Causes of the American Revolution

Autumn Derr
SST 309-04
Winter 2020

Unit Planning Stage I: Considering Content and Learners

Considering the Content

I strongly believe that social studies is more than just textbooks and the stereotype that it
is purely vocabulary, dates and history. Social studies encompasses a vast variety of topics. My
perspective is supported by Beck and Parker as they mention, “...social studies education has
two goals: social understanding and civic competence”(Parker, W.C., & Beck, 2, T.A. (2017). It
is important to think of social studies through these goals because we want the students to
understand the material but also be able to use what they learn and apply it to their daily lives.
Students having cultural experiences and being able to relate to different types of music, religion,
literature and so much more, provide them with necessary skills, as well. Social Studies is
important because it gives the students an opportunity to talk about their culture of life and make
connections to the past, present and future.
This unit focuses specifically on the causes American Revolution. Studying the American
Revolution is imperative to 5th grade curriculum because it is a turning point in history and the
development of the United States of America. Concepts such as, nationalism, representation,
change and power will help demonstrate an understanding of the American Revolution. These
concepts are shown in the curriculum through different events as well as the colonist standing up
for what they believe in. Through these concepts, the student will be able to use their skills:
analyzing, describing, comparing, engaging, interpreting, identifying, explaining, etc. to extend
their thinking. The concepts and skills that are taught will assist the students as future citizens by
teaching them to embrace their role to make a difference and represent themselves.

Considering the Learners

Not all students learn the same. By giving them different types of learning goals and
using different methods it will be helpful to see how the class learns best and how you might
need to adjust the teaching methods. It also can give the students an opportunity to figure what
method they learn best from. “ A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students
learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their
progress in achieving them” (Bransford, J., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R., 2000, pg, 12). When
thinking about how students learn social studies, it is incredibly important to have the students
create or follow along to “I can” statements for each unit, lesson or subject. This helps set clear
standards as well as showing them how they can apply prior knowledge while striving to learn
new material.
Learning does not purely take place in the classroom but an essential part of it is exposure
to the outside world. A critical part of social studies is using your prior knowledge and making
new connections. Learning social studies requires children to make connections, which is an
efficient and effective way to learn new material. This can also help with clarification and help
them fully understand a topic. Students will learn better from doing compared to hearing and
reading. If they are able to make real life connections that can retain the information and look
back on it and have a deeper, richer understanding. The lessons in the unit plan give the students
opportunities to collaborate with their peers about the information leading to the revolution as
well as interact with different types of texts. Discussions will be a large part of the classroom to
avoid just reading the textbook, but talking about it and making connections will make the
information more engaging and retainable. Having the students makes connections to the
information they are learning is important, so during the lesson we can use current events and
acknowledge any similarities we might notice.
Some challenges from the 5th grade curriculum could stem from the skills that are
incorporated with the standards. The standards require the students to use different skills that
require more engagement to really create a more meaningful understanding. This however, might
be hard for the students to interpret and analyze compared to just reading about the answer. To
help with this challenge, our unit will have a lot of group or partner discussions. Being able to
talk with someone might help spark ideas or just make the learning environment more
comfortable. The goal is for each of the students to finish this unit feeling confident with the
material and being able to retain what they learned and use it in their future.

Why This Unit?

By the end of this unit the goal is for the students to have a strong understanding around
the causes of the American Revolution. It is important for them to see that power can really
affect people if it is used the wrong way. Each of the lessons in the unit plan will guide the
students to understand if power is always a positive thing. In their heads before the lesson they
might have an idea that power is like the government or their parents and how it is good to have
laws and rules. In the unit they will see that Britain’s power over the colonies was pushed too far
and they were taking advantage of the colonies and a revolution happened because of this. One
of the lessons even gives the students an opportunity to compare current events to the causes of
the American Revolution and think about if it is possible that one could occur in modern time.
This unit will prepare the students for their futures as students and citizens because it
gives them opportunities to make connections with what they are learning and the world around
them. It helps bring social studies to life and learn from what went wrong but also what went
right in creating our nation.

Unit Planning Stage II: Identifying Desired Results

Enduring Understanding: Economic, political and social differences between the colonists
and England led to conflict over representation and power. This created the need for
revolution and a new system.

Compelling Supporting Questions:

Question:
● How did the French and Indian War impact British rule on the
● Is power colonies?
always a ● Why did the Colonies dislike the new policy?
positive ● What was the significance of the Stamp Act?
thing? ● What was the significance of the Boston Massacre?
● What was the significance of the Boston Tea Party?
● What was the significance of the Intolerable Act?
● How were the views of power and authority difference between the
colonies and Britain?
● How did the First and Second Continental Congresses unify the
colonies?
● What was the influence of the Declaration of Independence on the
colonies?
 ● What individuals played key roles in leading the colonists to
revolution?
● What experiences with self-government influenced the colonists to
declare independence?
● What types of challenges did the colonies face?
● What were the choices for addressing the problem, describing the
actions taken?
● What is representation?

Behavioral Objectives:

Students will be able to (say “I CAN…):

● Describe how the French and Indian War affected British policy toward the colonies
and subsequent colonial dissatisfaction with the new policy. (5 – U3.1.1)
● Describe the causes and effects of events such as the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre,
the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. (5 – U3.1.2)
● Using an event from the Revolutionary era, explain how British and colonial views on
authority and the use of power without authority differed (views on representative
government). (5 – U3.1.3)
● Describe the role of the First and Second Continental Congresses in unifying the
colonies. (5 – U3.1.4)
● Use the Declaration of Independence to explain why many colonists wanted to separate
from Great Britain and why they believed they had the right to do so.(5 – U3.1.5)
● Identify the role that key individuals played in leading the colonists to revolution,
including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry,
Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Thomas Paine.(5 – U3.1.6)
● Describe how colonial experiences with self-government and ideas about government
 influenced the decision to declare independence.(5 – U3.1.7)
● Identify a problem that people in the colonies faced, identify alternative choices for
addressing the problem with possible consequences, and describe the course of action
taken.(5 – U3.1.8)
● Explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules and laws.
(D2.Civ.12.2-5.)
● Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak
about the subject knowledgeably. (CCSS RI. 5.9. )
● Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print
and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work,
and provide a list of sources. (CCSS WI. 5.8.)

Key Concepts: list of concepts students will need to understand Relevant Skills:
in order to be successful in the unit and reach the enduring
● Reading a map
understanding
● Make claims using
● Representation: all needs being met evidence
● Nationalism: identifying with your nation ● Analyze sources
● Conflict: disagreement or argument ● Define terms
● Power: having control ● Make
● Rebellion: to act out against a government interpretations
● Revolution: overthrow a system for a better one ● Generate questions
● Change: make different ● Summarize points
● Taxation: forced payments ● Analyze
● Equality: being the same perspectives
Important Knowledge: answer to all the supporting questions

● The French and Indian War was won by the British, but left them with great debt.
Taxing the colonies seemed like the best way to pay for this war debt.
● The colonists felt that they should not pay the newly imposed taxes, because they were
passed in England by Parliament not by the colonial government.
● The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax
was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of
printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other
publications, and even playing cards were taxed
● What started as a minor fight became a turning point in the beginnings of the American
Revolution. The Boston Massacre helped spark the colonists' desire for American
independence, while the dead rioters became martyrs for liberty.
● The Boston Tea Party was a raid that took place in the Boston Harbor in 1773, during
which American colonists dumped shiploads of tea into the water to protest a British tax
on tea. This event was important because it fueled the tension that had already begun
between Britain and America
● The Intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after
the Boston Tea Party. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for
their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to
the detriment of colonial goods.
● The First Continental Congress met in 1774 to make a list of complaints about the way
Britain was treating the colonies. Many people in America felt their concerns were not
being heard, and this caused more unhappiness in the colonies.
● First Continental Congress of 1774 – recognised the new local authorities in America
● 4th of July 1776 – Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson approved;
KingGeorge III‟s rule is called a period of tyranny, usurpations and injuries to America
● The Second Continental Congress issued a response to the Proclamation of Rebellion on
December 6, 1775, saying that despite their unwavering loyalty to the Crown, the
British Parliament did not have a legitimate claim to authority over the colonies while
they did not have democratic representation.
● The colonies wanted power to be within the local governments and not just have one
large overpowering system.
● During the American Revolution, George Washington led the colonial forces to victory
over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the
convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution
● In 1775, Jefferson was elected to the Continental Congress, a revolutionary assembly
made up of delegates from the 13 colonies. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of
Independence, which officially declared that the American Colonies were completely
free of British authority and influence.
● During the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin served in the Second Continental
Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was paramount
in obtaining support from King Louis XVI of France and was largely responsible for his
signing the important military alliance of 1778.
● Patrick Henry was an American Revolution-era orator best known for his quote "Give
me liberty or give me death!" Henry was an influential leader in the radical opposition
to the British government but only accepted the new federal government after the
passage of the Bill of Rights
● Samuel Adams was an early and exceptionally influential leader of Bostonians from
resistance to outright conflict with the British government in the 1760s and 1770s.
Adams helped organize the Sons of Liberty, signed the Declaration of Independence,
and was governor of Massachusetts.
● In the 1780s, Adams served as a diplomat in Europe and helped negotiate the Treaty of
Paris (1783), which officially ended the American Revolutionary War
● Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense, which encouraged colonist to break
free from the British
● Representation: the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of
being so represented.

Unit Planning Stage III: Determining Acceptable Evidence

Description of Formative Paper and Pencil Quiz/Test:
Assessments:
(hard copy attached with key)
● Concept Maps: Students
will sort ideas about the
causes of the war, into Overview:
events, people and The students will have a test at the end of the unit covering the
intentions. material learned. The test will reflect the cause of the American
● Anticipation Guide: Revolution, specifically focusing on the events, people who made
Before the unit and at the a significant impact and intentions of the war. This assessment
end of the unit the will include a variety of different questions: multiple choice,
students will be given matching, true and false, short response.
statements about the
causes of the war that Rationale:
they can either agree with The purpose of the test is to check the students' knowledge on the
or disagree with. They causes of the American Revolution. This assessment will display
will have the chance to if the lesson is being taught effectively for the students and they
defend their ideas to the are able to retain the information. The variety of questions are
rest of the class. intended to make sure the students understand the material.
● Think-Pair-Share: At
the end of each day
during the lesson, the
students will think about
the information taught
that day, then pair with a
partner and combine
ideas. Lastly, each pair or
a few pairs will share
outloud.
Performance Assessment:

Overview:
Each month the Henry Ford Museum has a special exhibit that draws in tons of families and
tourists everyday. Next month they asked if our class will create an exhibit representing the
American Revolution. With a partner your job is to create an artifact and write a description about it.
Your artifact can represent a person, event or object that you believe had a great influence on the
American Revolution! The visitors are depending on you being an expert on your topic/artifact.
Rationale:
The purpose of this activity is to help the students review the causes of the American Revolution in a
fun and engaging way. Having review guides and textbook reading can be overwhelming and does
not encourage the students to want to learn and absorb the information.The performance assessment
for this unit breaks up some of the material in this unit so the students and the partners can become
experts on something specific. They will have to know a lot about the artifact they chose because
they will have to explain it to their classmates. By providing an engaging way for students to review
information will help them make better connections and persuade them to want to learn more.
Objectives:
● (5 – U3.1.1)
● (5 – U3.1.2)
● (5 – U3.1.3)
● (5 – U3.1.4)
● (5 – U3.1.5)
● (5 – U3.1.6)
● (5 – U3.1.7)
● (5 – U3.1.8)
● (CCSS RI. 5.9. )
● (CCSS WI. 5.8.)

Cause of the American Revolution Unit Test

 16 Points

Directions: For the true/ False section please read through the statements, then choose if it is
either true or false. Write the FULL word true or false on the line provided. Each question is
worth 1pt.
True/ False:
1. The king decided the best way to pay off his debt after the war was to tax the colonies.
_______
2. There were a large amount of casualties for the colonists during the Boston Massacre.
_______
3. The Stamp Act required the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper used.
_______

Directions: For the matching section there is only one definition for each word. Please write the
correct letter on the provided line for the matching definition of the word. Each question is worth
1 pt.
Matching:

4. George Washtington____
A. served in the Second Continental
Congress and helped draft the
Declaration of Independence in
1776. He was paramount in
obtaining support from King Louis
XVI of France and was largely
responsible for his signing the
important military alliance of
1778.

5. Thomas Jefferson_____ B. was an American Revolution-era

orator best known for his quote "Give me
 liberty or give me death!"

6. Thomas Paine
C. led the colonial forces to victory
over the British and became a national
hero

7. Ben Franklin D. wrote the pamphlet Common

Sense, which encouraged colonist to break
free from the British

8. Patrick Henry E. wrote the Declaration of

Independence

F. helped organize the Sons of Liberty,

signed the Declaration of Independence,
and was governor of Massachusetts.

Directions: Each question in this section is a multiple-choice question with four answer choices.
Read each question and answer choice carefully and circle the ONE best answer. Each question
is worth 1 pt.
Multiple Choice:
9. Why did Common Sense have such a positive impact on the colonists?
a. It encouraged the colonies to break free from British rule.
b. It told the colonists who should be president.
c. Common Sense did not have a positive impact on the colonists.
d. It told the colonists to make peace with British rule.
10. What was the role of the First and Second Continental Congress?
a. Break apart the colonies
b. Unify the colonies to break away from British rule
c. Decide who will be president
d. Create new jobs
11. What was the main cause of the revolution and fight for independence?
a. The colonists want to be a part of Spain.
 b. They wanted to elect their own king for the colonies
c. The colonists only wanted representation in the government.
d. The colonists did not want to pay taxes and wanted representation in the
government.

Directions: For the short answer question please write FIVE complete sentences that answer the
question fully. Use specific names, and events if necessary in your response. Spell words to the
best of your ability. This question is worth 5 pts.
Short Answer:
12. Explain how British rule changed the colonists’ society specifically after the French and
Indian Rule? Why did this lead to the American Revolution?

Answer Key:
1. True
2. False
3. True
4. C
5. E
6. B
7. A
8. D
 9. A
10. B
11. D
12. The British rule became very overpowering, and gave little representation to the
Colonists. After the French and Indian war was won by the British, the king decided to pay back
his debt by taxing the colonies on everything. For example, the Stamp Act was created making
the colonists pay money for every printed paper they used. By the British imposing all of these
rules on the colonies it outraged them and ultimately encouraged them to start a revolution to
become independent from Britain. The British rule changed the colonies society by trying to
conform them more like British society as well as use them to their own benefit.

Exhibit Expertise!
Student Directions:
Each month the Henry Ford Museum has a special exhibit that draws in tons of families
and tourists everyday. Next month they asked if our class will create an exhibit representing the
American Revolution. With a partner your job is to create an artifact and write a description
about it. Your artifact can represent a person, event or object that you believe had a great
influence on the American Revolution! The visitors are depending on you being an expert on
your topic/artifact.

1. You and your partner choose a person, event or object

2. Confirm your choice with the teacher
3. Start with writing your description, it should include specific dates, names, terms,
events etc. that we have learned this unit
4. Your description should be no less than 250 words
5. Make sure your description is NOT just a list of facts.
6. When your description is complete start working on your artifact
7. Be creative with your artifact, you can make it 2D or 3D
8. Add color and make it unique!
 We will be beginning this assessment on Wednesday and I will give you Thursday,
Friday and the weekend to finish your description and artifact! On Monday we will begin our
gallery walk. On the first day of the exhibit either you or your partner will be standing with the
artifact so you can talk to all the guests about your creation. On the second day whoever did not
represent the arteact the day before will now stand with the artifact and share their expertise
about it. On the day you are not sharing you will be taking a gallery walk around the exhibit to
see what your classmates have created.

Instructor Directions:

● When:
○ The end of the unit, the week before the summative assessment
● Materials:
○ Crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint
○ Construction paper
○ Scissors
○ Clay
○ Pipe cleaners
○ Glue
○ Line paper
○ Pencils

● How:
○ Choose the student’s partners by pulling the popsicle sticks with their names on
them
○ Once the students have their partners allow them 5 minutes to choose what they
want their artifact to represent
○ If you see some students confused or unable to think of what to represent give
them some ideas
■ George Washington
 ■ The Stamp Act
■ The First Continental Congress
○ Once they have their idea, please check to make sure it is accurate to the causes of
the revolution and it is something that we have covered in this unit.
○ The students will have today, Thursday, Friday and weekend to finish this
assessment. On Monday we will begin the gallery walk

Rubric:

Beginning Developing Accomplished Score

1 2 3

Requirements ● There was ● An artifact ● An artifact

no artifact was was displayed
to be displayed with details
displayed. with and color
● The minimal provided.
description effort and ● Dates, names,
had no color. and events
mention of ● Dates, were
dates, names, or accurately
names or events were provided.
events. mentioned. ● Detailed
● There was ● A minimal descriptions
no description were provided.
description was
 provided. provided.

Presentation ● The ● The ● The presenter

presenter presenter gives a
just lists gives a detailed
facts. description explanation of
● The of the the artifact
presenter is artifact in along with
not addition to interesting
engaged facts. facts.
with the ● The ● The presenter
activity. presenter is energetic
speaks and engaged.
clearly with
purpose.

Creativity ● The artifact ● The artifact ● The artifact

noticeably shows some shows a lot of
had a lack effort made. effort was put
of effort. ● The artifact into it.
● The artifact was made ● The artifact
was made with color was modeled
with no and detail. and designed
color. ● An artifact with detail and
● There was was color.
no artifact displayed. ● The
to be ● The description
displayed. description was detailed
● The is a small and well
description paragraph. written.
was just
bulleted
 information
.

Feedback

Causes of the American Revolution Unit Calendar

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Is power always a Using new words The British lost What was the What makes What makes
positive thing? to better our the French and significance of someone someone
understanding Indian war, so the Stamp Act, influential? influential?
why do the Intolerable continues...
colonies get a Acts, Boston
new policy? Tea Party and
the Boston
Massacre?

Hooking Lesson Academic Vocab New Policy Causes and Text Based Text Based Lesson
Lesson Lesson effects Lesson Lesson Debate
 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12

What is
What experiences Could there be Wax Museum! Wax Museum! Putting everything
representation?
with self- an American together! Unit test
government Revolution in covering the causes
influenced the today’s world? of the American
colonists to Revolution.
declare
independence?

Episode of
Representation Discussion Liberty Kids, Performance Performance Paper/Pencil test
Lesson Based Lesson The American Assessment Assessment

Revolution

Day 1: Hooking Lesson

In this lesson the students will receive a handout where they must write what they think power is
and how it affects individuals, then draw a picture that represents power in their mind. After they
complete the worksheet the students will break off into groups of four and create a frozen picture
with their bodies demonstrating power. Each group will come up to the front of the class and
show us their frozen image then share with the class their interpretation.
Full Lesson plan follows

Day 2: Academic Vocab Lesson

The goal of this lesson is to not overwhelm the student with a unit worth of vocab words, but to
introduce a few a week and be able to be comfortable with the words. In the text “Beringing
World to Life” it talks about how there are three things we want the students to do with their new
vocab words: use the words, explore facets of word meanings, consider relationships among
words. Using these three steps it will really help the students be able to connect with the words
and understand that they have a place for the words in their vocabularies. In this activity the
students will fill in the blanks with the correct vocab word. The sentences will connect back to
the overall unit, the American Revolution. Next, the students must create four sentences using
the words in their sentences.
Vocabulary words:
1. Hardships
2. Protest
3. Assemblies
4. Establish
Full Lesson plan follows

Day 3: New Policy Lesson

In this lesson the students will read about the new policy Britain provided for the
colonies. After reading it they will get in partners and either develop a policy that would have
been fair for the colonist, OR write a letter to the British government explaining why they do not
agree with the policy and demanding representation. The instructor will split the groups in half,
one half writing a new policy and the other writing the letter. At the end of the class we will
share our documents then discuss how the new policy is one of the causes of the American
Revolution.

Day 4: Causes and Effects Lesson

In this lesson the students will read through the textbook about each of these important
events and fill out a handout. The handout will have the event written above a chart with one side
saying causes and the other saying effect. The students will fill in the chart based on the
information they read in the book. At the end of the lesson we will discuss as whole to make sure
one is missing any information and to answer any questions that might still be lingering.

Day 5: Text Based Lesson

 In this lesson the students will be divided into groups. Each group has one person that the
standards list as influential to the American Revolution. The group's task will be to debate on
why their person is either influential or not. We will have a mini debate between the groups to
see if these men were equally as important to the American Revolution. The question the
students should focus on is, were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin,
Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Thomas Paine all equally influential to the
American Revolution?
Full Lesson plan follows

Day 6: Text Based Lesson continued

Day 7: Representation Lesson

For this lesson the students we will do a strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, disagree
activity. I will have a sign with each option hanging on a wall. I will go through a list of different
statements about the colonists and their actions. The students will pick a wall that their own
opinion best falls under. After each statement we will go around the classroom asking for some
reasoning behind their choices. This will help the students get a better idea about what types of
choices and decisions the colonists made and if they were always positive or negative.

Day 8: Discussion Based Lesson

This lesson is going to focus on having a discussion about what might be the causes in
the modern world to cause an American Revolution. To begin the lesson you will introduce some
controversial topics like technology, social media, government, travel etc. We will also re visit
the causes of the American Revolution so we can make connections. Next we will go into the
focus of this lesson, we are going to do this through think, pair, share! The students will begin by
brainstorming some ideas on paper, then with their seating partner, then as a whole group will
talk about what we have come up with.
Full Lesson plan follows

Day 9: TV Episode
 For this lesson I chose to have a short tv episode to give the students a variety of learning
tools. This episode is very educational but also just kind of a fun way to integrate learning and
media. Also, this lesson can be removed if one of the others needs an extra day, we can be
flexible.

Day 10: performance assessment

Each month the Henry Ford Museum has a special exhibit that draws in tons of families
and tourists everyday. Next month they asked if our class will create an exhibit representing the
American Revolution. With a partner your job is to create an artifact and write a description
about it. Your artifact can represent a person, event or object that you believe had a great
influence on the American Revolution! The visitors are depending on you being an expert on
your topic/artifact.
Full Lesson plan follows

Day 11: Performance assessment continued

Day 12: Unit Test

The purpose of the test is to check the students' knowledge on the causes of the
American Revolution. This assessment will display if the lesson is being taught effectively for
the students and they are able to retain the information. The variety of questions are intended to
make sure the students understand the material.
Hooking Lesson Plan

Your Name: Autumn Derr

Length of lesson: 68 minutes (3min of prep)

Title: Is power always a positive thing?

Overview: In this lesson the students will receive a handout where they must write what they
think power is and how it affects individuals, then draw a picture that represents power in their
mind. After they complete the worksheet the students will break off into groups of four and
create a frozen picture with their bodies demonstrating power. Each group will come up to the
front of the class and show us their frozen image then share with the class their interpretation.

Objectives:
● Students will be able to explain how power affects individuals. (5 – U3.1.8)
● Students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (CCSS WI. 5.4.)
● Students will be able to explain how rules and laws change society and how people
change rules and laws. (D2.Civ.12.2-5.)

Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding: Some challenges the

students might face might be misconceptions of power. Power can mean many different things in
our world, electricity, superheros and authority. It might be hard to have the students try to think
of it in the context of being an authoritative idea. Another challenge that might occur could be
with the students' interpretations. It is hard to interpret a statement that is so broad, and some
students might find it difficult to write or draw about what they think power is.

Materials/Evidence/Sources:
● Handout for writing and drawing what power is
● Sticks with names on the to pick groups
● crayons , colored pencils, markers
● Exit ticket

Assessment: After this lesson the instructor will have the students complete an exit ticket. The
students will write about one new thought they have about power, and one thing about how
power is a part of the American Revolution. This will help review from what we learned during
this lesson but also get their minds thinking about what the rest of the unit is going to be derived
from.

Instructional Sequence:
1. Before the class returns from lunch draw on the whiteboard a picture of a crown. 3 min
2. When the class comes back from lunch don’t say anything about your drawing and let them
just think about what it could mean. 3 min
3. Ask the students some questions like, “What is the picture I drew?” “Where do you see
these?” “Who wears these?” “What do these represent?” 5 min
4. Ask the students, what comes to mind if I write “power” underneath the crown? Give them
some time to think. 3min
5. Pass Out the handout with the lines and a box 2 min
6. Write on the board the title, “Is power always a positive thing?” 1min
7. Explain that you are going to give the students some time to write three complete sentences
about what they think power is, and how it affects individuals. Then tell them in the box they
will draw an illustration that matches their idea of power. Tell them to use color in their
drawings. 12 min
8. Grab the popsicle sticks with the students' names on them and call off names in groups of four
and have the students sit by their group mates. 5 min
9. Explain to the groups that they will now discuss as a group what type of frozen picture they
want to create with their bodies to share with the class. Tell them the frozen picture should
portray what power might look like. They should also come up with a reasoning to why they
chose this frozen image and their interpretation. Choose one of the group's members to be the
spokesperson. (A frozen picture is where the students pose and hold the pose! All of the poses
should create a picture of them portraying something) 10 min
10. There should be 6 groups in the class and each group will get 2 minutes to go up to the front
of the class and hold their frozen image then the spokesperson will give the explanation. 12 min
11. After all the groups have shared, take a few minutes to connect the activity back to the
compelling question. How did some of the frozen images show power as a positive? Were
people working together to solve an issue? Where people help others? How did some of the
frozen images show power as a negative? Was there some standing over other people? Were
some people being hurt? 8 min
12. After the lesson please pass out the exit tickets. 2 min
13. Have the students fill out the exit tickets, that should include one thing they learned about
power, one thing about how they might think power is part of the American Revolution lastly,
include a sentence about how they think power could have caused the American Revolution. 5
min

Directions: Write three complete sentences about what you think power is, and how it affects
individuals. Then draw an image that best represents you thinking!
EXIT TICKET: Write two complete sentences, including one new thing you learned about power
and one thing you think power will relate to the causes of the American Revolution.
 Academic Vocabulary/Concepts Lesson Plan

Your Name: Autumn Derr

Length of lesson: 50 minutes

Title of Lesson: Vocabulary Lesson

Overview:
The goal of this lesson is to not overwhelm the student with a unit worth of vocab words, but to
introduce a few a week and be able to be comfortable with the words. In the text “Beringing
World to Life” it talks about how there are three things we want the students to do with their new
vocab words: use the words, explore facets of word meanings, consider relationships among
words. Using these three steps it will really help the students be able to connect with the words
and understand that they have a place for the words in their vocabularies. In this activity the
students will fill in the blanks with the correct vocab word. The sentences will connect back to
the overall unit, the American Revolution. Next, the students must create four sentences using
the words in their sentences.
Vocabulary words:
1. Hardships
2. Protest
3. Assemblies
4. Establish

Objectives:
- Students will identify a problem that people in the colonies faced, identify alternative
choices for addressing the problem with possible consequences, and describe the course
of action taken.(5 – U3.1.8)
- Students will explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules
and laws. (D2.Civ.12.2-5.)
 - Students will determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. (CCSS RD. 5.4.)

Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:

A challenge for the students could be making personal connections to the vocab words in this
lesson at first. The students will have to take into account their prior knowledge after hearing the
friendly definition for each word. Another challenge might be a reading disability that makes it
difficult to read the vocab words in a different context.

Materials/Evidence/Sources:
- Whiteboard
- Whiteboard marker
- Worksheet handout

Assessment: At the end of the lesson the students will turn in the handout where they filled in
the vocab words to the sentences about the American Revolution and the sentences they
constructed. We will go over in class the answers to the first part, and I will look over the
sentences they created.

Instructional Sequence:
1. First introduce the four new vocabulary words: hardships, protest, assemblies, establish
2min
2. Write the friendly definitions for each word on the board 3 min
3. Have the students copy down the friendly definitions in their notes. 3 min
4. Introduce the activity for this lesson, they will fill in the blanks with the new vocab words
that BEST fit. 3 min
5. Give the students some time to answer the questions. 5 min
6. As a class go over the correct answers. Don’t just give them the answers but ask them
what they think and why? Why does this sentence sound like a hardship? 10 min
 7. Talk a little about if any of these new words have connections to power? Give the
example, maybe people are protesting negative power? Or maybe people are assembling
to support the new government. 5 min
8. Ask the students if there are any questions or confusion about the new words. 3 min
9. Next, explain that now they will create 4 sentences using the new words. All four of the
sentences can but don’t have to be related. 2 min
10. Give the students some time to write their own sentences. 10 min
11. Once the students are done ask for a few volunteers to share their sentences. 5 min
12. Collect the handouts. 2 min

Beck, Isabel L., et al. Bringing Words to Life, Second Edition : Robust Vocabulary Instruction,
Guilford Publications, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Friendly Definitions:

1. Hardship: to be faced with difficulties

2. Protest: to go against a rule or idea
3. Assemblies: gather together for a common cause
4. Establish: make something permanent

Name:

Directions: Please fill in the blanks with the BEST fitting vocab term. Then create four sentence
using the vocab terms in your own words.
 1. Hardships
2. Protest(ed)
3. Assemble
4. Establish(ed)
● Paying taxes to pay off Britain's debts from the French and indian war was
________for the colonists.
● The colonist______ the new policy.
● A great way for the colonists to tell Britain what they wanted was
to_____________together and tell them they want representation.
● George Washington was_______as a national hero after leading the colonial
forces to victory.

Working with Texts Lesson Plan Format

Your Name: Autumn Derr

Length of lesson: 55 minutes

Title of lesson: Mini presentations

Overview:
 In this lesson the students will be divided into groups. Each group has one person that the
standards list as influential to the American Revolution. The group's task will be to debate on
why their person is either influential or not. We will have a mini discussion between the groups
to see if these men were equally as important to the American Revolution. Other groups can ask
questions while each group presents their person. The question the students should focus on is,
were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams,
John Adams, and Thomas Paine all equally influential to the American Revolution?

Objectives:
● Students will identify the role that key individuals played in leading the colonists to
revolution, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick
Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Thomas Paine.(5 – U3.1.6)
● Students will describe the causes and effects of events such as the Stamp Act, the Boston
Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. (5 – U3.1.2)
● Students will explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals,
events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific
information in the text. (CCSS RE. 5.3.)
● Students will explain why individuals and groups during the same historical period
differed in their perspectives. (D2.HIS.4.3-5.)

Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:

This lesson includes names of people that the students might have heard or learned about
before. They might have some pre-dispositions about these men and how they had such an
impact on America. To try and address I will have the students pretend they have never heard of
these men before and do some research to take notes on their person. In the end they should have
a good idea on the influence of all the men. Another challenge might be having to read through
different text to gather information. By working in groups it should help limit the amount of
work one student would have to do.
Materials/Evidence/Sources:
● A History of US textbook
● Notes sheet (attached below)
● Computer to show video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3zvT3r_640)
● Printed out picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware (attached below)
● 7 Chrome books for research

Assessment: For the assessment, still in their groups, I will have the students list the individuals
they deem most influential and write one sentence for each person that states why they picked
them. Some groups might include all of the men in their lists, some groups might only have a
few, both are ok. Some of the groups may even find a different individual they would want to
add to the list. The goal of this assessment is to see what they learned from the presentations and
to show their perspectives on historical figures during the American Revolution.

Instructional Sequence:

1. Begin the class with placing the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware.
Ask the students what stands out to them the most, what catches their eyes. Talk for a few
minutes why they think George Washington is the only one standing and has colors on
that grab people's attention. By having him positioned like this it gives the impression
that George Washington was more important than anyone else on the boat. Who were the
other people? (10 min)
2. Ask the students what kinds of people do they notice are not on the standard (women,
children, enslaved individuals etc.) Next, please play the short video clip that introduces
Abigail Adams and her influence during this historical period.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3zvT3r_640) (5 min)
3. Talk about what they are thinking about after watching this video, is the list truly the
most influential people? (5 min)
4. Introduce the question that the students will be working around, “were George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John
 Adams, and Thomas Paine all equally influential to the American Revolution, if at all?”
(1min)
5. Place the students in 7 groups (Approx. 4-5) students in each group. You may use the
popsicle sticks with their names on them to create the groups. (3 min)
6. Give each group one person on the list to research about. (1 min)
7. Pass out a notes handout to each individual student. Everyone should have their own
copy. (2 min)
8. Each group should have, notes sheet, a name of a person, a textbook and a chromebook.
Give them time to research, and float around the classroom to answer questions. 10 min
9. Have the students arrange the tables to all be facing inward so we can see each other's
faces. (3 min)
10. Begin the presentation by asking the initial question and getting yeses or nos from the
groups. Tell the class that while the debate is going they should be filling out their notes
sheet.
(20 min)
11. If the students are having a hard time getting the presentations started you can start by
having them think back about the painting of George Washington and why might the
artist have chosen him to be the one standing, what were his major accomplishments?
12. After the presentations, have the groups get one piece of scrap paper and write a list from
most influential to least, writing one sentence to defend their choices next to each name.
(10 min)

Instructor Notes:
● At the end of the unit we will address these lists again and see if anything changes as we
work through this unit.

Names: Quote: Key Photo:

 accomplishments:

George Washington

John Adams

Ben Franklin

Patrick Henry
Samual Adams

Thomas Paine

Thomas Jefferson
 Discussion Lesson Plan

Your Name: Autumn Derr

Length of lesson: 50 minutes

Title of Lesson: American Revolution in the modern world

Overview:
This lesson is going to focus on having a discussion about what might be the causes in the
modern world to cause an American Revolution. To begin the lesson you will introduce some
controversial topics like technology, social media, government, travel etc. We will also re visit
the causes of the American Revolution so we can make connections. Next we will go into the
focus of this lesson, we are going to do this through think, pair, share! The students will begin by
brainstorming some ideas on paper, then with their seating partner, then as a whole group will
talk about what we have come up with.

Objectives:

● Students will describe the causes and effects of events such as the Stamp Act, the Boston
Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. (5 – U3.1.2)
● Students will describe how the French and Indian War affected British policy toward the
colonies and subsequent colonial dissatisfaction with the new policy. (5 – U3.1.1)
● Students will explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules
and laws. (D2.Civ.12.2-5.)
● Students will recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information
from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished
work, and provide a list of sources. (CCSS WI. 5.8.)

Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:

A big challenge for this lesson would be the students making connections to the causes of the
American Revolution and modern day issues. It will require some in depth thinking as well as
using outside knowledge about the world. When we do this lesson, the students will already have
a solid foundation on the causes of the American Revolution so we should not have to take much
time reviewing and be able to really dive into the discussion part.

Materials/Evidence/Sources:
● Think, pair, share worksheet
● 12 Chromebooks
● Articles for some dicussion ideas https://theconversation.com/is-the-united-states-on-the-
brink-of-a-revolution-123244
https://www.procon.org

Assessment:
At the end of the discussion the students will turn in their think, pair, share worksheets. The
discussion itself will show how much the students are able to make connections and how they
can use what they already know to build ideas.

Instructional Sequence:
1. Talk about as a group what the causes of the American Revolution were. This should be
review ,so do not take too much time talking about it. 5 min
2. Next, ask the students what types of things in today’s world might cause a Revolution
within our country? Give some examples like, social media, technology, travel and
government. Only introduce ideas, don’t have the students explain just yet. 3 min
3. Give them a few minutes to write down their thoughts on their worksheet. They can
either write down ideas or scenarios. It does not have to be very specific since this is just
the think section. 3 min
4. Have them turn to their seating partner and together they should combine their ideas or
think of new ones and write them in the pair section. You can also hand out the
chromebooks so they can do a little research. Have them aim for 5 to 8. 10 min
5. This should take the bulk of the lesson, as a group discusses what everyone's ideas were
and how they are similar to each other, but also what patterns they see from the original
American Revolution. Some patterns that might come up could be social media, because
of the large influence it has on all ages. Also, another idea is the government, even the
students might hear what their guardians say about what’s going on in the world. 20 min
6. If the students need a starting point you can introduce the idea about how there is a big
divide in our nation right now because of the president and government. So people do not
agree with the way the nation is being run, similarly to how the colonists did not agree
with how Britain was running the colonies. 2 min
7. Before you collect the worksheets, talk as a group about why revolutions occur? What
really sent the colonists over with the way they were being treated by Britain? 5 min
8. At the end of the discussion have the students turn in their worksheet. 2 min

Name:
Focus Question: What might be the causes in the modern world to cause an American
Revolution?

Think Pair Share

Unit Reflection
Before starting this unit I had a very vague memory about the American Revolution. I
knew the basic facts about who it was between and what the colonists wanted, as well as the big
names like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. It was not until we read the
book in the beginning of the semester that more detail began to flood my brain. It was shocking
about how much of the American Revolution I forgot or maybe did not even learn. Making this
unit plan would have been near impossible without reading “The American Revolution: A
history”. The Michigan standards were also very beneficial by providing a structure and timeline
almost. I had to do a little research, especially for stage II to explain my supporting questions and
to get a better understanding about the detail that was in the standards. I really needed to get a
good understanding of the causes of the American Revolution to write a unit plan that would
actually be beneficial to the students learning. While creating my lesson plan, I used all the peer
feedback I received because it is always good to see other people’s perspectives and opinions.
My partner always gave good ideas, like adding in a part in the sequences to give examples for
the students or in the discussion if no one is talking to add in a step where you get the discussion
started. The goal was to make the unit plan as perfect as possible and sometimes we need others
help to achieve that goal.
My overall perspective of social studies had changed immensely. Social studies is so
much more than just dates and names but it is an opportunity for students to make connections
and prepare themselves for the real world. On the first day of class we talked about the two goals
of social studies being social understanding and civic competence, and this couldn’t be more
accurate. Every teacher or school should really see social studies through these to goals and how
important they are, rather than making social studies the back thought and thinking how its not as
equally important as english and math. In the future I plan to use what I have learned for this
class. I learned that social studies does not have to be memorization and reading from a textbook
everyday but it can be taught through activities and discussions. I love the idea of incorporating
current events into the classroom because it is so important to know what is going on in the
world and see what we can learn from it.
The biggest challenge I faced in creating this unit is making sure everything is tied
together. For me, it was hard to keep the enduring understanding in mind while creating each
part of the unit plan and making sure it flowed. I wanted to make sure each lesson sort of
connected back to the concept of power but still making each lesson uniquely different. I am
most proud of all the lessons. I have never made a lesson plan, let alone an entire unit plan,
before and it is really nice to know that I created some with my own ideas while still
incorporating the standards. My perspective on teacher’s influence has changed a lot. I thought
that everything was just handed to teachers and there was a very strict, structured way to teach
but I learned that you can add in some of your own methods.