Unit 3 UPA: Revolutionary War Artifact
For this UPA you will create an artifact to put on display in a museum. This artifact will
help explain the reason for the Unites States victory in the Revolutionary War. Your artifact
will be accompanied by a curator’s note explaining important details of your artifact.
It is May 1788 and the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War and
established the United States as an independent nation, was recently passed. Congress has just
announced that it has authorized the establishment of a National Museum and you have been
asked to design an artifact for its first exhibit.
Your artifact should demonstrate your knowledge of the following: the strengths and
weaknesses of each side, the major battles fought, the weapons and tactics used in those
battles, the contributions that women and African Americans made to the Patriots’ cause, the
role other nations played in the war, and any other significant events or developments that
affected the war’s outcome.
Step One: Choose an artifact
o Students must choose an artifact that was helpful in the American’s winning the Revolutionary War
or was an important part of the war.
o Ideas could include, but are not limited to:
 Cannons
 Ships
 Historical Documents (Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris, famous speeches)
 Postcards
 Battlefields
o Your artifact must be made to look authentic from that time period.
 Documents should be made to look very old
 Ships, cannons, and other weapons must look like the versions used then, NOT NOW.
Step Two: Create your Curator’s Note
o
Students will then write a curator’s note to accompany the artifact.
o
This note will be one paragraph (one sentence for each question below or more).
o
Your curator’s note must address the following things about your specific artifact:

What is the artifact?

When was it made?

Who made it?

What was it used for?

How did this artifact help win the war for the Americans?
Step Three: Create your artifact
o Once you’ve picked what you are going to make, and have written the curator’s note, you need to
create your artifact!
o Use materials from your home or you purchased to make it look as authentic as possible!
Step Four: Participate in our Museum Walk:
o
On Friday, November 16, we will display all of our UPAs for a museum walk. While walking around
you must complete a survey for the other exhibits on display.
8th Grade UPA Unit 3 Rubric
Name:
Required Items
Complete
Incomplete
Not Included
10 pts
5 pts
0 pts
Artifact chosen was
influential in the
American victory
Artifact is historically
accurate
Artifact quality shows
time and care in
creating
Artifact appears
authentic in creation
Curator’s note
includes what the
artifact is and when it
was made
Curator’s note
describes how the
artifact was used
Curator’s note
describes how the
artifact helped the
Americans win the
war
Curator’s note is
grammatically correct,
neat, uses correct
spelling, and is at least
one paragraph
Museum Walk
critique complete
Neatness and
Creativity of artifact
and curators note
Total Points Earned
100-90
89-80
79-70
69-60
59 or less
out of 100 Points Possible
A
B
C
D
F
UPA is due Friday, November 16, 2012
Total Pts