In 1775, conflict between the colonies in the New World and Britain came to a head. Anger among the colonist towards their “homeland” built over time and tensions rose. Colonists in Massachusetts were called to arms. They were told to defend their liberties by force if they had to. The Battles of Lexington and Concord happened in April of 1775. It was a year before the Declaration of Independence was even written. British General Gage ordered his troops to search Concord. It was a town near Boston. The troops were sent to seize weapons. Paul Revere was a silversmith in Boston. He was also a Patriot. On April 18, he rode hard through the night to warn everyone that the British were coming. In the morning, 80 men of the colonial militia were lined up to meet the 700 British troops. The British fired, killing eight and wounding ten. The British continued to Concord. Word spread and other colonists came to help. The British troops were outnumbered. They had to retreat and fight their way back to Boston. Nearly 300 British troops were killed or wounded. Lexington became famous. They called that first shot, “the shot heard round the world”. The American Revolution had started.
Paul Revere was one of many who played an important role during the American Revolutionary War, which helped to lead the colonies to independence and form a new nation based on liberties and freedom. Delve deep into this interesting person and his famous ride that kicked off a revolution with two free writing tasks.
First, become a reporter. In the time leading up to and during the American Revolutionary War, there were many key events and battles. Each helped to shape the outcome of the war in a different way. Focusing on the night ride of Paul Revere, pretend that you are a newspaper reporter and write a story about this event taking place. Remember to use the five W’s when you are writing your article. You can choose to present your article in written format—like a blog post or online article, or in an audio format—like a podcast or radio story.
Next, create a biography on the famous figure. Use various resources like your class computer, the library, and books to research Paul Revere. Using the information that you have found about this person, write a short biography. A biography is a paper that describes a person’s life, achievements and significance to the world today. Your biography should be at least a half-page in length and should not be any longer than two pages.
Download the full writing task worksheet here.
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