is most prevalent in today's society. The instructor will call on random students from each side of the room to provide an example from their paper to demonstrate why they believe the particular ideology is prevalent today.
Direct Instruction
The instructor will summarize the lesson by discussing the similarities and differences of Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel as well as how it affects the students today.