“No Taxation without Representation”

By Krista DiCesare (kdicesare@hpschools.org)

4^th Grade Teacher at Holland Patent Elementary

Introduction:

Imagine yourself as an American Colonist during the 1700's. All the people who make your laws and demand tax money from you live three thousand miles away. You are sick and tired of not being represented when these important decisions that affect your daily life are being made (“No Taxation without Representation”).

Task:

As American Colonists, your team will be given a special assignment. You will need to create a news broadcast of the events that occurred at the Boston Tea Party.

Your final project will include:

Þ A completed research planning page where you do the following: Identify the Problem, Gather Evidence, Determine the Causes, and Evaluate the Policy

Þ You will present your findings with a video clip where you (and your crew) speak for at least 4 minutes about the events that occurred at The Boston Tea Party (must use information from your research planning page).

Responsibilities of ‘The Crew’:

Director- Responsible for writing the news broadcast (along with help from other crew members). The director will also guide the reporter and the camera person the day of taping.

Reporter-Responsible for helping to write the news broadcast. The reporter will tell the news during the broadcast.

Camera Person-Responsible for helping to write the news broadcast. The camera person will record video (using a Flip Camera) once the group is ready for the news broadcast.

Process :

First, you will do research (all members must complete a research planning page) in the following areas:

Þ Identify the Problem:

o Why were the colonists upset? Why were the British so stubborn?

Þ Gather Evidence:

o Why did the Boston Tea Party happen?

Þ Determine the Causes:

o Why were the colonists being taxed by the British?

Þ Evaluate the Policy:

o What were the effects of the Boston Tea Party?

When you are finished with your planning page, you can start planning your news broadcast, remember to include facts from your research! Click Here for your News Broadcast Checklist.

Resources

Þ World Book For Kids

Þ Liberty! The American Revolution

Þ The Boston Tea Party

Þ Boston Tea Party Museum

Þ Archiving Early America

Þ US History.org

Evaluation

This is how your final project will be graded…

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content	Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent. All AHPPA questions are answered.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good. Most AHPPA questions are answered.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors. Some AHPPA questions are answered.	Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors. Very few or no AHPPA questions are answered.
Requirements	All requirements are met and exceeded.	All requirements are met.	One requirement was not completely met.	More than one requirement was not completely met.
Oral Presentation	Interesting, well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.	Relatively interesting, rehearsed with a fairly smooth delivery that usually holds audience attention.	Delivery not smooth, but able to hold audience attention most of the time.	Delivery not smooth and audience attention lost.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you are finished! You are now an expert on the Boston Tea Party and should be able to explain exactly what the colonists mean when they said “no taxation without representation”.

Standards

Social Studies

Standard 1 - History of the United States and New York Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 2 - World History

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

English Language Arts

Standard 1 - Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding; they will collect data, facts, and ideas and use electronically produced texts.

Standard 2 - Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3 - Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.