| How do you think about teaching the thirteen | | | | from the colonists? Consider holding a debate in your |
| colonies? There are so many amazing stories? Do | | | | class to discuss this question. Of course, you should |
| you ever find yourself taking on the role of story | | | | also prepare students by discussing colonial |
| teller? Certainly stories are great teaching tools, but | | | | grievances. |
| they may not be enough. | | | | Another way to teach the thirteen colonies is by |
| I always struggle with the power of teaching with | | | | asking students to take on the role of an individual |
| stories. Though research says that stories alone are | | | | who lived during the colonial era. So, for example, I |
| not going to prompt students to think in critical ways, | | | | recently developed a unit in which the students play |
| my favorite high school teacher told stories all year | | | | the advisor to a British family that has three sons. |
| long. I definitely learned to think critically. But, perhaps | | | | Each son has slightly different occupational goals and |
| this tangent is for a different article. | | | | personal interests. The advisor, that is the student, |
| If you choose to teach beyond stories there are so | | | | must help the sons determine the most appropriate |
| many effective ways to do so while considering the | | | | colonial region to which they should move. Students |
| original thirteen colonies and the Stamp Act. Here's an | | | | use a set of prompts on Google Earth that I have |
| example. The stamp act is typically seen as an | | | | developed to prepare their presentations. |
| oppressive British action against the colonists, but | | | | Story telling is great. But, not every student will learn |
| was it really? Before the British began to enforce the | | | | from it in the same way that I learned from my high |
| stamp act, they had spent a great deal of money | | | | school teacher. The most effective teachers will |
| fighting the French and Indian War. In part, they | | | | engage a multitude of different strategies to reach |
| fought this war to protect the colonists. Weren't the | | | | different students. |
| British entitled to earn back some of these funds, | | | | |