Idaho Social Studies 6-12.US1.11
The Standard
Explain the contributions of leaders throughout the American Revolution, including, but not limited to George Washington, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · American Revolution 1754-1791
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify what each leader did during the Revolution. They explain how speeches, writing, military command, or diplomacy helped the independence effort.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can distinguish Henry’s speeches, Paine’s pamphlet, Adams’s arguments in Congress, and Jefferson’s Declaration. They can explain how Washington’s command and Franklin’s work in France helped the war effort.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may credit Paine with writing the Declaration or Jefferson with writing Common Sense. Some think Washington was president during the war or overlook Franklin’s role in gaining French support.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, ask: What did Washington and Franklin each do during the Revolution, and how did each action help the war effort?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six leader cards and six action cards; have them match the cards and write one result for each action.
Read short excerpts from Common Sense and the Declaration; ask, “How did each writer argue for independence?”
Play a six-clue identity game: read an action aloud, then have students name the leader and explain its effect.
Show images of the $1 and $100 bills; have students write captions linking each portrait to a wartime action.
Free download
Printable 6-12.US1.11 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6-12.US1.11, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- 6-12.US1.41
Explain the contributions of key historical figures and groups during the Civil War period, including, but not limited to:
- 6-12.US1.40
Explain the contributions of key leaders throughout the American Civil War, including, but not limited to: Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh She...
- 6-12.US1.12
Explain the contributions of key historical figures during the Revolutionary Period, including, but not limited to:
- 6-12.US1.9
Identify the impact of multiple intellectual traditions on the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, including early modern and Enlightenment...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson