Teaching
American History
For All
A series of lessons incorporating literacy strategies for
Mt Diablo Unified School District
4th, 5th, 8th, and 11th grade teachers,
in partnership with
University Of California- Berkeley
History-Social Science Project
5th Grade Lesson: Proclamation of 1763
Jamie Cairns, MDUSD 5th Grade Teacher
Robert Lee, UCB History Graduate Student
Teaching American History for All
MDUSD/UCB H-SSP
5th Grade Lesson
Developed by: Jamie Cairns and Robert Lee, August 2010
Overarching Grant Focus Question:
How have the words and deeds of people and institutions shaped democracy in the U.S.?
5th Grade Yearlong Focus Question:
Unit Focus Question:
How did the British laws and acts of the 1760s and 1770s influence the colonists?
Unit Working Thesis:
Anger over the British policies led most of the colonists to demand representation in
Parliament and protest what they thought were unfair laws and taxation, which ultimately
led them to come together and push for independence.
Lesson Focus Question/Writing Prompt:
What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Lesson Working Thesis:
The purpose of the Proclamation of 1763 was to end the fighting between Indians and the
colonists. The proclamation upset the colonists because they didn’t like the British
government telling them to stay out of the western frontier. Most colonists ignored the
proclamation and continued moving west.
Reading Strategy Lessons:
Sentence deconstructions, cause and effect chart
Suggested Amount of Time: Three class periods of 45 minutes
Textbook:
The United States: Making a New Nation, Reflection Series, Harcourt
School Publishers, 2007, p. 322-323
Other Resources:
Letter from George Washington to William Crawford
Portrait of King George III and Proclamation of 1763
Before and after maps of region
Map of region including Indian nations
Context of the lesson in the unit:
This lesson is taught near the beginning of the chapter on the American Revolution.
Students have already learned about the French and Indian War.
Procedure:
Day 1:
Introduction: Pre-teach key vocabulary (proclamation) and review the French and
Indian War. Let the students know that the end of the French and Indian War did not
mark the end of the fighting between colonists and Indians (read 1st paragraph on p. 322).
Tell the students that today we will use reading strategies with your textbook. Our goal is
to develop strategies to make your textbook easier to read and understand.
Reading Strategy: Hand out text on the Proclamation of 1763. Explain that this is a part
of their textbook with important information on which we will be focusing. Read aloud
with students. Instruct students to put a squiggly line under the tough words or words
that are important. Hold a discussion and write down (on board/overhead) important
vocabulary words and have students help in defining them.
Teacher Guided “Sentence Chunking”: Students will reread the text, and circle all verbs
or verb phrases, and underline the nouns (subjects and objects). Work through the first
paragraph as a whole class, then allow the students to complete the 2nd paragraph in small
groups or pairs (according to class ability).
Sentence Deconstruction: Pass out sentence deconstruction worksheet. Students will use
the text to fill in the worksheet. Guide students through the 1st paragraph of chart and 1st
short answer question. Have students complete the 2nd paragraph in pairs. Present the 2nd
short answer question, and have students complete independently. Make sure students
put worksheets in a save place, as they will need to use them in the upcoming lessons.
Day 2:
Review: Review activity from previous day. Explain that today the class is going to
learn another strategy for working with the same text.
Reading Strategy: Cause and Effect
Identifying passage organization: Let students know that text can be organized in
different ways. One of the ways is cause and effect.
Review cause and effect with students. Give verbal examples of cause and effect
sentences and discuss. Some of these examples show cause and effect within one
sentence and others show it between sentences: one action -> something else happens.
The cause always happens first.
 I forgot my umbrella and now my sweater is wet. Because… now
 Sally lost her basketball so we can’t play at recess. What is the cause?
What is the effect (what happens)
 It rained so much last night that the baseball field is muddy. We will have
to cancel the game. (This one is a chain of events with multiple causes and
effects.)
Cause and Effect Chart: Use text that was used for sentence deconstruction. Work with
students though the first 1-2 rows to model how to determine cause and effect, making
sure to explain how one effect can actually become the cause of the next event. (Such
events are indicated by diagonal arrows on the chart.) Allow students to work in partners
to fill in the rest of the chart. Review chart when class is finished.
Assessment: Hand out short answer assignment. Students should independently answer
in 1-2 complete sentences.
Day 3:
Review/Introduction: Review activity from previous day. Explain that today we’re
going to use some primary sources to continue our study of the Proclamation of 1763.
Pass out picture of King George III and Proclamation of 1763 and discuss. Explain that
these are considered primary sources because they were created by someone that actually
lived during the events. Tell the students that today they’ll be analyzing a primary source
about the Proclamation of 1763.
Primary Source Reading Strategy: Hand out George Washington letter and read together.
Explain that even though this is a very difficult text, we can still use our sentence
deconstruction strategy to help us understand it. Pass out George Washington letter (text)
and read aloud with students. Instruct students to put a squiggly line under the tough
words or words that are important. Hold a discussion and write down (on
board/overhead) important vocabulary words and have students help in defining them.
Teacher Guided “Sentence Chunking”: Students will reread the text, and circle all verbs
or verb phrases, and underline the nouns (subjects and objects). Complete as a whole
class.
Sentence Deconstruction: Pass out sentence deconstruction worksheet. Students will use
the text to fill in the worksheet. Guide students through 1- 2 rows and have them
complete rest independently or in pairs. Have students complete short answer questions
in pairs/groups and discuss as a whole class.
Map Activities: Students complete 2 map activities independently. Discuss as whole
class.
History-Social Science Content Standards: 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.5.1,
5.3 Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American
Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers.
1. Describe the competition among the English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Indian
nations for control of North America.
3.
Describe the conflicts before the Revolutionary War (e.g., the Pequot and King
Philip’s Wars in New England, the Powhatan Wars in Virginia, the French and Indian
War).
5.5 Students explain the causes of the American Revolution.
1. Understand how political, religious, and economic ideas and interests brought about
the Revolution (e.g., resistance to imperial policy, the Stamp Act, the Townshend
Acts, taxes on tea, Coercive Acts).
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills:
Chronological and Spatial Thinking
4. Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and
interpret information available through a map's or globe's legend, scale, and symbolic
representations.
Historical Interpretation
1. Students summarize the key events of the era they are studying and explain the
historical contexts of those events.
2. Students identify the human and physical characteristics of the places they are
studying and explain how those features form the unique character of those places.
Reading/Language Arts Content Standards:
Reading
1.1 Read aloud narrative and expository text fluently and accurately and with
appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression
2.3 Discern main ideas and concepts presented in non-fiction texts, identifying and
assessing evidence that supports those ideas
2.4 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763,
and how did the colonists respond?
The Proclamation of 1763
Britain’s King George III tried to end the fighting between the
Indians and colonists by making a proclamation, or public
announcement. The Proclamation of 1763 said that all lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains belonged to the Indians. White settlers already
in those lands were ordered to leave.
The Proclamation of 1763 upset many colonists. They believed
they had fought the war to keep the French from blocking their
settlement of the western frontier. The colonists did not like the British
government telling them to stay out of those lands. Most colonists
ignored the proclamation, and thousands more moved west. As a result,
fighting between the Indians and the settlers continued.
From: The United States: Making a New Nation, Reflection Series, Harcourt School Publishers,
2007, p. 322-323
NAME_________________________
Proclamation of 1763
Lesson Focus Question: Why was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Time marker
Connector
Preposition
Participants or
Doers
(nouns)
Action
Words
(verbs)
Person or thing affected:
Outcome
(nouns)
Britain’s King
George III
the fighting between the
Indians and colonists
The Proclamation
of 1763
that all lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains
belonged to the Indians.
by making a
proclamation, or public
announcement.
White settlers
already in those
lands
What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763?
Questions or
conclusions
NAME___________________________
Time Marker
Connector
Preposition
Participants
or
Doers
(nouns)
The
Proclamation
of 1763
They (the
colonists)
The colonists
and
As a result,
Most
colonists
thousands
more
(colonists)
fighting
between the
Indians and
the settlers
Action
Words
(verbs)
Person or thing affected: Questions or
Outcome
conclusions
(nouns)
many colonists.
they had fought the war
to keep the French from
blocking their settlement
of the western frontier.
the British government
telling them to stay out of
those lands.
the proclamation,
west.
How did the colonists respond to the Proclamation of 1763?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Proclamation of 1763- KEY
Lesson Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Time marker
Connector
Preposition
Participants or
Doers
(nouns)
Britain’s King
George III
Action
Words
(verbs)
tried to end
Person or thing affected:
Outcome
(nouns)
the fighting between the Indians
and colonists
Questions or
conclusions
by making a
proclamation, or public
announcement.
The Proclamation said
of 1763
White settlers
already in those
lands
that all lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains
belonged to the Indians.
were ordered to
leave.
What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763?
The purpose of the Proclamation of 1763 was to end the fighting between the Indians and colonists.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Proclamation of 1763- KEY
Lesson Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Time marker Participants or
Connector
Doers
Preposition
(nouns)
The Proclamation
of 1763
They (the
colonists)
and
As a result,
Action
Words
(verbs)
upset
Person or thing affected:
Outcome
(nouns)
many colonists.
believed
they had fought the war
to keep the French from
blocking their settlement of the
western frontier.
the British government telling
them to stay out of those lands.
the Proclamation of 1763,
west.
The colonists
did not like
Most colonists
thousands more
(colonists)
fighting between
the Indians and
the settlers
ignored
moved
Questions or conclusions
continued.
How did the colonists respond to the Proclamation of 1763?
The Proclamation upset the colonists because they didn’t like the British government telling them to stay out of
the western frontier. Most colonists ignored the proclamation and continued moving west.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
NAME__________________________
“Proclamation of 1763” Cause and Effect Chart
Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did
the colonists respond?
Use the text reading to fill in the missing parts of the cause and effect chart.
Cause
Effect
[Because]
Britain’s King George III
wanted to end the fighting
between the Indians and
colonists.
[Because]
[Because]
Many colonists became
upset. They did not like the
British government telling
them to stay out of the
frontier lands.
[Because]
Most colonists ignored the
proclamation, and
thousands more moved
west.
Many colonists became
upset. They did not like
the British government
telling them to stay out
of the frontier lands.
“Proclamation of 1763” Cause and Effect Chart- KEY
Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did
the colonists respond?
Cause
Effect
[Because]
Britain’s King George III
wanted to end the fighting
between the Indians and
colonists
He made a proclamation, or
public announcement. The
Proclamation of 1763 said
that all lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains
belonged to the Indians.
[Because]
He made a proclamation, or public
announcement. The Proclamation
of 1763 said that all lands west of
the Appalachian Mountains
belonged to the Indians.
Many colonists became
upset. They did not like
the British government
telling them to stay out of
the frontier lands.
[Because]
Many colonists became upset.
They did not like the British
government telling them to
stay out of the frontier lands.
Most colonists ignored the
proclamation, and thousands
more moved west.
[Because)
Fighting between the Indians
and the settlers continued.
Most colonists ignored the
proclamation, and thousands
more moved west.
NAME__________________________
Proclamation of 1763 - Short Answer Questions
1. What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists
respond? (HINT- Combine the two answers from your sentence deconstruction.)
2. What do you predict will happen next between the colonists and the British?
What do you predict will happen next between the colonists and the Indians?
Based on the fact that
I predict
,
Based on the fact that
I predict
,
NAME__________________________
Proclamation of 1763 - Short Answer Questions KEY
1. What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists
respond? (HINT- Combine the two answers from your sentence deconstruction.)
The purpose of the Proclamation of 1763 was to end the fighting
between the Indians and colonists. It upset the colonists because they
didn’t like the British government telling them to stay out of the
western frontier. Most colonists ignored the proclamation and
continued moving west.
2. What do you predict will happen next between the colonists and the British?
What do you predict will happen next between the colonists and the Indians?
Answers will vary, but should demonstrate an understanding of
growing tensions between the both the colonists and British and the
colonists and Indians.
George III in Coronation, by Allan Ramsay, 1762
George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1772
...The other matter, just now hinted at and which I proposed in my last to join you in attempting to secure
some of the most valuable Lands in the King's part which I think may be accomplished after a while
notwithstanding the Proclamation that restrains it at present and prohibits the Settling of them at all for I can
never look upon that Proclamation in any other light (but this I say between ourselves) than as a temporary
expedient to quiet the Minds of the Indians and must fall of course in a few years especially when those Indians
are consenting to our Occupying the Lands. Any person therefore who neglects the present oppertunity of
hunting out good Lands and in some measure marking and distinguishing them for their own (in order to
keep others from settling them) will never regain it…
-George Washington to William Crawford, September 21, 1767
Focus Question: What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and
how did the colonists respond?
George Washington’s Letter
…Any person therefore who neglects (ignores) the present
oppertunity (chance) of hunting out (finding) good Lands and in
some measure (way) marking and distinguishing them for their own
(in order to keep others from settling them) will never regain it…
From: George Washington to William Crawford, September 21, 1767
NAME_______________________
George Washington’s Letter
Lesson Focus Question: Why was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Time marker
Participants or
Action
Person or thing affected:
Questions or
Connector
Doers
Words
Outcome
conclusions
Preposition
(nouns)
(verbs)
(nouns)
Any person
the present oppertunity
therefore
(chance) of hunting out
(finding) good Lands
and
in some measure (way)
for their own
them (lands)
and
it (land).
(in order to keep others
from settling them)
What is George Washington trying to tell William Crawford?
Based on his letter, how does George Washington feel about the Proclamation of 1763?
George Washington’s Letter-KEY
Lesson Focus Question: Why was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond?
Time marker
Connector
Preposition
and
Participants or
Doers
(nouns)
Any person
therefore
Action
Words
(verbs)
who neglects
(ignores)
Person or thing affected:
Outcome
(nouns)
the present oppertunity
(chance) of hunting out
(finding) good Lands
marking
them (land)
Questions or
conclusions
and
in some measure (way)
distinguishing
for their own
will never regain
It (land).
(in order to keep others
from settling them)
What is George Washington trying to tell William Crawford?
George Washington is telling William Crawford that anyone who doesn’t act immediately to
acquire land will miss the opportunity.
Based on his letter, how does George Washington feel about the Proclamation of 1763?
George Washington feels that the Proclamation of 1763 is only temporary, and therefore, should be
ignored.
American Colonies before the Proclamation of 1763
American Colonies after Proclamation of 1763
Look at the two maps above. Which colonies were most affected by the Proclamation of 1763?
I can tell that _______________________________________and______________________ were
most affected by the Proclamation of 1763 because __________________________________________.
Look at the map above. Which Indians were most affected by the Proclamation of 1763?
I can tell that the _________________________________and ______________ were most affected
by the Proclamation of 1763 because _________________________________________________.