Revolutionary War Newspaper

Computer Lab Oct. 3-9 Presenting Oct. 9-10

Students will be arranged in groups of 3 and will be assigned roles within each group.
Students will choose from the list of significant Revolutionary War events and conduct a
broad study on that event and other related topics. You will have 4 days in the computer
lab to complete the project. Upon completing their research, each group will create a
newspaper centered on the event they chose that will contain multiple pieces/articles.
Groups will present their newspapers as we discuss related material in class in the days
after completion. This will help to disseminate information to the class and to facilitate
further discussion. This assignment will count for 3 grades: 2 classroom grades and
one major project grade. Each group member will grade their partners on their
participation to help make sure that all work is done fairly.

Method:
Each group will have up to 3 members with each member having one of the following
assigned roles: editor (group leader), biographer, and statistician. Articles will be written
about different topics that are multiple paragraphs in length.

Editor: this person will be in charge of creating a short editorial for the paper that
discusses the overall significance (importance) of the event chosen by the group. The
editor will also be responsible for designing and fixing the layout of the paper for the
group using a newsletter layout in Microsoft Publisher. Editors will need to help with
keeping the group on task and assist any group members who require help. Also, this
person will be in charge of creating two maps that show the location of the event chosen
by the group. The first map will need to be a national map of the United States showing
the event in relation to the 13 colonies. The second map will need to be an up-close
look at the event. You will need show the location of units for both sides on the
battlefield along with movements.

Biographer: this person will be in charge of conducting research on the influential

person related to your topic. A short biography will need to be written to be placed as an
article in the paper. You will need to include some background information on the person
and any major accomplishments. The biography will need to explain the importance of
the person to the topic your group chose. Also, this person is in charge of writing a
detailed account of the event. The account needs to explain any major troop
movements and explain what happened during the battle. If anyone important dies or is
wounded, this should be mentioned.

Statistician: this person will be in charge of collecting numbers and statistics related to
the topic. For battles, you will need to find out how many soldiers were at the battle for
both sides and then relate that data to how many soldiers were killed and wounded at
the battle. Doing further math you will need to determine how many soldiers survived
the battle unharmed for both sides. This data will then be used to create bar graphs (to
show the real numbers you found) and pie charts (to show percentages with the
numbers) to show this data in the newspaper. A timeline of the American Revolution will
also be done. The timeline needs to contain at least 25 events. The following events
must be included: : 5 acts, Boston massacre, Boston tea party, Halifax resolves,
Edenton tea party, 1st and 2nd continental congress, Declaration of Independence,
Lexington and Concord, Saratoga, bunker hill, Yorktown, Trenton, Moores creek
bridge, Guilford courthouse, Kings mountain, treaty of Paris, Fort Ticonderoga,
Princeton, Charleston, Quebec

Newspaper Topics:

Battle of Trenton:
Maps showing 13 colonies and close-up map of event
Timeline - 25 events
Event account
Casualties graphs - line graphs showing killed/wounded/survived/fought and a pie graph
showing percentage of killed/wounded/survived
Biography - George Washington

Battle of Yorktown:
Maps showing 13 colonies and close-up map of event
Timeline - 25 events
Event account
Casualties graphs - line graphs showing killed/wounded/survived/fought and a pie graph
showing percentage of killed/wounded/survived
Biography - Charles Cornwallis

Battle of Bunker Hill:

Maps showing 13 colonies and close-up map of event
Timeline - 25 events
Event account
Casualties graphs - line graphs showing killed/wounded/survived/fought and a pie graph
showing percentage of killed/wounded/survived
Biography - William Prescott

Battle of Saratoga:
Maps showing 13 colonies and close-up map of event
Timeline - 25 events
Event account
Casualties graphs - line graphs showing killed/wounded/survived/fought and a pie graph
showing percentage of killed/wounded/survived
Biography - Benedict Arnold

Battle of Lexington and Concord:

Maps showing 13 colonies and close-up map of event
Timeline - 25 events
Event account
Casualties graphs - line graphs showing killed/wounded/survived/fought and a pie graph
showing percentage of killed/wounded/survived
Biography - Paul Revere

Quality of Work Productivity Presentation

4 Distinguished The Information is accurate and
90-100 the group shows complete
understanding of the topic
The articles are completed and
are done very well
All supplementary documents are
completed, and are done very
well
3 Proficient The Information is accurate and
80-89 the group shows understanding of
the topic
The articles are completed and
are done well
All supplementary documents are
completed, and are done well
2 Apprentice The Information is accurate
70-79
The articles are completed
All supplementary documents are
completed
1 Novice The Information is not accurate
0-69
The articles are not completed
All supplementary documents are
not completed
Job Checklist
Students work The group presents the
cooperatively and help information accurately
each other
The product is explained
Students get along well with complete
and do not fight understanding
Peer evaluations 1-10
1 being poor, 10 being
excellent
Students work The group presents the
cooperatively information accurately
Students do not fight
The product is explained
Peer evaluations 1-10 with adequate
1 being poor, 10 being understanding
excellent
Students work, but do The group presents
not cooperative with mostly accurate
each other information
Students do not fight, too The product is explained
much with limited
Peer evaluations 1-10 understanding
1 being poor, 10 being
excellent
Students do not work on The group does not
the task present the information
Students fight too much accurately
Peer evaluations 1-10 The product is explained
with little understanding
1 being poor, 10 being
excellent
Editor:
1. Editorial on significance of event
2. Finalized copy of the newspaper
3. Map of the US showing Revolutionary War info
4. Up-close map of the event

Biographer:
1. Biography on important person
2. Detailed event account

Statistician:
1. 1 bar graph giving basic numbers
2. 2 pie charts showing percentages
3. Timeline of 25 events