A
teacher asked me what ideas I had for teaching about the American
Revolutionary War. I pondered over her question and here's what I came
up with. These are only suggestions.
First of all, you'll probably expect your students to glean the following concepts from their learning experiences:
The American Revolution led to the freedoms we experience today.
The American colonies had several reasons to separate from England.
You might also want to have your pupils explore these essential questions:
What does it mean to be free?
What is freedom?
When should a government reconsider what freedoms are available to its citizens?
Do citizens of a government ever have the right to choose not to follow the rules of their government?
Is there a better way of changing a government than with a revolution?
Is democracy the best form of government? Why or why not?
The Delaration of Independence is often called a beautiful and dangerous document. Is this an appropriate description?
The following knowledge and skills will help students gain a better understanding of the American Revolution.
-being able to list and discuss possible causes of the Revolutionary War.
-knowing key vocabulary terms ( for example, revolution, loyal, patriot, Tory)
-identifying how the following incidents contributed to the American Revolution: -The Stamp Act (Why not read a copy of the act that angered colonists? Was it really so bad?)
-The Intolerable Acts
-The Boston Tea Party (Here's an eye-witness account of what happened at the "party" that ruined a lot of tea.)
-The Townsend Acts
-The Quartering Act (Read the original act.)
-being able
to explain the roles of the Native Americans, African Americans, women,
and foreigners (for example, French and Germans) in the Revolutionary
War.
-reading a map of the United States and locating at least 3 major battles sites during the Revolutionary War
-listing and discussing at least 3 turning points in the war (for example, the crossing of the Delaware, Lexington and Concord).
-discussing the events associated with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
-explaining the role of the following people during the Revolutionary War period: King George III
Patrick Henry, famous for his "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington, the "Father of Our Nation" who became a living symbol
Benjamin Franklin
John Adams
Paul Revere
-being able
to list and describe the foreign countries (France, The Netherlands,
Russia) that contributed to the victory of the Americans of the
Revolutionary War.
-being able to explain how the Revolutionary War impacted the daily life of families (for example, what daily life was like and how it affected parents and their children). A colonial date line will be useful in doing this.
If students ask, "Why do we have to learn this stuff anyway?" the teacher might reply, "Why
are Americans fighting for democracy in a place such as Iraq? Why are
Americans risking their own lives to make sure that other people have
the right to vote? Is this important to you? It was important to people
in our own country over 200 years ago. Has anything changed since that
time? Do people today deserve not to have the right to vote or speak
out when they disagree with their government?" and begin asking
the essential questions listed above. The instructor could also suggest
that the class make a book about what is most important to American
citizens--a book that will be made available to the public library (so
that anyone in the community can read it) once the students have
answered the essential questions. Before making the book, however, the
students will need to know how America came by its unique freedoms. In
short, the pupils will need to study the American Revolution.
Below are some resources that may help your learners find their own answers to the suggested essential questions.
SparkNotes: The Revolutionary War 1775-1783 is extremely well-written and useful as an outline for teachers that wish to brush up on their understanding of the conflict.
America's Story should give students the context they need in order to understand when in our nation's history this whole story took place.
PBS’s popular Liberty! series has an interactive resource (The Road to Revolution) and a teacher’s guide.
Here’s a Revolutionary Webquest.
There’s a Virtual Marching Tour that ought to be useful.
History Central’s nicely organized Revolutionary War site has 3 links—a teacher’s guide, causes of the war, and battles and main events.
The History Place has some good links to basic Revolutionary War information as well.
The Timeline of American Revolution will probably come in handy.
Students might enjoy a Revolutionary War Scavenger Hunt or completing a 7th grade webquest (that could probably be adapted for use in a 4th grade classroom).
Revolutionary War Biographies may help learners get a better understanding of how and why people of this era did what they did.
Perhaps the resources above will be useful. I certainly hope so. Just in case students are curious about what rights they have, the 1st Amendment Center has quite a bit of information on this particular topic. Civic-minded pupils might also appreciate an opportunity to take n inteactive virtual tour of Washington, D.C.
