Don't Tread On Me!

Here are picture of my Artifact Bag:

           

The name of this artifact bag is Don’t Tread On Me! The grade level that this artifact bag will be used for is fourth grade. American Revolutionary War is the topic for the artifact bag. New York State standard that relates to this artifact bag is the first standard, SS1: the History of the United States and New York. Which indicates that the students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. Key idea SS1, performance indicators A, B and C can be implemented for this activity. Performance indicator A, states that students know the roots of American culture, its development from many different traditions, and the ways many people from a variety of groups and backgrounds played a role in creating it. Performance indicator B, states that the students understand the basic ideals of American democracy as explained in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and other important documents. Finally the performance indicator C indicates that students explain those values, practices, and traditions that unite all Americans.

           

            Each individual artifact and number of each artifact was picked for a specific reason. Lets begin with the bag of sugar that was wrapped up inside the red tissue paper to look like a piece of candy. This bag of sugar represented the Sugar Act of 1764. Thirteen teas bags were also items in the artifact bag that was connected by a piece of string. There were thirteen colonies during the Boston tea party and the tea act, which explains significance of using exactly thirteen tea bags. It helps the students discover a deeper meaning to the tea bags by searching for the significance of the number thirteen during this time period and not just the tea act. Inside the artifact bag there is a picture of tea during the time of the Boston tea party. The next items inside the artifact bag include stamps. One of the stamps is a modern day stamp and there are four pictures of stamps that were used during the time of the stamp act. If you observe closely, these stamps resemble the American Militia, Continental Maries, Continental Navy and Continental Army. There are two flags inside the artifact bag. One flag represents the 13 colonies flag and the second flag represents our current 50 state and 13 colonies flag. The students can discover the meaning behind both flags and why the flags changed. Then there is the picture “Join, Or Die” that is a snake cut into eight pieces. Franklin created this woodcut of a snake in 1754 during the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War cannot be forgotten when learning and discussing the American Revolutionary War. This snake represented the American ideals and society. Finally the last artifact was a carton picture of guys picketing with signs that read the “Stamp Act”, “Sugar Act” and “Tea Act”. This was put into a separate envelope that the students would open after they did their research to validate their findings.

            The book that I chose for this artifact bag is part of the magic tree house collection called, Revolutionary War On Wednesday. This book is a fantastic way for the students to relate to the American Revolutionary War. This book involves children going on an adventure back in time to the Revolutionary War. It explains the battlefields and different events that occurred during the war. At the same time this book is not as serious as the actual war. Although this book is recommended for first through third grade, it could defiantly be used for fourth grade. Reason being is that this book makes it easier for the students to understand the events in the war.

            The website that is included in the artifact bag is the history channel. It has videos and facts about the American Revolution. Any type of technology is a great way to get the students involved in the topic. These videos can show the students a little piece of the important events or people involved in the war.

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution

            In my opinion, the artifact bag project is not only interactive but also very remarkable. It actively involves all of the students in the class and makes them research each piece. This way they are able to discover what each individual piece represents. From this they are able to put together all of the pieces to the puzzle.