Unit Plan Jessie Dutcher ED613 - Fall 2011 Causes of the Revolutionary War 4 th Grade - Social Studies/Historical & Civic Understandings Unit Standards: SS4H4 The student will explain the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution. Trace the events that shaped the revolutionary movement in America, including the French and Indian War, British Imperial Policy that led to the 1765 Stamp Act, the slogan no taxation without representation, the activities of the Sons of Liberty, and the Boston Tea Party. SS4CG2 The student will explain the importance of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Unit Goals: Students will understand how the events leading up to the revolutionary war led to a strained relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies, which then caused the revolutionary war. Students will understand how the events leading up to the revolutionary war caused a domino effect that resulted in the war between Great Britain and the American Colonies. Students will understand the importance of freedom. Unit Objectives: Students will create and present a poster explaining one event Students will identify illustrated metaphors representing key events that created tensions between the colonists and Great Britain, from 1754 to 1774. Students will analyze a metaphor of a parent child relationship to understand the interactions between the colonies and Great Britain. Student will role-play the parent/child (Great Britain/American Colonists) relationship. Unit Opener: To open this unit, students will first analyze the relationship between a parent and a child. The teacher will lead a discussion on what this relationship is like and instruct the students to create their own dialogue between a parent and a child in which a parent gives the child an order. Students will role-play this dialogue. The teacher will ask when it becomes time for the child to start making his or her own decisions. After talking about this relationship that is relatable to them, the teacher will describe how this relationship helps us better understand the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies in the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.
After making this connection, students will begin to investigate these events through the metaphor that they can understand in their own lives. The procedures for this unit opener are detailed in the lesson plan below. Standards: o SS4H4 The student will explain the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution. i. Trace the events that shaped the revolutionary movement in America, including the French and Indian War, British Imperial Policy that led to the 1765 Stamp Act, the slogan no taxation without representation, the activities of the Sons of Liberty, and the Boston Tea Party. SS4CG2 The student will explain the importance of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Learning Goal: Students will understand how the events leading up to the revolutionary war led to a strained relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies, which then caused the revolutionary war. Learning Objectives: Students will make connections between a class experience and the historical events in the colonies after the French and Indian War. Students will identify illustrated metaphors representing key events that created tensions between the colonists and Great Britain, from 1754 to 1774. Students will analyze a metaphor of a parent child relationship to understand the interactions between the colonies and Great Britain. Student will role-play the parent/child (Great Britain/American Colonists) relationship. Essential Question: How did the events leading up the revolutionary war strain the relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies and lead to the Revolutionary War? Unit Opener Procedures: Lesson Hook: Ask students to think of one time when and adult or parent gave them directions. Call on students to share their responses. (For example: a parent tells you to do your homework) Now share more about what happened: Who gave the order? What were you told to do? Did you want to obey it? Why or why not? How did you feel about the outcome? Pair students with partners and have them record their own instance of a parent child dialogue in which a parent was giving an order on the dialogue page. They are coming up with one scenario and are recording it on their own papers. When students finish writing, ask for volunteers to role-play their dialogue with a partner from their desks.
Ask students: What do parents provide? (care, protection, guidance, love, food, and making key decisions) Point out that as children grow, they want to take a more active role in the decisions affecting their lives. (ex: college and beyond) Discuss: Do you think adults should give these orders? At what age should you begin to have input into some decisions and make your own choices? Remind students to be respectful. Lesson Procedures: Connect: In the late 1600s, early settlements in North America depended on their mother country for supplies, military protection, and more settlers. The ruler of the home country made most of the decisions for the colonies. As the colonies grew, the people who lived there wanted more control of their government and way of life. Instruct students to turn to pg. 133 in text book to observe A Strained Relationship. Ask: What do you see here? What gesture is the woman making? What words would you use to describe the expression on the child s face? Why do you think the artist has drawn the woman and child like this? Who do you think these two people represent? o Tell: Great Britain and the colonies in the 1700s. Reference timeline in the classroom and maps on the walls. List the descriptions that the children have for each figure on the smart board or white board (1 column for the mother and 1 for the child). Closure/Summarizing/Linking: Explain that we will use this analogy/comparison to help explain the relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies in the 1700s throughout this unit. Read pg. 133 as a class and introduce key terms that will be displayed on the bulletin board for students to reference. Have students see if they know any synonyms for the words as you read through the definitions. o Act, taxation without representation, protest, proclamation, Parliament, delegate, repeal, import, massacre, boycott, & First Continental Congress Lesson Materials: Social Studies Alive!: America s Past (class textbook - enough for each student) Parent-Child role-play worksheet (enough for each student) Vocabulary flip-words on display with definition Lesson Accommodations: Make sure that students are paired appropriately for the parent/child script. Visual vocabulary words are displayed for review by students. Unit Lessons: Lesson 1: Unit opener; see objectives above (lesson plan included) Lesson 2-3: Understanding the connections between the metaphor and each event (lesson plan included)
o Objectives: Students will analyze a metaphor of a parent child relationship to understand the interactions between the colonies and Great Britain. Students will identify illustrated metaphors representing key events that created tensions between the colonists and Great Britain, from 1754 to 1774. Key events: Proclamation of 1763, the Quartering Act, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts Students will illustrate a specific event from and write about the main events that led to tension in the colonies. Students will verbally present their analysis the connections between the parent-child metaphor and a key event leading up to the Revolutionary War to the class. o Activity: Students will divide into 6 groups (decided ahead of time by teacher) and will read about one of the key events. After they read about this event in the texts provided by the teacher, each group will match the event with the part of the metaphor. After deciding which picture goes with their events, students will write two notes to explain how the metaphor matches the picture. Students will illustrate the metaphor on a big post-it note and present their findings to the class. After these presentations, the students will partner read the remaining pages of the text that discuss these major events. o Assessment: Throughout this lesson, teacher will be formatively assessing students as they research the event. Teacher will correct misconceptions and guide students to make proper connections. Teacher will observe if students are properly connecting the metaphor with the event by evaluating the description and pictures on their posters. Teacher will assess each poster based on a rubric to determine if they have adequately presented the necessary information for their event. Lesson 4: Role-Play o Objectives: Students will act out the events of the Boston Tea Party from the perspective of either a colonist or a British soldier. Students will discuss the colonists opinions in light of the role-play. o Activity: Students will be divided into three groups to read through the roleplay, Tea Overboard. After students read through their segment of the play twice, they will determine any props they would like to design and include in their skit (made out of paper, or other items found in the classroom). Students will act out their segment of the play
for the class. Afterwards, students will discuss what their character felt about the Boston Tea Party. How did their character react? How did their tone of voice reflect their feelings about this event? Unit Closing/Summary: o Students will use their notes the lessons about the six major events to describe how the events were a domino effect ending in the Revolutionary War. They are to complete the graphic organizer of dominos. To complete this page, they may use their notes and texts. Each domino must include the event and three sentences that describe how the event affected the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies. o As students complete this graphic organizer, the teacher will add each domino to the interactive bulletin board in the classroom. This will provide a visual display for the class to see. Unit Assessment: o The summative assessment for this unit will be a written test. This test will include multiple choice questions, short answers and an essay. The short answer questions and essay all will require students to describe how the relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies is like a strained relationship between a parent and a child. This will help the teacher determine if she has met her objectives. o Formative assessment for this unit will take place throughout every lesson. During each lesson, the teacher will observe and make note of background knowledge and any misconceptions. The teacher will use questioning and listening to follow students thinking. o The teacher will assess each child s domino graphic organizer based on the completion and accuracy of each of the six dominos. A rubric is attached. o Each of the group s posters will be assessed as described earlier: the students are to have the event listed, a picture of the event drawn, and two bullet points describing how the event fits in with the metaphor of the parent and child. A rubric is attached.