Unit Plan 6 (Grade 8 Social Studies): Ideas of Liberty and Natural Rights
Explore how Enlightenment ideals—natural rights, consent, rule of law, equality, and separation of powers—shaped colonial critiques of empire and inspired arguments for American independence.
Focus: Explore Enlightenment ideals—natural rights, consent of the governed, rule of law, separation of powers, equality—and how they shaped colonists’ views of government and arguments for independence.
Grade Level: 8
Subject Area: Social Studies (U.S. History • Civics • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students investigate how Enlightenment thought traveled to the colonies and informed both everyday political culture and founding-era documents. Using short primary sources (Locke, Montesquieu, Cato’s Letters, Common Sense) alongside the Declaration of Independence and early state rights declarations, students analyze ideals, identify tensions in applying them, and craft evidence-based claims.
Essential Questions
- What are natural rights, and where does government get its legitimate authority?
- How did Enlightenment ideas influence colonial critiques of imperial power?
- Why were there tensions between founding ideals and the realities of the period?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Define and illustrate natural rights, consent, rule of law, separation of powers, and equality using historical and contemporary examples.
- Explain how Enlightenment ideas shaped colonial arguments and founding documents.
- Identify turning points/big ideas and describe their legacies in U.S. political development.
- Develop a written or oral claim supported by multiple cited sources; integrate quotations/paraphrases with accurate citations.
- Communicate with precise civic vocabulary, using organizers and annotated evidence.
Standards Alignment — 8th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 8.C3.Civ.1: Explain founding ideals (natural rights, liberty, equality, consent, rule of law) and tensions in applying them.
- 8.C3.Hist.4: Identify turning points and big ideas and their legacies.
- 8.C3.Inq.4: Develop written/oral claims with multiple pieces of evidence and clear citations.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can define key ideals and match them to primary-source evidence.
- I can explain how an Enlightenment idea influenced a colonial or founding-era document.
- I can build a claim and support it with 2–3 properly cited sources.