Materials

• Outline map of the colonies

Instructional Activities

1. Explain that as the colonists began to have concerns with the way England governed the colonies, the English were having problems with France that would ultimately increase the tension between the king and the colonists.
   
   
2. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   Both the French and the English viewed the Ohio River Valley as valuable. Virginians built a fort in present day Pittsburgh. The French, considering this area their territory, drove them off. These events contributed to the start of the French and Indian War.
   
   Point out this area on a map, and provide a brief overview of the war, including a discussion on the French desire for revenge.
   
   
3. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   In 1763, the Treaty of Paris granted Canada and all French holdings east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans to the British. Britain also acquired Florida from Spain.
   
   Explain the significance of Pontiac’s Rebellion. Distribute an outline map of the colonies, and instruct the students to shade or color the map to illustrate British territory as it was in 1749. Instruct them to use a different color to reflect the territory gained as a result of the Treaty of Paris.
   
   
4. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   In an attempt to prevent conflict between the colonists and the Indians, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763. This act prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists were angered by it and ignored the Proclamation.
   
   Illustrate on a map the area the colonists were prohibited to settle as a result of the Proclamation of 1763. Explain that the reason for the Proclamation was to avoid the high cost of protecting colonists in Indian territory.
   
   
5. Encourage the students to share their opinions of the British motive behind the Proclamation of 1763 and the colonists’ response. Ask, Who was right? Why? Discussion may be guided by asking students if adults often set rules or restrictions to protect children. Discuss some of those rules. Prompt students to think about possible consequences, other than punishment, that can happen when children or adults break rules designed to protect them. Encourage them to keep those thoughts in mind as you continue the session on the American Revolution.
   
   
6. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   To help cover the costs of the French and Indian War, the British imposed taxes on the colonists. The Stamp Act, imposed in 1765, was a tax on legal documents: it required that a stamp be bought for all legal documents and other items, such as cards.
   
   Explain that opposition to the Stamp Act marked the beginning of organized opposition to British rule. Encourage students to share their knowledge of other laws the British imposed on the colonists (Townshend Acts, Quartering Acts, Tea Act, Intolerable Acts) and the steps the colonists began to take (Boston Tea Party, attacking customs officials, smashing British ships) as they became more defiant of British laws.
   
   
7. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   The Boston Massacre, a skirmish between British and colonists that left five colonists dead, occurred in 1770.
   
   Explain that the massacre was not unprovoked. Discuss the role of Boston radicals. Ask, Was the Boston Massacre exaggerated to gain support for rebellion? Ask students to comment on whether such acts and the colonists’ responses were justified. Remind them that a main complaint of the colonists was “taxation without representation.” Ask students to explain what this means. Explain that colonists accepted that tariffs were necessary for regulation of imperial trade but that Parliament’s actions threatened the colonists’ “habit of self-government.”
   
   
8. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available resources.