American Revolution
Boston Tea Party
Authors: Cheryl and Don Everhart
Overview: Afternoon tea was a custom that early settlers brought from England.
The custom was popular through the 1800s. In Revolutionary War days, however;
American Patriots refused to drink tea because of the conflict with England over
the Tea Act in 1773. The result was the Boston Tea Party.
Grade Level:
3-5
Time Needed: Twenty to thirty minutes.
Connections to Curriculum: Geography, history, math
Objective:
o The student will be able to recognize one of the causes of the Boston
Tea Party.
o The student will be able to locate and label Boston, Massachusetts on
a thirteen colonies map.
o The student will able to locate and label England on a map.
o The student will be able to locate and label the Atlantic Ocean on a
map.
National Geography Standards:
Essential Element 1: The World in Spatial Terms
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and
technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial
perspective.
Essential Element 4: Human Systems
Standard 11: The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on
Earth’s surface.
Standard 12: The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Standard 13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people
influence the division and control of earth’s surface.
Essential Element 6: The Uses of Geography
Standard 17: How to apply geography to interpret the past.
Materials Needed:
Cook, Peter. You Wouldn’t Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party! Wharf
Water Tea You’d Rather Not Drink. Scholastic: New York, 2006.
Moore, Kay. If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution.
Scholastic: New York, 1997.
Sugar/Cinnamon mixture
Toaster Oven
½ stick oleo
Mixing spoon
2 small bowls
1 cup
Bread knife
½ cup
Tongs
¼ teaspoon
Baking sheet
¼ cup
Hot plate
Hot pot
For each small group…
 2 slices bread
 ¼ teaspoon allspice
 4 cups cider
 ¼ cup brown sugar
 2 cloves
 Cups for each group
 1 cinnamon stick
 Paper plates
Thirteen colonies map
Map showing England and Atlantic Ocean
©Cheryl and Don Everhart, Main Street, U.S.A., 3 Holly Drive, Olathe, KS 66062
Procedures:
In Revolutionary times, American Patriots refused to drink tea because of
the conflict with England over the Tea Act of 1773. England imposed a tax on tea
that could ONLY be bought from England. Colonists still had “tea”, but often
serving coffee, mulled cider, and dried berry leaves.
With the arrival of the tea ships from England, over 5,000 people of the
colonies gathered, determined to stop the tea from landing on American soil. As a
result, on December 16, 1773, 342 chests of tea (approximately $10,000) were
dumped into Boston Harbor. Today, the same amount of tea would be worth
$1,000,000. One hundred sixteen colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians,
participated in the destruction of the tea.
As a result, news of the “tea party” reached Britain. The King and
Parliament (the English governing body) were furious. Thus, a series of laws
known as the Intolerable Acts were passed to punish the colonists. The Intolerable
Acts resulted when Britain closed Boston Harbor and passed new laws as
punishment. The people of Boston were outraged and knew that they must take a
stand to defend their liberty. Within a year, the American Revolution began.
Patriot Tea Party
This activity that students prepare would be food similar to that of colonial times.
Mulled Cider
4 cups apple cider
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ cup brown sugar
Place the cider, cinnamon stick, cloves, and allspice in the hot pot. Heat the
mixture five minutes over the medium setting. Stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a
boil, and then turn down heat to simmer. Remove the cloves and the cinnamon
stick with tongs. Allow to cool.
©Cheryl and Don Everhart, Main Street, U.S.A., 3 Holly Drive, Olathe, KS 66062
Cinnamon Tea Toasties
½ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon (pre-mixed)
½ stick melted butter
2 slices bread
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut crust off of bread and slice bread into 4 pieces each.
Dip the bread with the tongs into the butter, just enough to moisten.
Place bread on baking sheet
Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake the bread, turning often to brown on both sides.
Serve on a plate with a cup (1/2) of warm, mulled cider.
Summarize the Boston Tea Party while the items are “cooking” from the book, If
You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution, pages 18-22.
If time, read You Wouldn’t Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party! Wharf Water Tea
You’d Rather Not Drink pages 18-19.
Assessment:
1. What was the primary cause of the Boston Tea Party?
2. What was the result of the Boston Tea Party?
3. Label the following on your maps
a. Massachusetts
b. England
c. Atlantic Ocean
©Cheryl and Don Everhart, Main Street, U.S.A., 3 Holly Drive, Olathe, KS 66062
©Cheryl and Don Everhart, Main Street, U.S.A., 3 Holly Drive, Olathe, KS 66062
©Cheryl and Don Everhart, Main Street, U.S.A., 3 Holly Drive, Olathe, KS 66062