Student Resources:

• Battles of the American Revolution Map Puzzle Handout

Teacher Resources:

• Battles of the Revolutionary War Resource Set

Anticipate 

• Before class begins, prepare the student resources. You can print and prepare color copies of the map puzzle for repeat student use or print individual paper copies for each student.  
• When class begins, Group students into teams of 3-4 students.  

 Scaffolding note: Mixed ability groups work well for this activity.   

• Provide students with pieces of the map puzzle showing key Revolution battle locations. Have them work in small groups to assemble the map and predict which battles might have been significant based on location (e.g., near rivers, capitals, etc.) 

Scaffolding note: This activity can also be completed independently using paper copies of the map puzzle.  

Engage 

 Glossary terms: battle, Revolutionary War, predict, significant 

• Using the same student groups, distribute to each group a copy of the resources for this lesson. The resources contain historical art pieces and short essays.  
• Assign students an amount of time. 20-30 minutes is a good place to start.  
• Ask students to read the essays about Revolutionary battles and match each essay to an art piece that depicts the battle. The essays and art pieces will depict:  
  • Lexington and Concord  
  • Bunker Hill 
  • Saratoga 
  • Yorktown  
  • Trenton and Princeton 
  • Valley Forge 

Explore 

• Once students have investigated the battles by reading the sources and making connections to the art, allow them to choose one of the 6 battles, or assign each student a battle.  
• Using the same sources, students will play the Explanation Game to consider the sources more deeply with the other students who chose the same battle.  
• Some groups may be larger or smaller than others. This is fine as long as all four battle groups have at least two students.  

The Explanation Game 

• Begin by placing copies of the essay and historical art image with each group of students, if they are not there already. There will be 4 groups, one for each battle.  
• Ask students to begin by considering the art. The first person (this might be the teacher) points out an interesting feature of the art piece: “I notice that…. That’s interesting. Why is it that way?” or “Why is this battle depicted that way?” (or some similar why question).  
• The other people in the group try to answer the question or at least to propose possible explanations and reasons based on the essay. As these students share their ideas, the person asking the original question follows up by asking, “What makes you think so?”  
• The group works together to build explanations based on their understanding of the essay, the art, and their prior knowledge and reasoning to provide an answer.  
• Ask students to record their conversation as a chart with four columns representing the key structures of the conversation: 1) the Observation that is initially made, 2) the Question that comes out of that observation, 3) the various Explanations/Hypotheses that the rest of group puts forth, 4) the Reasons/Justifications that are given in support of the explanations. 

Scaffolding note: It may help to assign the role of recorder for this task to a member of the group. 

• Set a timer for 15-20 minutes. Students should be able to go through the thinking routine for 3-4 observations in that time.  

Assess & Reflect

Written Response- Thesis 

• Ask students to use the information they have learned from the map, battles matching, and Explanation Game to craft a thesis.  
  • Thesis Prompt: Choose a Battle from the Revolution. Why is this battle considered a significant battle of the American Revolution?  
• Students can choose to use the battle they focused on in the Explanation Game or choose another battle.  
• Encourage students to use the sources to support their statement.  

Scaffolding note: To support student writing, use the BRI mini-lesson on writing a thesis statement and/or the BRI thesis graphic organizer.