11th Grade Semester One

Unit 1: Road to the Revolutionary War

Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Topic / Unit Title: Road to the Revolutionary War
*When should people question authority and revolt against it?
NYS Content Standards Common Core Skills
 Reading-Social Studies (RH)
 Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: 1. Use relevant information and ideas from documents to support
explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the analysis
importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the 2. Determine the main idea of a document
concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of 5. Identify and analyze arguments/ideas presented in documents
changing and competing interpretations of different historical 8. Identify and analyze evidence
developments. 9. Compare and contrast primary and secondary source
 Key Idea 2: Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, information
and traditions from New York State and United States history  Writing (W)
illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events 1. Write an argument to support claims
across time and from a variety of perspectives. 4. Produce writing appropriate to task, purpose and audience
 Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: 9. Draw evidence from informational text
explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the  Speaking and Listening (SL)
importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the 1. Initiate and participate in collaborative discussion
concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of 2. Accurately use multiple sources of information
changing and competing interpretations of different historical 4. Clearly present appropriate information and evidence
developments. 6. Demonstrate command of formal English

Understandings: Essential Questions:

 Understand why Europeans came to the New World and society  Why did the Europeans leave England?
during this time period  Why did the Europeans go to the New World?
 Geographic features of the thirteen colonies  How were the experiences of groups different?
 Identify and label New England, Middle, and Southern colonies  What were the differences between the 13 colonies?
 Explain the advantages and the disadvantages of life in the New  How did geography contribute to these differences?
England, Middle, and Southern colonies  What were the experiences like of the colonists in different
 Define Salutary neglect and Mercantilism regions of the New World?
 List the effects of the French and Indian Wars  How did the French and Indian War affect the colonists?
 Explain the taxes the British imposed on the American colonies  Why did the British tax the colonists?
 Analyze multiple perspectives of the Boston Massacre and  Why were the colonists upset?
Boston Tea Party through image analysis  How did the colonists respond to British rules?
 Explain how Enlightenment philosophers influenced the  How did the British respond to colonial disobedience?
Founding Fathers  How did the colonists react to British taxes?
 Explain the grievances the colonists had to specific problems  What are the advantages and disadvantages of going to war?
they had with the British  How did the colonists justify seeking independence?
 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of going to war  What are the parts of the Declaration of Independence?
 Evaluate if the colonist were justified in seeking independence  To what extent did the Declaration of Independence reflect
Enlightenment thought and colonial experiences?
 What are the grievances the colonists had?
 WERE THE COLONISTS JUSTIFIED IN REVOLTING?
 Stage 2: Assessments and Tasks
Common Core Literacy Task Performance Task(s) – Other Evidence
 Exit tickets with questions based on the American Revolution:  Exit tickets with questions based on the American Revolution:
 Letter to the King: Explain the colonists opinions of British “Acts”  Did the British have the right to tax the colonists?
and taxes and on the colonists?  Who was responsible for conflict in the colonies?
 Create a Dialogue: Two sides, should the colonies go to war?  Should the colonies go to war?
 Newspaper Article: Write an article about the importance and  Did the Declaration of Independence address the needs of the
meaning of the Declaration of Independence. colonists?
 Analyzing documents for main ideas based on the American  Analyzing documents based on the American Revolution.
Revolution.  Prepare and outline written arguments for DBQ essay.
 Prepare and outline written arguments for DBQ essay.

How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?

 Exit tickets
 DBQ essay with feedback
 Grade worksheets
 Multiple choice in-class quizzes

Accommodations: Scaffolds and Differentiation

o Modify primary source texts (variety, complexity, length)
Content

o Incorporate alternative materials (visual, video, audio, internet)

o Provide supplementary resources for supports
o Group with a purpose
o Model skills, task and/or product
o Utilize graphic organizers / note taking template
Process

o Provide individual or group intervention and support

o Re-enforce vocabulary / concept development
o Provide choice / variety of activities or tasks
o Group with a purpose
o Assign specific, purposeful assessments to individuals or groups
o Allow students to choose from a variety of assessments
Product

o Provide scaffolds / supports (outlines, templates, models)

o Provide extension activities to expand thinking or understanding
o Group with a purpose
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Instructional Activities and Materials (W.H.E.R.E.T.O.)
Aim: Was it worth leaving the Old World to go to the New World?
 Discuss push/pull factors of Europeans migrating from the Old World
 Compare and contrast the motivations and experiences of different groups.
 Define: Puritans, Pilgrims, Push/Pull Factor, Merchants, Indentured Servants, Slaves, Voluntary, Involuntary
ACTIVITY: Make a map of the colonies and label the different geographic features of each region (Atlantic Ocean, Appalachian Mountains, 13
colonies, crops/plantations).

Aim: Did the colonist find what they were looking for in America?
 Compare and contrast the different social and political and economic conditions of the colonies
 Analyze how geography impacted the colonies
 Define:13 colonies, New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, Southern Colonies, Regions, Trading, Agriculture
ACTIVITY: Students visit stations about the social/political/economic condition in the colonies. Write a letter encouraging or discouraging family in
Europe from coming to a particular region using push/pull factors such as social, economic, and political opportunities in the new world (religious
freedom, job opportunities, and self rule).

Aim: Did the British have the right to tax the colonists?
 Discuss the causes of the French Indian War
 Explain the causes for taxation
  Analyze why this upset the colonists
 Define: Mercantilism, Salutary neglect, Proclamation of 1763, taxation, Stamp Act
ACTIVITY: Exit ticket answering the aim. Compose a petition to the king using THREE keywords and other details and facts from the lesson about
why the colonists are unhappy with the taxes.

Aim: Who was responsible for the fighting in the colonies?

 Describe the colonial response to the taxation
 Evaluate whether the British response was appropriate or not
 Define Parliament Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, “Taxation without Representation”, Tar and Feather
ACTIVITY: T-chart listing the reasons each group was responsible for the fighting. Choose the side that you feel is justified and create a biased
newspaper headline reporting the key events.

Aim: Should the colonists go to war with Britain?

 Explain the advantages and disadvantages of going to war.
 Evaluate whether or not the colonists were justified in seeking independence.
 Define: “Taxation without Representation”, Tar and Feather, First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress
ACTIVITY: Make a military ad campaign recruiting for the loyalists or the patriots using political cartoon symbols we examined today and the key
words for this lesson.

Aim: How did the American Colonists defeat the British?

 Identify: Battle of Saratoga, Treaty of Paris
 Understand the advantages and disadvantages of the British and American colonies and evaluate who had the advantage.
 Analyze images idealizing revolutionary activity.
 Compare and Contrast the original goals of the revolution to the outcome on the Treaty of Paris.
 Evaluate how the American colonies were able to achieve independence.
ACTIVITY: Gallery Walk of timeline, events, people, and maps of the Revolution including frustrations soldiers experienced with revolutionary
leaders. Create a postcard from a perspective of a soldier commenting on the leadership you are experiencing, the challenges you have gone
through, and how you think you can win this war.

Aim: Did the Declaration of Independence meet the needs of the colonists?
 Summarize the parts of the Declaration of Independence.
 Identify examples of Enlightenment thinking in the Declaration.
 Evaluate whether the Declaration of Independence addresses the grievances the colonists had.
 Define: Preamble, Grievances, Enlightenment, natural rights, Declaration of Independence
ACTIVITY: De-code the Declaration of Independence by creating a dialogue between Thomas Jefferson and John Locke about the grievances and
final message of the Declaration.

Teacher Reflection for Future Planning

 Peer editing of DBQ drafts

 Students write a self-assessment about the feedback they received on their writing and what their goals are for the next unit

June 2008
Theme: Change
Throughout United States history, individuals other than presidents have played significant roles that led to changes in the
nation’s economy, government, or society.

Task: Select two important individuals, other than presidents and the area in which they tried to bring about change, and for
each
 Discuss one action taken by the individual that led to changes in the nation’s economy, government or society
 Discuss changes that came about as a result of the individual’s action

You may use any important person from your study of United States history (other than a president). Some suggestions you
might wish to consider include Frederick Douglass and slavery, Andrew Carnegie and industrialization, Jacob Riis and
urban life, Upton Sinclair and consumer protection, Henry Ford and the automobile industry, Margret Sanger and
reproductive rights, Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights, Cesar Chavez and migrant farmworkers and Bill Gates and the
software industry.

January 2008
Theme: Change—War
United States participation in wars has resulted in political, social and economic changes for various groups of Americans.
These changes have had varying impacts on American society both during and after each war.

Task: Identify two different groups of Americans that were affected by United States participation in a war and for each
 Describe a social, political, or economic change the group experienced because of the war
 Discuss the extent to which that change affected American society

You may use any appropriate group from your study of United States history. Some suggestions you might wish to consider
include enslaved persons during the Civil War, Native American Indian during the Indian Wars, women during World War I,
or World War II, Japanese Americans during World War II, and American college students or army draftees during the
Vietnam War.

Multiple Choice
1 Which geographic factor most directly influenced the location of the first English settlements in North America?
(1) rivers along the Atlantic coast
(2) availability of flat land in the Midwest
(3) mild climate along the Gulf coast
(4) forests throughout the Middle Colonies

2 The Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights were significant influences on United States constitutional development
because they
(1) provided suffrage for all men and women
(2) placed limits on the powers of the government
(3) called for the abolition of slavery
(4) supported the development of federalism

3 The Declaration of Independence contains a

(1) proposal for reuniting the colonies and England
(2) statement of grievances against the King of England
(3) request for a treaty between the colonies and Spain
(4) plan for organizing the western territories

4 Which set of events related to early America is in the correct chronological order?
(1) inauguration of George Washington →passage of Stamp Act →Battle of Saratoga →French and Indian War
(2) Battle of Saratoga →French and Indian War →passage of Stamp Act →inauguration ofGeorge Washington
(3) French and Indian War →passage of Stamp Act →Battle of Saratoga →inauguration of George Washington
(4) passage of Stamp Act →French and Indian War →inauguration of George Washington → Battle of Saratoga

5 Which title best completes the partial outline below?

I. ___________________________________
A. Virginia House of Burgesses
B. Mayflower Compact
C. New England town meetings

(1) Developments in Colonial Self-Government

(2) Colonial Efforts to Abandon British Rule
(3) Attempts by Colonial Leaders to Form a National Government
(4) Colonial Organizations Established by the British Parliament
6 One way that the British government carried out the policy of mercantilism was by
(1) promoting free trade between its colonies and Europe
(2) prohibiting the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans
(3) encouraging the development of colonial manufacturing and trade
(4) requiring that most colonial trade occur within the British Empire

7 Thomas Jefferson incorporated John Locke’s idea of the social contract theory in the Declaration of Independence
because this idea
(1) justified the overthrow of a government that denied individual liberties
(2) considered economic rights more important than inalienable rights
(3) supported the divine right of kings
(4) called for a gradual change of government

Base your answer to question 8 on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.
...As to government matters, it is not in the power of Britain to do this continent justice: the business of it will soon
be too weighty and intricate to be managed with any tolerable degree of convenience, by a power so distant from
us, and so very ignorant of us; for if they cannot conquer us, they cannot govern us. To be always running three or
four thousand miles with a tale or a petition, waiting four or five months for an answer, which, when obtained,
requires five or six more to explain it in, will in a few years be looked upon as folly and childishness. There was a
time when it was proper, and there is a proper time for it to cease....
— Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

8 What is the main argument Thomas Paine makes concerning the relationship between Great Britain and its American
colonies?
(1) Britain wants to make America a part of the European continental system.
(2) America is too distant for Great Britain to govern effectively.
(3) America lacks representation in Parliament.
(4) American colonial leaders believe British officials want to use them to fight European wars.

9 During the colonial period, which geographic feature presented the greatest barrier to them westward migration of
American settlers?
(1) Appalachian Mountains
(2) Ohio River
(3) Great Plains
(4) Rocky Mountains

10 Which action by the British government was considered by American colonists to be a violation of their rights as
Englishmen?
(1) making treaties with Native American Indians
(2) protecting the colonies from foreign invasion
(3) failing to enforce the Navigation Acts
(4) taxing the colonies without representation in Parliament

Base your answers to questions 11 and 12 on the time line below and on your knowledge of social studies.
11 Which conclusion is best supported by the information on the time line?
(1) Britain eventually granted the colonies representation in Parliament.
(2) Only elected British officials had the right to levy taxes.
(3) Britain’s efforts to increase control over the colonies were not successful.
(4) Creation of the First Continental Congress was an immediate reaction to the passage of the Stamp Act.

12 Which of these events would be placed on the time line before 1763?
(1) Boston Massacre
(2) French and Indian War
(3) Battle of Saratoga
(4) passage of Northwest Ordinance

13 During the colonial period, the economic development of the South was most directly dependent on the labor of
(1) factory workers
(2) wheat farmers
(3) Irish immigrants
(4) enslaved Africans

14 The results of the French and Indian War (1754–1763) led to the independence movement in the thirteen colonies
because the British
(1) lost control of Canada and Florida
(2) began imposing new taxes on the colonists
(3) removed the Spanish threat to the colonists
(4) opened the area west of the Appalachian Mountains to colonial settlers

15 Which heading best completes the partial outline below?

I. __________________________________
A. Vast timber resources
B. Rocky soil
C. Rich ocean fishing grounds
D. Single-family farms

(1) Factors in the Economic Development of Colonial New England

(2) Reasons for the Development of Southern Plantations
(3) Features Contributing to Dutch Success in Colonial New Amsterdam
(4) Components of the British System of Mercantilism
Base your answer to question 16 on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.

16 Based on this map, which statement about the geography of colonial New England is most accurate?
(1) New Hampshire had the highest population density.
(2) Rivers served as natural boundaries between the colonies.
(3) The first communities developed along rivers and coastlines.
(4) The Atlantic Ocean isolated the region from the rest of the colonies.

17 One reason traditions of self-government developed in the American colonies before the French and Indian War was that
the British
(1) sent effective leaders to govern colonial settlements
(2) required colonial representation in Parliament
(3) practiced salutary neglect in the colonies
(4) maintained a strong military presence in the colonies

18 The Proclamation of 1763 was intended to

(1) allow American farmers to use the Mississippi River
(2) outlaw slavery in the Ohio River valley
(3) prevent France from expanding into the Great Lakes region
(4) avoid conflicts with Native American Indians west of the Appalachian Mountains

19 In the 1760s, Americans in the original thirteen British colonies began to protest against
(1) efforts by the king to extend voting rights to women
(2) laws passed by the British Parliament regulating colonial trade
(3) limits placed on land ownership by royal governors
(4) decisions of British authorities to end immigration to the colonies
Base your answer to question 20 on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.

20 Which geographic feature was used to establish the Proclamation Line of 1763?
(1) Great Lakes
(2) Rocky Mountains
(3) Appalachian Mountains
(4) Mississippi River

21 The Preamble of the Constitution demonstrates that the writers believed that sovereignty belongs to the
(1) federal government
(2) state governments
(3) president
(4) people

22 What is a principle of government that is stated in the Preamble to the United States Constitution?
(1) Federal laws must be subject to state approval.
(2) The power of government comes from the people.
(3) The right to bear arms shall not be infringed.
(4) All men and women are created equal.

23 Which two key principles of government are included in the Declaration of Independence?
(1) majority rule and minority rights
(2) universal suffrage and judicial independence
(3) direct democracy and equality for women
(4) consent of the governed and natural rights

24 Which document is most closely associated with John Locke’s social contract theory of government?
(1) Albany Plan of Union
(2) Declaration of Independence
(3) Treaty of Paris (1783)
(4) Sedition Act of 1798

25 Thomas Jefferson incorporated John Locke’s idea of the social contract theory in the Declaration of Independence
because this idea
(1) justified the overthrow of a government that denied individual liberties
(2) considered economic rights more important than inalienable rights
(3) supported the divine right of kings
(4) called for a gradual change of government