Young and Rebellious: Teenagers and the American Revolution

Young and Rebellious: Teenagers and the American Revolution

by Alyssa Campbell and Carrie Sterr

Capturing the mind of an 8th grader can be a challenge, especially if that 8th grader is not particularly fond of the subject material, or if they do not see a direct connection to their life. Another obstacle is the restraint of the Massachusetts standards as we teach. During our lecture this summer with Dane Morrison and the reading “A World of Scarcity” from the book The Minutemen and Their World by Robert A Gross, we were inspired. This book examined the lives of Minutemen in Concord and gave the social and economic perspective of their lives, painting an in-depth picture of Concord at the time. Our goal in creating this project was to paint a picture of different regions of the colonies at a time of rebellion through the eyes of teenagers during the war. We plan for this to be the basis of our entire 2-3 month unit on colonial America, the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, and the war itself. By bringing the stories, letters and memoirs of real people into the classroom we hope to engage our students and help them see the events of the past through the eyes of teenagers who lived through these tumultuous times. Each student will choose an actual teenager who lived during the revolution, and will complete a webquest on colonial life and topics related to that teenager’s life. Student webquest presentations will be used to introduce lessons about colonial life. Once they have a firm grounding in the social history and context of the colonies, we will use the primary sources to guide us through the events and battles of the war. I Was a Teenager in the American Revolution, by Elizabeth Ryan Metz, was our main reference for primary sources. Letters, diaries, and documents related to each teenager will be introduced during subsequent lessons on the conflict, and students will create a variety of written pieces: reflections, letters and responses, to be submitted at the end of the unit for assessment. We have included a full unit plan for the webquest unit, and examples of mini-lessons that can be used during a unit about the Revolutionary War.

We conceived of this idea together, and tried to divide the labor equally. Alyssa wrote the webquest unit and created the materials for the envelopes. Carrie wrote the historical background, analyzed the primary sources and created the mini lessons. We gave each other advice and support throughout the unit creation and wrote this narrative together.

America was created by the everyday people who lived, worked, dreamed and died to make the nation a reality. By grounding our unit in the memoirs and diaries of actual people, we can help students connect to the theme of Imagination, Invention and Innovation through understanding how this nation was imagined into being; how people, old and young, struggled through the circumstances of their lives to form a unique social and political structure: The United States of America. The students will incorporate a variety of thinking standards as they explore the material. Our students will demonstrate their historical comprehension ability by reading and interpreting the letters, diaries and memoirs of young colonial Americans. They will need to read these accounts imaginatively, appreciating the historical perspectives inherent in the writings. We will also have our students write responses to primary sources and participate in the dialog with the historical figures. Our students will exhibit historical analysis and interpretation as they make comparisons between different regions, consider the multiple perspectives of the young people they encounter (Whig and Tory, New Englander and Southerner, Congregationalist and Quaker) and how these perspectives represent the diversity present in American thought throughout the time period we study.

Historical Background

In the 1760s, before the events that precipitated the American Revolution, the thirteen British colonies that lined the coast of North America had developed a culture and society distinct from that of their mother nation. Over the previous 150 years immigrants had traveled to the British colonies of the “New World” in search of many different things: gold, land, religious and political freedom, and the chance for a life different from what would have been possible in the densely populated and thoroughly developed European countries.

Free of a traditional aristocracy in the European sense, there were still clear class divisions in American society, from wealthy plantation owners and successful merchants and traders to self-sufficient yeoman farmers and skilled artisans all the way down to indentured servants and slaves. Many colonies had developed an infrastructure of coastal cities, small towns, and a network of roads connecting towns and farms.

Regional differences were striking. The religious and political backgrounds of the individuals who settled each colony influenced the formal and informal institutions of the colony – from the Puritan and Congregationalist influences on Town Meeting in New England to the Quaker experiment of the Frame of Government in Pennsylvania. While agriculture was important to the economy of every region, the climate and culture of each colony determined the types of agricultural products produced; each crop determined a particular labor system, a seasonal calendar, and a unique economy. For example, a farmer with 60 acres in New England would be most likely to grow a variety of crops, provide most of the labor though his own efforts and that of his family, the produce would be largely for his own families use, he would barter for most other necessities locally, and would see great fluctuations in the amount of labor and effort required depending on the season. A plantation owner with 50 acres on the Chesapeake in Virginia might devote most of that acreage to tobacco farming, with a large indentured or enslaved labor force, a year-round schedule of tasks, and would sell the entire crop for cash that would be used to purchase many of the necessities of life from others.

By the 1750s and 1760s, the landscape had been vastly altered by the colonists: forests had been cleared and single crop farming and other nutrient depleting methods had exhausted the land in many cases. In many areas the good farmland was already occupied or weakened, and families were pushing farther west, north and south, inland along the frontier. This need for expansion caused increased tension with the Native American population. The dwindling possibilities for economic success on small exhausted farms lead to generational conflict and economic instability. These factors would affect the decisions made by Britain after the French and Indian War, and would inform the colonists’ responses to Britain.

Despite their seeming isolation, the colonies were in fact connected to the greater Atlantic world. Goods, ideas and even diseases flowed between Europe, West Africa, South and Central America, and the North American coast. Colonists were aware of the Enlightenment philosophers and political theorists of Europe – Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu and others. The culture and the economy of the colonies was based on this exchange; immigration from one area to another and the production of crops, in some cases, for this world market.

The colonies’ relationship with the mother country during this period was considered one of “benign neglect.” England, in general, left the colonies alone, believing that decisions were best made locally and that Parliamentary influence was unnecessary if not detrimental. Colonists considered themselves British citizens, and subject to British law, although in truth they had certain religious, political and social freedoms that they would not have enjoyed in England. The colonies developed a facility for and an expectation of self-government, and considered themselves generally beholden to the British crown, but not necessarily to other political institutions such as Parliament. The members of Parliament consisted of British subjects who lived in England; therefore, in the minds of many colonists, their jurisdiction extended only to the residents of England. It was this perspective on Parliamentary authority that lead to much of the unrest in the colonies following the French and Indian War.

This is the context we need our students to understand in order to be able to appreciate the colonists’ perspective, and to understand their motives in seeking independence in the 1770s.

Young and Rebellious: Teenagers and the American Revolution

1.) Lesson Title (or topic): Webquest and Presentation

Course/Grade Level: Social Studies/ 8th grade

Materials:

25 envelopes with name of teenager and description on inside/outside

Internet access

Log sheet to keep their information and sources

Webquest site (created by Sterr/Campbell)

2.) General Goal or Essential Question(s) the unit addresses

How does your location affect your life?

Why do people rebel?
How do political conflicts affect people’s relationships within their families and communities?

3) Objectives and Content Standards:

Relevant Curriculum Frameworks-

Concepts and Skills 7 and 8, which will set the stage for:

USI.1 Explain the political and economic factors that contributed to the American Revolution. (H, C)

A. the impact on the colonies of the French and Indian War, including how the war led to an overhaul of British imperial policy from 1763 to 1775

B. how freedom from European feudalism and aristocracy and the widespread ownership of property fostered individualism and contributed to the Revolution

We will also carry this research of these individuals throughout the Revolutionary War.

Historical Thinking Standards-

2E. Read historical narratives imaginatively, taking into account what the narrative reveals of the humanity of the individuals and groups involved—their probable values, outlook, motives, hopes, fears, strengths and weaknesses.

2F. Appreciate historical perspectives—the ability (a) describing the past on its own terms, through the eyes and experiences of those who were there, as revealed though their literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, artifacts, and the like.

3B. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears.

3D. Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues as well as large-scale or long-term developments that transcend regional and temporal boundaries.

4) Lesson Procedure:

Time Estimates

1.) Introduction and choosing of person- 30 minutes.

2.) Set-up and research in the computer lab- 2-3 class periods

3.) Creation of visual 2 days (or homework and 1 day)

4.) Presentations will be 5-10 minutes and will have one or two groups present each day, they will be our lead in into the class.

Basic Teaching Steps

1.) Introduce the lesson by having the students describe their life: Where they live? Where they go to school? How many family members do you have? What is your house like? Careers of parents? Etc. Explain to them that we all differ but have similar circumstances based on where we live…How would life be different if they lived somewhere else? Tell them they are now going to have do what they just did on their own, but instead they will be choosing the life of someone who is living in the 1760s-1770s. They will be responsible for teaching their class about their person and the region of the 13 colonies they are from— once they know about this person, they will be able to help us throughout the unit when we read different primary sources from that region or from that person.

2.) On the back of the classroom there will be sealed envelopes tacked to the board. On the outside of the envelope it will say the gender, colony, and year of birth of the historical figure. Each student will choose one that interests him or her. Once they all sit down they will then be instructed to open their envelopes which will give more detailed information like the teen’s name, a short biography and what key events and concepts we may see them come up again in the future. Students who have the same person will work together as a team for research and presenting.

3.) On the second day, we will all enter the computer lab and enter the class website where the Webquest will begin. We will provide students with a list of suitable websites as a starting place for their research.

4.) Students will get in their groups and keep track of sources and information on the sheet provided to them. They are NOT just researching the teenager assigned to them, they must answer all questions listed about their region/topic. Each group has different questions specific to their region and person.

5.) Because the Webquest is on the school website, they can continue to research at home. Next, they must create a visual to present their person and region to the class. A rubric will be used for grading.

6.) As the educator, it is our responsibility to keep these characters alive as we teach the Revolutionary War. In order to do this we can incorporate them in discussions about events leading to the war, like the Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Tea Party, and the toll all of this would take on their character’s family life. (This keeps the topics relevant to all of the students). We have provided mini-lessons to demonstrate this.

Differentiated Instruction

In order to differentiate for students who have difficulty reading, we will choose websites on the webquest with many different reading levels, therefore the students can make the best choice which ones to use.

Another opportunity to differentiate based on reading is that the students will work in groups therefore they can help or read items to one another.

Another option for differentiation, if needed, is to include a picture of the person or something they represent on the card as well. This could also help visual learners. For example, if you have a picture of the person it may help the student visualize them and become more excited to learn about the person. Also, make sure there are maps of the 13 colonies around the room so they students know where they are located in relation to key events and their colonial counterparts.

This lesson’s purpose is to help all students research a particular person and their region of colonies, while learning how to research appropriately and correctly.

5) Assessment/Evaluation Procedures

I will know that the students have met the objectives by informal assessment.

Informal Assessment – during the entire lesson, I will be asking questions to each student, to make sure they do understand their assigned individual and the region. If someone does not know or understand, I will stop and we can discuss individually or as a class.

Formal Assessment- Students will receive a rubric on day one and that rubric will define their final goals for assessment, including the visual as well as their presentation skills.

As an alternative culminating assessment you could also have students keep a journal based on their assigned person. As we move through the unit, they will be required to respond to journal questions, keep a scrap book, etc.

6) Plan for Subsequent Lessons

This lesson can be carried out throughout the entire Colonies and Revolutionary War Unit. Students and the teacher can bring up anyone of these people during lessons or discussion. Even though the character itself may not be a central point to the unit, it is a person the students can relate to and feel a part of during the unit.

7) Bibliography

Ryan Metz, Elizabeth. I Was a Teenager in the American Revolution. Jefferson,

NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2006. Print.

Content for Envelopes

______

John Greenwood

I was born in the town of Boston in 1760. I only attended school up until the age of thirteen there. At that time I moved to Falmouth (now Portland, ME), which is 150 miles northeast of Boston, to live with my uncle. He was in the shipbuilding business, which is a big business here in Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was about sixteen years old at the start of the war.

Remember me when you encounter:

-Boston Massacre (I personally knew one of the dead)

-Boston Tea Party

-Battle of Lexington and Concord

-Battle of Bunker and Breed’s Hill

______

Ebenezer Fox

I, Ebenezer Fox, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on January 30, 1763. I was born into a large family and at the age of seven due to finances my father, a poor tailor, sent me to live with a farmer. I was immediately put to work; because of the long hours and harsh physical labor, I was ready to leave after five years on the farm. After much planning my friend John Kelley and I escaped to Rhode Island to work on a ship that traded molasses in the West Indies. We didn’t realize that our day of escape was going to be such a pivotal moment in our country’s history.