Different Approaches to Study The Revolutionary War

Charlotte Central School's 5th graders have been immersed in a study of the Revolutionary War. Students gathered information and made presentations. But they went beyond that. A game of tug-of-war ensued, filled with metaphorical “rules” to teach how the Continental Army defeated the British during the Revolutionary War. 

There were 5 "rules" that were given during the game (in a very dramatic fashion). Each rule was an analogy to teach students how the Continental Army defeated the British. For example, there was the blue team (Continental Army), red team (British) and white team (Colonial allies). The white team was the group of students that ran in mid- game to help the blue team (to model the support that the American colonies received from their European allies). Half of the red team had to start down the hallway and run to join the rest of the red team (intended to model the challenge that Britain faced in supplying its troops from across the Atlantic Ocean). The blue team was given a prize if they won (to model colonists' greater motivation to win fighting for their freedom). All of these analogies were made clear through a reflection and class discussion afterwards.

One group made a Revolutionary War rap to demonstrate their learning. Students are engaged in different ways.