Lesson Plan #: AELP-USH0216
The Boston Tea Party
An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan
Submitted by:
Lauren Wall
Email:
CLWALL1@aol.com
School/University/Affiliation:
Reinhardt College
Endorsed by:
Harriett Lindsey
Price School of Education, Reinhardt College
Date:
December 10, 2002
Grade Level:
4
Subject(s):
-
Social Studies/US History
-
Language Arts/Writing
-
Language Arts/Literature
Duration:
50 minutes
Description:
Students will listen to a chapter from a book and then read and discuss a poem about the Boston Tea Party. After these activities, students write a poem or paragraph about the Boston Tea Party, using a concept web to organize their ideas.
Goals:
Georgia Quality Core Curriculum Objectives (QCC)
:
-
Identifies the sources of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution (e.g., smuggling, taxation without representation, Intolerable Acts, Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre)
-
Reads text and determines the main idea or essential message, identifies relevant supporting details and facts, recognizes cause and effect, and arranges events in chronological order.
-
Responds to literal, inferential, and evaluative questions about literature.
Objectives:
-
Students will respond to literal, inferential, and evaluative questions about literature and orally presented material.
-
Students will be able to determine the meaning of a word based on how it is used in an orally presented sentence.
-
Students will be able to create a concept web to organize their writing ideas.
-
Students will be able to write a good reflection about a topic in the form of a paragraph or poem, using examples from the literature, a teacher model, and a concept web.
Materials:
Procedure:
Anticipatory Set:
Pour the hot tea into the students' cups (decaf tea) and let them begin to drink it. Ask, "Does anyone know where this tea might have come from?" If no one guesses England, tell the students that this is where a lot of tea comes from. Have them think back to what they have been learning about the American Revolution; let them recap some of the acts, taxes, and events. Inform students that one of the items that was heavily taxed was tea, and because of this, in history we have what is remembered as the Boston Tea Party. Today, students will be exploring what happened at the "party," read a poem about it, and write a summary about what they learned. First, students will listen to a story and take notes.
Statement of Objectives:
To find out about the Boston Tea Party, students will be listening to a book that tells the story of the Boston Tea Party and how the colonists were involved. Show the book and read the title,
The Boston Tea Party
. This book will also review what students have been learning about during the past few days. After listening to the story, students will then read a poem, discuss it, and write their own poem or paragraph.
Instructional Input:
Begin by reading Chapter 1 in the book,
The Boston Tea Party
. Along the way, recap what students already know. While the chapter is being read, students should be taking notes on things that they think are important to the story. After the reading, tell the students that now they will be reading a poem entitled, "Revolutionary Tea." Hand out a copy of the poem to the students; tell them to underline words or phrases that they do not understand. After reading the poem, ask students to share some of the things that they underlined. Go over what students underlined as well as the following items in the poem:
-
Line 8, pence (British money, roughly considered a penny in the United States but not a totally negligible amount in the 18th century.)
-
Line 11, shan't (old contraction for shall not, which in 21st-century English usually takes the form 'will not')
-
Line 14, quoth (old form for quoted or said)
-
Line 20, budget of tea (a quantity for a particular use)
-
Line 28, conveyed (transported)
-
Line 30, bouncing (lively)
-
Line 31, boiling (angry)
-
Line 34, 'tis (it is, it's)
-
Line 34, when 'tis steeped quite enough (when the tea leaves have released sufficient flavor into the water)
After going over the words in the poem, re-read the poem to the students. Students should listen for some of the words previously discussed and try to put meaning into the poem this time. Ask students the following questions:
-
What or whom do you think the old lady in the poem represents? Old lady; island queen (England)
-
What or whom do you think her daughter represents? Her daughter; the bouncing girl (the colonies)
"Let us now think about what we read in the story and poem and look at a web of what happened at the Boston Tea Party."
Modeling:
Begin by showing students a blank overhead of a web with the words, "Boston Tea Party" in the middle. Discuss how to write good paragraphs or a poem by using a web. "First we must organize our ideas in the web." Have students share facts to write in the web and then display the teacher-made web (see
Materials
). Have the students read the branches. Then show students the completed model paragraph and poem that was created from the web. Allow time for discussion in which students can compare the web to the finished paragraph/poem. Now it's the students' turn! Working with a partner, students will use their notes to make a web, and from that they will write their own paragraph or poem. Ask if anyone has any questions about what to do. Walk around the room, advising students and checking their progress. After they finish their web, give them paper to begin writing out their paragraphs or poems.
Closure:
After students have finished their writing, allow time for students to illustrate their work (and then can be mounted on construction paper). After everyone has finished, students can share their writing with the rest of the class. Display students' work on a wall or bulletin board
Assessment:
Each student's writing will be assessed using a writing rubric that focuses on organization, content, and participation (see
Materials
for rubric).
Useful Internet Resource:
*
QCC Standards and Resources
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/qcc/homepg.asp
