Lesson by Sandra Trenholm
Essay by Denver Brunsman, George Washington University
Grade Level: 7–12
Number of Class Periods: 3
Primary Era: The American Revolution, 1763–1783
About This Lesson Plan Unit
In this three-lesson unit, students will learn about the Boston Massacre and analyze Paul Revere’s depiction of the event in the engraving The Bloody Massacre in King-Street. They will also have the opportunity to “read like a detective” and compare the engraving with a description of the event by someone who was actually present, British officer Captain Thomas Preston.
Lesson Plan Author: Sandra Trenholm
Historical Background Essay by: Denver Brunsman, George Washington University
Additional Information About This Unit
Common Core State Standards
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7: Integrate visual information (e.g., charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
How did American revolutionaries like Paul Revere explain why patriots opposed the British?
According to Preston, what actions by Bostonians made him fear for his life?
How do the details in Captain Thomas Preston’s account compare with the details in Paul Revere’s engraving?
How should historians decide what is true when weighing evidence that disagrees?
Documents
Documents
Paul Revere’s engraving The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King-Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a Party of the 29th Reg., Boston, 1770
Transcript of the poem from Paul Revere’s engraving The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King-Street (Boston, 1770)
An excerpt from Captain Thomas Preston’s Deposition, March 12, 1770, “Case of Capt. Thomas Preston of the 29th Regiment,” in Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts 7: Transactions, 1900–1902