Causes of the American Revolution: Lesson 3

I. General Information:
Grade Level: 5th
Discipline: Social Studies
Unit Topic: Causes of the American Revolution
Time Frame: two 50 minute periods
Text: George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
Other Materials: Too Late to Apologize Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=IMKdyhXmBaA , Taxation activity from http://youngteacherlove.com/role-playing-with-
american-revolution/, Textbook page
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/51/ils_gr5b_u4_c07_l2.pdf, Cant You
Make Them Behave, King George? By Jean Fritz, Let It Begin Here! by Don Brown, Acts
worksheet, Cups, signs, candy, tax cards.

II. Essential Understanding/Questions:

What were the factors leading up to the American Revolution?
What are taxes?
What is taxation without representation?

III. Standards/Indicators:
Maryland Content Standard:
Standard 5.0 History
Topic C. Conflict between Ideas and Institutions
Indicator 1. Analyze the causes of the American Revolution
Objective a. Identify and sequence key events between the French and Indian War and the
American Revolution

Common Core ELA Standards:

Grade: 05
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
Grade: 05
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect,
problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
RI6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent.

W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences Write narratives to
develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and
clear event sequences.
 Causes of the American Revolution: Lesson 3

IV. Lesson Objectives:

Students will be able to explain taxation without representation and taxes.
Students will be able to identify taxation without representation as a cause of the
American Revolution.

V. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives
Colonial Journal Entries
Acts Worksheet

VI. Procedures:
Introduction
Day 1 If you like playing video games raise your hand. Then the teacher will say, Ok well, I
have some bad news. From now on, every time that you play a video game, you will have to pay
money before you play. You need to pay a tax. Then the teacher will say, When you wake up in
the morning what do you eat for breakfast? Students will have a variety of different answers.
Then teacher will say, Well sorry, but now I will have to collect some money from you because
you eat cereal, waffles, etc. After the teacher continues with a few questions like this, teacher
will ask the students how they feel. Many students will feel angry, shocked, sad, etc. Then the
teacher will explain that this is exactly how the colonists felt during the time leading up to the
American Revolution because of King Georges taxes.

Day 2 Have students watch the YouTube video Too Late to Apologize.

Teaching/Activities
Day 1
1. Ask the students who knows what taxes are? Get two-three answers from students.
2. Have the students look up in a dictionary what the definition of taxes is. - write on an
anchor chart.
3. Start the taxation activity for the students.
4. The classroom aid, principal, or another adult be the role of the King. Two students
chosen to be Parliament member tax-collectors. Have signs for the people playing these
roles
5. Explain the roles of the King and the Tax collectors
6. Each student be given a cup full of 10 pieces of candy (make sure all students start with
the same number) Do not let the students touch the candy until the taxes have been paid
7. Explain that the classroom are colonists and the King and tax-collectors are from Great
Britain
8. Have tax cards printed - If you are using a pencil, you owe 3 pieces If you ate
lunch/breakfast (depending on when lesson is), you owe 3 pieces If you are wearing
sneakers, you owe 2 pieces add more that suit your individual students.
9. Have the King state that Great Britain needs more candy to pay their debts, so he will be
creating these taxes
10. Once a tax is announced by the King the tax collectors take the candy pieces from the
students who have violated the tax (Have the students raise their hand if it is them).
 Causes of the American Revolution: Lesson 3

11. The two collectors will have their half of the room to collect from and they will bring the
collected candy back into Kings collection plate. *Make sure the King says how much
he is gaining from this*
12. Once all of the taxes have been collected, the tax collectors get to keep 10% (mini math
lesson on how many each tax collector will get) and the King will get the rest.
13. Discuss the following questions: What was so unfair about how the class was taxed? How
could this have been handled more fairly? The taxes were on British goods, Why do you
think British goods were boycotted? Why is this a cause of the American Revolution?
What else did you learn from this experience?

Day 2
1. Start a classroom timeline of events. Ask the students what we should add so far.
2. Ask the students who can remember the definition of taxes. Remind them of the last
lesson.
3. Read together George vs. George pages 18-21. Students have a copy to look at
themselves.
4. Read together the following text book page about taxation
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/51/ils_gr5b_u4_c07_l2.pdf
5. Read Cant You Make Them Behave, King George? Pg. 30 - 31.

6. Read Let It Begin Here! Pg. 2

7. Think Pair Share about the common themes in these different texts about the taxation of
the colonists.

8. Give students a worksheet with Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, Intolerable Act,
Sugar Act have the students in groups of five find the definition of these taxes and acts
that King George III enacted on the colonists via classroom books and class laptops.

9. Talk about what it means to have no voice and not be represented taxation without
representation.

10. Create a Chart called: Causes of the American Revolution ask students what we can
add to this list so far

Closure
Day 1
Students will write in their journal about how the taxes made them feel.

Day 2
Students will write in their journal about which tax was the worst and why.

References:

Brown, D. (2008). Let It Begin Here!. New York, NY: Roaring Book Press.
 Causes of the American Revolution: Lesson 3

Fritz, J. & dePaola, T. (1977) Cant You Make Them Behave, King George?. New York, NY:
Scholastic.

Nannini, K. (n.d.). Role Playing with the American Revolution {Freebies Included} Retrieved
from http://youngteacherlove.com/role-playing-with-american-revolution/

Patriot News Network (2010, February 5) Too Late to Apologize - King George [video file]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMKdyhXmBaA ,

Resources for Reaching All Learners (n.d.) Summary: Early Conflicts with Britain Retrieved
from
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/51/ils_gr5b_u4_c07_l2.pdf

Schanzer, R. (2004) George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from Both Sides.
Washington, D.C: National Geographic.