1. Unit 1
American Revolution

2. Entry Task Please have the following things out & ready to go:
Writing stick
Inquiry Graphic Organizer from Thursday
Declaration of Independence
DOI Reading Guide
Spend a few minutes reviewing the DoI
Entry Task

3. Crash Course in US History
Episode #6: Taxes & Smuggling – Prelude to the Revolution
Fill in the blanks as you watch
Crash Course in US History

4. Thesis Statements Claim What you are trying to convince readers of
Reasoning
Why your claim is correct.

5. Thesis Statement – Step 1
Decide how you are going to answer the question: Why did the colonists declare independence?
Make a list of all the reasons you can think of.
Which one is the strongest?

6. The real reason the colonists declared independence was
Claim

7. Revision Check your claim: Not obvious? Not too specific? Logical?
Debatable?
Revision

8. General rule of thumb: 3 reasons why you make that claim
Reasoning

9. Thesis Statement – Step 2
Gather all the evidence you have that supports your claim. (How do you know what you’re saying is true?)
Make a list of all evidence OR go through your notes and star all of the relevant evidence

10. Thesis Statement – Step 2
Group your evidence into categories/topics (ex. taxes, religion, representation, British aggression, the King, etc.).
Pick the three strongest categories (these would form the three body paragraphs of your essay). These are your three reasons.

11. Thesis Statement – Step 3
Add your three reasons:
The real reason the colonists declared independence from Great Britain was ____________ because of ________, ________, and _________.

12. Thesis Statement – Example
The real reason the colonists declared independence from Great Britain was a lack of respect for the colonists because of a lack of representation in Parliament, failure to respond outcry, and increasing British aggression.

13. Thesis Statement – Step 3
Add your three reasons:
The real reason the colonists declared independence from Great Britain was ____________ because of ________, ________, and _________.