Mission US (Mission 1: Crown or Colony?) is an interactive adventure game designed to improve the understanding of American history by students in grades 5 through 8. The first game in a planned series, Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” explores the reasons for Revolution through the eyes of both Loyalists and Patriots in 1770 Boston. This website provides information and materials to support the use of Mission 1 in your classroom, including assessment rubrics.
Begin the lesson by assigning students to either read or view Twelve Angry Men. Distribute the following questions beforehand. These same questions may serve as the basis for either group or class discussion of the play/film.
By 1900, there were more than 29 million people in the American workforce including men, women, and children. Americans worked an average of 59 hours per week and usually received Saturday afternoons and Sundays off. Many companies provided unpaid leave to their employees. How do you think Americans might have spent their leisure time a century ago?
On July 4, 1803, the territory of the United States doubled in size. At the conclusion of negotiations between Napoleon Bonaparte and President Thomas Jefferson, the nation acquired the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million -- approximately 3 cents per acre of land.
Just as the society around us shapes the way we think and act, so did it shape the people of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s. Look at the websites listed below, and, on a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions about life in Puritan New England. Note that many of the websites contain interactive images. Click on the images to open them, and mouse-over the image to discover more about it.