Yulia Bezriadina

Natalie Fisher
Patrick Howell

Lesson Plan #1

Name: Perspectives in the Boston Massacre

Class/Subject: Grades 7/8 Combined Classroom, Empires and Nations

Date: March 8th, 2011

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

1. As a class, students will analyze a variety of sources on the Boston Massacre, including
text, video, and images.
2. Students will compare and contrast the various perspectives involved in the Boston
Massacre and be able to explain the differences and similarities within a class
discussion.

Content Standards:
● 1.C.3a Use information to form, explain and support questions and predictions.
● 16.A.3b Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and
other historical sources.
● 16.A.4b Compare competing historical interpretations of an event.

Materials/Resources/Technology:
● History of US: From Colonies to Country textbook
● Projector
● PowerPoint with images/video
● Computer with Internet access
● History Channel Video: (http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-
us/videos/boston-massacre#boston-massacre)
● Picture 1: (http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/massacre.html)
● Picture 2: (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mpimages/mp015.jpg)

Teacher’s Goals:
● To help students use a variety of sources, including text, video, and images, available to
learn about a historical event.
● To guide the students through multiple perspectives of a singular event, The Boston
Massacre.

Time:
8:35 AM Start of Class
Teachers will ask students to which they prefer: reading, watching a video, or looking at a
picture about an event and why.

8:37 AM Introduction of Lesson

There are multiple resources we can use to learn about topics and events in history.
Today we will utilize three different ways by reading an excerpt from our textbooks,
watching a video clip, and comparing two pictures on the Boston Massacre. We will also
be comparing perspectives on the Boston Massacre, and explaining the differences in
views. These differing perspectives can influence the way we understand the Boston
Massacre.

8:38 AM Lesson Instruction

The teachers will call on two students to read pages 63-65 in their textbook aloud to the class.
These pages describe the causes, people, and events of the Boston Massacre. The teachers
will then ask the class the following questions for a class discussion:

What were some of the causes of the Boston Massacre?

Who was responsible for causing the clash between the British troops and colonists?
What were the outcomes of the clash?

After discussing the textbook account, the teachers will show a 3 minute video from the History
Channel website on the Boston Massacre and compare this account of the Boston Massacre to
the description in the textbook.

This account in our textbook is one way to learn about the Boston Massacre. Now, we
will watch a video from the History Channel website that also describes an account of the
Boston Massacre. Pay attention to any differences or similarities between the textbook
and video accounts.

(8:53 AM) After the video, teachers will lead a discussion comparing the video to the textbook
with the following questions:

What are some similarities between the textbook and video descriptions?
What are some differences between the textbook and video descriptions?
How can these differences affect our interpretation of the Boston Massacre?
Can one account influence your view or opinion of the Boston Massacre?

(9:03 AM) Students will then look at two pictures of the Boston Massacre, one from the
American point of view and the other from the British. The Boston Massacre (1770) image by
Paul Revere shows the Colonists point of view and the Boston Massacre image (1868) shows
the British point of view.
Teachers will ask the students to take out a piece of paper and write down at least 4 differences
between the paintings that show the difference between the American and British perspectives.
Students will then share some of their examples with the class.

Teachers will then ask the students the following questions:

If you were to look at only one of the images, what would be your opinion of the Boston
Massacre? In support of the colonists? British?
How can these opposing images create biased views of the Boston Massacre?

9:13 AM Assessments/Checks for Understanding

Questions posed to students throughout lesson instruction will be used to check understanding
of material as well as engagement with the content. In addition, students’ written responses
comparing and contrasting the images depicting the Boston Massacre will be used by the
teachers to further measure student learning.

9:18 AM Closure/Wrap-Up/Review
With today’s technology and resources, there are multiple types of sources available to
learn about historical events, such as the Boston Massacre. By looking at these differing
sources, multiple perspectives and biases are evident. These biases can influence and
alter the way we view events, leading to multiple perspectives. As historians, it is our job
to view and analyze all perspectives in order to get a complete understanding of the
historical event.

9:20AM Self-Assessment
Teachers will gauge student learning by assessing their responses and interactions during the
lesson. Teachers will also write down on the lesson plan sheet what went well and what could
be improved on within the lesson.