DISCLAIMER: The following Lesson Plan is meant for elementary school teachers and their students (specifically 5th graders) due to the ease of one teacher for all subjects and the cooperativeness of children. While I know that this era is taught repeatedly through middle and high school, the concept of this lesson is to help young children learn about the Revolution without getting too complicated; middle and high school teachers may surely try this idea themselves, but be aware that most students may not willingly participate and it will be very difficult to enforce the Rules over several classes.
To begin, meet with other teachers before starting the unit to reach an agreement on how long the game should go: will it last the whole Revolution unit or will it just be a week-long event, etc.? I myself recommend playing the game the whole unit; students will most likely understand more of the content if it's done over a long period than being forced to learn tons of information in the matter of days. After coming to a decision, get materials together to make the teaching part of the game (cause the kids have to learn something). You could do this as preparing a normal lecture on several subjects to be done in class at the same time as the game OR to be intertwined within the game itself (ex.: "Last night, Paul Revere made his midnight ride, so all of the Colonist will be questioned," and so on). Next comes the fun part.
In class, announce that the students, for however long the game is to last, are being divided into two groups: the Colonists and the British. Further divide them into categories, as follows:
The Patriots: The Colonists who want to be free from Britain
The Loyalists (Tories): The Colonists who want to stay with Britain
The Neutrals: Colonists neither for or against the British Crown
The Redcoats: British soldiers monitoring the Colonists
The Governors: British-appointed politicians who run the Colonies and govern the Colonists
All of the teachers participating in the game are henceforth known as Parliament. Appoint one teacher by any means to be King George III/ Queen Georgina III.
Rules
1. The Colonists are randomly given markers to discern who is a Tory, Patriot, or Neutral (red, blue, and white, respectively). If groups are not even, pick Neutrals to choose a side until they are (you may disregard the Neutral group if needed).
2. The Colonists and Redcoats have a form of currency called "Chips", and each begins with 20.
3. Parliament can give the Governors "Laws" to pass in the Colonies that coincides with an actual law passed before/during the Revolution; for instance, the Stamp Act will have stamps placed on homework for other subjects, and when that homework is turned in by a Colonist, they must give up Chips (4 if Patriot, 2 if Neutral, 1 if Loyalist).
4. The Redcoats enforce the Laws passed by Governors. If a Colonist is caught not following the Laws, they will be punished by the Redcoats through loss of Chips.
5. The Redcoats are very biased: they hate the Patriots but love the Loyalists! They are allowed to punish a Patriot more than a Loyalist even if both have done the same thing (they don't even have to punish the Loyalist at all!)
6. The Patriots can avoid Laws by simply lying their way out of it to a Redcoat ("I already gave Mrs. Smith 4 chips! You can check!") However, if a member of Parliament catches a Patriot in a lie, they lose all of their Chips and lose the game.
7. Governors are also biased; some may support the Patriots more than others, and vice versa. They can overturn a Redcoat's punishment and take away the Redcoat's Chips, award Patriots with Chips, and even confront Parliament on the Laws they're given, but can be replaced with a Redcoat if Parliament feels they are overstepping their rights.
8. The Patriots can send complaints to King George/Queen Georgina, but it may take "months" (days) to get a response, be it good or bad.
9.Through the whole game, the Patriots are trying to recruit Neutrals to their side, and vice versa. For every Neutral swayed, the side they go to receives 10 Chips each. (Disregard this rule if no Neutrals in game).
10. When "War" begins, the battles and events the classes learn about can be acted out. For every Patriotic win, the Patriots get 50 Chips, and for every British win, the Redcoats get 50 Chips. Parliament may decide if one side gets more Chips than the other for non-battle Revolutionary events.
11. The game ends at Yorktown, where the Colonists and British are brought together and have their Chips counted; at this point Neutrals MUST choose a side if they haven't already. The Chips are counted, and whoever has the most wins; in the case of a British win, have King George/Queen Georgina "break down" and grant the Colonies independence anyways for "putting up a good fight".
That's basically it! This game is very malleable; whatever other ideas teachers have to add to the game, like making propaganda posters or acting out the Boston Tea Party can be used if they feel it would add more to the game. The game should usually last over the whole unit, and whatever part of the Revolution the teachers want to discuss in class can coincide with the game events. But don't let the students get too carried away! They still have other subjects, and while you can integrate parts of the game into those subjects, they still need to be focused on their other studies outside of history!
So go have fun! The Revolutionary War Game is not just a tool in teaching American history, but also a great way to have fun in history class!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
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