The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British perspective, scholars create a drawn tableau of what happened that fateful day in 1770. Then, they write their own narratives and consider how different players had varying perspectives.

Concepts

primary source analysis, primary sources, the boston massacre, the american revolution, causes of the american revolution, secondary source analysis, secondary sources, creative writing, perspective drawing, perspectives

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use SOAPSTone method to discuss primary sources included with the lesson
• Draw a tableau and write a narrative with class members of the Boston Massacre

Classroom Considerations

• While activities are sequential, the teacher may stop at any point in the unit

Pros

• Lessons encourage critical thinking by using a variety of sources
• Drawing and writing a script engage learners in a novel way around history

Cons

• Links to documents do not work, but they are easy to find online

Common Core

W.9-10.3.a W.9-10.9.a RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.6