Curriculum
American Independence Unit Documents
Unit Guide, Unit Storyboard, Lesson Calendar; Brief Answers for Teachers
American Independence Lesson One
Unit Launch; A New British North America (Q1)
Students review the Unit Guide and Storyboard, and learn about different reactions to the British victory in the French and Indian War and the new British policies that resulted. They show their understanding by drawing “sensory figures.”
American Independence Lesson Two
The Story of the Stamp Act Controversy (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Stamp Act controversy, and tell the story back with a 4-Box Storyboard.
American Independence Lesson Three
What were the delegates at the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 thinking? (Q2)
Students interpret the declaration of the “Stamp Act Congress”
American Independence Lesson Four
The Story of the Boston Massacre (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Boston Massacre, and tell it back by writing their own 4-sentence stories.
American Independence Lesson Five
The Colonists Unite As Americans (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress, and tell the story back using a 4-Box Storyboard.
American Independence Lesson Six
The Revolutionary War Begins: The Battle of Lexington & Concord (Q1)
Students use a Plot Diagram to review the unit so far. Then they learn the story of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, then tell it back using “Because – But – So” Sentences.
American Independence Lesson Seven
Patriots Get Organized (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Second Continental Congress and the process of declaring independence. They tell the story back using a 4-Box Storyboard.
American Independence Lesson Eight
Why did Thomas Paine support independence? (Q2)
Students interpret part of Thomas Paine’s wildly successful pamphlet, “Common Sense.”
American Independence Lesson Nine
Why did Charles Inglis oppose independence? (Q2)
Students interpret a loyalist response to Paine.
American Independence Lesson Ten
Who were the Loyalists, and who were the Patriots? (Q3)
Students look at data on colonial political elites and explain how political, economic, and religious differences led some to become Patriots, and others to become Loyalists.
American Independence Lesson Eleven
What were the signers of the Declaration of Independence thinking? (Q2)
Students interpret an excerpted version of the Declaration of Independence to determine what the authors were thinking.
American Independence Lesson Twelve
Fighting for Independence (Q1)
Students learn the story of the American Revolution, and tell it back using “Because – But – So” sentences.
American Independence Lesson Thirteen
Justifying Revolutionary Violence (Q4)
Students consider the specific case of the American colonists and consider if they were justified in using violence to achieve independence, and then try to establish a general principle: When is violence justified to achieve political change?
American Independence Lesson Fourteen
Independence Achieved (For Some) (Q1)
Students consider how independence effected different groups in American society, and then sum up the unit in a six word story.