ReadWriteThink: December 16, 2009: The Boston Tea Party took place on this day in 1773.

December 16, 2009

		Over two hundred years ago, a group of activist colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. “High Tea in Boston Harbor” was the headline of the Boston Gazette. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Boston Tea Party took place on this day in 1773.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

After reading the headline of the Boston Gazette aloud (on the left), ask your students to create a political cartoon for this event. Political cartoonists demonstrate a particular point of view in their cartoons. Students may decide to create their cartoons from the perspective of one of the colonists, King George III, or a fish in the Boston Harbor! Invite students to use the interactive Comic Creator to create their political cartoons and then have students share their cartoons with the class. Ask the class to identify the cartoonist’s point of view. A Tool Tip Sheet is available for the Comic Creator.

Make copies of the student-generated political cartoons and distribute them to small groups of students. Have each group of students work collaboratively to develop higher-level response questions for the political cartoons. Students can use the Student Created Questions diagram for assistance in developing their questions.

Lesson Plans

Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, high school students learn to evaluate political cartoons for their meaning, message, and persuasiveness.

Using Pictures to Build Schema for Social Studies Content
This ReadWriteThink lesson for grades 3–5 uses images of the Boston Massacre to deepen students’ comprehension of both the event and the effects of propaganda.

The Boston Tea Party: Costume Optional?
In this EDSITEment lesson, students learn how historians use primary and secondary sources to reconstruct what happened in the past. Students then create a written project about the Boston Tea Party.

Web Links

The Three R’s of Our Fight for Freedom
Two fourth-grade classes worked collaboratively on this Miss Rumphius Award-winning project.

The American Revolution for Kids
Primary students will enjoy this resource created by fifth-grade students.

High Tea in Boston Harbor
Presented by PBS, this educational website chronicles the American Revolution. To assess learning, ask your students to play “The Road to Revolution,” an interactive game about the revolution.

The Boston Tea Party
At this page on the Kidport Reference Library website, students can learn about the events leading to the Boston Tea Party and access links to related information.

Texts

Edwards, Pamela Duncan. 2001. Boston Tea Party. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
This book for elementary students can be used during a history lesson about the Boston Tea Party.

O’Neill, Laurie. 1996. The Boston Tea Party. Millbrook Press.
Students in grades 4–8 will find the information and primary documents in this book interesting and helpful in their research.

Stanley, Diane. 2001. Joining the Boston Tea Party. Joanna Cotler Books.
Young readers journey back to colonial America and the Boston Tea Party with the time-traveling twins.

Dahl, Michael. 2003. Trouble Brewing: A Fun Song About the Boston Tea Party. Picture Window Books.
This book takes a lighthearted look at the Boston Tea Party.