A wealth of educational programs related to
the American Revolution are available to K-12 teachers. Some programs
are structured around a park visit while others can be used entirely
within the classroom. This page summarizes what is available both
from NPS and from other sources. Just click on the program name
for further details and ordering information.
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Adams
National Historical Park
Quincy, MA
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The Boston Massacre: John Adams to the Defense
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Grade 5-8
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John Adams’ respect for truth and justice compelled him to
courageously defend the British soldiers accused of the Boston
Massacre.
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Investigation of the events surrounding the Boston Massacre.
Students will role play the massacre and subsequent trial
as an investigative team. Interpretation of events depends
on point of view. Students examine the character of John Adams
and the reasons he chose to defend the British. Students will
examine facts much as the lawyers in the case did.
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Adams
National Historical Park
Quincy, MA
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Pen & Parchment: From Penn’s Hill to Pennsylvania
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Grade 5-12
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John and Abigail Adams’ role in founding a just and free
nation.
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To discover the meaning of independence, students focus on
the Declaration of Independence, and the monumental role that
John Adams played in its passage. In addition, this program
will examine the great achievement of Abigail Adams in setting
forth her own vision for the new nation and her use of writing
to communicate these ideas.
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Adams
National Historical Park
Quincy, MA
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Families in the Revolution: Patriots in the Countryside
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Grade 1-8
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Patriot families’ role in achieving American Independence
and the American Revolution’s effect on the family life.
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Prepares students for a hands-on day-in-the-life of patriot
families during the American Revolution. Through participation
in the activities of the period, students will experience
the hard work, uncertainty, and danger facing families during
the perilous era of the American Revolution.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We are at War: Teaching with
Historic Places Lesson Plan
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Grade 5-8
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The Battle of Bunker Hill spurred colonial unity and acted
as a catalyst to the formation of the Continental army.
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Students will be able to:
- Determine how events in
Massachusetts in 1775 united colonial forces in opposition
to imperial rule.
- Relate the events of the Battle of
Bunker Hill and explain their importance.
- Compare Boston and Charlestown land
masses as they changed from 1775 to the present day.
- Investigate their own community history to find out if
there was a significant event in the past that united or
divided the citizens.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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An Incident in King Street
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Grade 7-12
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In the trial of the British soldiers, the court identified
March 5, 1770, event as the incident on King Street, while
the Sons of Liberty called the event, the Boston Massacre.
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What really happened on King Street the night of March 5,
1770? Many questions remain unanswered about the incident
known to history as the Boston Massacre. Were soldiers firing
upon innocent townspeople or a violent mob? Students will
role-play the trial of the British soldiers using original
source trial records and discover the complexities and contradictions
of this historical event.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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If Buildings Could Speak
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Grade 3-6
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Faneuil Hall was a marketplace and meeting hall of great
importance used to debate issues of concern by the citizens
of Boston.
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Students will explore Faneuil Hall and compare it with malls
of today as places to shop and discuss issues of importance.
Students will explore the galleries of the Old State House
where fiery debate once took place and participate in a role-play
activity.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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Merchants and Farmers
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Grade 3-6 and 9-12
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Citizens from widely different backgrounds coming together
to challenge British authority at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
By doing so they risked their lives, property and freedom.
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Students explore the lives and motivations of the 18th
century soldier who united to face superior British forces
in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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Slave to Poet: Phillis Wheatley
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Grade 5-8
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Although a slave since the age of seven, Phillis Wheatley
became famous writing poetry on religion but also supporting
the Sons of Liberty and the idea of freedom.
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Students visit Old South Meeting House and take a walking
tour of Phillis Wheatley’s neighborhood to learn about the
life of the country’s first African American poet. Students
are introduced to Wheatley’s poems, and then try their hand
with quill pens like the ones used by Wheatley over 200 years
ago.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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Tea is Brewing
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Grade 4-8
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Loyalists and Sons of Liberty publicly debate the infamous
Tea Act, while the Sons of Liberty secretly plan to rid themselves
of this bainfull weed.
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Experiential activities that teach about the Boston Tea Party.
Takes place at three sites. At Faneuil Hall, a park ranger
introduces the concept of a town meeting, which sets the stage
for students to assume the roles of colonists debating the
1773 Tea Act at South Meeting House. Students reject the British
tax on tea and walk to the Tea Party Ship where they dump
tea as colonists did over 225 years ago.
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Boston
National Historical Park
Boston, MA
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What’s Behind a Monument
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Grade 5-12
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Washington drove the British out of Boston with the help
of 59 cannons brought from NY to Dorchester Heights.
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Will explore the March 17, 1776 event known today as Evacuation
Day. Students will learn about George Washington’s first command
as General of the first Continental Army. Students will discover
the strategic location of Dorchester Heights to Boston.
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Colonial
National Historical Park
Yorktown, VA
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The Fortunes of War
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Grade 4-5
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While learning about the Yorktown battle, students come to
appreciate and understand the effect war had on those involved
– both civilians and soldiers.
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Students actively participate in battlefield and town tours
and engage in hands-on activities, role-playing, and demonstrations.
To prepare students for an on-site program with a ranger and
self guided town tour at Yorktown, the teacher is given 13
pre-activities about the American Revolution.
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Cowpens
National Battlefield
near Chesnee, SC
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NPS Cowpens National Battlefield Curriculum Guide
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Grade 3-8
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Coming on the heels of a patriot victory at nearby Kings
Mountain on October 7, 1780, Cowpens was the second major
defeat for British forces under General Cornwallis.
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The Guide has nine units: The National Park Service; The
Pre-Agricultural Landscape; Backcountry Lifestyles; The War
for Independence; The Southern Campaign; The Battle of Cowpens;
The Battle – The Human Element; Cultural & Natural Resources;
The Junior Ranger Program
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Fort Stanwix
National Monument
Rome, NY
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The Battle of Oriskany: Blood Shed a Stream Running Down
Teaching with Historic Places Lesson
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Grade 5-8
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The struggle for power in NY state during the Revolution
involving European Americans and American Indians, demonstrated
by the Battle of Oriskany 8/6/1777, where neighbor fighting
neighbor transformed a quiet ravine into a bloody slaughterhouse.
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Students will be able to:
- Evaluate the decisions several New
Yorkers made about which side to support during the
Revolutionary War.
- Analyze the Battle of Oriskany to
determine whether the Tories or the Rebels won the battle.
- Determine what effects the Battle
of Oriskany had on the American Revolution as a whole an on
the subsequent history of the region.
- Apply the historic lesson of Oriskany and central NY to
contemporary issues in their own community.
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Fort Stanwix
National Monument
Rome, NY
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Defending the Oneida Carry—A Soldier’s Life in New York
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Grade 4
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The need to protect the Oneida Carry, a significant portage
on a major water route through NY, in order to keep the British
from occupying the entire state.
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To prepare students for an on-site Soldier’s Day program,
lessons explore the reasons for the Revolution; the duties
of soldiers; miitary life over 200 years; history of Fort
Stanwix/Fort Schuyler; and the role of the Oneidas at Fort
Stanwix .
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George
Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Vincennes, IN
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The George Rogers Clark Teaching Units*
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Grade 4-12
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The life and contributions of George Rogers Clark and life
in Kentucky and the Illinois country before, during, and after
the Revolution.
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Students explore the life and times of George Rogers Clark
using the following questions:
- How did George Rogers Clark become
interested in the West?
- How were people living in Kentucky
and in the Illinois Country?
- How did George Rogers Clark
contribute to the American Revolution?
- How did life change for George Rogers Clark and others
after the American Revolution?
*George Rogers Clark NHP does not currently have a curriculum
based education program. This George Rogers Clark Teaching
Unit was created by the Indiana Department of Public Instruction
and the Indiana State Museum. It has been used by educators
in preparing students for an on-site visit to the park.
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Guilford
Courthouse National Military Park
Guilford Courthouse, NC
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Guilford Courthouse: A Pivotal Battle in the War for Independence:
Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plan
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Grade 5-8
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The pivotal role of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in
the decisive Southern Campaign. How it led to Cornwallis’s
march to Virginia and defeat.
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Objectives for students are to 1) analyze conflicting evidence
and make judgments; 2) analyze statistical data on casualties;
3) assess the aftermath of the battle; and 4) examine monuments
in their own communities.
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Independence
National Historical Park
Philadelphia, PA
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The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon: Teaching with Historic
Places Lesson Plan
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Grade 6-8
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The transformation of the bell in the tower of the Penn.
State House into the Liberty Bell, an international symbol
of liberty.
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Objectives for students:
- analyze the historical and cultural
influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the Liberty
Bell,
- evaluate the reliability of
particular sources as a way of determining historical
accuracy,
- Determine from historical record
how popular ideas about the past are shaped and changed by
current events.
- Research the way patriotic symbols are used in their
own communities as well as the nation.
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Kings
Mountain National Military Park
near Blacksburg, SC
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Turn of the Tide
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Grade 3-8
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The patriot victory at Kings Mountain as a strategic and
psychological triumph of far-reaching proportions that the
British termed the first link in a chain of evils.
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This resource and activity guide is designed to prepare students
for a visit to Kings Mountain NMP and provide learning opportunities
for use in the classroom. The guide is divided into the following
learning activities:
- A perspective on the American
Revolution
- Kings Mountain: The Turn of the
Tide
- Women and African-Americans in the
Revolution
- Weapons, Uniforms, and Daily
Affairs
- Colonial Life
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Minute
Man National Historical Park
Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, MA
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Brother Jonathon and Thomas Lobster
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Grade 1-8
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To better understand who the soldiers on both sides were
at Concord’s North Bridge fight, their backgrounds, training
and view of the conflict in America
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During the program, the complexity of the April 19, 1775
battle at Concord’s North Bridge emerges as students uncover
clues that allow them to compare and contrast the experiences
and perceptions of British Regulars and American Minutemen.
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Minute
Man National Historical Park
Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, MA
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A View from the Participants
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Grade 5-12
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By using the participants’ own words, help students to gain
a better understanding of what happened at Concord’s North
Bridge on April 19, 1775.
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After exploring a historical soldier who participated in
the battle and a short statement about what happened that
day from the perspective of the participant, students are
led on a walk to the North Bridge to learn about the events
of April 19, 1775, that so dramatically changed the course
of history. Conflicting interpretations and perceptions of
the battle prompt students to consider the sources and origins
of history.
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Moores
Creek National Battlefield
Currie, NC
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The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge Teacher's Manual
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Grade 4-8
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At Moores Creek Bridge a brief,violent clash
at daybreak on February 27, 1776, saw Patriots
defeat a larger force of Loyalists ,marching
toward a rendezvous with a British naval
squadron. The battle ended royal authority
in the colony of North Carolina and helped
forestall a full-scale British invasion of the
South. The patriot victory also encouraged
North Carolina, on April 12, 1776, to instruct
its delegation to the Continental Congress in
Philadelphia to vote for independence from
Britain. It was the first American colony to
do so
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The Teacher's Manual, covers the following topics:
- General background of colonial
North Carolina
- African Americans in the Revolution
- Women in the Revolution
- The Militias
- Weapons and Supplies
- The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge
- 4th Grade Review Questions
- 8th Grade Review Questions
- Word Search
- Word Scramble
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Morristown
National Historical Park
Morristown, NJ
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From Farming Village to Log Hut City
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Grade 4-5
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The personal hardships and sacrifices by soldiers, officers
and civilians fighting for independence shown through the
story of the second Morristown encampment and its effects.
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Students prepare for their visit in three ways. First they
place Morristown in the context of the American Revolution.
Then students explore the reasons Washington chose Morristown
for the encampment, and calculate the number of army personnel
who were garrisoned there. Students arrive at Morristown as
one of 10 soldiers, officers, or civilians to discover the
effect the war had on their character during the daily struggles
of camp life.
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Saratoga
National Historical Park
Stillwater, NY
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Gone for a Soldier
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Grade 4
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Gaining a sense of the motivations and daily lives of the
soldiers who fought in the Saratoga Campaign.
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Students and rangers examine reasons for enlisting with the
military in the 18th century and present day. The
ranger explains uniforms, the purpose and the function of
soldier uniforms and equipment. Students work in groups and
explore items from a haversack.
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Saratoga
National Historical Park
Stillwater, NY
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Traveling Haversack Teacher’s Guide
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Grade 3-5
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Exploration of the lives of soldiers at the time of the War
of Independence, using a haversack containing items that would
provide sustenance or comfort.
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Students explore the lives of soldiers during the American
Revolution using a Haversack Kit. The kit contains reproduction
items with cards accompanying items with original source quotes,
a glossary, questions and activities related to specific topics
in food, drink, cleanliness, pay and money, gambling, and
women and the army.
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Valley
Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge, PA
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Valley Forge NHP: Curriculum Guide
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Grade 8
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The transformation of a tired, ill-equipped, and despondent
army into a new, better equipped and trained American army
ready to prove to the world that it could stand up to the
British.
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The guide contains several pre-lessons with the following
topics:
- Critical thinking with 18th century technology
- Create your own broadside ballad
- Fire another broadside
- The need for manpower
- Primary source jigsaw
- Examining the leadership traits of George Washington by
using primary sources
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Valley
Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge, PA
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Riding Through
History
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Grade 3-8
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Give students a hands-on history
lesson by getting them out into the park to see for themselves what the winter encampment was like for Washington
and the soldiers of the Continental Army
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Park rangers get on your bus and take you on a guided
tour of Valley Forge, featuring stops at a reconstructed encampment
site and a visit to the original building used by
General Washington as his headquarters.
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Valley
Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge, PA
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Soldier Life: The Revolutionary Soldier
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Grade 3-8
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The story of the Continental soldier and how he endured the
rigors of life in winter quarters.
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Exploration of food shortages, lack of warm clothing, and
boredom of camp life; and how, despite these difficulties,
the time spent in winter encampment produced positive results,
as the Continental Army was reorganized, and the soldiers
developed confidence and the esprit de corps they had lacked
at times in the past.
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Valley
Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge, PA
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Rangers on the Road
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Grade 3-8
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Bring a Ranger to your classroom
to bring to life the soldiers and camp followers of Valley
Forge.
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Rangers dressed as either Continental Soldiers or Regimental Camp Followers bring their kit with
them to help bring alive the story of the brave men
and women who encamped at Valley Forge
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