Unit Plan 13 (Grade 5 Social Studies): The Road to Revolution

Focus: Sequence key events from the French & Indian War to the Declaration of Independence, showing how conflicts, taxes, protests, and ideas pushed colonists toward revolution.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Social Studies (History • Civics • Inquiry/Skills)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students build a clear “Road to Revolution” timeline, starting with the French & Indian War and ending with the Declaration of Independence. Using maps, short readings, and primary/secondary sources, they track how each step (laws, protests, meetings, battles) increased tension between Britain and the colonies. By the end of the unit, they create a sequenced timeline plus a short written explanation identifying which event they think was the most important turning point and why.

Essential Questions

• How did events from the French & Indian War to the Declaration of Independence build toward revolution?
• Why did many colonists move from asking for fairness to declaring independence?
• How do timelines help us see cause and effect over many years?
• How can we use evidence from sources to argue which event was the most important cause of the Revolution?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Create and interpret a timeline of major events from roughly 1754–1776, placing them in the correct order with labeled dates.
2. Explain causes and effects for key events (e.g., French & Indian War, Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, Lexington & Concord).
3. Use primary and secondary sources to gather evidence about colonial reactions and British decisions.
4. Develop a short written or oral claim about the most important cause of the American Revolution, supported by at least two cited sources.
5. Use academic vocabulary (e.g., act, boycott, petition, congress, declaration) to describe the Road to Revolution.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (C3-based custom)

• 5.C3.Hist.1 — Create/interpret timelines of Indigenous histories, colonization, the Revolution, and the founding era.
  • Example: Place key events from 1607–1791 with intervals.
• 5.C3.Hist.2 — Use primary/secondary sources to explain causes and effects in major events.
  • Example: Identify cause/effect chains from taxes to protests to the Declaration.
• 5.C3.Inq.4 — Develop written/oral claims supported by evidence with simple citations (title/author/source).
  • Example: Write a paragraph arguing the most important cause of the Revolution with two cited sources.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can place at least 8–10 major events on a timeline in correct order with dates.
• I can explain how one event led to another using cause and effect language (because, as a result, therefore).
• I can pull evidence from at least two sources and tell where it came from (title/author/source).
• I can write or present a claim about which event was the most important cause of the Revolution and support it with evidence.
• I can use key words like tax, boycott, congress, and declaration correctly when I talk about the Road to Revolution.