This is Problem-Based Learning. Students don't answer questions about the Revolution — they step inside the problem as stakeholders in a divided town, and the teacher guides rather than tells. The whole phase runs the problem-solving process named in §113.16(c)(26)(B).
Read the narrative aloud. Read it once for the story, then again for details students will need.
First reaction (not answers yet): what did you notice? What do you wonder? Keep it open — the point is to pull students into the problem.
🏛️ Where the decision was made: the Continental Congress met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia — NPS · Independence National Historical Park ↗ (§113.16(c)(16)(D)).
Assign or let students choose a stakeholder. Each will reason from that person's point of view. Every role has something real at stake.
You are tired of taxes you had no vote on and believe the colonies should be free. But war could ruin your business. How far will you go for independence?
You are loyal to the king and fear that breaking away means chaos and bloodshed. What would make you feel safe enough to change your mind — or not?
You just want the fighting to end and your fields left alone. You can see both sides. What evidence would help you decide?
Your brother is already fighting. Independence could mean the war goes on — or that his cause finally wins. What do you hope for him?
You hear the word liberty everywhere. You wonder honestly: if the colonies win independence, will that liberty include people like you? (Handle with honesty and care — see the facilitator guide.)
You must gather your neighbors' views and send the town's recommendation to the Congress. How do you weigh all sides fairly?
Build three shared columns on chart paper. This defines the problem and plans the inquiry — the first moves of §113.16(c)(26)(B).
| 💭 Hunches | ✅ Know (from the text) | ❓ Need to know |
|---|---|---|
| Our guesses about what the town should decide and why. | Facts we can point to in the story (it's 1776; fighting began in 1775; the town is split; the Congress is deciding). | Questions we must answer to advise the town — What set off the war? What does independence risk and promise? What are Patriots' and Loyalists' best reasons? Whose freedom would the Declaration include? |
Turn “Need to know” into the H of KWHL: How will we find out? (which sources, whom to ask). Record it — this is the class's research plan.
Groups pursue their “Need to know” questions using vetted sources (see the facilitator guide for suggested public-domain sources). Students gather and use valid information, applying the source routine they practiced in Phase 2 — including reading the Declaration of Independence for its claims about rights. Keep filling the Learned column of KWHL as answers come in.
Teacher-as-guide moves: answer a question with a question; point to a source, not the answer; ask “How do you know?” and “Whose view is missing?”
📚 Investigation sources: DocsTeach · American Revolution ↗ · National Archives · Declaration transcript ↗ · American Battlefield Trust · Revolutionary War ↗ · LoC · American Revolution ↗. Full list + how-to in the facilitator guide.
From their stakeholder's point of view, each group develops a recommendation for whether the colonies should declare independence — and defends it with evidence. Assessment happens throughout the process, not only here (the reasoning is the point).
Groups present an 8-part problem/solution brief (poster, slides, or spoken):
Close the loop — the evaluate step of the problem-solving process. Discuss across roles so students hear how the same problem looked from every side.
Connect to today & to the standards: people still weigh rights, risk, and loyalty when making hard decisions together. Name the six steps students just used — that is §113.16(c)(26)(B).
Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.16; effect sizes from Visible Learning MetaX. This narrative is a teaching fiction based on the era.