2021-2022
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
Mr. Salber
Monday
09/13/2021
7th Grade US History
Explain the role of
Massachusetts in the
revolution, including
important events that took
place in Massachusetts and
important leaders from
Massachusetts.
Direct Instruction
Fort Ticonderoga
1. Have students present
their answers to the research
questions from the previous
lesson.
2. Ask students if they know
what a fort should look like.
Ask for a volunteer or two to
draw a picture of a fort.
While this is taking place ask
students if they have ever
heard of:
Ethan Allen and the Green
Mountain Boys
Benedict Arnold (another
name for a traitor)
Henry Knox (Fort Knox
Kentucky is named after him)
3. Inform the class that these
are three of the hero's of Fort
Ticonderoga.
4. Have your volunteers show
their drawings of forts. Make
sure they include a large
number of cannons. This is
important later.
5. Have a student(s) read the
tale of Fort Ticonderoga. You
Tuesday
09/14/2021
7th Grade US History
The student will be able to,
demonstrate understanding
of the social, political, and
religious aspects of the
American Revolution.
identify important people and
events from the American
Revolution.
identify the impact that
certain people from the
Revolutionary War.
Direct Instruction
The (British) empire strikes
back.
New York, Philadelphia
Fit this lesson after 5 and
before 7. It can be attached
to either one as it is very
short, or it can stand alone.
I like to start this by playing
Star Wars music and having
a picture of the Movie Poster
up to see. Just a little fun.
After being chased out of
Boston, the British army Was
looking for a good place to
reenter the colonies. The
British had the world's largest
and best navy. The colonists
had no navy. So a place
made up of islands and rivers
would seem to give the
advantage to the British.
They decided on New York.
Ask students why the British
might have chosen New
Wednesday
09/15/2021
7th Grade US History
The student will be able to,
demonstrate understanding
of the social, political, and
religious aspects of the
American Revolution.
identify important people and
events from the American
Revolution.
identify the impact that
certain people from the
Revolutionary War.
Direct Instruction
merican Revolution Lesson
Seven
Fighting the War; British
Strategy Lessons 7a (war in
the north) & 7b (war in the
south)
Lesson 7B
The War in the South:
After the disaster at Saratoga
the British decided to
implement the next part of
their strategy. Cut the
Southern colonies off from
the rest. If they could take
Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina and Part of
Virginia out of the war, they
still might be able to win.
This map is from the United
States Military Academy and
is public domain. Have
students find on the map the
following places
Savannah Georgia
Page 1 of 7
Thursday
09/16/2021
7th Grade US History
The student will be able to,
demonstrate understanding
of the social, political, and
religious aspects of the
American Revolution.
identify important people and
events from the American
Revolution.
identify the impact that
certain people from the
Revolutionary War.
Direct Instruction
The turning point: Trenton,
Valley Forge, Saratoga
Vocabulary:
Deserter
Enlistment
Hessians
The War was not going well
for the colonists. Washington
and his poorly trained men
lost battle after battle. The
British captured New York
(the largest city in the
colonies) and then
Philadelphia (where the
Continental Congress had its
headquarters.) It looked
terrible for the colonies.
Washington's army was going
home. Many deserted, and
others had their enlistments
end so they too went home.
Washington himself said "I
think the game is pretty near
up". But Washington wasn't a
Friday
09/17/2021
7th Grade US History
The student will be able to,
demonstrate understanding
of the social, political, and
religious aspects of the
American Revolution.
identify important people and
events from the American
Revolution.
identify the impact that
certain people from the
Revolutionary War.
Direct Instruction
How did the colonists Win?
This is a very short lesson
that can be fit in anywhere
within the unit.
How was it that the poor
weak 13 disorganized
colonies managed to defeat
the world's greatest power?
Well, the colonists had
several large advantages that
helped them offset the British
military advantage. First and
most important of these was:
The colonists were fighting
for their homes and families.
Class discussion What would
you do if someone invaded
the USA today and was
burning down and destroying
cities, towns and farms?
Get an opinion from each
student.
This is what the colonists
were facing. So you can see
Week View
2021-2022
Mr. Salber
can find this many places on
the internet.
6. Ensure that students know
that Ethan Allan and Benedict
Arnold are Heroes of the
Early Revolution.
7. Assign students to
discover why Benedict Arnold
becomes a traitor.
The Battle of Bunker Hill
A. Ask students why it might
be important for an army to
be on top of a hill and not at
the bottom. Possible answers
might include
1. You can see better.
2. The enemy has to climb
the hill to get to you while you
are shooting at them.
3. You are shooting down at
them. (connection to
Geography)
The colonists decided to take
control of the hills looking
down at Boston Harbor. They
moved in overnight and when
the British saw them they
know the colonists had to go.
So they sent for the army and
told them to attack the hill.
The colonists saw the British
coming but they didn't have
much ammunition so their
general gave a speech and
ended it with a famous quote:
"Don't shoot until you see the
whites of their eyes."
... meaning, let the British get
real close. How close do you
have to be to see the white
part of someone's eyes? Why
York. Show them a map of
colonial New York and see if
they come up with different
ideas.
New York was chosen
because of its large harbor,
all of the rivers in and around
it, and all of the islands that
make up New York City.
Washington's spies told him
of the British plans so he
rushed his army to New York
and prepared to defend it. To
no avail.
Washington tried to defend
New York City but was
defeated four times by the
British. He finally abandoned
New York.
A good map and description
of the battle can be
found here.
Ask students why the loss of
New York was a major blow
against the colonies.
Answers
1. Major port for the British to
get supplies
2. Largest American city.
3. Centralized Location in the
colonies.
4. Easy River access to the
interior.
The loss of New York and the
defeat of General
Washington at the battles of
Long Island, Harlem Heights,
White Plains, and Fort
Washington allowed the
British to do pretty much
whatever they wanted to do
Charleston, South Carolina
Kings Mountain, South
Carolina
Cowpens, South Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
The British started their
attempt to conquer the
Southern Colonies by
sending one of their best
generals with an army of
about 2,000 men to attack
Charleston, South Carolina.
At the 1st Battle of
Charleston, they were
soundly beaten. They
departed back to New York to
return later.
In 1779 they came back. This
time they landed and
captured the port of
Savannah Georgia, the
southernmost of the colonies
(geography note have
students find out who owned
Florida at this time.)
Once in Savannah, the British
quickly captured all of
Georgia. The British General
Clinton then moved into
South Carolina. He
surrounded the colonial army
in Charleston and started a
siege (new vocabulary word)
The British navy stopped all
colonial ships from entering
Charleston (This is called a
blockade another new
vocabulary word) and the
colonials soon ran out of food
and ammunition. The
Colonials surrendered (About
Page 2 of 7
quitter. He had an idea.
Thanks to spies, Washington
knew that about 1500
Hessian troops were staying
in the town of Trenton, New
Jersey. The Hessians felt
safe and secure with the
partly frozen Delaware River
between them and the
colonial army. So on
December 25th (Christmas
Day) the Hessian troops
celebrated with a church
service then relaxed and
went to bed. Contrary to
popular belief, they did not
drink and feast.
This map is from the U.S.
Military Academy and is
public domain.
This map shows the route
General Washington took to
attack Trenton.
On the night of Dec 25, 1776,
General Washington led his
army across the Delaware
River. There is a very famous
picture painted about this
crossing. It is shown below.
Document analysis: Have
students look at the picture
and see if they can spot
details that show this is not a
realistic painting. Or have
students look at the painting
and see how it might have
been used to inspire
Americans. (Those same
details make this great
propaganda.)
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
why the colonists were willing
to keep fighting even when it
appeared they were losing.
The second big advantage:
Distance. Great Britain was
3,000 miles away. Across the
Atlantic Ocean. The British
had to bring their army with
all its supplies across that
ocean. This was a trip that
took three weeks to a month
in the sailing ships of the
time. One month. Think about
that. What would your life be
like if you asked your parents
a question and it took them a
month to answer? Or when
you asked for a meal and it
took them a month to get it to
you? This is what the British
had to deal with.
The third big advantage:
Foreign Soldiers. Great
Britain did not have a large
army. They had a very large
Navy, but their army was
quite small. So to help out the
King hired German soldiers to
go and fight in the colonies.
These soldiers were called
Hessian by the colonists
since many of them were
from the German province of
Hesse-Kassel. These soldiers
were paid to fight; this is
called being a mercenary
(another vocabulary word).
The colonists, including those
still loyal to England (loyalists
or Tories), were angered that
the King had hired soldiers
Week View
2021-2022
Mr. Salber
don't you measure it?
(connection to math)
Militia vs Trained Army
The colonists were not a
trained army. They were a
militia, kind of like the
national guard. They drilled
on weekends, but they did
not have the same weapons
as a true army. In fact each
militia member was supposed
to supply their own rifle.
The British army was well
trained and many had been
involved in the wars in
Europe. So when the British
charged up the hill and the
colonists started shooting,
and instead of stopping,
running, or even firing back,
the British kept attacking.
Finally, they reached the
colonists (who were by now
out of ammunition) and the
colonists turned and ran.
The British capture Breeds
Hill and colonists retreat.
Boston - Henry Knox and the
cannons on the move from
Ft. Ticonderoga to Boston.
Teachers, if you feel up to it
try this; sit in a chair without
wheels. Have a student pull
you across the room. (Expect
to take a spill or two) Now
have several students pull
that same load. Next if
possible have the same
activity in a chair with wheels.
Explain to students that the
task facing Henry Knox was
next. So they set their sights
on Philadelphia, the Capital
of the 13 colonies and the
home of the Continental
Congress and Independence
Hall.
As the British marched
toward Philadelphia,
Washington and his defeated
army could only watch. The
Continental Congress had to
flee, moving away from the
advancing British. The British
felt very confident about
victory and an end to the
rebellion. With winter starting
the British army settled into
Philadelphia and the
surrounding town to wait for
spring to beat those pesky
Colonials.
American Revolution Lesson
Seven
Fighting the War; British
Strategy Lessons 7a (war in
the north) & 7b (war in the
south)
Lesson Seven A: American
Revolution, Fighting the War;
British Strategy - the northern
expedition
After 1778 The British
adopted a new strategy.
Divide the colonies into three
parts, and then beat each
part separately. The British
believed that each part would
be much weaker than a
united group of colonies. This
was a very good strategy. It
8,000 colonial soldiers and
militia). The entire southern
colonial army had
surrendered. Clinton then
proceeded inland and
captured most of South
Carolina. Look at the map
and see how the British built
a line of forts to protect what
they had captured. With
these forts to protect his rear
areas, General Clinton turned
his army over to General
Cornwallis and returned to
New York. It looked like the
British strategy might work.
Cornwallis moved into North
Carolina. This is where things
started to go wrong for the
British. They seemed to win
all the battles, yet couldn't
quite seem to ever really beat
the colonists. Think back to
colonial advantages during
the revolution. One of these
was the fact that Cornwallis
couldn't get reinforcements
very quickly. Another was
that the colonists were
defending their own towns
and farms. Wherever
Cornwallis went there was a
whole new bunch of Militia
waiting for him. A third reason
was the British did something
really bad.
When a group of Colonial
Militia was fighting a
detachment of British soldiers
under the command of Major
Tarleton they were being
Page 3 of 7
NEXT, Find a picture of
Washington Crossing the
Delaware by Emanuel Leutze
painted in 1851, or use this
one: This image of the
painting is from the National
Archives and is in the Public
Domain.
Detail #1: Sunlight in the
background. Washington
crossed the river in the
middle of the night.
Detail #2: Washington is
standing up in a very small
crowded boat. Anyone who
has ever been in a small boat
knows the other guys would
have been yelling at him to sit
down and not rock the boat.
Detail #3: The Flag is an
American Flag. We were still
13 colonies and this flag was
not in use.
Once across the river
Washington and his Army
had to march 13 miles to
Trenton. When they got there
it was almost daylight so
Washington ordered the
attack to take place
immediately. The Hessians
were woken up by the sound
of gunfire and rushed to get
dressed and get ready to
fight. It was too late. The
Colonial Army was already in
Trenton setting up cannons to
cover the street. The
Hessians tried to fight but
were unable to do so. After a
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
who were not even British to
fight them.
A fourth advantage (which
was also a disadvantage)
was the way of fighting.
Colonists fought the way they
had fought in the French and
Indian wars. They hid behind
trees and walls and shot at
the British from ambush (a
vocabulary word) and cover.
The colonists couldn't beat
the British in a European type
battle (as we have seen -
look at Washington's record
of Battles Lost), but the
colonists always seemed to
recover and be back since
they didn't lose many men.
The British could and did win
the battles and capture the
cities, but the colonial army
was always still there.
A final big advantage the
colonists had was allies. The
French, Dutch and Spanish
all wanted the English to lose.
So they gave the colonists all
kinds of help. Finally the
French actually declared war
on Great Britain and formally
joined with the colonies in
their fight. This led to the
great victory at Yorktown.
You can at this time compare
the Revolutionary War with
our war in Vietnam or even
the current conflict in
Afghanistan. Compare the
similarities as well as the
differences.
Week View
2021-2022
Mr. Salber
the same as pulling you in the
chair without wheels.
A. Washington appointed
Commanding General of the
Continental Army (Colonial
militia surrounding Boston) by
the second continental
congress. The Colonials
needed cannons. There were
59 cannons in Ft.
Ticonderoga.
B. Henry Knox went to Ft.
Ticonderoga and in the
middle of winter. He created
giant sleds to drag the
cannons back to Boston. Yes,
they fell off the sleds many
times and one even sank in a
river, but all the cannons
were delivered to General
Washington.
C. In only two months, (a very
very short time back in 1775)
the 59 cannons arrived at
Boston.
D. General Washington
placed the cannons on the
hills around Boston (He also
had his soldiers paint another
30 or so tree trunks black so
that they looked like many
more cannons.)
E. The British had to leave
Boston
In quick review:
Fort Ticonderoga: We won!
Bunker Hill: We lost
Boston: We won! Thanks to
cannons!
Standards
goes by many names, divide
and conquer, defeat in
piecemeal, etc.
NOTE: You can demonstrate
this to your students by using
toothpicks (the flat kind work
best.) Give one or two
students a bundle of 13
toothpicks bound with a
rubber band and have them
try to break them in half. If
they can, it will be with great
effort. Now divide the
toothpicks up into groups of
three or four and have the
students break them. Let
them make the connection.
The British had already
captured New York City.
They would send part of their
army up the Hudson River
Valley and meet a second
part of their army which was
coming down from Canada.
This would separate the
Northeastern colonies (Mass,
VT, Ct, RI, NH, NY) from the
rest.
Then they would send
another part of their army to
South Carolina and Separate
the southern colonies (South
Carolina, Georgia) from the
rest. That would leave the
middle colonies (VA, NC, MD,
PA) On their own.
Let us look at the two
different pieces.
First the northern expedition.
Lesson Seven A
The Battle of Saratoga.
defeated and asked for
Quarter. (This is a great
vocabulary word see if your
students can find a meaning
from the 20 or so definitions
that matches here). He
refused and his troops
massacred the colonists. This
gave the colonists a rallying
(another vocabulary word)
call. It also gave them a very
good reason not to surrender.
Discussion Question: What
would you do if you might get
shot if you try to surrender?
Well the colonists felt the
same and fought that much
harder. Finally General
Washington sent some of the
Continental Army down south
under the command of one of
his best generals, Nathaniel
Greene.
The British were defeated
and had to retreat north
towards New York. Another
colonial Group under the
command of the Marquise de
Lafayette cut the British off
from New York. General
Cornwallis was looking for a
place for the British Navy to
pick him up. He chose
YORKTOWN
Standards
SS.8.3.b Analyze how the
American Revolution
impacted other nations, (e.g.
France, Canada, Spain,
Mexico, etc.).
Page 4 of 7
short but fierce battle, the
Hessians surrendered to
General Washington. The
Colonists lost two dead and 5
wounded while the Hessians
lost 22 dead, 86 wounded
and almost 900 taken
prisoner. What a great Victory
for the Colonies. Morale
soared, men enlisted or
reenlisted, the revolution was
able to continue. Next, Valley
Forge.
Valley Forge:
The Continental Army under
George Washington had
fought the British Army
throughout 1777 but had lost
almost every battle. With little
real training and no standards
the Army was not cohesive.
The British captured
Philadelphia and the
Congress had to scatter and
flee for their lives. Winter was
coming and Washington was
looking for a place to camp
his army for the winter. He
chose Valley Forge.
You can download and show
a short video about the
Colonial Army at Valley Forge
from the National Park
service's YouTube site. The
video is 18 minutes long
After segment one pause the
video and ask students why
Washington chose Valley
Forge.
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
Standards
SS.8.3.b Analyze how the
American Revolution
impacted other nations, (e.g.
France, Canada, Spain,
Mexico, etc.).
SS.8.4 Understand the
impact of American ideals
and institutions on the
development of American
democracy.
SS.8.4.a Analyze how
conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence (e.g., social
justice, diversity, mutual
respect, and civic
engagement) among groups,
societies, and nations
influenced the writing of early
historical documents.
SS.8.3 Understand how
geography and politics have
influenced the historical
development of the United
States in the global
community.
8th Grade World Geography
Week View
2021-2022
Mr. Salber
SS.8.3.b Analyze how the
American Revolution
impacted other nations, (e.g.
France, Canada, Spain,
Mexico, etc.).
SS.8.4 Understand the
impact of American ideals
and institutions on the
development of American
democracy.
SS.8.4.a Analyze how
conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence (e.g., social
justice, diversity, mutual
respect, and civic
engagement) among groups,
societies, and nations
influenced the writing of early
historical documents.
SS.8.3 Understand how
geography and politics have
influenced the historical
development of the United
States in the global
community.
8th Grade World Geography
There are several very good
maps here.
Use these with the lesson.
Have your students find
Montreal, Fort Ticonderoga,
Bemis Heights, Saratoga,
and Albany.
The campaign started well for
the British. They captured
Fort Ticonderoga and the rest
of the colonists’ forts around
Lake Champlain. Then
General Burgoyne started his
advance down the Hudson
River towards the city of
Albany, New York. A second
group of British troops started
east from Lake Champlain to
meet up with Burgoyne in
Albany. The rest of the British
Army was supposed to move
north from New York City.
This is when things started to
go wrong for the British.
Ask your students why the
British were following along
the rivers.
Answer: There were no
roads. Food, ammunition and
other supplies had to be
brought along the rivers.
Try to bring out that most of
northern New York State was
a forest with no roads, few
farms and fewer towns. There
was no place to stop and buy
food or anything else.
(math connection coming up)
Ask students if they know
how much the average
person eats every day. (The
SS.8.4 Understand the
impact of American ideals
and institutions on the
development of American
democracy.
SS.8.4.a Analyze how
conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence (e.g., social
justice, diversity, mutual
respect, and civic
engagement) among groups,
societies, and nations
influenced the writing of early
historical documents.
SS.8.3 Understand how
geography and politics have
influenced the historical
development of the United
States in the global
community.
8th Grade World Geography
Page 5 of 7
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
After segment two, have
students describe living
conditions at the camp.
After segment three, have
students describe the
outcome of the winter at
Valley Forge and its effect on
the revolution. You can also
have students create a cause
effect chart.
After watching the video,
show students this painting of
Washington at Valley Forge.
George Washington and
Lafayette at Valley Forge.
Painting by John Ward
Dunsmore, published 1907.
Have your students complete
a document analysis of this
painting. How does it show
the hardships of Valley
Forge?
Detail 1: Snow falling and on
the ground
Detail 2: The standing soldier
has no shoes or gloves
Detail 3: The men are
hovering around a fire with
one man hauling a load of
firewood for that fire.
Detail 4: The small shacks in
the background are where
the soldiers lived.
With all this going on, why do
you think most of George
Washington's army stayed?
The winter at Valley Forge
allowed the colonists to train
an army that could stand up
and fight the British Army.
Week View
2021-2022
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
Mr. Salber

average adult eats about 2kg The colonists were now

or 5lbs per day by weight of ready.
food.) Now figure this out for Standards
an army of 9000 men who
SS.8.3.b Analyze how the
would need about 45,000 lbs
American Revolution
or 22 tons of food per day.
impacted other nations, (e.g.
The British army had to bring
France, Canada, Spain,
this all down the rivers from
Mexico, etc.).
Canada.
Now if you were the colonists SS.8.4 Understand the
how would you stop the impact of American ideals
British Army (why cut off their and institutions on the
food supply of course), which development of American
is exactly what the colonists democracy.
did. Then the colonists SS.8.4.a Analyze how
brought their army (mostly conflict, cooperation, and
local state militia) up and interdependence (e.g., social
stopped the advancing British justice, diversity, mutual
through several battles in the respect, and civic
Forests the most important of engagement) among groups,
these was the Battle of Bemis societies, and nations
Heights which was fought influenced the writing of early
over two days. General historical documents.
Benedict Arnold was the hero SS.8.3 Understand how
here and was wounded in his geography and politics have
leg, a wound that never influenced the historical
healed right. After these development of the United
defeats the British tried to States in the global
retreat, but were soon community.
surrounded by the colonists.
General Horatio Gates
8th Grade World Geography
became a hero in the
colonies when he accepted
the surrender of the British
Army (approximately 9000
men) at Saratoga, New York.
This would have important
consequences including an
alliance with France.
The Northern portion of the
British strategy had been

Page 6 of 7 Week View

2021-2022
09/12/2021 - 09/18/2021
Mr. Salber

stopped. But what about the

South?
Fighting the War; British
Strategy 7b (war in the south)
Standards
SS.8.3.b Analyze how the
American Revolution
impacted other nations, (e.g.
France, Canada, Spain,
Mexico, etc.).
SS.8.4 Understand the
impact of American ideals
and institutions on the
development of American
democracy.
SS.8.4.a Analyze how
conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence (e.g., social
justice, diversity, mutual
respect, and civic
engagement) among groups,
societies, and nations
influenced the writing of early
historical documents.
SS.8.3 Understand how
geography and politics have
influenced the historical
development of the United
States in the global
community.

8th Grade World Geography

Page 7 of 7 Week View