Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
The text is divided into chronological units. Each unit is divided into chapters that contain components critical to understanding each time period. Each component includes review and stimulus-based (primary and secondary source) multiple-choice questions. In addition, each unit has a summative essay activity. The components included in each chapter are as follows:
Inquiry Organizer
Inside the Inquiry Organizer, students will find the learning objectives for the unit and chapter, as well as any resources needed to complete assignments.
Chapter Introductory Essay
Each chapter has an introductory essay which gives an in-depth overview of significant events in a particular time period. This essay is in narrative form which helps students understand the human experience through story and assists in placing important turning points and events during that time period.
Narratives
Throughout the chapter, shorter narrative stories further an understanding of history as the connection of people and events in a timeline affected by experiences.
Decision Points
These decision points are pulled out for students to study more closely as narratives that fit into the bigger stories they’ve been reading about. Each decision point is an excellent way to help students understand actions, consequences, and a chain of events.
Point-Counterpoints
Here students will find differing sides of an argument presented by scholars. Practicing debate or written argument is an excellent way for students to prepare for AP tests and to develop their own belief systems.
Primary Sources
Look no further to fill out your curriculum with primary sources for students to study. Here students will be able to easily click on primary sources to use for building out background or facts for an argument.
Lessons
Instructions and handouts can be found in each of the lessons. They are designed to engage students and get them to understand the context of events and people in history, as well as develop their own knowledge base.
Unit Essay Activity
Each unit has a culminating activity designed to assess chapter objectives. These are perfectly aligned to students on an AP track, but may also be very useful for differentiation in a college prep high school history course.
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16 Units
UnitChapter 1: 1491-1607
Chapter 1 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how the collision of cultures created a "New World." Students will learn about the development of systems of cultural exchange between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, as well as evaluate the impact of European contact with Native Americans and the Americas.
UnitChapter 2: 1607-1763
Chapter 2 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore the religious, political, and social movements and events that fostered a sense of autonomy from Great Britain among the American colonists between 1607 and 1763.
UnitChapter 3: 1763-1789
Chapter 3 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to identify the causes of the Declaration of Independence, evaluate the causes and effects of key events in the Revolutionary War, and compare various perspectives on constitutional principles and the structure of the new Union under the Constitution.
UnitChapter 4: 1789-1800
Chapter 4 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how a nation can stay unified despite divisions.
UnitChapter 5: 1800-1828
Chapter 5 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the early republic was truly an Era of Good Feelings.
UnitChapter 6: 1828-1844
Chapter 6 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the democratization of politics during the Jacksonian era was a shift from Founding era political theory.
UnitChapter 7: 1844-1860
Chapter 7 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the Civil War was inevitable.
UnitChapter 8: 1860-1877
Chapter 8 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the Civil War helped create a more perfect Union.
UnitChapter 9: 1877-1898
Chapter 9 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how a changing view of government’s responsibility during the Gilded Age affected American society.
UnitChapter 10: 1898-1919
Chapter 10 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how the Progressive vision shaped American politics, society, and foreign policy from 1898 to 1917.
UnitChapter 11: 1920-1932
Chapter 11 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how the modernization of the American economy and society led to cultural conflict during the 1920s.
UnitChapter 12: 1932-1945
Chapter 12 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how Franklin Roosevelt responded to the crises of the Great Depression at home and the war against tyrannical states during World War II abroad.
UnitChapter 13: 1945-1960
Chapter 13 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how anti-communist foreign policy, the liberal welfare state, and American cultural values shaped the postwar world from 1945 to 1960.
UnitChapter 14: 1960-1968
Chapter 14 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how internal and external political and cultural tensions shaped the years 1960–1968.
UnitChapter 15: 1968-1980
Chapter 15 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how a fracturing of the liberal consensus shaped politics and culture between 1968 and 1980.
UnitChapter 16: 1980-Present
Chapter 16 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI's U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore how the American experiment plays out in the foreign and domestic policy of modern America.
