Curated OER
Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
Carolina K-12
Loyalists and Patriots
Your young historians will square off as Loyalists dedicated to the English crown or revolutionaries fighting for a new nation in a role-play of a colonial town hall debate before the American Revolution.
Digital Public Library of America
African American Soldiers in World War I
Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
Manchester University
Events leading to the American Revolution
The Stamp Act, Paul Revere's ride, and the Boston Tea Party pushed American colonists to the tipping point that led to the American Revolution. Fifth graders research the key figures of the war, study the Declaration of Independence, and...
Curated OER
African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.
Carolina K-12
Causes of the American Revolution
Beginning with the experience of hearing that lockers in school will be taxed, through analysis of political cartoons and informational text, and culminating in a debate between loyalists and patriots, your class members will engage in a...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Patriots or Traitors - Point of View in the War for Independence
Patriots or traitors? Class members analyze images that present widely differing views of the Boston Tea Party, identifying the point of view of the image, the propaganda devices used, and the intended audience.
DocsTeach
Road to Revolution: Patriotism or Treason?
Patriot or traitor? Scholars debate the line between patriotism and treason in a short activity. Academics analyze a political cartoon and discuss varying viewpoints between different groups living in the American colonies. The activity...
Smithsonian Institution
Latino Patriots
Pupils may not be familiar with Bernardo de Gálvez or Juan Seguín, but these Latinx patriots played important roles in American history. Using biographies of the Revolutionary War hero and Texan politician, historians consider how Latinx...
PBS
Broadway and The American Dream
Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...
Pace University
American Revolution
Young historians get hooked into a unit study of the American Revolution with a simulation that lets them experience some of the outrage colonists felt about unfair taxes. Class members demonstrate what they have learned in the study by...
Smithsonian Institution
Who's in Camp?
Pupils complete readings, a group activity using cards, and a writing activity to better understand people's lives during the American Revolution. The resource emphasizes people such as the militiamen, women, officers, and children,...
Girl Scouts
Flag Protocol, Ceremonies and Activities
How can an American flag be displayed indoors vs. outdoors? What is proper etiquette for handling the flag? The Girls Scouts of the USA have put together a fantastic packet of information with everything you need to know about the...
Curated OER
Patriots and Loyalists
Students examine portraits by John Singleton Copley and discuss how the subject's appearance communicates important information about his or her life. They write a diary entry from the point of view of a portrait subject.
Curated OER
African-American Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed?
Students utilize an online database to conduct research and analyze the conditions for African-Americans before and after World War I. They consider the role of the 92nd and 93rd divisions in affecting social change.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Why Did Some Colonial Virginians Continue to Support the King?
Not all colonials supported the American Revolution. A resource from the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown ask young historians to investigate the reasons why some colonial Virginians were loyalist and continued to support King...
Los Angeles Unified School District
Why Is the Declaration of Independence Important?
Fair or unfair? To begin a study of the American Revolution, class members review the treatment of the people of the American Colonies by the King of England and decide which were fair and which were unfair. Class members then annotate a...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Revolutionary Times as Seen Through the Eyes of Women
The role of women before and during the American Revolution changed dramatically. To gain an understanding of these changes, middle schoolers analyze primary source documents, including letters from women that supported the patriot cause...
National Park Service
Making Choices
What factors go into a decision to enter a war? Use a collection of primary source documents and images to prompt a discussion about the American Revolution and the reasons for entering a war against Britain.
National Constitution Center
Fourth of July (Grades 3-5)
Bring history to life for your young scholars with a Fourth of July lesson series. After a class reading of the Declaration of Independence, students translate this pivotal document into layman's terms before working in small groups to...
Annenberg Foundation
A Growing Global Power
How does a nation turn into a global superpower? The 16th installment of the 22-part series on American history investigates the rise of the United States to global importance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Groups...
Curated OER
Patriots v. Loyalists
Students consider how colonial citizens chose sides in the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students role play Loyalists, Patriots, and undecideds in a classroom simulation. Students research their positions so that...
Curated OER
Revolution! Freedom for All?
Twelfth graders examine the causes of freedom by revolutionary patriots. In this Civics and Economics lesson plan, 12th graders analyze primary sources. Students work cooperatively to write a freedom declaration for their group.