Are you ready to make the most out of your American Revolution history lesson?
Whether you are teaching American History in the classroom or through distance education, your students deserve a learning experience that they will never forget.
American Revolution Topics
- Causes of the American Revolutionary War
- Battles
- Major Events
- War Leaders and Generals
- Unsung Heroes
- Famous Quotes
My Revolution Experience
I’ve taught this lesson in the classroom and recently adapted it for distance education. I’m always searching for ways to bring history to life. Students love independent research assignments. In order to make these activities effective, they must be self-guided.
YES! You FINALLY finished the 13 Colonies unit! Now what?
Revolution – any sudden or grand change
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all experiencing an Educational Revolution. Distance education! Google Classrooms! Microsoft OneNote! Virtual learning experiences! Cooperative Activities!
It’s ok if you’re not ready to switch to digital lessons because this history lesson is TIMELESS!
Educational Revolution
An educational revolution might seem scary! However, just a few tweaks make it quite simple. When teachers become the facilitator, students are held accountable.
Sounds great in theory, but it doesn’t just happen over night.
When I implemented my first independent research assignment, I was totally disappointed. After spending hours on this project, my students’ work fell far below expectations. I felt like it was a total waste of time.
I was left scratching my head! What went wrong? I planned, prepped, set the stage, and modeled but still set them up for failure.
It was one of those moments when the “perfect” lesson plan resulted in a flop.
SOLUTION: They needed a more detailed self-guided assignment.
American Revolution Research Assignment
This is one of my favorite units of the year, and former students agree!
Memorable…check! Fun…check!
If you are history teacher and haven’t used this website yet, meet your new best friend – Duckster.com. It is perfect for researching- Events Leading Up to American Revolutionary War, Battles, Major Events, War Leaders, Unsung Heroes, and Famous Quotes.
First, students explore each topic. Then, they choose a subject for research. For example, Revolutionary War Battle is a topic. Battle of Yorktown is a subject of this topic. All of these subjects and topics are indexed on Duckster.com.
1.) Self-Guided Checklist
To keep students on track, I created a research checklist. Simple steps are formatted into a checklist. The checklist includes tasks, research skills, and topics of research.
2.) Research Guide
Graphic Organizers with Guiding Questions
Guiding questions make it easier to locate the most important information.
Therefore, I created graphic organizers with guiding questions for each topic. The guiding questions are a set of questions based on the essential information. As a result, research is easier!
Graphic organizers are easy to create in both digital and printable versions.
- First, insert a table in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, Google Slides, or your program of choice.
- Include two columns- one for questions and one for student answers.
- The number of rows depends on the amount of guiding questions. See above image.
- Next, type guiding questions in the left column. Leave the right column blank for student answers. Each row will have questions on the left and a blank space on the right.
- Last, combine all graphic organizers. Make a paper packet or assign online.
3.) Research Projects
This is where the learning really takes place. Applying knowledge is the most challenging part of research, but, SHHHHH, don’t tell my students. The fun outweighs the challenge!
Disclaimer: TEACHERS NEED TO CHECK STUDENTS’ RESEARCH FACTS BEFORE ASSIGNING A PROJECT!
I know! I know! You are so ready to move on to the FUN stuff. However, if students are lacking important facts, their projects reflect this.
REMEMBER THE FLOP STORY MENTIONED EARLY? Some of your students might need a little more guidance.
When students have collected enough information, YOU ARE READY FOR THESE ENGAGING PROJECTS!
American Revolution Newspaper
Students become newspaper reporters.
I created a 2-page newspaper template that has a space for each topic. Research facts are showcased in news articles, summaries, images, captions, and famous quotes.
Since there are many different ways to implement this activity, choose the one that fits your style.
- Printable, hand-written articles, hand-drawn or pasted images
- Google Drive
- PowerPoint Editable
- Assign partners to work in live Word document. Both students can type at the same time. TEAM WORK IS DREAM WORK!
Revolutionary American Idol
Student tune up their research in a song and compete to become the next Revolutionary American Idol.
- Change the lyrics of a song to American Revolution facts. It’s like a parody without the comical effect.
- Assign as a group or individual project.
- Students either perform in front of the class or submit videos on a platform such as Flipgrid.
- The class votes for the best song.
- The winner becomes the next Revolutionary American Idol.
This versatile project fits with so many history units. My students totally rocked out Native American Idol performance (image below)! I invited my principal to watch the class performances, and she begged our winners to perform on stage for the whole school.
Native American Idol winners from both classes performed in front of the whole school.
Click HERE to view the complete Native American Idol resource.
As you can see, students love turning historical facts into a song.
You must watch this YouTube video of a class that changed the lyrics of “Viva la Vida” to “Viva la 13 Colonies.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpmnKt2PWeg The kid playing the drums is my favorite part!
I know what you are thinking, “This activity sounds great, but…”
Think NO FURTHER because I have everything you need packaged and bundled for you. Just imagine untying a big, pretty virtual bow when you click HERE.
