American Revolution for Kids: Facts, Activities, and More

The American Revolution is one of the most important historical events to teach to kids, as it secured the independence of the United States and established a democratic republic – a government working for the ordinary people, not the kings or aristocrats. In other words, without the revolution, we wouldn’t have the United States today. 

But, when the time comes for us to explain all the events and circumstances that preceded and followed the revolution, it’s easy to lose ourselves in the sea of information and details. After all, it’s an event with sweeping worldwide importance. This is why having a bullet-proof lesson plan or curriculum is crucial. 

Fortunately, we have you covered. On our website, you can download the American Revolution for kids curriculum, while here in this guide, we’ll go over the facts, make a brief overview of the major events, and share five hands-on activities through which you can make the lesson far more interesting and memorable. 

By the end of this article, you’ll have everything you need to tackle this challenge. So, let’s begin. 

American Revolution for Kids: Facts and Overview

The American Revolution was a political and ideological revolution of the North American colonies against British rule that enfolded between 1775 and 1783. It was shaped by the conflicting interests between Britain and America, between rich and poor, and between families of different ethnicity, race, and religion. Also known as the War of Independence, the revolution influenced nations across the whole world because it proved it was possible for a nation to free itself from such a powerful force. 

There are two distinct, almost interchangeably used terms, American Revolution and American Revolutionary War or The War of Independence. It’s true that both of them refer to the same period and events, but the American Revolution is a much broader term that encompasses not only the war for independence but also major events and circumstances that preceded it, such as the Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, and Boston Tea Party (all discussed further in the article). 

American Revolutionary War 

The war, however, officially began in 1775 and lasted for eight years, until 1783. The battles at Lexington and Concord mark the start because they are considered the first military engagements of the American Revolution. 

The war was initiated by delegates from the thirteen American colonies in Congress. Their decisions were a direct response to the objection of Great Britain to revisit and change their taxation policies, as well as the lack of colonial representation.

Two months after the war started, the Second Continental Congress chose George Washington as leader of the army that was supposed to take over Boston. The patriots (the people from the 13th colonies who rejected the British rule) also sent an Olive Branch Petition to King George of England and the Parliament in order to avoid the war. However, Britain rejected their requests. 

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress unanimously passed the Declaration of Independence, meaning the colonies declared their independence from England, although the war continued. 

One year later, in 1777, the American colonies won the battle of Saratoga, which was a major turnover in the war. This battle did not only provide a morale boost for the united colonies, but it also convinced the French, Spanish, and Dutch to join the war against England. 

In 1778, France recognized the United States as an independent country from the British Empire. They also signed two treaties – the treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Commerce. 

Together with France and Spain, battle-by-battle the British army was forced out of the American colonies. In 1782  King George III accepted the independence of the United States and began the peace talks. However, it wasn’t until 1783 when both sides ratified the Treaty of Paris that the war officially ended and the United States of America was born. 

But why did it happen in the first place? What were the motivations and developments that led to the American Revolution? Providing context goes a long way in helping kids better understand the American Revolution. We would argue that the most effective strategy in teaching the American Revolution for kids is to tell it like a story, starting from the very beginning with the circumstances that set the stage for the war. 

What Caused The American Revolution?

When Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, he opened an opportunity for Europeans to explore and colonize the territory. This means that for almost 200 years (until the American Revolution), Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands explored and established colonies in North America. 

By the 1760s, Britain had thirteen colonies in North America that had strong cultural, economic, and political connections with the British government. In the beginning, people living in the colonies were happy as they were left to self-govern to a point. This is mostly because Britain was busy fighting wars with France and India. However, with the accession of King George III to the throne of Great Britain, things started to change. The country had suffered many losses due to the wars, and the new government decided to aggressively enforce Britain’s trade laws on the American colonies, as a way to pat the army that stayed in America. So, what happened? 

Taxes

Britain started to impose new tax laws which were more and more extreme, causing a revolt in the colonists. There are two reasons for this, first, people within the colonies didn’t want the British army staying in the colonies, and second, they refused to pay taxes without being represented. Britain refused to hear their complaints, as they believed the taxes were fair since the country’s debt was due to fighting wars on the colonists’ behalf. This severed their good relationship with the colonies.  

The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act is considered the first direct tax that taxed colonists for basically every piece of paper they used and received many negative reactions and complaints from the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and later the Tea Act were the culprit of the growing tension between Britain and the colonies. 

Boston Massacre

Things got out of control in Boston in 1770 when a street patriot mob clashed with the British soldiers who were in town. Since Boston was the center of the resistance to the previously-mentioned taxes, British soldiers were not welcomed and were often harassed by colonists. In this particular situation, the eight soldiers were led by Captain Thomas Preston when they were hit with stones and snowballs by the colonists. The soldiers opened fire, killing three people instantly while wounding eight others, two of whom died later. This event became known as the Boston Massacre and according to some sources, it’s the single most important event that led to the American Revolutionary War. 

Tea Party

In the next couple of years, tensions continued to rise. There were more and more confrontations between the patriots and loyalists (colonists who were loyal to the British). In 1773 as a protest against the Tea Act, patriots expressed their anger by dumping 342 chests of tea imported by a British company into the harbor. 

Although Britain repealed the previous taxes due to the rebellions, the country wasn’t ready to give on the Tea Act. This act was worth over 1.2 million pounds yearly. Eventually, this led to the Tea Party, an event organized by members of the Sons of Liberty.

This event angered King George III and the British Parliament and as a response, they imposed the Coercive Acts which became known as the Intolerable Acts. 

Intolerable Acts 

In 1774, after the Tea Party incident, Britain imposed the so-called Coercive Acts, but due to their nature colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. 

With these acts, the government closed the Boston Harbor until all the losses because of the Tea Party is fully reimbursed. They also ended free elections of town officials, created martial law in Massachusetts, required colonists to work for the British troops on demand, and imposed religious beliefs. Britain did all these things hoping to destroy the rebellion and keep order, but exactly the opposite happened. 

After the Intolerable Acts, all the thirteen colonies rebelled, starting the American Revolutionary war. 

American Revolution for Kids: Teaching Through Activities

When you take a look at all the important names, events, years, battles, it’s not hard to conclude that the topic of the American Revolution for kids can be overwhelming. Using only books or other typical teaching resources can make your lesson mundane and even boring. 

However, the American Revolution is anything but boring! Kids will easily see this, thanks to hands-on activities through which they can learn important information. Here are five different activities that you can use to create a fun and memorable lesson plan. 

Act Out a History Play

The American Revolution lasted for eight years (ten more if we count the protests and violent confrontations before the war) and is well documented. This gives you a myriad of possibilities if you decide to recreate a specific event, such as the Tea Party incident, or a famous battle, such as the battle of Saratoga. 

To do this, you can divide the class into two groups – British regulars or colonial militia. The main idea is for kids to research and learn about the motivations of both sides. Also, they should critically analyze the tactics and strategies used during the battles, and discuss by sharing their opinions or offering a different solution. “How do you think the patriots/regulators should have acted?” or “What do you think the colonists/British government should have done in this situation” are great questions you can use to provoke more abstract thinking. 

It’s better to organize the discussions after the play, although during the preparation phase you can also use them to give kids more context of their role. 

Analyze and Discuss Articles from Old Newspapers

As we said, the American Revolution is a well-documented historical event, and you can use this to your advantage. A great way for kids to relate to the topic and remember key information is to let them read and analyze the newspapers from that period of time. The fact that they’ll be reading the colonists’ own words about the events around them is an unforgettable experience. 

There are two ways in which you can organize this – as a discussion or group work. In the first variation, you can ask one of the students to read a passage from an old newspaper about the American Revolution out loud while the others take notes. After, everyone can share their opinions and discuss the topic at hand. 

In the second variation, you can divide students into groups and give them different passages to read and analyze. You can even give some groups a passage written from a patriot point of view, while for other groups, a passage written from the British point of view. In the end, the groups can present their opinions about the passages and discuss their beliefs with the other groups. 

Test Kids’ Knowledge 

When we say test kids’ knowledge, we don’t mean standardized graded tests, as we all know how much anxiety and stress that brings. What we mean is that after going through a lesson with such a big volume, it’s a smart idea to slow down and consolidate the knowledge with fun quizzes or puzzles. 

A lot of teachers and homeschool parents frown at the idea of making quizzes as it’s time-consuming and exhausting. Fortunately, the internet won’t let you down. There are plenty of resources that support teachers as well as homeschooling parents with low-cost or free teaching materials. 

Our team at KidsKonnect makes some wonderful, interactive worksheet bundles with more than 20 pages of educational activities on specific topics, such as the American Revolution. With just one click you can download your desired bundle and use it in the classroom or at home. They’re also very easy to edit, which means they can be adjusted to fit different grade-levels. 

Here’s our selection of the best worksheet bundles for the American Revolution for kids: 

• Causes of the American Revolution Facts & Worksheets
• American Revolution Worksheets & Facts
• Taxation Without Representation Facts & Worksheets
• George Washington Facts & Worksheets
• Paul Revere Facts & Worksheets
• Daughters of the American Revolution Facts & Worksheets
• Sons of the American Revolution Facts & Worksheets
• New Taxes for the Colonists Facts & Worksheets

Watch a History Movie or Documentary

Some kids are visual learners, which means that watching a movie or a documentary will help them connect the information from the history books with faces, places, music, and other visual elements. 

Because the American Revolution is a very popular topic, we’ve found that there are some wonderful documentaries online you can watch. Here are some suggestions: 

• The Revolution (2006)
• The Patriot (2000)
• The Time of Their Lives (1946)
• Sons of Liberty (2015)
• Liberty! The American Revolution (1997)
• George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn’t Be King (1992)
• Crash Course: Tea, Taxes, and the American Revolution

Make a Map

The American Revolution for kids can be taught with a hands-on activity that requires a lot of imagination, critical thinking, knowledge about the topic, and logical reasoning. But, most importantly, making historical maps is a fun and somewhat artistic activity that kids enjoy. 

So, in order to bring colonial America to life, you can ask kids to either draw maps, map historical routes on a preexisting map, or use a big poster to draw a colony or two. Use clay, plasticine, or any other kid-friendly modeling material from which kids can make icons or objects. 

Drawing maps is probably the simplest activity in terms of cognitive engagement, but it’s very demanding when it comes to fine motor skills. On the other hand, making objects or other recognizable icons for a specific colony is probably the most advanced, so you can choose depending on the children’s grade-level.

Oh, let us not forget, making historical maps is also one of the best ways for kids to learn geography, so there’s another big plus there!  

Create a Timeline

While maps are amazing visualization tools, timelines give a very unique advantage. They connect all the pieces of information in one coherent unit that fits very well with the way the child stores and recalls information. What this means is, if a child draws a line where one end represents the beginning, the other represents the end, and chronologically fills it with events, they’ll be able to use them as a chain link when calling them from memory. Simply remembering one will trigger the memory for the other. 

This activity is especially beneficial when dividing a unit into different categories that might not be chronologically represented. An example would be learning about the American Revolutionary War first, and only after discussing the causes that led to the war. 

Before You Leave

Hopefully, our comprehensive guide on the American Revolution for kids will be of use when you’re creating this year’s lesson plan. We tried to include as many details as possible, focusing on the major events that shaped the war and the events that preceded it, but there’s a lot of ground to be covered. This is why we recommend you to follow the links included in the article, or simply visit our website and browse the American Revolution section. There you’ll find a lot of different worksheet bundles, lesson plans, and curriculums directly related to the topic of the American Revolution for kids. 

Furthermore, you can check out our blog where we share insightful articles in the field of children’s education and development. A good example of an article that might also be useful to you when teaching kids about the American Revolution is “How to Teach Dark Periods Of History”.