The American Revolution

P.Cavera

St. Francis of Assisi School

Introduction –

Throughout history, people have revolted or have gone against their leaders for many reasons. When you think of “revolution”, what are some causes that would make you revolt, or go against. In the colonial times, what would you think that would make the early colonists revolt or go against the King of England? As a historian, looking back at the issues that the early colonists would have against their leader.

Task –

You will be looking at the position as a colonist or a Patriot and how the injustice of taxes against the colonists affected their attitude toward the King of England and British rule. You will write a newspaper article for the Colonial Times, highlighting the issues of injustices against the colonists. You will also in your article try to convince or persuade Loyalists to join the Patriots.

Process –

Using the following steps, you will research the colonist or Patriot position to address the anger toward the King of England and British rule.

Step # 1 - Identify the Problem - Why were the colonists so angry with the King of England and British rule? What actions by the King and his leadership lead to the colonists being upset?

Step # 2 - Gathering the Evidence - What evidence supports the colonists or Patriots anger toward the King and his rule? What evidence can show that the colonists have many valid reasons to be angry?

Step # 3 - Determine the Causes - What were the causes to make the colonists so angry? What was the colonists outlook at the actions of the King and his leadership?

Step # 4 - Evaluate the Policies - What were policies that the colonists decided to take action on to show their dissatisfaction toward the King of England and his leadership? Include the negative and positive affects that these policies had upon the colonists.

Resources -

· Colonists reaction to British rule

· Causes against King of England

· More causes against British rule

· http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ss5/b/causrev.cfm

Evaluation –

Your newspaper article will be graded on the following rubric. Please remember to make sure that your social studies content will be evidenced in your article.

Rubric

CATEGORY	4 - Above Standards	3 - Meets Standards	2 - Approaching Standards	1 - Below Standards	Score
Position Statement	The position statement provides a clear, strong statement of the author\'s position on the topic.	The position statement provides a clear statement of the author\'s position on the topic.	A position statement is present, but does not make the author\'s position clear.	There is no position statement.
Evidence and Examples	All of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author\'s position.	Most of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author\'s position.	At least one of the pieces of evidence and examples is relevant and has an explanation that shows how that piece of evidence supports the author\'s position.	Evidence and examples are NOT relevant AND/OR are not explained.
Sentence Structure	All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure. Sentences have complex sentences with no run-on\'s or fragmented sentences.	Most sentences are well-constructed and there is some varied sentence structure in the essay.	Most sentences are well constructed, but there is no variation is structure.	Most sentences are not well-constructed or varied.
Grammar & Spelling	Author makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Social Studies Content	Author demonstrates strong knowledge of content in relation to causes of colonists\' anger.	Author shows some knowledge of content in relation to causes of colonists\' anger.	Author shows limited knowledge of content in relation to causes of colonists\' anger.	Author does not provide enough evidence to show colonists\' anger.

Conclusion -

There were many reasons why the colonists were angry toward the King of England and his leadership. As your position of a Patriot, you have gathered evidence and supported your position by viewing the colonists’ outlook. As a class, we will gather all articles and create a newspaper regarding the issues that have been researched regarding the concerns and anger the colonists have felt. I applaud your efforts in completing this task.

Standards

Text Types and Purposes

1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

b. Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.

c. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).

d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.