Review by Jennifer Sitkin, Common Sense Education | Updated August 2014
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Reporting the Revolutionary War

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Lessons, videos, and historic newspapers help bring history to life

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Social Studies
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
8–12
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

4 images
Lesson plans use primary documents to explore issues related to the Revolutionary War.
Online timeline displays images and content.
Each lesson addresses relevant Common Core standards.
Links are included to videos and early newspaper articles about the American Revolution.

Pros: Students analyze primary source documents in meaningful ways, as well as apply what they've learned.

Cons: The lessons are text-heavy and may be challenging for ELL students or other struggling readers; only four lesson plans are available.

Bottom Line: A helpful resource for U.S. History teachers looking to integrate more primary-source documents into their curriculum.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Resources available through Reporting the Revolutionary War are best integrated into an existing unit on the topic. For example, the lesson plan Evaluating Civil Disobedience provides students with the opportunity to explore reactions to the Stamp Act and develop a Parliamentary Resolution. In addition to using the premade lesson plans available on the site, both teachers and students can use the mini-archive, videos, and articles as a reference to increase their own content knowledge of the Revolutionary War. Finally, while they're not required to use the materials on the site, it is recommended that teachers purchase the book, as the lesson plans highlight chapters that are aligned with the content covered in the various activities.  

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Standards:

Reporting the Revolutinary War is the companion website for a book of the same title. Along with information about the book, the site includes a link to an Education page containing a mini-archive, lesson plans, videos, and articles. The mini-archive has a timeline of images and links to early newspapers. Four lesson plans submitted by a high-school teacher are also provided. All four lessons give detailed instructions for implementing a variety of educational activities that incorporate early newspaper articles about the Revolutionary War. In addition, lessons are aligned to the Common Core standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies, grades 9-10. Videos are provided through a YouTube channel, and articles come primarily from the author’s site, RagLinen.

The educational resources that accompany the book, Reporting the Revolutionary War, can be useful on their own. As teachers make the shift to the Common Core, it's always helpful to come across more ways to align curriculum to the new standards. The lesson plans can be used as is, while also serving as models for different ways of using primary sources in the classroom. For example, in the Town Hall Meeting lesson plan, students read an excerpt from the Pennsylvania Gazette and then take on the role of someone living in Colonial America as they prepare for a town hall meeting about issues raised in the Gazette article. Lessons can be modified to address additional standards and assignments can be used while studying different historical events.

Students are encouraged to develop their critical-thinking, writing, collaboration, and communication skills. Although interesting to history enthusiasts, the videos and articles could be challenging to use in a general education classroom. If used, they may require extensive scaffolding, with background information and questions provided to help students understand the content.    

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Role-playing, group discussions, and writing activities should pique students' interest. Videos and articles are scholarly; teachers may need to provide context to help students understand and make connections to the content.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Lessons are easy to follow, use a variety of instructional strategies, and address relevant Common Core standards. The reading level might hinder accessibility for students in lower grade levels or struggling readers. 

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Lesson plans include detailed procedures and all necessary materials to implement them. The site doesn't include a forum for questions about the lessons, or other help features for teachers.

Common Sense Reviewer
Jennifer Sitkin Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Reading History/Social Studies

  • RH.6-8.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

  • RH.6-8.5

    Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).

  • RH.6-8.6

    Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

  • RH.6-8.7

    Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

  • RH.6-8.8

    Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

  • RH.6-8.9

    Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

  • RH.6-8.1

    Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

  • RH.6-8.2

    Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

  • RH.6-8.3

    Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).

  • RH.6-8.10

    By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

  • RH.9-10.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

  • RH.9-10.5

    Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.

  • RH.9-10.6

    Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

  • RH.9-10.7

    Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

  • RH.9-10.8

    Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.

  • RH.9-10.9

    Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

  • RH.9-10.1

    Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

  • RH.9-10.2

    Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

  • RH.9-10.3

    Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

  • RH.9-10.10

    By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

  • RH.11-12.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

  • RH.11-12.5

    Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.

  • RH.11-12.6

    Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.

  • RH.11-12.7

    Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

  • RH.11-12.8

    Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

  • RH.11-12.9

    Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

  • RH.11-12.1

    Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

  • RH.11-12.2

    Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

  • RH.11-12.3

    Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

  • RH.11-12.10

    By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Michelle B. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Cabell County Career Technology Center
Huntington, WV
Helpful teaching tool for enhancing teaching history!
I do wish that it was more entertaining or colorful, but still, it takes on aspects of the Revolutionary War that are not covered in textbooks. I do believe students will obtain a better understanding of what caused the war and why Colonial Americans stood up for themselves and were willing to become independent no matter the cost. We gain some insight on the Stamp Act and concepts of taxation through these lessons as well.
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