Grade 5 TOPIC/THEME: American Revolution

Give Me Liberty!
STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS
Driving Question (Big Idea): Is War Necessary for Change?
Established Goals: (NJCCCS)
Compare and Contrast (6.1.8A8; 6.1.8A1; 6.1.8A5; 6.1.8A10; 6.4.4A2)
Bias / Point of View (6.1.8A2; 3.1.5G6; 6.4.4A6)
Summarization (encompasses Main Idea and Details, Paraphrasing,
Retelling, Generalizing and Theme) (6.1.8A11; 3.1.5H7; 3.1.4G7)
Cause and Effect (3.1.5G3; 6.4.4A3; 6.4.4B2; 6.4.8C1)
Graphic Organizers (3.1.5E5; 3.3.5D5; 3.2.5A5; 3.1.5H6; 3.5.5A5; 6.1.8A11)
Enduring Understandings: Essential/Guiding Questions:
Students will understand a) Why might the colonists have been unhappy with
a) Changes in government often reflect a change in their government? Why might people today be
the attitudes of the people being governed. (ex. unhappy with their government?
Events that lead to the war) b) How did individuals and groups work to make
b) How individuals and groups can work together to changes in their government?
make changes in their government. c) What brings people together in difficult times?
c) During desperate times people, past and d) Why was it important for colonial leaders to
present, have come together to help one another explain the reasons for their decisions?
when they share common goals (ex. Stamp Act, e) What might give one side an advantage or
Boston Massacre, 9/11) disadvantage over the other in a conflict?
d) Why it is important for leaders to explain the f) How do peoples experiences affect the
reasons for decisions that change citizens lives decisions they make?
e) The significance of writing The Declaration of
Independence
f) The important elements that can affect the
outcome of a war.
g) Peoples decisions to leave or become involved in
making changes in the community are often
affected by their experiences.

Students willknow.. Students will be able to

Key facts about the American Revolution
American Revolution vocabulary terms
Graphic sources (maps, charts,
illustrations, and timelines) are
meaningful features that support text.
Research skills
Key aspects of the colonial government
and British monarchy
Recognize, define, and use vocabulary in context
Determine causes and effects of significant
events that led up to the war.
Interpret and create graphic sources
Use research skills to learn about the events
leading to the American Revolution
Identify key people and events of the Revolution
Compare and contrast colonial government and
British monarchy.
Identify and locate features that support text
meaning.
 STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Task(s):
Task 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of specific events leading up to the
American Revolution. Divide the class into groups which may include (but is not limited to)
French and Indian War, Boston Tea Party, Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Declaration of
Independence, and/or the battle of Lexington and Concord, Research for these events should
include key figures and dates. Have each group create a newsletter highlighting their specific
event. These may include: a personal interview with a person involved in the event, a letter to
the editor about the event, a descriptive account of the event as it happened, a descriptive
account of the aftereffects of the event, political cartoon(s) about the event, editorials
expressing opinions about the event, and/or any other relevant article. (This is a suggested
activity and should be modified based on your students needs).

Task 2: As an oral component, students will present their newsletter in a television news-report
form to the class. (This is completed as a group project). They may wish to prepare this in a
script dialogue and dress for the part.

Other evidence:
Oral and /or written response to one or more of the Essential Questions.
Quizzes/Tests on vocabulary; main events, people
Vocabulary and reader response journals
Center/Station Work-Completed Tasks
Teacher Observation
Student self assessment and reflection
Novel comprehension tests
Social studies chapter tests
Create a graphic source to display an understanding of a particular event
 STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities:
The following ideas can be used for mini-lessons or for station activities Refer to Unit Binder for
additional activities.
Read aloud from a variety of different sources (core novel, diary excerpts, poetry,
picture books, etc.) modeling meta-cognitive strategies

Use KWL chart to assess students prior knowledge and identify learning goals for the
unit.

Create a time line of the events prior to the cause and effect graphic organizer of the
events covered in the unit.

Review scoring rubrics with the students for various outcomes (NJASK Writing rubric,
etc.).

Create and complete outlines of lessons including key points and vocabulary prior to
assessments.

Create prompts for reader response journals to be used in conjunction with core novel.

Post word walls of key vocabulary with definitions.

Any additional activities relevant to carrying out enduring understandings as to meet the
needs of the individual classroom.

Create thematic word walls

Model meta-cognitive strategies during read-aloud:

1. Activating background knowledge to make connections between new and known information. In
many classrooms, this instruction is divided into three categories of connection as defined by
Colleen Buddy: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world (Buddy quoted in Keene and
Zimmerman, 2007).

2. Questioning the text. Proficient readers are always asking questions while they read. Sticky
notes (post-its) have become ubiquitous in classrooms in part because they are such a useful
tool for teaching students to stop, mark text, and note questions as they read.

3. Drawing inferences. Proficient readers use their prior knowledge about a topic and the
information they have gleaned in the text thus far to make predictions about what might happen
next. When teachers demonstrate or model their reading processes for students through think-
alouds, they often stop and predict what will happen next to show how inferring is essential for
 comprehending text.

4. Determining importance. In the sea of words that is any text; readers must continually sort
through and prioritize information. Teachers often assist readers in analyzing everything from
text features in nonfiction text like bullets and headings, to verbal cues in novels like strong
verbs. Looking for these clues can help readers sift through the relative value of different bits
of information in texts.

5. Creating mental images. Readers are constantly creating mind pictures as they read, visualizing
action, characters, or themes. Teachers are using picture books with students of all ages, not
necessarily because they are easy to read, but because the lush and sophisticated art in these
books can be a great bridge for helping students see how words and images connect in meaning-
making.

6. Repairing understanding when meaning breaks down. Proficient readers don't just plow ahead
through text when it doesn't make sense - they stop and use "fix-up" strategies to restore their
understanding. One of the most important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating
to students a variety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.

7. Synthesizing information. Synthesis is the most sophisticated of the comprehension

strategies, combining elements of connecting, questioning, and inferring. With this strategy,
students move from making meaning of the text, to integrating their new understanding into their
lives and world view.

Create a journal during Social Studies to describe everyday life of a continental soldier

Identify battlefields of the Revolution on a map.

Model note-taking strategies (e.g., double-entry journal, Cornell System, Venn

Diagram, Concept Map, Time Order Map)

Assessment and reflection by peers and self during station time

Utilize graphic organizers to categorize information

Suggested stations/centers:
Technology / research Listening
Writing in response to literature Writing
Independent reading Content Area
Vocabulary/Word Work
 Skill reinforcement activities

Materials and Resources

Nonfiction Core Text:
Americas Story Passaics Adopted 6th Grade Social Studies Textbook
Harcourt Brace & Company, Copyright 1997.
Unit 4 The American Revolution: Differences Divide Britain and the Colonies (Chapter 7)
The War for Independence (Chapter 8)

Nystrom- Passaics Adopted 5th Grade Geography Series

Nytrom Publishing, Copyright 2009
Unit 3: A New Nation, 1763 to 1810

Suggested Core Novels:

My Brother Sam is Dead James L. Collier & Christopher Collier Lvl. Y/(DRA 70)
All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a
part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most
are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim
knows he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and
between his brother and his father.

Johnny Tremain Esther Forbes Lvl. Z/ (DRA 80)

A story filled with danger and excitement, Johnny Tremain tells of the turbulent, passionate
times in Boston just before the Revolutionary War. Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is
caught up in a dramatic involvement with Otis, Hancock, and John and Samuel Adams in the
exciting currents and undercurrents that were to lead to the Boston Tea Party and the Battle
of Lexington--and finally, a touching resolution of Johnny's personal life.

George Washingtons Socks Elvira Woodruff Lvl. T/ (DRA 44)

Time travel and historical fiction combine in this novel of the American Revolution. During a
camp out, ten-year-old Matthew, his younger sister Katie, and three friends board an old
rowboat and are transported to the Delaware River in 1776. The children are caught up in the
conflict between the patriots and the Hessians; an encounter with some Indians is thrown in for
good measure. Matthew makes friends with a thoroughly believable young foot soldier who dies
in the snow. Washington is portrayed as a kind but battle-weary leader who gives Katie his socks
to keep her wet feet warm. This story is strongest in its portrayal of the realities of 18th-
century warfare. The harrowing river crossing, the confusion, the terrible weather, and the
constant deprivations faced by the soldiers are all clearly and vividly described.

Revolutionary War on Wednesday

(Magic Tree House) Mary Pope Osborne Lvl. M/ (DRA 28)
The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to Colonial America. They arrive just as
General George Washington is planning the crossing of the Delaware. Before they know it, Jack
and Annie are in a boat with the Father of Our Country as history is made!
No Me Llamo Angelica Scott ODell Lvl. V/(DRA 50)
Relates the experiences of a young Senegalese girl brought as a slave to the Danish owned
Caribbean island of St. John as she participates in the slave revolt of 1733-1734

Suggested Guided Reading Material:

Publisher: National Geographic

Road to Revolution Level R / DRA 40
Declaring Independence Level R / DRA 40
The Declaration of Independence Level T / DRA 50
Divided Loyalties Level U / DRA 50
Fight for Freedom Level V / DRA 60

Publisher: Rosen
Who was Paul Revere? Level I/DRA 16
Who was Betsy Ross? Level J / DRA 18
James Madison: Founding Father Level L / DRA 24
What happened at the Boston Tea Party Level L / DRA 24
Betsy Ross: Creator of the American Flag Level M / DRA 28
Crispus Attucks: Hero of the Boston Massacre Level N / DRA 30
Nathan Hale: Hero of the American Revolution Level N / DRA 30
Benjamin Franklin: American Inventor Level N / DRA 30
The Making of the American Flag Level N / DRA 30
I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight Level O / DRA 34
A Timeline of the American Revolution Level O / DRA 34
The British Are Coming! - Level O / DRA 34
One Life to Loose for my Country Level P / DRA 38
Crossing the Delaware Level P / DRA 38
Abigail Adams: Famous First Lady Level P / DRA 38
Paul Revere: Freedom Rider Level P / DRA 38
Pistols and Politics: Hamilton Duels Burr Level P / DRA 38
The Cost of Freedom: Crispus Attucks Dies - Level Q / DRA 40
John Paul Jones: American Naval Hero Level T / DRA 50
Marquis de Lafayette: French Hero of the Revolution Level T / DRA 50
The Call of Liberty: Marquis de Lafayette Level T / DRA 50
George Washington: Life of an American Patriot Level T / DRA 50
George Washington: Father of the Nation Level T / DRA 50
Alexander Hamilton: American Statesman Level T / DRA 50
Benjamin Franklin: Early American Genius Level T / DRA 50
Democracys Signature: Ben Franklin Level T / DRA 50

11/16/09