Entry 6 The Battle of New Orleans: A Decisive Victory for Planning

The Battle of New Orleans; a Decisive Victory for Planning

The Battle of New Orleans was a decisive victory for American forces in the War of 1812.  Although it was fought two weeks after a peace agreement was reached in Europe, word of the cease fire had not yet reached the British forces in America.  The commander of the British forces in the Gulf of Mexico believed that there was a great deal to be gained by seizing New Orleans and he proceeded to try and carry out his plan to attempt to bring the outlying trading post under British control.  Unbeknownst to the British command, the privateer, Jean Lafitte, had warned the American command of the impending attack.  With this knowledge, the American militia was dug in and prepared for the coming attack.  This ability to prepare in advance may well have been the major advantage that propelled the smaller American force to an overwhelming victory led by Colonel Andrew Jackson.  Not only did the American volunteers defeat the British, they did so with very little loss of soldiers on their part.  The American victory was a result of careful planning and preparation and the willingness of the volunteers to follow the instructions of their commanders.  (Content)

In whole group we will talk about the very decisive battle and how the volunteers quickly and efficiently did the duty they were called to do following the order and rules of their commanding officers.  We discuss how as students and classmates we all have to work together to make our classroom work efficiently.  We discuss some of the rules in the classroom that make class work more smoothly.  Students site examples of classroom rules. (DOK1) Would it be fair for some students to be expected to follow the rules and others not expected to follow them?  (DOK2)  What would happen if there were no classroom rules? (DOK3) Can anyone make a connection to how the volunteers followed their orders and a time when you followed instructions?  How did that turn out? (DOK4) (standard, 5.1.2.A, 5.1.2.B, 5.1.2.C, 5.1.2.D, 5.2.2.A, 5.2.2.D)

Students will write about a time when they followed the rules and a time when someone did not follow the rules in a classroom.  They will then draw a picture for each situation demonstrating what would happen. The stories may be fiction or non-fiction, but students should not name any other actual students in the stories. (Creative Activity)

Domain 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c