Introduction:

    The American Revolution took place during the spring of 1775 at the Battle of Lexington also known as the “shot heard around the world.” Throughout the event there were many heroic and inspirational leaders, transforming the course of history and laying the foundation for future influential people to follow. 

Standards:

SSUSH3 The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution.
a. Explain how the end of Anglo-French imperial competition as seen in the French and Indian War and the 1763 Treaty of Paris laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.
b. Explain colonial response to such British actions as the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts as seen in Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence.
c. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the movement for independence.

SSUSH4 The student will identify the ideological, military, and diplomatic aspects of the American Revolution.
a. Explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence; include the writing of John Locke and the role of Thomas Jefferson.
b. Explain the reason for and significance of the French alliance and foreign assistance and the roles of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette.
c. Analyze George Washington as a military leader; include the creation of a professional military and the life of a common soldier, and describe the significance of the crossing of the Delaware River and Valley Forge.
d. Explain the role of geography at the Battle of Yorktown, the role of Lord Cornwallis, and the Treaty of Paris, 1783.

Task:

Each student/group (may work in pairs, if the project is completed in a group, refer to the evaluation for a group under the evaluation tab) will complete an obituary for one of the following icons during the colonial American time period. Following, each student/group will answer the following questions, titled questions.

The following steps are required to complete this task:

Step One: Each student/group will pick one of the following individuals and create an obituary by using a power-point presentation (resources are provided below under the Resources tab).

People:

Sam Adams:
George Washington:
Martha Washington:
John Adams:
Thomas Jefferson:
Benjamin Rush:
Patrick Henry:
Abigail Adams: 
Benjamin Franklin:
Paul Revere:
Molly Pitcher
Nathan Hale

Step Two: Each student/group will complete an obituary for the individual chosen for the project, utilizing the framework mentioned in the link provided below.

Obituary:
The completed obituary will be a slide and refer to the following link to learn the items needed:

http://dying.about.com/od/rememberingthedead/f/obit_info.htm

Step Three: Each student/group will answer the following questions (each question will be assigned to a slide)

Questions:

Following, each student will answer the following questions (each question will account for a slide on the power-point): 

• Explain why your individual is classified as an icon of United States History.
• Compare and Contrast another individual than the one chosen and explain how the individual had an impact on their society.
•  Decide whether or not George Washington and Thomas Jefferson deserves their faces to be on Mount Rushmore. Become a detective and defend your rational, with at least two supporting facts/details. In addition, include your own thoughts.

Evaluation:

Click on the following link to review the rubric evaluating each student's performance.