Gretchens+Lesson+Plan

Lesson Plan: The Boston Massacre

Overview of Lesson: Students will become familiar with the different perspectives of the Boston Massacre. They will read an account from the colonists perspective and an account from the British perspective. They will analyze Paul Revere’s engraving called “The Bloody Massacre.”

Subject Area: 8th Grade American History—Causes of the American Revolution

Duration: One 45 minute class period

Materials needed: · Captain Prescott’s report of BM ·  Colonial Newspaper report of the BM ·  Paul Revere engraving · My watch · Notes on Boston Massacre and the Causes of the Revolution · KWL Chart for BM
 * NARA wkst for Political Cartoons

Prior Knowledge: Students will have read about the Boston Massacre and written about what it was and why it is significant. They also completed a chart of the laws passed by the British.

Anticipatory Set: Students fill out the K and W part of the KWL chart on the Boston Massacre. Meanwhile, a preselected student has “stolen” my watch off of my desk. As we are going over the Know and Want to Know part, I notice my watch is missing. After grilling the class, I find the watch on the preselected student. I kick him/her out of the room. I ask the rest of the room to right down what they saw without putting their name on it so they are anonymous. After they are done writing, the preselected student comes back in the room and we let the class in on our scheme. The point is to show the students that they each have a different perspective on what happened and so each of their stories is a bit different. Their opinions and emotions dictated whether or not they “ratted” the stealer out.

Lesson procedures: 1. ½ the room reads through the primary source on Captain Prescott’s account of the Boston Massacre. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">2. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The other ½ of the room reads through the primary source on the colonial newspaper report of the BM. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">3. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ask the class, “according to the primary source you read, whose fault was the BM?” <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">4. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Discuss why each primary source says something different (bias and perspective). <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">5. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pass out NARA wkst for political cartoon. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">6. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students analyze Revere’s engraving of the BM <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Georgia; msofareastfontfamily: Georgia; msolist: Ignore;">7. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Discuss what is historically inaccurate and what is biased about the engraving.

Closure: Why is it important to read multiple perspectives of the same event? What do we have to take into consideration as we are reading/looking at primary sources and why?

Gretchen, This sounds like a really interesting lesson. When I was student teaching I had 7 weeks in 8th grade and it was all about the Revolutionary time period and I loved it. I like the way you recreate an episode that allows students to give their own accounts which explains bias in their accounts. Great way to tie this in to a first hand account primary source. In high school you might not get that watch back!! -Mike

Gretchen, I love the fact that you are using what PLS calls "live enent learning". It is truly amazing how much more students get out of a lesson when we provide real life, mock, simulated activity to a lesson. Then to back up the live event with a primary source is excellent. How do your students respond? Are they able to make connections with your live event and the docs? Nice work...Chad