Boston Massacre: Primary Sources and How to Write an Essay

The Boston Massacre ended in the deaths of five colonists and several others wounded. The colonists demanded that the British soldiers be punished. There was a trial to see if the soldiers who fired into the crowd were guilty.

Students will use the four primary sources to determine if the British soldiers should be found guilty or not. Once they have looked at the evidence and determined if the British Soldiers are guilty or not they will follow the instructions on how to write a five paragraph essay defending their answer to this question: Are the British Soldiers that fired into the crowd during the Boston Massacre guilty? My guess is that most of your students will call the British guilty. After your students have written their essay tell them how the real trial ended with the British soldiers being found innocent! Your students will not believe it!

What you get: 4 primary source readings, a how to write your essay document, sentence starters and helpful writing phrases for struggling students, and a rubric. 7 pages in all.