Allison Pron & Stephanie Savvides Social Studies Project: Part III Dr.

Hester ELD 376 4/27/2014

Project Description/Overview Our students have been working on their Road to Revolution unit in which they have been learning about the many influential people and key events which began the start of the American Revolution. For their end of unit project, we have designed a handout which will allow the students to bring what they have learned to life! The project is for students to create individual dioramas in class which will reflect their learning of this unit in an area of their interest. Students will first make a selection on who or what they would like to do their project on, so we will ask them to pick a person or event that they have learned about and are interested in researching further. Once the students have made their first selection, they will make a second selection of whether or not this person or event will be depicted from the Loyalist perspective OR the Patriot perspective. Our rationale for this diorama project is the belief that bringing life to our topics of study are important for student learning. By including choice and allowing students to demonstrate knowledge of their personal interest increases engagement and motivation to learn.

Unit Objectives The following objectives have been selected and modified from previous pieces of our project. We believe that these are the most important points of the unit that the students should focus on in their final project because they connect back to the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District social studied standards for Grade 4. - Students will be able to identify influential people and key events leading up to the Revolution. - Students will be able to describe the relationship between the colonies and England throughout the events which caused the Revolution. -Students will represent their understanding of the perspectives of the loyalists and/or the patriots concerning the Revolutionary War. -Students will create circlebooks and dioramas that demonstrate their knowledge of key selections from the unit.

Final KWL Chart

What We Know The colonists left Britain because they wanted freedom from the King There were 13 original colonies The American Revolution began in the late 1700s when the British came The Boston Tea Party was led by Sam Adams when rebels dumped tea into the Boston Harbor George Washington was appointed leader of the Continental Army The continental congress wrote a letter to King George of England outlining their complaints and declaring independence from Britain The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776 The colonists were their own militia, so they had no training and made their own weapons from scratch The colonists nicknamed the British soldiers Red Coats who had formal training and were expected to win Following the war, George Washington became the first President of the United States

What We Want to Know What did the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Did the colonies have a plan for their own government when they left Britain? When did the colonies officially break away from England? What Acts led the colonists to rebel against Britain? What caused the Boston Massacre? How did George Washington play a large role in the Revolution? How did the colonists plan to rebel against the British when they came to enforce their laws? With the exception of tea, what other items did the British tax the colonists? Which battle officially marked the beginning of the Revolution? Which side initiated the battle and fired the first shot?

What We Learned The French and Indian War cost the British a large amount of money. To pay off this debt, they taxed the colonists which caused the colonists to rebel. The colonists began forming their government during the first continental congress. Legally, the colonies did not become their own country until July of 1776. The stamp act was the first of many acts that led to rebellion, which taxed all newspapers, licenses, and documents. Later, the government removed it but began taxing tea, paper & glass. The Boston Massacre was caused by an argument between a colonist and a British soldier which escalated into a full mob of colonists fighting red coats. During the second continental congress, delegates appointed George Washington as the leader for the continental army. The colonists planned to rebel by buying Dutch tea rather than taxed British tea. The beginning of the revolution was marked by the battle of Lexington and concord. It is unknown who fired the first shot at Lexington and Concord or which side it came from, but it has come to be known as the shot hear around the world.

Description for Students

Which side will you represent?

Dear Students, As you know, we are concluding our unit on the Road to Revolution. To tie up everything that weve learned, you are going to begin working on your final projects! You will work individually on this project in the classroom and at home if necessary. Your task is to create a shoebox diorama. You may use any household items; so do not feel the need to go out and purchase additional materials. If you do not have a shoebox to use at home, I can provide one for you. You may choose ONE of the following: 1) Select an influential figure in the American Revolution of your interest. 2) Select a key event which led up to the Revolution of your interest. **Once you have chosen either a person or event, you are to decide if you are EITHER representing the Loyalists or the Patriots. Make sure your selection is clear and evident in your diorama. For example: If your figure is George Washington, will you represent him as the Loyalists view him or as the Patriots view him? OR, if your event is the Boston Massacre, would you represent it from a Loyalist or Patriot perspective? The diorama and should explicitly represent your choice. Along with the diorama, you will create an American Revolution Circlebook which will be a written explanation of your project. It will help you organize your ideas before beginning your diorama. Attached to this handout, you will find three circlebook sheets to complete, cut out, and paste together to create the book. These books will be hung in the classroom, make them neat and creative! On Friday, May 2nd we will share our work through individual presentations. You will be graded on the diorama and the circlebook. Your audience must be able to tell which side you have chosen (Loyalist or Patriot) either through the influential person or event in the Revolution. Proofread and check the circlebooks for errors. You will be graded on the neatness of your project. For additional information on grading, you may review the project rubric attached to this handout. Have fun!

Procedures I. Instructions: Monday 4/28 a) Make sure you have read the introductory letter clearly and made the required selections for your project topics. b) Brainstorm ideas for your diorama by beginning a circlebook graphic organizer. You will have two days to work on this. Get as much completed today as you can. Circlebook Instructions: Attached, you will find your American Revolution Circlebook which includes three circular diagrams. Your instructions are as follows- On the first circle, sketch a small image of what you want your completed diorama to look like. On the lines below, explain what your image represents. On the second circle, describe how your image reflects either the British or Patriot perspective of your selection. On the third circle, briefly tell why you chose your given idea. What about this person or event interests you?

Tuesday 4/29 a) Complete your remaining work on the American Revolution Circlebook. b) After completion of graphic organizers, you will piece your book together! Your circlebooks will be turned into 3D shapes which resemble a merry-go-round. They will be hung from the veiling of the classroom with the help of the teacher. Circlebook Construction: To make your circlebooks appear 3D, follow these instructions- Cut out each circle that you completed. Fold each circle in half vertically down the dotted line of the center crease given. Take each folded piece and fit the backs of each corner together. -This is an overhead view of what your final circlebook should look like. Each third represents one of the circles that you cut out and pasted together. Please see me if you need help constructing your final circlebook.

c) Remember to write in your agendas to bring any materials you need to begin your diorama work tomorrow. Determine this based on your circlebook ideas.

Wednesday 4/30 a) Take out shoebox and other materials you brought in for your dioramas. b) Begin assembling your diorama. You have the entire class period today and tomorrow to work on this. At this time, our circlebooks will be on display. If you need to refer back to it in order to include all necessary components to your diorama, you can walk around the classroom to look at your circlebook for help. c) I will conference with everyone at the end of the period to supervise how much progress everyone has made. Dont focus so much on being creative as much as demonstrating your knowledge of the person or event. Remember, time is limited. Thursday 5/1 a) Diorama should be completed in class today. It will be assigned for homework if it is not completed in class, so use your time wisely! b) When you have completed your project, refer to the attached rubric and make sure you have checked all areas of assessment. This will help you prepare for your presentation before handing in your diorama. c) Prepare 2-3 minutes of explanation for your final presentation tomorrow. Friday 5/2 a) Today is presentation day! All students will be given 2-3 minutes to briefly present their final work to the class. I will assess most aspects of your project during your presentation time, so be thorough and dont leave anything out! II. Project Timeline Over 1 Week: Use your project timeline to keep track of which parts are due each day. Monday Must complete at least two out of three circles for circlebook. Tuesday Work on remaining pages of your graphic organizer circlebooks. They should be constructed and turned in by today. Make list of materials needed for tomorrow in agenda book. Wednesday Begin diorama. Use entire period to get as much done as possible. Thursday Complete final diorama work. It must be turned in by the end of the class period. If you are completing this for homework, you must have permission to turn it in Friday morning. I want a list of all students taking the diorama home. Friday All work is turned in and presentations will be given. Students should have prepared 2-3 minutes to discuss their projects.

Graphic Organizer: American Revolution Circlebook (x3)

Assessment Rubric Chart

Performance levels

Unsatisfactory 3

Acceptable 4

Excellent 5

Criteria

Is the students selection of the diorama topic represented clearly and thoroughly? Graphic organizer (circlebook) contains all required content and completed in a timely manner. Physical appearance of diorama represents information given in graphic organizer and is clearly linked to the unit.

Selection of figure or event is unclear and/or selection of loyalist or patriot side is unclear. Circle book does not contain all three pages and/or was not turned in on time. Diorama does not effectively show students topic selected and/or poorly relates to the unit.

Selection of figure or event is partially clear and/or selection of loyalist or patriot side is partially clear. Circle book does contain some of the content but is missing a few key elements.

All selections of representation for each topic are explicitly clear.

Circle book contains all required content.

Diorama shows some representation of the students topic selection, and connection made to the unit needs improvement.

Diorama shows full representation of topic selection and connection to the unit.

Presentation depicts student knowledge of their topic through verbal description of final diorama project. Spelling & Grammar

Student poorly depicts their knowledge of his or her topic.

Student depicts some Student depicts knowledge of his or full knowledge of her topic through their his or her topic. presentation.

Many spelling and/or grammatical errors are found in graphic organizer.

Some spelling and/or grammatical errors are found in graphic organizer.

No spelling and/or grammatical errors are found in graphic organizer.

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Student Resources

http://timeline.americanrevolutioncenter.org/ http://mrnussbaum.com/amflash/ http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/revolutionarywartimeline.ht m http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/people.aspx