SST 309

Treiber, Meg 2016

Lesson Plan Format: Hooking Lesson

Your Name(s): Meg Treiber

Length of lesson: 30-45 minutes

Compelling Question: When in life is it important to be able to make

our own decisions?
Overview: This lesson follows learning about the differences in the upper, middle
and southern colonies. The students will learn about unfair taxation. They will have a
discussion about when rules are important, and when power can be considered too
much. Assessment of the objectives will be a student journal write at the end of the
lesson.

Objectives: Students will compare and contrast the colonists and

British views on representative government. (5-U3.1.3)
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding: The
question is not a right answer wrong answer kind of question, rather one that will
ignite their opinions of rules and regulations in life. Do we need rules? Who should
make rules? But many students might think that freedom means doing whatever we
want. The freedom the colonists desired was not that. It was freedom from strict rules
and religious intolerance. It was freedom from a King who imposed taxes without any
recommendations about what the money should be used for. This activity will help
the students experience the feeling behind unfair taxes. A misunderstanding they
might have after this activity is that the colonists only wanted freedom because they
were taxed. Taxes were not the only issue, but WHY they were taxed and WHO was
getting the tax money.
Materials/Evidence/Sources:
Enough plastic cups or collecting container for each student
Yarn/string to tie the King and Tax collector labels
Candy pieces enough for each student to have 10 each
Directions for each role
Tax cards , cut out and laminated for future use
A volunteer king parent, principal, etc.
2 mason jars or clear containers for the tax collectors
Assessment: Informal assessment will occur during this lesson in the shape of
discussion leading before and after the activity as well as gauging what
misconceptions are occurring. The more formal assessment will be a journal entry at
the end of the activity.
Instructional Sequence:
1. (5 minutes) As an intro, ask the class When in life is it important to be able to
make our own decisions? Using a large piece of paper, make a list of the things

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Treiber, Meg 2016

the students say. They could say things about goods and services like choosing
what to eat, what to wear. They might mention making decisions about religion or
choosing friends. If the students are struggling to come up with answers, you can
ask follow up questions such as When in school is it important When at home
is it important
2. (2 minutes) As you wrap up the intro, begin passing out cups or paper plates with
10 pieces of candy to each student. We have begun discussing when it is important
to make our own decisions. But we all know there are times in our life where we have
rules and guidelines to follow. Today, we are going to be taking on the role of the
colonists.
3. (2 minutes) Introduce your guest, the King. Have him explain to the students
that he is going to be taxing them for various reasons. Have the King select two
volunteer tax collectors. They will be the ones physically collecting taxes.
4. (10 minutes) Divide the class into two groups. Have the tax collectors begin
collecting their taxes in a mason jar or something clear so that the students can
watch the tax quickly accumulate. The King will read out the tax cards, and the
collectors will collect. Make sure the King points out how much the taxes are piling
up!
5. Read as many tax cards as you wish. The students should be aggravated and
perhaps even voice things like this isnt fair! or why should I have to pay for
THAT?
6. (2 minutes) Once all the taxes are collected, the King should disperse the taxes.
The tax collectors will each get 10% of what they collected. The King gets the rest.
Now the collectors will also be frustrated.
7. (10 minutes) After the simulation, it is important to lead a class discussion about
what happened. Either in groups or as a full class, discuss the questions found on the
attached document taxation discussion
8. Following the discussion questions, have the students do a 5 minute journal entry
about their reactions to the simulation. Go back to the chart paper brainstorm of your
intro to the question When is it important to be able to make our own decisions?
Perhaps they will have a better sense of this now. Taxes are needed, but American
ideals support a government that gives citizens a voice.

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Note: Attach all handouts, lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, etc.

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016

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Treiber, Meg 2016