The Viva La Revolución project builds off of the work of Erin Brandvold of Envision Impact Academy and the Envision Schools Project Exchange. In the project, student exploration of the effectiveness of revolutions launches with an epic “Nation X” simulation. Following the project launch, students engage in a brief case study of the French Revolution to develop the quality criteria of an effective revolution, and from there students dive into a self-selected study of either the Haitian, Cuban, or Mexican Revolution. Students collaboratively analyze primary and secondary source documents to gather evidence to prove the effective or ineffective nature of their revolutions. During this process, students interview lawyers and judges for guidance as they design a case theory they will implement in the summative mock trial: Citizens v. Revolution.
Academic Skills and Content: In addition to addressing the Common Core State Literacy Standards (Writing, Reading, Speaking and Listening), this project affords students the opportunity to enhance their academic skills in the areas of Collaboration and Critical Thinking. CA History/Social Studies standards addressed in the project include:
- use the class-created revolution framework to determine the cause of revolutions
- compare the French Revolution to another revolution
- analyze the effects of dictatorships on their people
- analyze the motives behind revolutionaries’ actions
- determine the effectiveness of revolutions in improving the lives of citizens
Final Product: A mock trial, entitled Citizens v. Revolution
Suggested Duration: 7-8 weeks
Created with the support of the California Department of Education California Career Pathways Trust
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