TEACHER’S G UIDE
TEACHER’S GUI DE
Follow-up Activities
Suggested Internet Resources
• A Stamp Act Congress was convened by the colonies in 1765 to discuss
issues related to the controversial Stamp Tax. Have students read the
Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress that we re sent to Great Bri t a i n ,
describe in their own wo rds the most important issues and analyze the
language the Congress used to describe the colonies’ objections.As a
fo l l ow-up, ask groups of students to fo rm committees and to wri t e
letters of protest regarding issues of importance to them.The full text of
the Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress may be found at this Web site:
odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1751-1775/stampact/sa.htm
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• Ask students to imagine they are newspaper re p o rters on the scene at
the Boston Massacre in 1770, and to write art i cles that attempt to
capture what happened on that fateful day. Students may also re s e a rch
the lives of the fi ve victims, i n cluding Crispus A t t u ck s , an African
American who is remembered as “the first to die, the first to defy” during
the Revolutionary period.An excellent resource for background information on this incident, An Anonymous Account of the Boston Massacre,
m ay be accessed at this Web site: www. k u . e d u / c a rri e / d o c s / t ex t s /
bostanon.html
• www.constitution.org/bcp/vir_res1765.htm
Students may read the full text of Patrick Henry’s Virginia Resolves.
• In 1772, as the British we re becoming incre a s i n g ly ag gre s s i ve in their
enforcement of customs laws, a number of colonists led by John Brown,
a prominent Providence merchant, b o l d ly seized and burned the
Gaspee, a British ship that was patrolling the wa t e rs off Rhode Island.
Ask groups of students to re s e a rch the men who participated in the
Gaspee affair and to share what they learn about these men’s roles in
the American Revolution with the class. Information on those who were
i nvo l ved in the G a s p e e A ffair may be found at this Web site:
gaspee.org/GaspeeRaiders.htm
• Ask students to gather and analyze evidence about how both British
Parliament and colonial resistance leaders such as Pa t ri ck Henry and
Sam Adams felt about English taxes in the aftermath of the Fre n ch and
Indian War. Based on what they learn, students may conduct a mock
debate on whether the English had the right to tax the colonies.
• A grand jury in Massachusetts indicted Captain Preston and eight British
soldiers for mu rder in the aftermath of the Boston Massacre . Ask students to re s e a rch the Boston Massacre tri a l s , describing the key fi g u re s ,
developing a ch ro n o l o gy of events and reading actual court testimony.
As a fo l l ow-up, students may conduct their own mock trial of the men
who we re invo l ved in this incident. A wealth of info rmation on the
Boston Massacre trials may be found at this Web site: www. l aw.umkc.
edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonmassacre.html
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TEACHER’S G UIDE
• ahp.gatech.edu/tea_party_account_1773.html
Georgia Tech presents students with the eyewitness account of George
Hewes, a participant in the Boston Tea Party.
• courses.smsu.edu/ftm922f/Documents/coerciveacts.htm
Southwest Missouri State University offers excerpts from the Boston Port
Act, the Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice
Act, otherwise known to colonists as the Coercive Acts.
Suggested Print Resources
• Fo r b e s , Esther. Jo h n ny Tre m a i n . Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA; 1943.
A Newberry Award-winning novel about the events leading up to the
American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy.
CAUSES OF
THE REVOLUTION
(1765-1774)
• Furs t i n ge r, Nancy. Boston Tea Party. Bri d gestone Books, Mankata, MN;
2002.
• Herbert, Janis. The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21
Activities. Chicago Review Press, Chicago, IL; 2002.
T
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting pro grams in the The
American Revolution for Students series.
Before Viewing: G i ve students an introduction
TEACHER’S GUIDE
to the topic by re l aying aspects of the pro gram
summary to them. Select pre - v i ewing discussion
questions and vocabulary to provide a focus for
students when they view the program.
Jeffrey W. Litzke, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
TITLES
• ORIGINS OF DEMOCRACY (1688-1765)
After Viewing: R ev i ew the pro gram and vocab u-
• CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION (1765-1774)
• DECLARING INDEPENDENCE (1774-1776)
• THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1776-1783)
• CREATING A NEW NATION (1783-1791)
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
Grades 5–9
lary, and use the fo l l ow-up activities to inspire
continued discussion. E n c o u rage students to
re s e a rch the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
800-843-3620
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2004 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger
Programs produced and directed by Issembert Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved.
D6862
V6142
Program Summary
French and Indian War — A conflict from 1754 to 1763 involving the
Pre-viewing Discussion
In the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War, a power struggle developed
b e t ween the A m e ric an colonies and Great Britain. In need of money to pay
the tremendous costs associated with the war, Great Britain began to enforce
tax and trade laws prev i o u s ly evaded by colonial merchants.The colonists
who had enjoyed substantial freedom in their social, political and economic
life protested, sometimes violently, against the new British policies.
French and their Native American allies against the British.This war was part
of a broader European conflict known as the Seven Years’War.
• Ask students to offer what they know about taxe s .What is a tax? How
do taxes affect people? Why are taxes important for gove rnments?
Students may attempt to interpret in their own wo rds the phra s e ,“no
taxation without representation!”
While Parliament repealed some tax laws such as the Stamp Act, they continued to pass new legislation and declared their power over the colonies in all
cases whatsoever.The 1773 Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party, causing Great
Britain to issue the Coercive Acts, measures designed to punish the people of
Boston for their destruction of British pro p e rty.While the British attempted
to shut the port of Boston down, people throughout the colonies organized a
unified response in support of the New England colonists, sending them
much needed food and supplies.
In 1774, the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to discuss
how the colonies might respond to Great Britain. Leaders such as Pa t ri ck
Henry and Sam Adams argued for continued resistance and some even said
that Parliament had no authority over the colonies, but the majority of colonial re p resentatives still sought compromise with the Bri t i s h .The colonies
sent a petition to King George III expressing their desire for better treatment,
but the British monarch would not respond, and the animosity between the
two sides grew stronger.
Pontiac’s Rebellion — A violent rebellion led by Ottawa chief Pontiac that
attempted to dri ve the British from North A m e rica after the Fre n ch and
Indian War.
Proclamation Act of 1763 — A law passed by Parliament that attempted
• Describe diffe rent fo rms of pro t e s t . How would you resist a law you
thought was unjust or unfair?
to prevent colonists from moving west of the Ap p a l a chians in order to ke e p
the peace between colonists and Native American peoples.
• Name some of the leaders who participated in the early part of the
American Revolution.What did they do? Why are they important?
Parliament — The legi s l a t i ve body of Great Bri t a i n , consisting of a king or
queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Other countries also
have legislatures called parliaments.
Focus Questions
Sugar Act — An act passed by Parliament that imposed taxes on imports to
1.What did Great Britain gain in the aftermath of the Seven Years’War?
America such as sugar and molasses.
2. How did the British government respond to Pontiac’s Rebellion?
Stamp Act — An unpopular British law passed in 1765 that placed new
3.Why did Parliament pass measures such as the Sugar and Stamp Acts?
taxes on American colonists.
4.Why were many colonists angry about the Stamp Act?
House of Burgesses — The colonial assembly in Virginia.
Vi rginia Resolves — A set of radical resolutions Pa t ri ck Henry introduced
5.Who were the Sons of Liberty?
in the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act.
7.What was the Boston Massacre?
Sons of Liberty — A secret society of colonial patriots originally formed in
8.What was the purpose of the Committees of Correspondence?
1765 in opposition to the Stamp Act.
9. How did the Sons of Liberty respond to the Tea Act of 1773?
boycott — A political or economic protest in which people refuse to buy
10.Why did Parliament pass the “Intolerable Acts”?
certain types of goods from a specific source.
Declaratory Act — An act passed by Parliament in 1766 that decl a red that
Time Line
1763 — The French and Indian War ends.
1763 — Pontiac’s Rebellion begins.
1763 — Great Britain issues the Proclamation Act of 1763.
1764 — Parliament passes the Sugar Act to raise revenue in the colonies.
1765 — The Stamp Act places new taxes on American colonists.
1766 — Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
1767 — The Townshend Revenue Acts are passed.
1770 — Five colonists are killed by British troops in the Boston Massacre.
1773 — The Tea Act is passed by Parliament.
1773 — Sons of Liberty destroy British tea at the Boston Tea Party.
1773 — The Coercive Acts are passed to punish protestors in Boston.
1774 — The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
the colonies were subordinate to the British crown in all cases whatsoever.
Townshend Revenue Acts — A series of taxes placed on pro d u c t s
imported from England.
Daughters of Liberty — A group of women who resisted British tra d e
laws by boycotting English cloth and making their own clothing.
Boston Massacre — An incident that took place in Boston on March 5,
1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed five American protestors.
Committees of Correspondence — Colonists who helped organize resistance to the British by writing letters of protest and circulating them
throughout the colonies.
Coercive Acts — Measures passed by Parliament that we re intended to
punish Boston for destruction of British tea during the Boston Tea Party.Also
called the Intolerable Acts.
First Continental Congress — A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1774 in
6.Why did Great Britain send troops to Boston?
11. What was the First Continental Congress? What we re some of the
actions taken by this group?
Follow-up Discussion
• Ask students to imagine they are colonists at the time the Pro cl a m a t i o n
of 1763 was issued, which forbade colonists from moving further we s t
onto Indian lands.Why did the English enact this rule? How would students have reacted after learning of this restriction? Ask students to
discuss why colonists might have wanted to move further west.
• Some people used violence in their resistance to the Stamp Act.Ask students to describe a few of the more radical protest methods used by
colonists and to evaluate whether these we re good or bad ways to
disobey the British.
• Ask students to explain how both Sam Adams and King George III felt
about the Boston Tea Party.
which re p re s e n t a t i ves from the colonies spoke about their pro blems with
the British.
Vocabulary
Boston Tea Party — An organized protest against the Tea Act of 1773 in
which members of the Sons of Liberty destroyed thousands of dollars wo rth
of British tea.
(Continued)
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