Lesson Plan - Tea. Taxes. Revolution.

Watch a Video
Play the video “What You Need to Know About the American Revolution” to build background knowledge. Ask: Why do you think many colonists wanted to be free from Britain? What were some of the key events in their fight for independence?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• taxes 
• boycott

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about how the Boston Tea Party affected America.

1. Based on the article, what were colonists hoping to accomplish by destroying tea during the Boston Tea Party?
You can infer that by destroying tea during the Boston Tea Party, the colonists were hoping to show Great Britain that they were not willing to buy British tea and pay British taxes on that tea.
^{RI.4.1 Inference}

2. What did colonists mean by “taxation without representation”?
When colonists talked about “taxation without representation,” they meant having to pay taxes to Great Britain even though they had no voice in the British government.
^{RI.4.3 Explaining Ideas}

3. What is the meaning of the expression “the final straw”? What was the final straw for colonists?
The expression “the final straw” means the last in a series of bad things that make someone feel upset or angry. For the colonists, the last straw was when Great Britain passed a series of harsh laws, like closing the Port of Boston so that goods could not enter the city. These laws made the colonists rethink their relationship to Great Britain.
^{L.4.5 Figurative Language}

Featured Skill: Cause and Effect
Use the skill builder “Road to Revolution” to explore how a chain of events in the 1760s and 1770s culminated in the American Revolution.
^{RI.4.5 Cause and Effect}