You Were There

Here we go!  

Today, we took out test over the Southern Colonies, now we are diving into the American Revolutionary War!!!!  I cannot contain my excitement, this is one of  my favorite things to teach in 5th grade history, the options for creativity and craziness are ENDLESS!

Encourage the Craziness 

One of my favorite activities is when my students get to go back in time and become a colonist.  This activity takes the simple things of life, and transforms them into hands-on learning experiences.  I start off by having the kids tea-stain 3 pieces of blank white paper, and one biography paper.  I am always amazed by how many of my students didn't know tea could stain paper. (It's kind of like teaching a toddler about finger pain!)

Encourage the Creativity

Next, the kids will come in and they will fold their stained paper into diaries.  I usually have the kids fold the paper in half, punch two holes near the crease, and bind it all together with a piece of yarn.  Then, they get to create their colonist by using the bio page.  They always have fun researching popular names of the time and coming up with their own.   I always have the students draw to figure out what colony they live in, their views towards the revolution, and their father's job.

The Learning...

As we learn about different events leading up to, during, and after the war, I have the students journal about how they would feel towards the event(s).  I always try to include big events such as...

• The French and Indian War 
• The Proclamation of 1763
• The Different Acts
• The Boston Tea Party
• Lexington and Concord
• The signing of the Declaration of Independence

My students always love this activity and I love the simplicity of it.  Of course, you could make it far more complicated if you would like.  I you want to try this activity with your students and want the bio page I use, snag it here!