Why Were the Colonists Angry?

Objective & content

Two hosts, one American and one British, explain why the colonists in the thirteen British colonies turned against King George the Third. In 1773 some colonists threw British tea into the sea, yet the tea was cheaper than before and people in Britain paid much more tax than the colonists: the quarrel was about who decided, because Parliament in London made laws for the colonies and nobody from the colonies sat in it. The hosts follow the steps from the war debt of 1763 to the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre (and Paul Revere's famous picture), the Tea Act and the closing of Boston harbour in 1774. Learners practise the past simple (threw, paid, passed, closed) and the grammar of explaining: so, because and but, before and after, who and which, reporting with could, comparing, and Why questions. They listen for dates and numbers, then answer the quiz in the app and the one-page pupil sheet.

Pedagogical guide

The 45-minute lesson plan starts from the puzzle: why did some Americans throw tea into the sea in 1773? Learners guess, listen twice (once for the answer, once with four pauses for questions), then practise facts, vocabulary and the grammar of explaining. The two hosts are equals who each bring their own country's view, so the class can discuss what a pupil's own country would say. The Boston Massacre is told briefly and factually: keep the talk on what Revere's picture did and why the hosts call it propaganda. The idea to repeat is that the question was not "How much?" but "Who decides?" Most activities have a support path and a stretch path.

Suggested procedure

1. Activate knowledge (3 min): write 1773 and tea on the board and collect guesses about why Americans threw tea into the sea.
2. Vocabulary preview (5 min): colonist, tax, Parliament, vote, slogan, cancel, harbour, furious.
3. First listen (8 min): play the whole episode (about 6 minutes 30 seconds, with the theme tune and the hosts' hello) and ask whether the guesses were right.
4. Second listen (10 min): pause four times, after the colonists should help to pay, after people far away made laws for them, after "They're the key to the story" (the words in all cases whatsoever), and after the other colonies' worry about London, to ask short questions.
5. Comprehension check (5 min): the Facts part of the pupil sheet (questions 1 to 6, as in the app quiz).
6. Vocabulary practice (4 min): the Vocabulary part (questions 7 to 12).
7. Grammar focus (6 min): join facts with so, because, but, before and after, notice who and which, report with could, compare, then the Grammar part (questions 13 to 18).
8. Speaking (4 min): in pairs, students play the two hosts and ask and answer questions with Why, ending on the two names of the war.

Materials & prerequisites

• The episode in the app, with its quiz.
• The one-page pupil sheet (18 items: facts, vocabulary, grammar) and its answer key, in the episode's printables.
• Prerequisites: the past simple, was and were, years in English, and the connectors so, because and but.