Activities by Subject - American Revolutionary War Unit Study

Geography:

• Using an outline map of the 13 colonies, label the colonies and capital cities.  Click here for an outline map of the 13 colonies.
• As you read and learn about different places from the Revolutionary War, label them on your 13 colonies map.  You could also print out a map for individual colonies so you have a more room for labeling all these great places. You can download individual states here.
• There are a couple geography minibooks included in the free lapbook above.

Timeline: If you are not planning on using the lapbook that is provided with this study but would like to create a timeline, here are a few suggestions.

• Use 3x5 cards and card file box to write a few things about each person or event from this time period. have your child illustrate the person or event or find illustrations online to glue to the card.  Place the cards in order in the card file.  You can use labeled tabs to separate them by year.
• Cut a long piece of butcher paper (6-8 feet) or tape standard size paper together , and have your child illustrate a timeline.  You could have them illustrate 3x5 cards and have your child put the timeline together at the end of your study as a review.
• Instead of butcher paper, you could use clothes line and put the cards up with clothes pins.

Literature: Read aloud at least one of the literature selections above.

• Do a character study of the main characters in your book.  Compare some of the characters in your book.
• Keep a log of new vocabulary words yo find in your literature study.
• Write a book review about your book.
• If a DVD is available, watch it and compare the book to the movie.
• Read all or part of the Declaration of Independence
• Read Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and have your child narrate and/or illustrate the story.
• Read some of Phillis Wheatley's Poetry

Penmanship:

• Copy all or part of The Declaration of Independence using this copywork notebook from the Notebooking Nook.

Writing:

• As you read different biographies throughout this study, have your child write short narrations about some of those they read bout.
• Read Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech. Have your child write a speech about liberty or defending their rights and freedoms.  Have them give their speech to the family pretending they are colonists from the Revolution time.
• Study one of the major events from this time period and write a report about it.
• Create a Power Point presentation about either one event or an overview of this time period.
• Write a poem about the Revolutionary War.

Art:

• Read about Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" political cartoon.  Find out more about its meaning and draw your own cartoon.
• Paul Revere is best known for his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington to warn the patriots that the British were coming.  He was a silversmith by trade, but he was also an artist. Read about his famous engraving depicting the Boston Massacre.  Here's a large image of the engraving.
• Do an artist study of John Trumbull.  Much of the art you see depicting the Revolutionary War was painted by John Trumbull.  Click here and here for a set of notebooking pages you could use for this study.

Further Research:

• Destiny of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
• Spy Letters of the American Revolutionary War
• Sons of Liberty
• Liberty Tree
• Minutemen
• Weaponry
• Flags

Test Your Knowledge about the Revolution with The Road to Revolution Quiz