Boston Tea Party Homeschool Lesson Idea
American Revolution Idea for Social Studies Homeschooling Programs
Aug 23, 2009
Social Studies homeschooling programs covering American History are bound to address the Boston Tea Party. Here's a fun homeschool idea to bring those events to life. On December 16, 1773, American colonists boarded a British ship in Boston Harbor and tossed its cargo of tea overboard. The colonists refused to pay for the tea because it was taxed without their input, and the British governor stubbornly refused to send the tea back to England. It’s difficult to understand the rising feeling of resentment the early colonists felt, but this homeschool history lesson is one way to help students travel back in time and walk a mile in the early Americans’ shoes.
Parent’s Part in the Homeschool History Lesson
This lesson involves a little bit of acting for homeschooling parents. They get to have fun playing the modern-day counterpart to Massachusetts’ governor Thomas Hutchinson. Just as he did, parents need to hold their ground however mutinous the students become.
How to Start the Homeschool History Activity
In a somber mood, parents will need to explain that they have come to a decision. Education is important and kids need to help with some of the cost in order to make the learning more meaningful. Parents can follow these steps to set the lesson in motion:
- Inform students that paper is a precious resource, and will incur a five cent fee for each piece used.
- Collect nickels in a jar each time a piece of paper is used.
- When students run out of money, use a pad of paper to keep a running tally for each piece of paper used.
To really get sentiments boiling, parents will want to create as many flimsy excuses to dole out sheets of paper as possible. They can hand out extra worksheets, charge for the paper they use to write lesson plans, and even for the paper use to keep the running tally of IOUs. They’ll need to ham it up but stand firm. Depending on the student, a real taste of taxation without representation might take a few hours or need to drag on for a day or two.
Concluding the Homeschool Social Studies Lesson
As a homeschool student reaches his boiling point, the teacher will need to find an excuse to leave the room. At this point, another teacher who’s in on the gag, perhaps a dad, enters on the pretense of supervising the student’s work.
This teacher plays the role of rabble-rouser by following the steps below:
- Find a way to get the student talking about what’s going on with paper lately.
- Ask the student how much he’s paid for paper and what he’d rather do with all that money.
- Take a pack of paper and work out how much each sheet really costs.
- Take the student’s side and talk angrily about how unfair the policy is.
- Act as though an idea has just come.
- Suggest that they stage a full-fledged riot by wadding up paper and tossing it all over the room.
- Make a huge sign with a statement of the student’s choice such as “No more paying for paper!” or “Tax This!”
Now it’s time for the teacher to reappear and look utterly horrified until filling the student in on the gag. While the experience is still fresh, the teacher can share the story of the early colonists’ revolt in Boston Harbor.
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