American Revolution

11th Grade
American History

Tyler Deffner

HST 480

9/25/2017

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STAGE I GOALS
Unit Overview:
Students in this Unit will explore various reasons for The American revolution. Students
will explore reasons a colony would revolt against its nation. Reasons for the revolution will be
explored in detail as students will learn the standards pertaining to British taxation and control on
colonial trade. Dissecting the declaration of independence and connecting listed grievances with
examples learned within the unit as well as using the article to introduce new events that led to
the revolution. Political stimuli such as the Boston Massacre will be explored and students will
be asked to form connections to what current political stimuli would look like. Other events that
will be visited and focused are pivotal ones in the scope of the war and determining its direction.
These include events such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown.
A large focus for students in this unit will be the understanding of motivations. The
reasons why an event such as the American Revolution took place tie together all events and
people. Students will also explore the impact outside nations had on a American victory.
Explanations of Dutch and French involvement will be required, as students are to understand
concepts of foreign relations and the motivations other nations would have to aid a revolution.
Students will use primary sources from both sides of the revolution to better understand
motivations.

Enduring Understanding: The United States Declared Independence due to political and
economic repression, and sought self governance.

Essential Question: Why did the United States Declare Independence?

Key Concepts:

● Taxation- The collection and raising of which raised tensions with colonists. leading to
woes with British Rule.
● Tariffs- A tax placed on goods when they are shipped into a port, collected by the British
on goods sent to the colonies
● Political Stimuli- Events that cause unrest amongst individuals in which they turn to the
government to resolve. These events could range from massacres to court proceedings.
● Revolt- The act of bringing arms against one's government in aims of challenging their
rule.
● Declaration- An act of stating an intent to act on one's desires and goals.
● Colonialism- The system for the spread of a nation's influence, political, militarily, and
economically, through the establishment of settlements away from the homeland of a
nation.
● Enlightenment- The philosophical movement that placed an emphasis on equal rights for
all men and individual rights.
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 ● Standing Army- A professional army of soldiers that is not disbanded during a time of
peace. Requiring a large amount of funds to maintain.

Standards:

Arizona Standards for Social Studies:

Strand 1: American History
Concept 4: American Revolution
P.O.1 Assess the economic, political, and social reasons for the
American Revolution:
a. British attempts to tax and regulate colonial trade as a
result of the French and Indian War
b.colonists’ reaction to British policy ideas expressed in the
Declaration of Independence
P.O.2 Analyze the effects of European involvement in the American
Revolution on the outcome of the war.
PO 3. Describe the significance of major events in the Revolutionary War:
a. Lexington and Concord
b. Bunker Hill c. Saratoga
d. writing and ratification of the Declaration of
Independence
e. Yorktown

AZ Career & College Readiness Standards:

11‐12.RH.1.
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting
insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole
11‐12.RH.2.
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

Objectives:

1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of motivations behind the colonists declaring

independence
2. Students will produce a report on a primary source and explain its clues of an individual’s
opinion
3. Students will describe the significance of major battles and their impacts on the
revolutionary war
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the grievances given on the Declaration of
Independence and their reference to events which had occurred.

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5. Students will describe the reasons that the British had for taxing the American people and
the debts that were incurred during the seven years war.
6. Students will Analyse foreign relations of the British and explain why the French and
Dutch would aid the revolution
7. Students will organise events of the American revolution in chronological order
providing a timeline of key events.
8. Students will establish connections between political events leading to the revolution and
events that could happen today.
9. Students will clarify a primary source in the form of a letter and explain what is being
said by the writer, and their intention by writing the letter.
10. Students will discuss if Americans were right to revolt, given the motivations and
perspectives they explored.

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STAGE II ASSESSMENTS
Formative Assessments:

1. Quizzes- A Quiz will be given at the start of each day following the completion of a
lesson (6 total) to check for consistent and informative assessment. These short quizzes
will vary depending on the lesson they are covering, they will contain a variety of
multiple choice, short response, and matching questions. These quizzes will not cover all
objectives as some of the objectives require periods of time outside of class, or require
additional time and reflection to create a product, or display of mastery.
2. Timeline- Students throughout the unit on the American Revolution but before the unit
test will create a chronological timeline. These timelines will be drawn by students at
home using a given list of events, students will be required to describe the importance of
each event briefly and connect it to events it impacted farther down the timeline. This
practice will help students to visualise the relation of the events both chronologically and
relatively. To incentivize students to complete these timelines, they will be allowed to use
them on the unit exam. Students will turn in the timeline with their exams, and they will
be graded for the accuracy of the information, and the amount of connections between
events that they had made. This Assessment is primarily for objective #7, however it acts
as a review and ability to solidate other objectives.
Achievement Test Description:
3. Final Exam- The Final Unit Exam will be broken into three parts the first two will be
completed in class and the final part will be a written response to be delivered a week
later.
Part 1-The first part of the exam will be a multiple choice section using fifteen questions.
The questions will primarily focus on using concepts to explore objectives 1,3,4,5, and 6,
an example of the use of a concept and objective is demonstrated below:
● Which event would make colonists worry about standing British armies?
a. Stamp act
b. Boston Massacre
c. Trade Restrictions
d. New Tariffs
● In this example the correct answer is highlighted in yellow and the concept is
highlighted in pink. The objective being checked by this question is objective
number one.
Part 2-The second part of the final exam will have students use vocabulary terms,
concepts, and events to complete a diagram as displayed below. Students will be given
the missing terms in a word bank and be expected use each term once.

Taxation Political Stimuli Major Battles Philosophies

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 Stamp Act Boston Massacre Saratoga Enlightenment

Sugar Act Quartering Act York Town Colonialism

Tariffs Intolerable Acts Lexington N/A

Townshend Acts Boston Tea Party Bunker Hill N/A

NOTE: the words highlighted in blue would presented as blank slots to students, and
those words would be placed into word banks.

The Objectives covered in this part of the exam are extensions to those covered in part
one. Objectives 1,3,4,5, and 6 are again represented.

The first two parts of the exam are worth fifty percent of the exam grade a total of 25
points possible, 1 point per multiple choice question, and 1 for each word in the concept
organiser.

Part 3- The final part of the Exam is a written portion. This written exam will be worth
twenty five points and fifty percent of the exam grade. When students turn in the first part
of their exam, the multiple choice, and concept organiser, they will be given a paper with
the instructions for the second part of the exam. The remaining time in class while
students are finishing the first two parts of the exam will be spend brainstorming ideas.
After everyone is finished with the first two exam parts the instructions will be more
thoroughly explained, if time does not permit, it will be covered the following day. As
part three of the exam will be due a week after the first two parts are completed.
The written essay will not have a set length but should be typed if possible.
Students will write a reflection on why they believed the Colonists chose to revolt. The
grading of this written assessment will demand students give 5 specific events, and
explain how it affected colonists. In example students could state that “The Boston
Massacre caused colonists to be uneasy around British troops. This would cause unrest in
urban environments and reduce production of those areas.” This would be an acceptable
event and reasoning given to say it led colonists to revolt. Students would also be
required to give evidence to support their argument that this event was important to
colonists by giving the grievance associated with it in the declaration of independence.
At the end of the essay students are to write a brief connection they have with the
material in this unit. Do students sympathise with colonists because their parents force
them to shop at one store like the British forced Colonists to buy tea from the East India
company? Or do they believe the current government is controlling and needs to be
revolted against, giving examples of current events that are similar to the events leading
to the American revolution. This final part of the unit exam will utilise objectives 8 and
10 as well as using previously covered objectives to frame answers, and answering the
essential unit question, “Why did the United States Declare Independence?”

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Performance (Authentic) Assessment Description:
Letter Evaluation

Unit objectives:
● 2. Students will produce a report on a primary source and explain its clues
of an individual’s opinion
● 9. Students will clarify a primary source in the form of a letter and explain
what is being said by the writer, and their intention by writing the letter.

The letter evaluation will take place in class after after the unit but before the unit exam. Students
will be given one of a selection of printed out and transcribed letters from either revolutionary
soldiers, founding fathers, British troops, or other characters of the time. Students will take a
letter and be tasked with writing a short report on them. These reports will be graded on the
inclusion of several main pieces of information.

GRASPS

Goal: Demonstrate understanding of perspective and bias in primary sources

Role: Historian
Audience: Studiers of American Revolution
Situation: Read and dissect a historic letter to understand it’s context
Product: Report on findings
Standards for student success: The student should be able to identify:
● Who was the Author
○ Was he/she for or against the Revolution
● Who was the receiver
○ Why did the Author write to this person

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STAGE III LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Unit Calendar:

Day Topic(s) Unit Brief Listing of Assessments

Objective(s) Activities

Day 1 Intro to Introduction to unit Vocabulary exit

Revolution vocabulary. slips
Individual research and
peer teaching
Day 2 Stamp & 5. Class discussion on taxes. Student made venn
Sugar acts Lecture on stamp and diagram, used as
sugar acts. Groups made exit slip
comparative graphic
organizer

Day 3 Political 8. Short quiz on acts & taxes Quiz on previous

events Living statues of Boston lesson
massacre illustration. Timeline of acts
Intolerable acts discussion and events in
and lecture boston
Day 4 Declaration 4. Short Quiz on Boston Quiz on previous
of massacre, Boston tea lesson
Independenc party, and intolerable acts
e Presentation and review
with discussion on
Declaration of
Independence
Day 5 Primary 9. Short quiz on Declaration Quiz on previous
letter 2. of Independence lesson
dissection Read assigned letters and
discern key information
and make inferences from
them responses due
following class
Day 6 Beginning of 3. Introduce beginning Debriefing
Battle conflicts, Lexington and worksheet
Concord overview
presentation
Day 7 Foreign 3. Short quiz on intro to Map of Atlantic
intervention 6. conflict. French and allies and enemies
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 Dutch involvement
presentation
Day 8 Ending the 3. Short quiz on foreign
war intervention.
Yorktown and treaty
signing presentation
Day 9 Unit review 7. Discussion of unit topics, Completion of unit
answering of questions. review sheet
Vocabulary review
And time line completion
Day 10 Unit exam 10. Multiple choice and short
answer portion due in
class. Essay portion to be
turned in next day

Catalog of Lessons:

Day 1

Lesson title: Introduction to American Revolution

Unit objectives:
N/A: this day will provide background information such as vocabulary and activities to engage
students throughout the unit.

Activities:
1. Students will receive a list of vocabulary words presented to the class.
2. Students will each slept one word and research its meaning as well as provide an
explanation on how it may pertain to the unit, even as a guess.
3. Students will list ideas why they believe American declared independence
Assessment:
Students will turn in individual vocab slips with their chosen words and a summary of what they
presented to the class. This shall include the definition, where they got the definition, and the
guess on how it is included the the unit.

Day 2

Lesson title: Taxes and You

Unit objectives: Students will describe the reasons that the British had for taxing the American
people and the debts that were incurred during the seven years war.

Activities:

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 1. Students will list ways in which they as United States citizens are taxed, and explain how
it affects them.
2. Students will share examples of taxes they may pay or know their parents pay.
3. Teacher will compare taxes that students give as an example to those paid by colonists as
part of different acts.
a. examples include: Stamp act- a sales tax on papers, sugar act- another sales tax,
tea act- an enforced monopoly and tarif system.
4. Students, using the list of taxes they created will sort them by taxes they are familiar
with. comparing and contrasting them creating a venn diagram.

Assessment:
Students will create a venn diagram and turn in notes to be reviewed regarding the taxes
and how they were, collected and enforced.

Day 4

Lesson title: Political Influences on Revolution

Unit objectives: Students will establish connections between political events leading to the
revolution and events that could happen today.

Activities:
1. Students will study a lithograph depicting the events of the Boston Tea party.(See Figure
1.1)
2. Students will describe the various actors in the image and give their perceived
motivations behind their actions.
3. Teacher will ask for examples of student responses and discuss the answers with the class
4. Students will act out rolls from the image as “statues”, the teacher will pretend to
interview the “statues” to check for student understanding on the roll of those depicted.

Assessment:
Students, will turn in their written descriptions of the Lithograph, as well as the perceived
motivations they had. Students will also be gauged on their mastery during the “statues”
exercise. Topics that students do not show sufficient mastery in can be farther.

Day 5

Lesson title: Letter dissection

Unit objectives:
2. Students will produce a report on a primary source and explain its clues of an individual’s
opinion.
9. Students will clarify a primary source in the form of a letter and explain what is being said by
the writer, and their intention by writing the letter.

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Activities:
1. Students receive a copy of a letter randomly from a selection of British soldiers, colonial
soldiers, or their officers.
2. Students will read and summarise key information from these letters. Including
motivations, perspective, and tone.

Assessment:
Students will create a 3 paragraph essay describing the content of the letter. This content will
include the key information listed above as well as personal relations to the writer or situation.
Students will also provide an explanation of events described in the letter. Research may be
required outside of class.

Day 9

Lesson title: Unit Review

Unit Objectives:
7.Students will organise events of the American revolution in chronological order providing a
timeline of key events.

(Many): as a review day this day will be used to address all objectives applicable to assessment
on the unit exam. This qualifies specific practice based objectives such as those used in the letter
dissection assignment.

Activities:
1. Students will be given a review worksheet, this “worksheet” will only contain vocabulary
words. Students will be able to write on this sheet for use on the exam
2. Students will complete a timeline for the second half of the unit. This timeline will be
added to the first timeline created during the 1st half of the unit, to provide a full
chronological order of events to be included on the exam as well as in the unit essay.
Assessments:
Students will present their completed review paper and timeline to be checked in order to be used
on the exam the next day and gauge the readiness of students to continue with the assessment.

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CITATIONS

Sarony & Major, (October 1, 1846). The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor [Lithograph].
Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003664100/

ATTACHMENTS
Figure 1.1 (The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor, Sarony & Major)

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