Courtney Miller

ED 747
Fall 2015

Breaking Ties with Great Britain Unit

United States: Adventures in Time and Place
By: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
Grade 5

Breaking Ties with Great Britain social studies unit focuses on events and
circumstances that leads to the Revolutionary War. It breaks down the different events
and people involved in events that lead the colonists to break ties with Great Britain.
Students will also learn about how the early government was formed and how laws were
carried out. Students will also know what taxes are and the importance of taxation
without representation and the effects taxes had on the colonists attitudes towards Great
Britain. The unit ends with the first few battles of the American Revolution.
Objectives:

Students will possess an understanding for how the American government was
established by demonstrating how the structure of colonial government operated.

Analyze the effects that British laws had on the colonists attitude towards Great
Britain.

Identify the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.

Recognize the important people involved.

Compare how events might happen in present times and how they happened in the
past.

Describe the first battles of the American Revolution.

A few fun things

The Kings skittles (mnms) activity

Having the citys mayor visit

Writing a speech, poem, or song

School House Rock short videos

Group activities- real world activity to better understand the growing tension
between the colonies and Great Britain.

Partner work

Creating a political cartoon on the revolution

Dump it off song (shake it off song) to begin discussion on the Boston Tea
Party

5-E Lesson Plan Template

Lesson 1

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Students will be able to explain why the colonist were upset with
British tax laws.
Students will be able to identify 2 tactics colonist used to
demonstrate their displeasure with these taxes.

Standards & Benchmarks addressed: (see reference page

attached for specifics)

Benchmark 2 indicator 3
Benchmark 3 indicator 2

Materials & Preparation:

Role cards
Taxes
M & Ms
Dixie Cups
Plastic spoons
Set up the King and Parliaments special spots

Engagement:
The Kings M&Ms activity
Exploration:
Working through the activity and letting the students natural
reactions take place. At the end of the collecting taxes part, figure out
what percentage each role gets. (Incorporates math skills)
Explanation:
Process the students feelings and work through the discussion
questions. Explore the different job titles and discuss taxation without
representation.
Extension:

How do people protest today?

o Today we have a say in how we are taxed and even how
much. Then Great Britain made those decisions, (a whole
ocean away).

Lesson 2

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Students will be able to describe the structure of colonial

governments

Standards & Benchmarks addressed: (see reference page for

specifics)

Benchmark 2 #3

Engagement:
Reflect over the Kings M & Ms activity quickly. Discuss
independence and the choice the colonists faced, (teacher book page
284) Read page 5 out of the book If You Were There in 1776 by:
Barbara Brenner
Exploration:
Vocabulary Words. Read pages 286 289 as a whole group.
Explanation:
Explain how a town meeting is structured, pointing out that it is a
place for people to express their views. Then have the class hold issues
that affect them in the classroom or school that might be resolved
through discussion, (teacher book page 287)
Extension:
Cause & Effect: How might voting out loud in front of a large
crowd affect the way people vote? (teacher book page 289)

Lesson 3

45 minutes

Emphasis

Students will be able to describe how the trial of John Zenger

won support for the right to free speech.

Standards & Benchmarks: (see reference page attached for

specifics)

Benchmark 2 #3, #4

Materials & Preparation:

City Mayor

Engagement:

Community resource: The city mayor comes to discuss with the

class how voting in this city works and the appropriate ways to
get in contact with the local government.

Exploration:
Ask the mayor questions and have productive discussions on
current issues in our city.
Explanation:
Read pages 290-291
Extension:
Have students write a short speech that a British colonist might
have written in support of self-government, (teacher book page 291)
Enrichment/adaptation for exceptional learners: write a poem or
song that expresses the ideas and feelings that an enslaved person, a
woman, or an indentured servant might have had about their status in
the colonies.

Lesson 4

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Students will be able to analyze the effects that British taxes had
on the colonists attitude towards Great Britain

Standards & Benchmarks: (see reference page attached for specifics)

Benchmark 2 #6
Benchmark 3 #1, #2, #3

Materials & Preparation:

Youtube video: School House Rock No More Kings 3 minutes

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-9pDZMRCpQ

Engagement:
Check for previous knowledge with reflection over taxation
without representation. Watch no more kings video and discuss, what
is tyranny and what does it mean to rebel?
Exploration:
Vocabulary words and read pages 292-295
Explanation:
Real World activity: Growing tensions (from Teachers Curriculum
Institute).
Extension:
Debrief the activity with students with questions from the
Teachers Curriculum Institute. (Lesson 10, page 135)
Evaluation:
Reflective questions:

How does this activity compare to life in the colonies?

How could us as students boycott the party?

o How does that compare to the colonist?

Who was at fault at the Boston Massacre?
Why would a colonist, John Adams, agree to defend the British
soldiers?

Lesson 5

45 minutes

Emphasis:
Students will be able to analyze the effects that British taxes had
on colonists attitudes toward Great Britain.
Standards & Benchmarks: (see reference page attached for
specifics)
Materials & Preparation:

Boston Tea Party worksheets

Youtube song: Dump it off 2 minutes
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c7bswVxuKs

Engagement:
Watch the youtube video/song
Exploration:
Read pages 296-297
Explanation:
Whole group: list the events so far in chronological order

Cause & Effect

Reading strategy: Graphic organizer storyboard/ chain of events
*sequencing

Extension:
Read from If You Were There in 1776 by: Barbara Brenner

Page 60 1 paragraph
Page 17-18

Evaluation:

Partner work: worksheet on the Boston Tea Party and No Right to

Tax.
Adaptation for exceptional learners: with a partner or independently,
discuss the concepts of treason and protest. Then write a brief essay
explaining why the colonists protests were or were not acts of treason,
(teacher book page 297).

Lesson 6

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Students will be able to interpret political cartoons

Standards & Benchmarks addressed: (see reference page for

specifics)
Materials & Preparation:

Paper for comic/political cartoons

Examples of political cartoons

Engagement:
Political cartoons on the revolution and whole group discuss a
few.
Exploration:
Read pages 298-299
Explanation:
Have students make their own political cartoon about one of the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Boston Tea Party

The Stamp Act
Freedom of Speech
Paying Taxes
Townshed Acts

Extension:

Small groups: have students interpret each others cartoons,

(teacher book page 298)

Evaluation:
Rubric
It makes
sense

0-2 points
The cartoon
does not
make sense
at all

Colorful
Illustrations
Neatness

No color

Small group

Refused to
participate

Total Points

The cartoon
is a mess

3-5 points
The cartoon
makes little
sense with
no
connection
to
requirement
s
1-2 colors

7-9 points
The cartoon
makes
almost
perfect
sense with
1-2
mistakes

10 points
The cartoon
makes
totally
sense

3-4 colors

The cartoon
is fairly
organized
but hard to
read
Sat in a
group but
refused to
share

The cartoon
is mostly
organized
and
readable
Participated
in the group
but did not
give much
feedback

5 or more
colors
Completely
legible and
organized
Participated
appropriatel
y and gave
several
peers
feedback
40 points

Lesson 7

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Students will be able to analyze the outcomes of the First

Continental Congress
Students will be able to describe the first battles of the American
Revolution

Standards & Benchmarks addressed: (see reference page for

specifics)
Engagement:
Read from If You Were There in 1776, page 20.
Exploration:
Vocabulary and read pages 300-305
Explanation:
Reading strategies: Reread a text in order to find the answer to a
particular question, to confirm a prediction, or review for a test. Have
students read the Paul Revere section 2x to ensure their understanding
of it. Remind the students to reread what they do not understand/is
unclear and then discuss with a partner how it changed their
understanding of the material.
Extension:
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Whole group (blooms taxonomy)

1. Why did the colonies rebel against the British government?
2. Give an example of self-government in the colonies
3. Cause & effect questions
Cause
Parliament passes the Stamp Act

Effect
Colonists protest; Sons of Liberty
formed
Townshed Acts were passed
Colonists boycott British goods
Boston Tea Party
British passes intolerable acts
Colonists fight Battle of Bunker
Colonists prove the seriousness of
their beliefs
4. How would the outcome have been different if the Boston Tea
Party never happened?
Answers:
1. The British government tried to control the colonies - they
couldnt move west and taxes on good without votes.
2. Town meetings, to solve problems colonial assemblies had the
power to print money, call for taxes, build roads, make land laws,
and organize militias.
3. The colonies might have not come together to fight for their
independence. Colonists might have given into the British and
they wouldnt have gained the kings attention. (Answers will
vary given the students perception).
Pass out a study guide worksheet for students to work through as
homework. The study guide is not a grade but a tool for students to
use how they wish. The assessment will not be until after the weekend
to give they time to study.

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Lesson 8

45 minutes

Emphasis:

Ensure understanding of the facts that caused the colonies to

break ties with Great Britain.
Assessment

Engagement:
Play a study game of Jeopardy review.
Evaluation:
Paper and pencil assessment. 30 points assessment. 1 point each
for the vocabulary and the multi choice. The short answer will be worth
4 points each as the answers can vary and I want to make sure
students get as much credit as their answer allows.

Chapter 11 Test

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Vocabulary
Write the letter of the definition to the correct vocabulary word.

___ Town Meeting

A. men who had to be ready for

battle at a
minutes notice

___ Liberty

B. A war between the colonists and

the
British

___ Treason
opinion

C. A drawing that expresses an

___ Stamp Act

D. A tax that required the colonists

to pay every time they bought a
newspaper

___ Political cartoon

___ Petition
___ American Revolution
by many people

E. Betrayal of ones country

F. Refusal to obey those in charge
G. A written request signed

___ Minutemen

H. Freedom

___ Rebel
problems

J. How the colonists solved

Short answer (use complete sentences)

1. Why did the colonies rebel against the British government? (give
at least 2 examples)

2. Give examples of how the colonists rebelled against the British

government

3. What happened at the Boston Tea Party? (give specific details)

4. How did the British government respond to the Boston Tea Party?

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Multiple Choice (Mark the best answer)

1. What right did the trial of John Paul Zenger establish for the
colonists?
a. Right to freedom of religion
b. Right to freedom of speech
c. Right to drink tea
2. Who was Paul Revere?
a. He warned the colonists that the British were coming
b. The first president
c. He organized the Boston Tea Party
3. What were the Sons of Liberty?
a. The sons of the King
b. A group of colonists who organized protests
c. A few men who rebel against the colony
4. Who was Mercy Otis Warren
a. A woman who encouraged women to give up tea
b. A woman who made the American flag
c. A lawyer
5. What was unusual about the capture of Fort Ticonderoga?
a. The Americans lost the fort to the British
b. They sat down and had dinner together
c. The Americans captured the fort without a fight

Work Cited
Bank, J., Beyer, B., Contreras, G., Craven, J., Ladson-Billings, G.,
McFarland, M., & Parker, W. (1997). Breaking Ties with Great
Britain. In United States Adventures in Time and Place (Teacher
ed., Vol. 1, pp. 284-307). New York, New York: Macmillan/McGrawHill.
Brenner, B. (n.d.). If You Were There in 1776 (p. 4,20,60). Simon &
Schuster.

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Reference Page

KS- Kansas Curriculum Standards

Subject: History & Government; Economics & Geography
Grade: Fifth Grade
Standard: History Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and
understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and
developments in the history of Kansas, the United States, and the world,
utilizing essential analytical and research skills.
Benchmark: Benchmark 2: The student uses a working knowledge and
understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and turning
points in colonization era of the United States (1607-1763).
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 2. (A) maps the patterns of colonial

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settlement (e.g., British, French, Spain, and Indigenous populations).

Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 3.(K) describes political and
economic structures in the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies
(e.g., political: House of Burgesses, town meetings, colonial forms of
representation; economics: agriculture, trade).
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 4. (A) compares and contrasts the
impact of European settlement from an American Indian and European point
of view.
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 6. (K) explains the causes and effects
of the French and Indian War on the American Revolutionary period.
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 7. (K) explains the impact of religious
freedom as colonies were settled by various Christian groups (e.g., Catholics
in Maryland, Quakers in Pennsylvania, Puritans in Massachusetts).
Benchmark: Benchmark 3: The student uses a working knowledge and
understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and turning
points in the American Revolution and the United States becoming a nation
(1763 to 1800).
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 1.(K) describes the causes of the
American Revolution (e.g., Proclamation of 1763, Intolerable Acts, Stamp
Act, taxation without representation).
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 2. (K) explains the significance of
important groups in the American Revolution (e.g., Loyalists, Patriots, Sons
of Liberty).
Knowledge/ Application Indicator: 3. (A) examines the significance of
important turning points in the American Revolution (e.g., Boston Massacre,
Continental Congress, Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord, Saratoga,
Valley Forge, Yorktown).

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