Becoming A Detective - What's the American Revolution?

You should already have an understanding of some of the events that led up to the American Revolution.

Here are some people, places, events, and concepts you should be familiar with to understand the American Revolution. If you don't understand the items listed below, use the materials below - activities and video clips - to build your background knowledge. To organize your background knowledge, you can keep your notes in the attached Vocabulary Organizer.

Resources To Build Background Knowledge

1. Book: Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution.

Through RAZ Kids, students can be assigned to read this book independently or listen to the eBook.

2. Review 13 colonies:

• BrainPop - The Thirteen Colonies (You will have to Login to BrainPop, do a search for 'Colonies' and click on the video for The Thirteen Colonies.)
• Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution, p. 4-5.

3. French and Indian War, 1754-1763

• BrainPop - French and Indian War (You will have to Login to BrainPop, do a search for 'French and Indian War' and click on the video for French and Indian War.)
• Discuss George Washington's role
• Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution, p. 6-10.

4. Taxation - Townshend Acts, Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765)

• Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution, p. 11-14.

5. Boston Massacre (1770)

• Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution, p. 15-16.

6. Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party (1773)

• Reading A-Z Level X: Seeds of the Revolution, p. 17-19
• Liberty's Kids Video#1 - Boston Tea Party

7. Intolerable Acts (1774) and Quartering Act

• Liberty's Kids Video#2 - The Intolerable Act

8. Patrick Henry

• Liberty's Kids Video#4 - Liberty or Death

9. Paul Revere

• Liberty's Kids Video #5 - Midnight Ride

10. War Begins, Lexington and Concord, 1775

• Liberty's Kids Video#6 - The Shot Heard Round the the World

11. Battle of Bunker Hill, June 1775

• Liberty's Kids Video #9 - Bunker Hill

12. Sybil Ludington

• Liberty's Kids Video #21 - Sybil Ludington

13. Valley Forge

• Liberty's Kids Video #24 - Valley Forge

14. Benedict Arnold

• Liberty's Kids Video #32 - Benedict Arnold

15. BrainPop - Causes of the American Revolution (You will have to Login to BrainPop, do a search for 'Revolution' and click on the video for Causes of the American Revolution.)

16. You can also watch BrainPop videos on: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. To learn about Patrick Henry and King George III, use World Book Kids (outside of school, you will have to log in to this resource).

17. Here is a video clip on Causes of the American Revolution by 8th grade Social Studies teacher in Minnesota, Mr. Canton. This should also help build your background knowledge.

Or use this link to the video http://viewpure.com/ilOhWwexHnI

18. You can review this "Steps Toward The Revolution" PowerPoint to build your background knowledge.

** TEACHER: 19. You can learn more about the Declaration of Independence by completing the Declaration of Independence Differentiated Learning Activity.

Activities below updated from the following: Winter 2009 Teaching With Primary Sources Quarterly Learning Activity - Elementary Level

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/quarterly/differentiated_instruction/pdf/elementary_activity.pdf

Declaration of Independence

PROCEDURE:

1. Review what students remember about key events and influential figures from the Revolutionary War period.
2. Ask students to share what they know about founding documents. Possible questions include:
   1. What is a founding document?
   2. Why were founding documents written?
   3. When are/were founding documents written?
3. Show the image of the Declaration of Independence
4. Discuss what students know about the Declaration of Independence.
   1. What type of document is this?
   2. Who wrote this document?
   3. When was the document written?
   4. Who was the audience for this document?
   5. Why was the document created?
5. Explain that students will learn more about the Declaration of Independence in this activity.

Part 1 - Differentiated Activities

• Option 1 - Declaration of Independence

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/index.php PHPSESSID=1005eac9748fac376f1d08ef7c477b08

• Students will access America's Library to learn about the roles that Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams played in writing the Declaration of Independence.
• Option 2 - This Is It!

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/h?ammem/bdsbib:@field(NUMBER+@od1(bdsdcc+02101))

• Students will read parts of the Declaration of Independence, examining important sections of the document.
• Option 3 - Deep Down Declaration

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/interactives/declaration-of-independence/overview.html

• Students will examine two of the five key phrases presented in the Creating the Declaration of Independence online activity. They will read source documents and choose the wording closest to Thomas Jefferson's draft.

Part 2 - All learners

The Declaration of Independence: Rewriting The Rough Draft online activity

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/rough-draft/

1. Hand out copies of the instructions for the online activity Big Decision to all students upon completion of Part 1.
2. Students will use the online activity Big Decision sheet to help edit Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence.
3. Remind students to keep in mind the message that the colonists hoped to deliver to King George III when choosing the wording for selected passages of the Declaration of the Independence.
4. When all of their edits are completed, ask students to select Compare Versions .
5. As an entire class, discuss students' discoveries about the Declaration of Independence. Ask students to explain and defend their word choices selected in the online activity.