The American Revolution

Or: What Causes people to Risk their lives for Political change?

A Unit Outline For Fourth Grade

Ms. Madeline Carlock 2010

Dear Fellow Americans,

The country we live in is a pretty young country. America is only around 234 years old. In fact, if you were to assign an age to the United States compared to Germany or France, the US is should fit in right around Fourth Grade. Huh.

And we weren’t always our own, independent country. People had to fight and argue, create mischief and rise up against their British rulers. People risked their lives- just so the United States could be our own country, with our own laws and president.

Studying history is a tricky business. Let’s say we all went to school and did basically the same things. Then we went home and wrote down the events of the day. Even if we were all telling the truth, we would end up with 16 completely different stories. We all experienced the same events, but the stories don’t all line up. History works the same way- everyone who lived during the Revolution experienced it in different ways and with different opinions. Our jobs are to make sense of all these stories

and see what we can learn from them. What on earth could cause someone to want to risk his or her LIFE to change the way the country is run? What is a revolution?

Over the next month or so, we will be trying to answer this question. We’ll go back in time 250 years to investigate the people, places, and ideas that brought about the American Revolution. I’ve learned, and hope to share with you, that it is a super exciting story. It is a tale filled with passion, blood, spies, cool uniforms, lies, bravery, confused kings and angry people. And though the Revolutionary War was terrible and full of suffering- the story has an important ending – the birth of an independent America.

It is up to you to understand how a government can be changed or revolutionized. It might just be your job some day.

With wishes for life, liberty and happiness,

Ms. CarlockDear Parents and Colleagues,

As part of my education at the Upper Valley Educators Institute, I have designed (via backwards planning) and will be teaching the fourth grade unit on the American Revolution. I can recall that in my own education, learning about the American Revolution felt dry, boring and irrelevant to me as a learner. I have worked hard to create a unit that makes the American Revolution come alive. In this unit, the students in Ms. Allen’s class will focus on comprehension and understanding, not memorization. They will connect with big ideas, essential questions, and key concepts, not “historical facts.” The activities and projects I’ve designed will hopefully engage interest and enthusiasm and encourage student

choice and thinking. The Revolution unit will be integrated into our literacy block in order to expose the students to materials and texts that encourage a variety of interpretations and provoke discussions.

In this unit, the students will engage in a range of simulations. If you hear students complaining about unfair taxes, delayed communication, or mistreatment by the king, please do not be alarmed! We will be experiencing what it’s like to be taxed without representation (via a chair tax, a snack tax, etc.) and will experience a safe simulation of the battle at Lexington and Concord in which the students will work as groups to solve problems and boost morale. The students will also work in small groups to research and teach the class about some major events of the Revolution. I expect the work to be high quality, but will only be assessing effort and collaborative work skills. Each student will also complete an individual research project on a historical figure. We will be creating scrapbooks to demonstrate each historical figure’s point of view in relation to various events through diary entries, postcards, shopping lists, and sketches. The objective is to help the students understand that historians look at a variety of perspectives, not just the “good guys and bad guys.” The majority of this writing and artistic expression work will be done in class as we learn about the birth of our independent nation.

The students will be assessing their own work through self-assessments given throughout the unit, and I will grade them according to the same rubric. I expect the products and projects the students create to reveal their own interests and to be the result of thoughtful work. These projects require the students to illustrate their thinking and learning, to solve and discover problems and to share their knowledge and teach others. In my mind, history is never “over”- it is not fixed- and I hope this attitude will support the fourth-graders’ enthusiasm for discovery and readiness to discover what’s new and unusual.

Attached you will find a chart that lists the relevant state curriculum frameworks and the related activities, though this

unit also supports many of the language arts frameworks as well. If you wish to contribute to our learning about the American Revolution, we could use blank shopping lists, pennies (for taxing purposes), and scraps of fabric. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to contact me at mcarlock@sau88.net. I can also be reached after school at (603) 790-8880. Thank you so much for all your support.

Best wishes,

Madeline M. Carlock

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the interaction of various social groups, including their values, beliefs and practices, over time.SS:HI:4:5.2: Describe the impact of major national and state events on everyday life, (Themes: B: Civic Ideals, Practices, and Engagement, I: Patterns of Social and Political Interaction) SS:HI:4:5.3: Trace the changes in the roles and lives of women and children and their impact on society, e.g., the family or the workplace. (Themes: B: Civic

Tax / Quartering Act Simulation

Miscommunication simulation (altered game of telephone)

Lexington and Concord simulation

Read-aloud: “Colonial Dames”

Group project: Skits on major events of the American Revolution based of off illustrations in Give Me

Assessment:Mid-project conferences with groups, Individual Self-Assessments,Final Grade based on Collaborative Skills Rubric

Ideals, Practices, and Engagement, I: Patterns of Social and Political Interaction)

Liberty (Tax Acts, Boston Massacre, Lexington and Concord, Valley Forge, Victory at York Town)

Students will demonstrate an understanding of major events, ideas and issues pertaining to the history of governance.SS:WH:4:1.1: Explain that people of different countries create social and political systems, e.g., a family or a government. (Themes: A: Conflict and Cooperation, B: Civic Ideals, Practices, and Engagement, I: Patterns of Social and Political Interaction)

“Information” circles for If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution and guided reading groups for three leveled fiction books pertaining to Revolution: George Washington’s Socks (level T), Liberty (level V), and The American Revolution: A Play (level L)

American Revolution Webquest

Various read-alouds: Johnny Tremain or My Brother Sam is Dead, The American Flag (picture book)

Discussion of rights and drafting a “Declaration” for the classroom

Ongoing feedback in Daily Five Journals

“The Most important thing”Responses to Major Events (included in scrapbooks)(I will grade 3 out of 5, they can choose which ones)

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the major ideas, issues and events pertaining to the history of governance in our state and nation. SS:HI:4:1.1: Explore biographies of key political figures who helped shape our community, state, and country, e.g., Franklin Pierce or Sandra Day O'Connor. (Themes: E: Cultural Development, Interaction, and Change, G: Science, Technology, and Society, I: Patterns)

Research project on historical figure and small-group oral presentations (meet and greet to fill out “little black books”)

Demonstrating point of view through scrapbook (one pocket for each major event) created from the perspective of a historical figure- students will create shopping lists, postcards, sketches, diary entries, “little black books” and more to add to their scrapbook

Mid-unit individual conferences, self-assessments,

Historical Figure “address books”

End of unit “inventory” of what is their best 3 pieces of work and why.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of conceptions

Tax simulation Point of View project

of reality, ideals, guidelines of behavior and forms of expression. SS:HI:4:3.1: Explore how individuals' ideals have profoundly affected life in the United States, (Themes: H: Individualism, Equality and Authority, I: Patterns of Social and Political Interaction, J: Human Expression and Communication) SS:HI:4:3.2: Explore how art, music and literature often reflect and/or influence major ideas, values and conflicts of particular time periods, (Themes: J: Human Expression and Communication)

Group project on political cartoons

Discussion of Declaration of Independence and drafting of classroom “rights”

Point-of-view project: Boston Massacre

Whole Class Mind Map

Understanding Perspectives/ American Revolution Unit

Fourth Grade/ Madeline Carlock

Objectives:

Concept Objectives: Students will know British and American points of view during the 18thCentury; Students will understand how British and American points of view differed concerning the war's causes; Students will understand how perspective influences historical interpretation.

Skill Objectives: Students will compare and evaluate primary and secondary sources to acquire information about the United States; Students will analyze different points of view about an issue or topic; Students will synthesize main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication; Students will identify simple main ideas expressed in art.

Focusing Question: In History, who do we believe and why?

Connection/Rationale: Students are gradually enriching their understanding of perspective and point of view in history and literature through their individual “scrapbook” projects. By illuminating the contrasts in point of view in a popular and well known story, students will feel confident in their ability to discriminate points of view as portrayed through artistic and written accounts of the Boston Massacre. Using primary texts will hopefully bring the revolution “alive” for the students. Using visual imagery, written and oral resources, and a previously read and loved story will help to connect with various intelligences in the classroom.

Materials: Visual Depictions of the Boston Massacre (see attached), Patriot Account of The Boston Massacre- one per every other student, Soldier’s Account of the Boston Massacre- one per every other student (see attached), graphic organizer: What Led To the Shooting?, Any copy of The Three Little Pigs, A copy of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Skieszka, drawing paper, chart paper for KWL

Procedures:

1. (Hook)- Write focusing question on the board- In History, who do we believe and why? What do we know about points of view? (record on chart paper) If we all wrote an account of what happened at Morning Meeting, how many different stories would we get? How can you tell if someone is lying? Why do you think it is important we discuss points of view when studying history?

2. Gather students to the rug and read two different accounts of The Three Little Pigs. Encourage factual retell. Pause 3-4 times throughout A True Story….” for students to turn and talk to their partners.

3. Re-gather and discuss the differences in the story using comprehension oriented questions:

a. Why does the wolf come to the houses made of straw and sticks?b. Why does the wolf blow the pigs' houses down?c. Why do the two pigs die?d. Why does the wolf come to the house made of bricks? e. What does the wolf do when the pig whose house is made of

bricks tells him he can't come in?f. What happens to the wolf at the end of the story?g. Who started the conflict in the story?

h. Who are the victims of the story?i. Who are you supposed to feel sorry for after you hear this story?

4. Do an energizer or brain gym5. Give the students differing accounts of the Boston Massacre. Half of

the class receives an account from the Boston Gazette, and half of the class receives a Tory account.

6. Students read silently or with an adult. While reading, students fill out graphic organizer - What Led to the Shooting. Allow up to 15 minutes for students to fill out their sheets.

7. When all students have finished reading and have completed their sheets, call on students to share their sequence with the rest of the class. As different accounts surface, reveal the different sources to the students. The Tory report is a composite of several accounts from British soldiers, taken at the trial during December of 1770. The Patriot Account is an adapted version of the Boston Gazette account, dated Monday, March 12, 1770. Re-read both to the class.

8. Use Slideshow to display various depictions of the massacre. Discuss with students how we might determine the point of view showed in the renditions. Introduce the terms “primary resource” and “secondary resource.” Have students provide several examples of each.

9. Gather graphic organizers to assess and return to students for their history journals.

10. Assignment (can be completed for homework) Design a postcard (using jumbo index cards) from your Character’s perspective- illustrate your what your character might have seen or read about in relation to the Boston Massacre; on the back, write a short message to a friend that describes your character’s perspective on what really happened that day.

Adaptations/Accommodations

Using visual and oral retellings will help ESL students in the classroom. Allow students whose IEPs allow for reduced writing to dictate their messages to an adult. Recursive learning with the terms “primary and secondary resources” throughout unit, as well as with the concept of point of view in general. An energizing activity will be used to refresh and refocus, especially for the students who tend to need more social and physical activity.

Closure:

Give students a brief preview into what is coming next in the unit Independent writing drawing activity will help students to quiet down and consolidate a lot of knowledge into their own specialized body of knowledge about a specific historical figure. Maybe a “ticket out the door” to get to recess. Assessment: Boston Massacre postcards, formative assessments through conversations with students, graphic organizers for content comprehension check-in

Boycotting and Smuggling/ American Revolution Unit

Fourth Grade/Madeline Carlock

Objectives:

Content objectives: Students will understand and interpret British and American perspectives during the American Revolution; Students will be able to explain the meaning of “no taxation without representation”; Students will understand how perspective influences historical interpretation

Skill objectives: Students will differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources to acquire information about the United States; Students will analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.

Focusing Question: How do we assure we can get the goods we need without going broke?

Connection/Rationale: Prior to this lesson, the students have been engaged in a tax simulation for a few days. With play money they can use to buy certain small incentives, the students are gradually and successively introduced to several taxes: a chair tax, a snack tax, an art supplies tax, and finally, a stamp tax- where every piece of paper they turn in has to have the teachers “royal stamp” on it. The students have also been introduced to the Quartering Act, whereby a student must relinquish his or her chair and stand if a “redcoat” demands it. The students have already drawn up a list of grievances about the tax acts. They have already read a pertinent excerpt from Russell Freedman’s Give Me Liberty!

Materials: Boycotting Stories hand-outs- one per student, play money, any kind of appropriate food (maybe Revolution-appropriate), pencils, assessment

Procedures:

1. Students are asked to review how the class collectively feels about the taxes. How do they think many of the colonists felt about the taxes? How might the king have felt about the taxes?

2. Students read handout or other related text in small groups3. Students generate a list of possible ways to boycott British goods.4. Student passes out play money to each student in the class, about

$2.00 for each student. Show students the food. Inform the students that the food costs $1 each. Students may choose to buy the food at this point, only one per student. Have them wait before eating.

5. Students are informed that a tax has been put on this food, and each portion is now $2. The tax is required so that the teachers can remain teaching. Do they have enough money to pay for the food? Even if they do, are they willing to spend all their money on the food? Would this be fair?

6. Students are told they will enact what happens when a boycott is placed on a good. Each student receives an additional dollar from the teacher. When students don’t buy the material offered, does the teacher selling the good make any money? They are left with too much product. What about the tax collector? How is he or she harmed?

7. What other items might we need? Ask a student to gather all the pencils and have them collected and put aside. Bring out a new set of pencils and encourage students to buy a pencil, only $2 a piece.

8. Introduce another tax and raise the price to $3. They can’t necessarily boycott pencils because they need them to write with, how else could they get what they need?

9. Students will generate ideas- then introduce the idea of smuggling if they haven’t touched upon it yet. Have students brainstorm ways to get pencils without having to buy them from the teacher.

10. Pencils are returned, and students complete assessments: point of view worksheet and shopping list for historical figure. Students can complete for homework.

Adaptations and Accommodations: none necessary, some students can read with adults if needed

Closure: Students will transition to independent work and synthesize information learned in class to a more specific activity related to their own historical figure’s point of view

Assessment: Informally assess the students' understanding of the terms introduced in thelesson through questioning and observation during classroom discussions and demonstrations; point-of-view worksheet o assess the students' critical thinking skills and understanding of perspective during events leading to the American Revolution.

Integration in Language Arts: The Daily Five

Our literacy block is composed into various elements. The students choose in what order they will complete each portion of the Daily Five. What follows is a sample Daily Five plan for a week to integrate our history unit into the literacy block. This example would fall in the first or second week of the unit.

Read to self- Students would read either their guided reading book, their information circle book, a picture book already read in class (most likely related to the Revolution) or a book of their choosing.

Read to Partner: excerpt from “If You Lived at the Time of the Revolution” and fill out T-chart with partner; excerpts from Give Me Liberty by Russell Freedman, fill out mind map

Guided Reading: George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff, The Keeping Room by Anna Myers, and The American Revolution: A Play by Rosalind Flynn (I’m still looking for a better one)

Writing: A letter to a historical figure

Word Work (spelling): American Revolution alpha boxes

The Daily Five Block typically starts with a read-aloud and a ten minute mini lesson. Throughout this week, the mini-lessons will most likely be modeling strategies that the students will use in the above tasks (making connections and predictions, letter writing, distinguishing between the familiar and unfamiliar, building reading stamina, etc). Below are plans for the Writing, Guided Reading, and Word Work.

Writing: Fourth grade students are more likely to bring their own background narratives to historical thinking. I think that the tendency of kids to judge the past on today’s standards is not necessarily an impediment to getting kids to think about the past critically. Rather, their current understanding of their own context is a good orienting device to help kids connect with what is familiar about the American Revolution, and marvel with what is not. As part of our research project on our historical figure, the students will write a letter (to Thomas Jefferson, Molly Pitcher, King George, etc) in a way that accentuates the tension between the familiar and the unfamiliar. With modeling, discussion, and a clear planning sheet, the writing exercise with hopefully help the kids connect with their historical figure, and inspire them to want to learn more (alternatively, I might have the kids write a letter to a character in their guided reading books or our read-aloud My Brother Sam is Dead).

Guided Reading: Each guided reading group is composed according to the students’ DRA and Fountas and Pinnell reading levels. Though the books read in these groups are typically supposed to be at an instructional level (a stretch), two of the groups will be reading a book that is more comfortable for their levels because of the nature of the books and issues with comprehension. I decided that if the students have greater fluency reading these books, they might be more likely to stay engaged. Guided reading groups usually include discussion, choral reading, and written or verbal reader’s responses. The students flag their books with color coded sticky-notes which correspond with connections, inferences, predictions,

questions, etc. Here are some sample daily plans for the three guided groups.

The American Revolution: A play

Focus: Fluency and Confidence

Day One: Do a picture walk and make predictions. Make a list of words we expect to find in the play. Fluency practice (have the students read one line with a variety of emotions- angry, sleepy, frustrated, excited) Assign parts and discuss expectations. Choral reading and help with word attack skills for the remainder of lesson. Assignment: The most important thing about my character is….. (2-4 sentences)

Next time: Students practice reading play with tape recorder. They listen to the tape (either this time or next), check for spots for improvement, and flag these spots with notes.

George Washington’s Socks

Focus: Making Inferences

Chapters 2-4: This is a group of the reluctant readers. This group needs help in visualizing and making inferences. From previous lesson, students have marked three “skinny questions” (able to be answered in the book) and three “fat questions” (The “fat” questions are those that make you think. What if….What do you think would happen if ….Why do you think the author….) Share questions with group and discuss answers.

Practice choral reading and model stopping to make inferences. Remind students that an inference is something that we guess the author might mean, but doesn’t say directly. It is all about searching for clues: Say something like “Katie is ready for action with her squirt gun; we know Hooter loves animals; Q’s brains are in gear; Tony has put a log on the fire; Matt is reading his book, Adventures in History. Katie announces, “I’m ready for the adventure.” Do you think the adventure will begin in this chapter? Does the author provide us with any clues about what is going to happen?” If students answer no, model going back and re-reading with an eye for clues. Instruct students to re-read that night and write down clues. Students who answer yes can discuss the clues and the thinking that led them to their decision. Assignment: Write a list of 5-7 important clues you think will help us in understanding the mysteries in this book. Read Chapter 4.

Next time: Code writing.

The Keeping Room

Focus: Asking questions

Middle of Book: This group runs itself more like a literature circle. They generate their own discussion questions and discuss their own favorite passages. I hope to have this group more self-reliant by the time of this unit. Most likely, it will be run more like a book discussion club with time to draw pictures of visualizations and construct reviews.

Next time: Triangaramas

Word Work:

Word work is typically spelling, grammar and vocabulary work. It can also be handwriting practice. We will use alpha boxes (see hand out) to help the kids brainstorm and organize important terms related to the American Revolution. The students must spell the words correctly, meaning that they must either look in a book where they know the word is spelled (there will be plenty) or check a dictionary. Their alpha boxes might be expanded at some point into mini-dictionaries.

Name: ___________________________ Date: ____________________

Self AssessmentAnswer the following questions in the scale below:

1. During this unit, I am most proud of: ________________________________________________________________________________________2. One thing I could have done better was: _____________________________________________________________________________________3. I will remember: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. One question I have now is: _____________________________________________________________________________________________5. After this unit, what do you think about other people's points of view?Why should we study to other people's points of view?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What are the feelings and moods that lead to a revolution do you feel are important?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7. Is it important to study history? What do you think?____________________________________________________________