James Madison University – College of Education
Social Studies Lesson Plan Format
Name: Thomas Pitts
Subject/Class: US I Grade Level: 6
Date: 7/12/2011
Topic: Boston Massacre
NCSS Theme #6 : Power, Authority and Governance
Subthemes: Knowledge # 5 : The ways government manage conflict, establish order ;
Processes # 3 : Analyze the ways in which nations respond to tensions and conflicts
associated with unity and diversity
Essential Questions/Big Ideas: How and why did key events lead to the American Revolutionary
War? (unit question)
SOLs/Standards addressed:
STANDARD USI.6a
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by
a) identifying the issues of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution.
 Great Britain imposed taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to raise necessary revenue to pay the cost of the French and Indian
War.
STANDARD USI.6c
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by
c) describing key events and the roles of key individuals in the American Revolution, with emphasis on
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.
Key events
 Boston Massacre: Colonists in Boston were shot after taunting British soldiers.
Learning Outcomes/Objectives:
Students will understand the tensions that were affecting the colonies at the time of the Boston
Massacre. Students will be able to identify the feelings of the rival sides before, during and after the
massacre and explain how propaganda after the event affected the colonist ideas about British rule.
Assessment alignment chart: How will you know they know the objectives listed above?
Objective
Assessment (formative and summative)
U 1: Through research,
students will be able to
recreate, through their own
interpretations the events that
transpired around the time of
the Boston Massacre from
both a British and Colonial
perspective
Students will recall, through a guided activity, key
background information on the Boston Massacre, as
well as the day’s events leading up to the Massacre.
After understanding the background tensions, students
will be responsible for researching the massacre from
different perspectives: (each student will be assigned
one perspective)
Edward Gerrish: wigmaker’s apprentice
John Goldfinch: British soldier who bought/stole wig
King George: King of England
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10
British sentries in Boston at the time
Colonial Mob
Paul Revere
Following researching how each of these people/groups
felt, students will be responsible for recreating the event
as historically accurate as they can. As each student is
assigned one role in the drama, they are to act out their
part. After acting out, students should be able to
explain the event and combine it with their background
knowledge to formulate a hypothesis of what effect the
Boston Massacre would have on American colonist.
Following completion of this exercise, and teacher/class
U2: Students will be able
conversation, students will take the perspective of an
understand the historical
relevance the Boston Massacre American colonist who has just seen Paul Revere’s
painting and read about the massacre in a newspaper.
had throughout the colonies
Students are to write reaction letters using the
knowledge they have acquired to either the colonial
governor or colonial legislature expressing their
feelings about what transpired in Boston. Students
should also have analyzed Revere’s engraving.
Background Content Outline:
I.
Boston Massacre
a. Background information (previously covered in prior classes- just for review and to set
the tone)
i. Proclamation of 1763
1. Reaction of King George III following the French and Indian War
2. Colonist prohibited from moving into the Ohio Valley
3. Colonial protest- felt rights to land they had fought for had been violated
ii. British Taxes
1. Result of French and Indian War- Britain broke
2. Stamp Act (Most important SOL tax)
a. Tax on paper products
b. Imposed in 1765, repeal (without collection) in 1766
c. Reaction of colonist
i. Tax had been passed without their consent
3. British troops sent to Boston
a. Colonist had responded violently to taxes in Massachusetts
b. Sent to pacify colonist
c. Colonial resentment
d. Harassment of British soldiers in Boston
i. Names, threats, physical (throwing rocks, snowballs, etc.)
b. Boston Massacre
i. Feelings in Boston at this time
1. Sons of Liberty- created in 1765 and led by Sam Adams
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10
a. Burning of the effigy of Andrew Oliver (Colonial Governor of
Massachusetts)
2. Review of background knowledge
ii. Events of Boston Massacre
1. City set up
a. Constant harassment of British soldiers by colonist
b. Soldiers set up as sentries around Boston
c. Boston colonist often intoxicated
2. Wig debacle
a. John Goldfinch (had obtained a wig, but it was in question if he
had paid for it.
b. Edward Gerrish: wigmaker’s apprentice questions Goldfinch on
King street
c. Gerrish goes and gets colonial supporters, who continue to
harass Goldfinch, and start to throw rocks
d. Private White- leaves post and strikes Gerrish in head with
musket
1. Gerrish’s yells attract a large colonial mob, accumulating
300-400 angry colonist
2. Thomas Preston orders British soldiers to area (7-8)
3. British Private Montgomery stuck to ground by colonist- yells
fire!
4. Colonial harassment- taunt soldiers by telling them to fire
5. Regulars fire into the crowd, immediately killing 3 (Crispus
Attucks), and two more died later. Six more colonist were
injured.
3. Paul Revere’s Painting
a. He was not even there
b. Meaning of painting- to stir up trouble in colonies
c. Reaction of colonist
1. Appalled, further isolation from royalty
2. More switching to anti-British sentiment
3. Fire-branders use as propaganda (?)
DEAN CHART
Concept word
Unit word =
Revolution
Lesson word =
propaganda
D=define
An attempt to
make changes to
a previously
established idea
The use of ideas
to manipulate
how people feel
about a topic
E=examples
British
monarchial
system during
the American
Revolutionary
War
Revere’s
Painting
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10
A=attributes
N=non-examples
Long lasting
dictatorships
Everything can
be used as
propaganda
Instructional Plan: Not sure how to do this, the numbers represent the order the events are done in.
What the Teacher Will Do
What the Students Will Do
Teacher monitors groups to make sure prior
1) Students will use their previous
knowledge is being activated. Groups can
notes (drawing on index cards)be spurred on by asking such questions as
they need to trade the cards and
How did that effect the relationship between
figure out what the event is, and
Great Britain and the colonies? Why did
how colonist felt about it. All
Britain respond this way? What was the
cards show student made drawings
purpose of this event? Why did the colonist
only. Cards will include; French
feel this way?
and Indian War, Proclamation of
1763, Stamp Act, Townshend Act
(with British troops arriving).
Teacher must check with kids to make sure
2) Students will then research the
they understand what their people are
Boston Massacre’s events from
responsible for doing during the skit.
their own perspectives. Students
Questions should be posed, such as, how
will need to analyze how their
would he respond to that event? How did
person/group participated in the
he feel prior to the event? How would you
actual event. Students will be
change what your person did?
required to discuss their
involvement with teacher before
proceeding.
Teacher watches for accuracy of the skit.
3) Students will reenact the Massacre
As this is a one day production, grades
based on what they have learned.
should not be given for performance, but
This should be informally
students should be made to get this right as
assessed. Students should be
far as historical context.
given multiple chances to put this
production together. If, after
several attempts, the production is
unsuccessful, students should
return to their seats to reread what
actually happened, and perform
the skit, rectifying the
inaccuracies
Teacher led questions
4) Students are required to answer
1) How did the Colonist feel about the
questions based on the event
British prior to the Boston
Massacre?
2) What did the event start over?
3) Why did the colonial citizenry react
the way they did?
4) How would you react to having
rocks and snowball thrown at you?
Being beaten with sticks?
5) Do you believe the soldiers were
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10
justified for firing into the crowd?
Why or why not?
6) What would you have done?
7) How do you think people who hated
Great Britain could use this incident
to their advantage?
Teacher led questions- ask for both pictures
1) What do you see in the picture?
2) How are the colonist portrayed?
3) How are the British portrayed?
4) Why would their artist portray their
side the way they did?
5) What do you think the reaction was
to the Revere engraving? Why?
Teacher should then fill in any background
information that was missed in the lesson.
To review, students can do this lesson
tomorrow at the start of class- to make it
more amusing, have them do it in slow
motion, fast forward, or even more
challenging- in reverse!
5) Students should be shown Paul
Revere’s engraving as well as an
image of the event from a British
perspective.
(Youth Leadership Initiative)
6) Following completion of
analyzing the pictures and
answering questions, Students
will need to take on the persona of
an American colonist who has just
seen Paul Revere’s painting and
read about the massacre in a
newspaper. Students are to write
reaction letters using the
knowledge they have acquired to
either the colonial governor or
colonial legislature expressing
their feelings about what
transpired in Boston.
Materials Needed for the Lesson:
 Articles for students to do research with
 Previous notes- hand drawn on note cards
 Wig
 Yard sticks (muskets)
 Rulers (sticks)
 Paper balls (snow balls and rocks- to be thrown waist high and no higher, from long ranges)
 Image of Paul Revere’s engraving as well as an engraving from the British perspective.
Bibliography/Resources Used (using APA):
Home. (2011). Boston Massacre Historical Society. Retrieved from http://www.bostonmassacre.net/index.html
Heubeck, Meg (2011, Content Academy). Youth Leadership Inititive. Class Lecture. James Madison University
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10
Participants. (2011). Boston Massacre Historical Society. Retrieved from
http://www.bostonmassacre.net/index.html
Pictures. 2011). Boston Massacre Historical Society. Retrieved from http://www.bostonmassacre.net/index.html
Adaption/Differentiation:
ELL/struggling
Struggling readers can be paired up with other readers to act as one of the
readers
groups- therefore they will have the ability to work with others and not
have individual responsibilities
ADHD
They will be using their energy throughout much of the presentation!
Gifted
Gifted should be encouraged to explore their roles more deeply, and give
more accurate testimonies to the person they are assigned to
Explanation of Instructional Strategies Used:
I choose to use several strategies in this lesson plan.
1) Review of drawings- this helps students have a visual queue of what they have learned
2) Research-with relevance- This helps kids understand the information they need to know. They
are not reading words to just read them. They must read for understanding- this helps visual
learners- helps kids who remember information by reading it.
3) Production- helps kids that remember information through movement.
4) Lecture- Helps kids that learn by hearing the information
5) Reactionary letters- Helps kids who learn by writing.
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude & Dr. Stern 8/10