Learning Objectives

• Explain how mercantilism shaped British colonial economic policy.
• Analyze the economic impact of taxes, trade restrictions, and boycotts on the colonies.
• Evaluate how economic grievances contributed to revolutionary sentiment.
• Use evidence from historical scenarios to support an economic interpretation of the American Revolution.

Materials Needed

• Copies of short primary/secondary source excerpts on mercantilism, the Stamp Act, Tea Act, and colonial boycotts
• Student handout with independent practice questions
• Notebook or lined paper
• Projector or board for directions and timer
• Highlighters or pens

Support

• Provide sentence starters for claim-evidence reasoning.
• Offer a partially completed cause-and-effect chart.
• Chunk reading passages into smaller sections with guiding questions.
• Allow oral clarification of vocabulary terms.
• Pair struggling readers with simplified vocabulary support while keeping final responses independent.

Challenge

• Require students to compare short- and long-term economic effects of British policies.
• Ask students to evaluate whether economic motives or political rights were the stronger driver of revolution.
• Add an extension question about how colonial debt or war finance could affect independence movements.
• Encourage use of precise economic terms in the synthesis paragraph.

Checks for Understanding

• Monitor annotations for accurate identification of key economic terms.
• Review chart entries for correct cause-and-effect relationships.
• Use brief conference questions: 'What policy is this?' 'Who benefits?' 'Who loses?'
• Check that the final paragraph includes at least one clear claim and evidence from sources.

Closure

Students submit a one-paragraph exit response or completed synthesis: one economic policy, one colonial reaction, and one sentence explaining how economics helped fuel revolution.