Weingarten 1 Dwight Weingarten EDU 440 Professor Stoddard 5 October 2013

Inquiry Lesson: What Caused the Decline of the Ottoman Empire? Context: Unit: Chapter 15

Designer: Dwight Weingarten

Lesson 1 of 1* *That I am teaching

Topic: The Decline of the Ottoman Empire

Teaching Date:10/24/13

Subject/Course: AP European History

Grade Level: 10th

Time Frame: Period 2AB

Background Information: Ottoman history (1566-1792) has been called “the Era of Decline in Faith and State.” The Decline is relative to The Ottoman Golden Age and European Expansion and Advancements And the decline was slow, gradual, interrupted by periods of growth, and lasted for more than three centuries.

Reasons for decline 1.

Weak leadership

2.

Corrupt government officials

3.

Powerful janissaries and janissary revolts

4.

Heavy taxes = revolts and unhappy peasantry

5.

The Ottoman Empire was very diverse ethnically + nationalism = many groups wanting their freedom

6.

New World silver flooding the market and causing silver to inflate = inflation

7.

Trade routes changing to bypass the Middle East in favor of water routes

8.

The Ottomans signed capitulations with the European countries = loss of revenue

9.

Loss of intellectualism = loss of innovation = fall behind the Europeans in technology.

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Overview: In this lesson students will together in pairs and as a class to answer the question, “what caused the decline of the Ottoman Empire?” Students will receive background information from their text, a photograph of the Ottoman Empire’s borders in the late seventeenth century (see Source 1), as well as hearing a short excerpt from Busbecq’s letter on the Turks (see Source 2). With knowledge of the topic, students will hypothesize why they think the Ottomans declined. Students will demonstrate what they have learned in a writing assessment where they will write a short paragraph stating what they think is the most important for decline with textual evidence from the source.

Instructional Model: In this lesson, I will be utilizing an inquiry model. As an inquiry lesson students will be responsible for hypothesizing, investigating a primary source document, and reassessing their hypothesis. Students will take on the role of historians and evaluate a primary source, supplementing their knowledge from the textbook with one document stating the reasons for their decline (see Source 3). The teacher will lead the students through this process through asking questions, building upon student knowledge, and encouraging them to discuss and use each other as resources. Student participation will need to be high throughout the class to drive the lesson. Students will work together to make predictions, propose theories, support conclusions, and interpret a primary source. Through cooperatively analyzing a document, students will learn how to dig into history. This topic lends itself to this model because the Ottoman’s decline is a question with multiple and competing answers, it is worth spending the time on, and there is enough evidence to support the answer. The inquiry model promotes active learning. The conclusion that the students reach is not as important as the thinking process. The students will be able to sort through the multiple and competing answers to support the answer they feel is the best with textual evidence.

Objectives: Essential Question: What challenges do all large empires face? (to get students thinking)

Concept Objective: The students will be able to identify and explain the various reasons for the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Weingarten 3 The students will be able to identify why the Ottomans were such a dominant empire and how this strength declined as the centuries progressed..

Skill Objective: The students will be able to read and interpret a primary source document in order to support a claim that students see as most powerful.

SOL Standards: WHII.5-The student will demonstrate knowledge of the status and impact of global trade on regional civilizations of the world after 1500 A.D. (C.E.) by a) describing the location and development of the Ottoman Empire; NCSS Standards: Standard IX- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and independence.

Assessment: During the lesson, I will gage the students participation during the section in which I ask “why do you think the Ottoman Empire fell?” This will show me how much background knowledge from the readings that the students have. I will also examine the students while they are using one another as resources, making sure that students contribute to each other’s knowledge and hypotheses. I will also reexamine the question at the end to see if participation has changed and how the answers differed. After the lesson, students will write a short paragraph stating what they think is the most important reason for the fall of the Ottoman Empire using textual evidence from the primary source. This will enable me to see whether the students properly annotated the source and learned the information. The prompt will be as follows: “Given what you know now about the decline of the Ottoman Empire, write a short paragraph stating which reason for decline you feel is most important. The explanation should first explain why the Ottomans were such a dominant empire. Use text from Sir Eaton’s letter to support your answer.”

Content and Instructional Strategies: I. Engagement in the inquiry (Hook) (5 minutes)- This portion should function as a lecture. 1) Show students Map of the Ottoman Empire (Powerpoint slide 2) a) Remind them this is without cars, planes, trains, cell phones. b) 7% of the world’s population lived there. 2 million square miles of land. Good military.

Weingarten 4 2) Read them excerpts from Busbecq’s Letter telling why they were so successful. (Powerpoint slides 3,4) II. Elicit Hypotheses (8 minutes) 1) And now they no longer exist…Ask students, why do you think an empire like this would decline? (Powerpoint slide 5) 2) If no responses to question above, ask what would be the difficulties in managing such a large empire. 3) Have students participate in a think-pair share with the person sitting next to them and have students come up with potential answers. 4) Write the question on the board “What caused the decline of the Ottoman Empire?” 5) Write the student answers on the board as well. III. Data Gathering and Processing (17 minutes) 1) Explain primary source and APPARTS questions by giving context about the analysis and the document. 2) Distribute Sir William Eaton’s Survey on the Turkish Empire to class. (Powerpoint slide 6) 3) Model and explain how to dissect a document. (Powerpoint slide 7) Read and underline key points of first paragraph together. 4) Read the document. Underlining and annotating what you think are key facts based on APPARTS. 5) Distribute scaffolding sheet of questions (See below sources) 6) Have students answer questions with the person sitting next to them.

IV. Revising Hypotheses (5 minutes) 1) Reexamine the question “why do you think the empire would decline?” 2) Ask students who haven’t contribute to contribute, if need be. 3) Have students contribute answers to the board. 4) Go through as a class, eliminated wrong answers and ranking the answers that were right or valid. V. Conclusion (20 minutes) Students reexamine the answers on the board and answer the following question: Given what you know now about the decline of the Ottoman Empire, write a short paragraph stating which reason for decline is

Weingarten 5 most important. The reason should also mention one reason for which the Ottomans were so strong and widespread.

Resources: -Copies of Eaton’s letter -Copies of scaffolding question sheet -Dry erase markers -whiteboard

Differentiation: I have provided a scaffolding sheet to help learners who need more help in interpreting the document. This effort combined with partner activity and whole class work should help the various learners in the class.

Adaptations:

No adaptations for students in this class.

Reflections: Pre-reflection: This may be the first time some of these students have worked with primary source documents. The scaffolding sheet should help the students do this. Reading the letter of Busbecq and showing the map should give the students more background knowledge. In regards to management, students have been successful with small group work during my observations at the school. Post-teaching – My Cooperating Teacher and I both agreed this was an effective lesson, but there could be improvements. I was skeptical at first whether there would be enough student participation, but kids who I had never heard participate engaged in the discussion in meaningful ways. Despite the increase in participation, many students did not participate orally. I would have each group share an answer to increase participation next time. Several students engaged in Higher Order Thinking at least once when they made connections between the Ottomans and other large empires. The students made connections to the past and to the present during this the document analysis. I could have done a better job preparing the students with background information about the topic so they could have showed more deep knowledge.

Weingarten 6 The students did not know a whole lot about the Ottomans to start with, but they learned as the lesson progressed. In the future, I will have more time to prepare the students. The nature of the inquiry model did not necessarily have the students engaged in substantive conversation. The students gave an answer, but then often we went right on to another answer without discussing the implications of the previous answer. I think with more practice with the inquiry model, the students and I will do an even better job, but for the first time it was not bad. Often, I had to interject because the students were just repeating one another’s points and not really building on one another. The students made some connections to the world beyond the classroom, but I could have probed them further with these connections. Many students picked up on the fact that large empires always have trouble expanding. This would have been an appropriate time to bring up modern day “empires” and get the students to think about this in our own society. Unfortunately, I did not do this. Despite my lack of foresight, I was still pleased with the connections made beyond the classroom. On one exit ticket, a student wrote about how all large empires eventually decline, but she did not necessarily go into much depth. This was so encouraging to read because I think there was some value, but not enough. A few students participated in ethical valuing, determining whether expansion as a means of societal success was right. However, while I certainly had this in mind before the lesson, I did not effectively probe this thought process by relating modern day examples. The students received integration in terms of new knowledge and skills, technology, and connection across time and place. The students learned the skills of an inquiry lesson, (document analysis, historical thinking, etc). Despite the lesson being low in technology, the students did receive crucial information via powerpoint. Finally, as mentioned earlier, the students made a several of connections across time and space. The students discussed the Ottomans in terms of the Roman and Greek empires declining. I believe that this lesson would score fairly according to the Powerful and Authentic Social Studies standards for teaching, but there was room for improvement, especially in making connections across time and space.

Weingarten 7 I graded the exit paragraphs and the students did fairly well. The lowest grade I gave was a 8/10 while most students received a 10/10 for completion. The students understood the main points from the lesson, but could have done a better job digging into the text to justify them. When teaching this lesson again, I would make that point more explicit. I would also make the connections to the present day even more explicit, asking a question like “Are the ideals of the Ottomans similar to any nation in our society today?” I really think this could stimulate good discussion, but it might detract from the historical content knowledge that needs to be taught thoroughly. The students seemed to like to get to talk and I look forward to using this model again in the future.

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Source 1:

From: http://pol297thearabspring.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/mapping-the-arab-spring/ (Late 17th century)

Source 2: Excerpt from The Turkish Letters of Busbecq […] it is the patience, self-denial and thrift of the Turkish soldier that enable him to face the most trying circumstances and come safely out of' the dangers that surround him. What a contrast to our men! Christian soldiers on a campaign refuse to put up with their ordinary food, and call for thrushes, becaficos [a small bird esteemed a dainty, as it feeds on figs and grapes], and suchlike dainty dishes! ... It makes me shudder to think of what the result of a struggle between such different systems must be; one of us must prevail and the other be destroyed, at any rate we cannot both exist ]in safety. On their side is the vast wealth of their empire, unimpaired resources, experience and practice in arms, a veteran soldiery, an uninterrupted series of victories, readiness to endure hardships, union, order, discipline, thrift and watchfulness. On ours are found an empty exchequer, luxurious habits, exhausted resources, broken spirits, a raw and insubordinate soldiery, and greedy quarrels; there is no regard for discipline, license runs riot, the men indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, and worst of all, the enemy are accustomed to victory, we to defeat. Can we doubt what the result must be? The only obstacle is Persia, whose position on his rear forces the invader to take precautions. The fear of Persia gives us a respite, but it is only for a time. No distinction is attached to birth among the Turks; the deference to be paid to a man is measured by the position he holds in the public service. There is no fighting for precedence; a man's place is marked out by the duties he discharges. In making his appointments the Sultan pays no regard to any pretensions on the score of wealth or rank, nor does he take into consideration recommendations or popularity, he considers each case on its own merits, and examines carefully into the character, ability, and disposition of the man whose promotion is in question. It is by merit that men rise in the service, a system which ensures that posts should only be assigned to the competent. Each man in Turkey carries in his own hand his ancestry and his position in life, which he may make or mar as he will. Those who receive the highest offices from the Sultan are for the most part the sons of shepherds or herdsmen, and so far from being ashamed of their parentage, they actually glory in it, and consider it a matter of boasting that they owe nothing to the accident of birth; for they do not believe that high qualities are either natural or hereditary, nor do they think that they can be handed down from father to son, but that they are partly the gift of' God, and partly the result of good training, great industry, and unwearied zeal; arguing that high qualities do not descend from a father to his son or heir, any more than a talent for music, mathematics, or the like; and that the mind does not derive its origin from the father, so that the son should necessarily be like the father in character, our emanates from heaven, and is thence infused into the human body. Among the Turks, therefore, honours, high posts, and judgeships are the rewards of great ability and good service. If a man be dishonest, or lazy, or careless, he remains at the bottom of the ladder, an object of contempt; for such qualities there are no honours in Turkey! This is the reason that they are successful in their undertakings, that they lord it over others, and are daily extending the bounds of their empire. These are not our ideas, with us there is no opening left for merit; birth is the standard for everything; the prestige of birth is the sole key to advancement in the public service.

Weingarten 9 Source: From C. T. Forster and F. H. B. Daniel, eds., The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, vol. I (London: Kegan Paul, 1881), pp, 86-88, 153-155, 219-222, 287-290, 293.

Source 3: Sir William Eaton, Decline of the Ottomans (1799) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1799Ottomans.asp Source 4: Textbook Kagan, Donald, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. The Western Heritage since 1300. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004. Print. Scaffolding questions for Eaton’s letter

Author- Who was the author of the letter? Where would you guess he is from? Place and time- When was the letter written? Where was the letter written? Prior Knowledge- What does the author acknowledge as reasons for previous Ottomans successes?

Audience- What does the author indicate about the religion of the Ottoman Empire? For whom do you think Sir William Eaton would write this letter?

Reason-What does the author state are some of the current weaknesses of the Ottomans? The main idea- What would be some problems with having a “zeal for extension of the empire?”

Significance- What does the source tell us about the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the nineteenth century?

Weingarten 10 Worksheets:

APPARTS Document Analysis

A Survey of the Turkish Empire

The Decline of the Ottoman Empire-

Author- Who was the author of the letter? Where would you guess he is from?

Place and time- When was the letter written? Where was the letter written?

Prior Knowledge- What does the author acknowledge as reasons for previous Ottomans successes?

Audience- For whom do you think Sir William Eaton would write this letter? What does the author indicate about the religion of the Ottoman Empire?

Reason-What does the author state are some of the current weaknesses of the Ottomans?

The main idea- What would be some problems with having a “zeal for extension of the empire?”

Significance- What does the source tell us about the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the nineteenth century?

Weingarten 11 The Decline of the Ottoman Empire Given what you know now about the decline of the Ottoman Empire, write a short paragraph stating which reason for decline you feel is most important. The explanation should first explain why the Ottomans were such a dominant empire. Use text from Sir Eaton’s letter to support your answer.