What Would You Do For Freedom?
Practice: Get ready for some activities.
Activity 1
Step 1
Apply The American Revolution to your life today:
Scenario: What if every day, you got written instructions from adults about everything you had to accomplish that day? You have no one to represent you, and no one you can tell your dreams or wishes to just a list of things to accomplish. The list of things to accomplish includes hard, time-consuming work that you do not enjoy. You have no freedom, no choice, no voice, and no one to represent you to talk to the people in charge.
(This represents the government control that Great Britain had on the colonists.)
Step 2
Play the game: What would you do for freedom?
The only way you can gain your freedom is to focus your strength and energy on one household chore that you choose and work at it with all your might.
(This chore represents going to war to fight for freedom. It’s not fun or easy, but it’s worth it to have liberty, a voice, and representation when decisions about your life are being made.)
Step 3
Reward
When you have completed the chore and it is done well, you can choose what you want to do the rest of the day like play games, swim, movies, etc.
(This represents the freedom the colonists felt when they were no longer under the control of a foreign government.)
Step 4
Choose a difficult but important household chore and do it well.
Your family can give you direction and choices about what they consider age and skill level appropriate.
Here are some examples:
- Vacuum- this includes taking off the nozzle and getting the corners and cracks.
- Dishes- with family direction, follow a checklist to do the dishes properly.
- Clean your family bathroom- Wear gloves and follow a checklist that your family provides.
Step 5
Reward: Freedom!
Now use your freedom and your voice to choose what you will do next!
Activity 2
Watch the video and pay attention to the materials and supplies you will need.
Teacher Notes:
- Ask the students to write down how many pounds of tea they think were dumped into the bay.
- Replay the cartoon episode at the beginning of the course and have the students make note of how much tea was dumped.
- Ask the students if they felt the tea was significant enough to change the color of the water.
- Introduce activity 2, making note of the amount of work it would take the colonists to dump the tea in secret!