Boston Massacre Causes of the American Revolution Bias Primary Source Activity

In this Boston Massacre lesson and primary source activity, students examine a variety of primary source documents to recognize bias in the Boston Massacre and answer the question "What really happened the night of March 5, 1770?"

Students will begin with an analysis of 2 popular images of the event, comparing the similarities and differences of both images with included questions. Students will then read two primary accounts of the event - one from a Boston newspaper on the morning of March 6th and one from Captain Thomas Preston, the British general on duty at the time of the event - and answer included analysis questions. Students will also compare each image to the primary account. Do both images tell the same story?

This is a great lesson to integrate with Common Core standards in both LA and SS due to the utilization of primary source documents. This lesson is a great introduction to the topic of "bias", prejudice, and how people may be easily swayed based on their individual circumstances. This resource includes a paper in-class version and a 1:1 Google compatible version to be used in conjunction with Google Classroom. Just follow the included instructions for how to access the Google version, then share the resource through Google or assign via Google Classroom. This will allow students to type directly into the document!

This Boston Massacre lesson is included in the larger Causes of the American Revolution Unit, located here:

Causes of the American Revolution Unit!

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