Subject: ____Enlightenment and Revolution ________ Grade: _8 ______ Designer: Bill Hanrahan_

STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS

Unit Title: The American Revolution
Established Goals: Students will be able to distinguish between facts about the American Revolution and
propaganda
Understandings: Students will understand that

Essential Questions:

1. Because of the Boston Massacre (cause), the

tensions between colonists and Great Britain
increased (effect).

1. How does society tell what really happened at

an event?

2. Media and propaganda influence the way we

perceive the world and may construe our beliefs.
3. The tensions that continued to grow because of
events such as the Boston Massacre (cause)
eventually will lead to the American Revolution
(effect).

2. What was the Boston Massacre? What caused

the Boston Massacre and what was the result of it?
3. How did media affect perspectives on the road
towards the American Revolution? How do
different types of media affect our own everyday
lives and perspectives?

Students will know:

Students will be able to:

-The Boston Massacre affected relations between

colonists and Great Britain
-Paul Reveres picture Engraving of the Boston
Massacre inaccurately depicted history
-Actions/events have causes and eventually lead to
other events which we call results or effects
-Similar to science:

-Define tensions
-Analyze media/propaganda (Paul Reveres
picture)
-Read
-Take notes from PowerPoint
-Recognize, define and use essential vocabulary in
context
-Identify and relate the main idea and details
-Determine cause and effect
-Identify sources as credible evidence

STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Performance Tasks:
Other Evidence:
Identify and analyze opposing points of view
Create portfolio of all documents analyzed and
Analyze primary and secondary documents
written responses.
Differentiate propaganda from advertisements
(Assessment writing assignment in procedure)
Write persuasive letters to the king or to the public. (optional)2 Paragraph response. How did this
Reenact loyalists or patriot responses to the
increase tensions between the colonists and Great
massacre.
Britain?

Language objectives:
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Subject: ____Enlightenment and Revolution ________ Grade: _8 ______ Designer: Bill Hanrahan_

Develop content vocabulary that enables student to fully participate in classroom discussion
Create list of vocabulary words used in reading and classroom discussion. Students will be asked to
form complete sentences using this new vocabulary when asking and answering questions.
Students are encouraged to use it in and out of class.
Homework assignments include writing sentences with vocab and applying to daily lives
Students will be able to orally describe characters involved in the lesson and how they participated.
Students will be able to summarize in writing false messages can change ones opinions.
Students will be able to read descriptions of diaries and letters from the time period
Students will be able to distinguish between advertisements and propaganda.
Students will be able to use transitional phrases (e.g., as a result) in writing.
STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN
Summary of Learning Activities:
1.

Preview: The teacher will ask a dean about an incident that happened this year in 6th grade where
there were different accounts of what happened. Share that with the students and ask them if they can think
of any other instances where it is not always clear what happened.

2.

The students will look at four depictions of the Boston Massacre and answer the questions that
accompany each one on the graphic organizer.

3.

Each group will only look at one picture at a time. Rotate pictures until they have seen all four and
have them record answers on the graphic organizer. Ask the students: What are some differences in the
pictures? What questions do you still have about this event?

4.

Read the two newspaper accounts together as a class. One is the Boston Gazette article and the other
is an article from the London Chronicle. Ask the students: How are these accounts the same? How are they
different? Have we learned anything new that we did not know from the pictures?

1.

Hand each pair an excerpt from the trial testimony. What point of view did their person have? Who
do they think was at fault? What words did they use to make you think that? You may want to ask students to
underline these loaded words as they read. Alternative: have students role play the witnesses and have the
class be the jury.

2.

The student will debrief this lesson by having a student read the textbook account of the Massacre
and have them compare what they talked about today with this account.

3.

Show the students the HBO John Adams clip how the trial proceeded and ask them whether they
agree or disagree with the decision. How might different interpretations of the same event affect our
understanding of history? What should we do, as students of history, to make sure multiple perspectives are
considered?

5.

Students will write a letter to the editor of a British or American newspaper that begins: Dear
_________________, I am writing to express my opinion about the events that occurred March 5, 1770
in Boston. I feel the blame rests solely on..(student must then make an argument either way on who is to
blame using information that they learned during the lesson). This letter will be graded on a four point
rubric scale.
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Subject: ____Enlightenment and Revolution ________ Grade: _8 ______ Designer: Bill Hanrahan_

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)