Road to Revolution Unit | Events Leading to the Declaration of Independence (2024)

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(15 customer reviews)

Category: U.S. History Units

Description

This Road to Revolution unit covers the events that led to the Declaration of Independence. Even better, a hands-on simulation will bring history to life!

In order to better understand the American Revolution, students will adopt a colonist identity and experience events like the tea act, the stamp act, and the Boston Tea Party. They will truly feel the struggle of “taxation without representation.” Students also participate in Continental Congresses, where they decide how to respond to the taxes. Will your students sign a Declaration of Independence? Or stay loyal to the crown?

I’ve made this Road to Revolution unit as easy as possible for busy teachers to implement. From thorough lesson plans to answer keys – it’s all there. This unit is intended for 5th grade – 8th grade students.

Here’s what’s included in this 3-week Road to Revolution unit:

Week 1

• Day 1: Choose Your Destiny—activity where students adopt a colonial identity that will last throughout the unit (theylovethis part!). They receive a colonial name, job and salary, and a political faction to belong to (patriot, loyalist, or neutralist)
• Day 2: Patriots vs. Loyalists—sorting cards with Patriot, Neutralist, and Loyalist arguments, booklet, & primary source worksheet
• Day 3: Stamp Act Simulation & Prepare for the Stamp Act Congress—In order to feel the stress of taxation without representation, students take part in simulated classroom taxes. Students are required to put an “official stamp” on all of their assignments in order for them to be graded.
• Day 4: Stamp Act Congress—simulated congress, article about what really happened, & reflection
• Day 5: Townshend Acts Simulation & Boston Massacre Lesson—classroom tax simulation, analyze eyewitness accounts of the Boston Massacre and explain each speaker’s point of view

Week 2

• Day 6: Tea Act Simulation & The Boston Tea Party—classroom tax simulation, informative article, draw a political cartoon of the Boston Tea Party
• Day 7: Intolerable Acts Simulation & Lesson—classroom tax simulation, task cards about the Intolerable Acts, & student worksheet
• Day 8: Prepare for the First Continental Congress—learn about proposals and come up with speeches for the congress
• Day 9: First Continental Congress—simulated congress, article about what really happened, & reflection
• Day 10: Lexington, Concord, & Thomas Paine—article & student worksheets about Lexington and Concord, translating quotes from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

Week 3

• Day 11: Prepare for the Second Continental Congress—learn about proposals and come up with speeches for the congress
• Day 12: Second Continental Congress—simulated congress, article about what really happened, & reflection
• Day 13: Analyze the Declaration of Independence—compare the Declaration to a break-up letter & organize it into sections
• Day 14: Key Ideas in the Declaration of Independence—task cards & student worksheets
• Day 15: Write Your Own Declaration of Independence—use the Declaration as a model text for a writing piece

Help For The Teacher

• Table of contents (also available in the preview)
• Suggested pacing guide
• 15 lesson plans
• Answer Keys (Of course!)
• Editable end-of-unit test and study guide
• Easy printing file with all student worksheets and articles

Preview the Declaration of Independence activities:

Download a PDF preview.

Watch a video preview:

This Declaration of Independence unit also includes digital access via Google Slides.

I have created a Google Slides resource for each lesson. Each resource contains student instructions, student worksheets with editable text boxes, and articles/task cards, if applicable. Teachers can assign Google Slides via Google Classroom.

Why I created this Road to Revolution unit plan

Here’s what people are saying about these American Revolution lessons

“My students told me they finally LOVED social studies! This unit is engaging and hit all of the marks in skills and content while making it FUN. The kids talked about their debates at the Constitutional Congresses for weeks.”

—Catherine L.

“There are not enough words for me to describe how much I LOVE THIS RESOURCE! This resource makes this topic TRULY engaging and brings history alive. My students love all the activities and learn SO MUCH while doing it. Seriously- I cannot wait until we get to this unit every year!”

—Meghan H.

“This was so well organized that I would buy it again! My students seemed to completely understand the motivations for the writing of the Declaration of Independence and that was my goal. Thank you for making this easy!”

—Nichole A.

FAQs

How can this unit be for grades 5th – 8th?

The unit articles are written at a 7th-8th grade reading level. If you teach one of those grades, your students will be able to complete the activities more or less independently.

If you teach 5th or 6th grade, I recommend reading and analyzing the articles with your students. They will do great! Check out the reviews to see how teachers at your grade level have successfully used and loved this unit.

Where can I find more history units?

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