Lesson 1
Paul Revere, As a Colonist/ Silversmith and Citizen
Picturing America Series
2-A Paul Revere, 1768
2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grades: These lessons are suggested for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Please adjust
the activities as needed. The graphic organizers are included or can be found in the back of your
Harcourt text, blue tab labeled Thinking Organizers.
Overview:
There are a total of three lessons in this Arc of Lessons on Paul Revere. Each lesson can stand alone,
however, all three are connected. Each lesson is paced in minute segments so that the teacher may take 35 days to complete each lesson. In this arc of lessons students will view three paintings from the Picturing
America Series and learn about Paul Revere, his contribution to society as a citizen and patriot, his work
as a silversmith, and silversmiths as a trade in colonial times. Each lesson on a painting will be a part of
the arc of lessons to help students use artwork to gain background knowledge on American history and to
understand the necessity and importance of becoming active and productive citizens. Students will
connect the three pieces of artwork to learn American history and citizenship. The paintings are 2-A Paul
Revere, 1768, 2-B Silver of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, and 3-A The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,
1931.
Prior Knowledge:
Students should have background knowledge of what a citizen is and attributes of a good citizen and why
it is important to be a good (productive) citizen. They should know what a colony is and the location of
the 13 colonies on a map. Use the pages below when and if you think your students need more
background.
Discovery Education Streaming has two videos you might want to preview as they would build the
background knowledge. These videos will add to the length of the lesson. They are America at Its Best:
The American Government (15 minutes) and TLC Elementary School: Understanding Good Citizenship
(24:15 minutes). http://www.streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
( 2nd grade: To give your students some background knowledge, you may want to read from the social
studies text p. 238 the first paragraph which tells about the English settlers and what a colony is. You can
use the map to p. 238 to show where Paul Revere lived. You may want to come back to p. 238 and p. 239
when discussing the painting of Paul Revere’s ride. )
(3rd grade: pp. 334-335 “The Time of the Colonies”)
(4th grade: review students knowledge of colonies from 2nd and 3rd grade; Horizon text pp. 391-395 on
citizenship)
(5th grade use the Harcourt text to review the 13 colonies and who settled there. Citizenship p. 373.
Visual Discovery:
In the visual discovery activities, students will view pieces of art and understand how works of art can
teach us about people in the past, their occupations, how ordinary citizens can perform great feats of
courage, and connect the lessons learned to their own lives. The first picture students will observe is 2-A
Paul Revere holding one of his silver pieces. Students will be asked questions as a whole group and work
with a partner to help them learn and understand key components of each piece of art. In their discussion
students will observe artworks 2-A Paul Revere, 1768, 3-A The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931, and
2-B Silver of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries.
Lesson Materials:
 Picturing America Artwork, Essays, and Activities Series:
- Paul Revere, 1768 (Lesson1) Biography sketch of artist
- The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931
- Silver of the 18th, 19th, & 20th Centuries
 Picturing America Resource pages for Paul Revere, 1768 (Lesson 1); The Midnight Ride of Paul
Revere, 1931, and Silver of the 18th, 19th, & 20th Centuries, and
 KWL Chart Handout 1(large for whole group response; students may have their own copy or not:
teacher’s choice)
 Student Handouts:
Savings and Loan-Handout 2); Harcourt text
Analyzing a picture (included) Hand out 2-1
Venn Diagram Handout3
Graphic Organizer-Handout 4; Harcourt text
Processing Assessment Handout 5
 Biography and other books about Paul Revere (list included) Harcourt Social Studies text
 Social Studies Interactive Notebook (All Lessons)
TEKS and Objectives:
2nd Grade
2.2A The student understands the concept of chronology. Use vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present and future.
2.13B The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as exemplified by historic figures and ordinary citizens. Identify history figures such
as Florence
Nightingale, Paul Revere, and Sojourner Truth who have exemplified good citizenship.
2.17B The student understands how to obtain information using a variety of visual resources. Obtain information about a topic using a variety of visual
sources such as pictures, graphics, television, maps, computer software, literature, reference sources, and artifacts.
2.17E The student understands how to identify and interpret main ideas. Interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main idea, predicting,
and comparing and contrasting.
2.18A The student understands how to express ideas orally. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
2.18B The student understands how to create visual and written materials from a variety of sources. Create written and visual material such as stories,
poems, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas.
3rd Grade
3.3A The student understands the concept of chronology. Use vocabulary related to chronology, including ancient and modern times and past, present and
future.
3.10D The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as exemplified by historic figures and ordinary citizens. Identify ordinary citizens
who exemplify good citizenship.
3.13 B The student understands how individuals and groups shape a society’s culture. Identify the heroic deeds of state and national heroes such as….
3.16A The student understands how to obtain information using a variety of visual resources. Obtain information including historical and geographic data
using a variety of print, oral, visual, and computer sources.
3.16C The student understands how to identify and interpret main ideas. Interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main idea, predicting,
and comparing and contrasting.
3.17A The student understands how to express ideas orally. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
3.17B The student understands how to create visual and written materials from a variety of sources. Create written and visual material such as stories,
poems, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas.
4th Grade
4.23C The student understands how to express ideas orally. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
4.22A The student understands how to locate, differentiate, and use primary and secondary sources. Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and
secondary sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; and artifacts to acquire information about the United
States and Texas.
4.22B The student understands how to apply critical thinking skills to gather and analyze social studies information through a variety of strategies.
Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying, cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing,
making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.
4.23B The student understands how to identify and interpret main ideas. Incorporate main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication.
4.23D The student understands how to create visual and written materials from a variety of sources. Create written and visual material such as journal
entries, reports graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies.
5th Grade
5.5B The student understands the accomplishments of notable individuals from different periods of history. Identify the accomplishments of notable
individuals such as…who have contributions to society in area of civil rights, women’s rights, military actions, and politics.
5.14A The student understands the concept of how people earn a living. Analyze how people in different parts of the United States earn a living, past and
present.
5.25B The student understands how to apply critical thinking skills to gather and analyze social studies information through a variety of strategies.
Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying, cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing,
making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.
5.25C The student understands how to organize and interpret information. Organize and interpret information in outlines, reports, databases, and visuals
including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps.
5.25A The student understands how to locate, differentiate, and use primary and secondary sources. Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and
secondary sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; and artifacts to acquire information about the United
States and Texas.
5.26C The student understands how to express ideas orally. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
5.26D The student understands how to create visual and written materials from a variety of sources. Create written and visual material such as journal
entries, reports graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies.
Guiding QuestionsWho is Paul Revere, and why is he important for us to remember?
What did he accomplish?
Unit PreviewTell the students that for the next few days that they are going to be looking at paintings that tell us about
our country’s history. They are going to learn about a man who was an ordinary person in his time period,
his work or trade, (explain that a trade and being a tradesman was what a person did for a living or for
his/her work), and his courage to do something for his country at the risk of his life
Lesson 1(of 3):
Overview: Students will examine a portrait of Paul Revere, answer probing questions to deepen their
understanding of what can be learned from the portrait, work with partners to record observations, listen
and discuss a biography about Paul Revere, determine facts and what they think is important from the new
knowledge learned, write about their new learning and draw a picture of choice using the discussion,
biography, and portrait as resources. Students will share their products with their classmates.
TimeLine
Time:
Objective:
Discovery Education videos (Optional)
15 min. & 25 min
Background knowledge
1. Introduction of the painting
and activity instructions
10 minutes
Learning the artist name, and first
observations. Begin KWL Chart
2. Savings and Loan activity
30 minutes
Identify features in the painting
the painting - KWL Chart
3. Visual Discovery of Paul Revere
30 minutes
Describe and analyze the artwork - KWL Chart
4. Read Aloud about Paul Revere
30 minutes
Facts about Paul Revere - KWL Chart
5. Venn Diagram
30 minutes
Partner time and discussion
6 Processing Activity
30 minutes
Writing and drawing about what has been learned
1.
Lesson Preview and Activity:
Vocabulary: trade, tradesman, silversmith, artisan, portrait
Introduce and use vocabulary as it occurs naturally in the lesson.
 Display the painting showing Paul Revere (2-A). Using the teacher’s resource page 10, tell the
students the artists name is John Singleton Copley (teacher may talk about the artist using the resource
pages and biography sketch) and he painted this man in 1768. Ask the students if any of them know
who this man is? (You may tell them the man’s name is Paul Revere and ask if anyone has heard of
him or knows something about him.(If someone knows something write it in the What We Know part
of the KWL chart)
 Ask the students if they know what a portrait is? Discuss. (4th /5th may skip to the art analysis graphic
organizer below or do both activities.) Tell the students that they are going to look at the portrait and
what the painter has painted and write three things down that they see in the painting on their savings
and loan paper. Remind them to only write in the boxes numbered #1, #2, and #3. They will do
something else with #4, #5, and #6 later. (Give them about 5-10 minutes to write three things they see
in the painting.)
 K-3rd grades: After they are finished, tell the children they are going to stand up and move around the
room while music is playing. They are to take their paper, a pencil, and either a thin book or clipboard
to write on. When the music stops, each of you will high 5 (or shake hands) the closest person and
stand face to face. The person with the shortest hair will read his/her three items to his/her partner, then
the partner reads his/her three items. If your partner has something you did not observe in the painting
and write down, choose one of your partner’s items and write it down in the #4 place. After each of
you have written down your new item, then face the teacher. Repeat this activity two-three more times,
so that they have three new items added to their paper or at least two more. They can add the sixth one
later.
 4-5th grades. You may use the PDF art analysis graphic organizer. You may choose to do the activity
or divide it into manageable parts. Have students work in pairs.
2. Lesson-The Painting
Gather the students back to the rug and call on students to give you an item they saw in the painting
that comes from the Savings and Loan activity (or art analysis). Continue until they start repeating.
Chart these observations on a large KWL on chart paper with the painting close by. After they are
finished, question them to get a deeper look into the paintings (suggested questions below). (These
observations will most likely go in the What We Know part of the chart. Answers to the questions
below will most likely go in the What We Learned part of the chart.)
Some questions you might want to ask while looking at the painting:
Use the questions below to fill in information they leave out.
Describe the man’s clothes, hair… (You want them to discover that this man lived in the
past.)
Do you think he lives right now? What clues help us know when he lived?
What do you think he is holding? What do you see on the table?
What might they be and why do you think they are there? (Leading the students to discover he
is holding a teapot that he made and on the table are his tools.)
 Use the painting resource guide for the questions suggested. These questions help the student
to become a deeper observer. Reword them as necessary for the age of the students.
 Finish with the open ended questions: Why do you think the artist painted this painting? What did the
artist want us to learn, to see, to know from this painting? What does this painting say to you? Can you
connect this painting to your life in any way?
Allow for student discussion.
Interactive Notebooks: Students title a page with the name of Paul Revere. They will glue their
Savings and Loan activity paper onto the next page. As a sponge activity and as students learn more
about Paul Revere, students can decorate their title page with icons pertaining to Paul Revere and that
time period. If they each have a KWL chart, they are to keep it in their notebook, don’t glue it until it is
completed. When students are finished with an activity page, take time to have them glue the page in
their notebook. Stress they want to do their neatest work as it will be put in their notebooks.
3. Lesson – Read Aloud
 Choose a book (biography list included- suggested A Picture Book of Paul Revere by David A.
Adler, Alexandra Waliner, and John C. Waliner or Paul Revere by Wil Mara) from the read aloud
list. Introduce and discuss Paul Revere, when he lived, where he lived (show on a classroom map or
map from textbook), what he did as a silversmith referring back to the painting. Read the biography.
Discuss with the students what facts they learned about Paul Revere. These facts can be an extension
to the KWL chart What We Learned. (Students will need these facts for the next lesson using the
painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931). Question students on what they learned from
the book, that they did not know from the painting, comparing and analyzing the two
resources. Use a Venn Diagram (find in the Harcourt text under the blue tab labeled Thinking
Organizers) or use the one included, also a large one for whole group discussion. Upper grades may
have a personal one they can work on as partners. Allow 10-15 minutes for partner work. You may
allow them time to work on it as partners first and then work together as a whole group soliciting
what they included on their own Venn Diagrams to add to the whole class Venn Diagram. Include in
the discussion how Paul Revere exemplified good citizenship (responsibility for his behavior and the
common good, supporting his family, belief in justice and equality, courage to warn the colonists).
List facts on the whole class Venn Diagram. Allow the students to add to their own Venn Diagrams
after the whole group discussion. Students glue their Venn Diagrams in their notebooks if they have
personal ones.
4.
Lesson Processing and Assessment:
 Make copies p. T17 (2nd grade), T20 (3rd grade, 4th, & 5th grades Thinking Organizers in the back of
the textbook or use the one included in this packet). Give each child a copy. Each student writes two
facts they learned about Paul Revere from the painting and two facts they learned from the book in
the rectangular shapes labeling each fact with either the word painting or book and in the center oval,
they may draw Paul Revere, a scene from the book, or something pertaining to the painting or the
book read, that they think is important. Students may share their facts and picture. (Students may use
facts listed or other facts they remember. The teacher may add some of these facts to the KWL chart
under What We Learned.) The teacher may leave the whole group charts up for students to use or not
during this assessment.
 On the question assessment sheet or in the social studies notebook, students may answer all of the
questions or any the teacher chooses. The teacher may make her own questions about the painting.
They may draw a small picture (of the painting or other) with a caption. (The length of the writing is
to be determined by the teacher and the grade level, suggested: 2-3 sentences for 2nd grade, ½ page
for 3rd grade, ¾ page for 4th grade, and a full page for 5th grade.)
After everyone is finished, students may share their work, answers, and or notebooks.