Directions: Read the following passage. Complete the Boston Tea Party Quiz. Complete the Reading Response Questions using complete sentences.

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Christian Goodwin
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1 Blizzard Bag Day 2 Language Arts and Social Studies When completing your work: You may complete your work on Google Apps for Education or you may print it. If you cannot print use a piece of notebook paper and clearly label your assignment at the top. Be sure to have a proper heading on your paper. Keep your work neat, edit your work and remember this is a school assignment. For the quiz, if you need to write out your answers, write the question and the correct answer only. Directions: Read the following passage. Complete the Boston Tea Party Quiz. Complete the Reading Response Questions using complete sentences.

2 American Revolutio n Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 17, It was one of the key events leading up to the American Revolution. Was it a big, fun party with tea? Not really. There was tea involved, but nobody was drinking it. The Boston Tea Party was a protest by the American Colonists against the British government. They staged the protest by boarding three trade ships in Boston Harbor and throwing the ships' cargo of tea overboard into the ocean. They threw 342 chests of tea into the water. Some of the colonists were disguised as Mohawk Indians, but the costumes didn't fool anyone. The British knew who had destroyed the tea. Why did they do it? At first, throwing tea into the ocean dressed as Mohawks might seem a bit silly, but the colonists had their reasons. Tea was a favorite drink among the British and the colonies. It also was a major source of income to the East India Trading Company. This was a British company and the colonies were told they could only buy tea from this one company. They were also told they had to pay high taxes on the tea. This tax was called the Tea Act. Protest: a formal declaration expressing refusal to accept something Cargo: the goods carried on a ship. Parliament: the law making branch of the British Government. Quarantined: to isolate a person or place to prevent the spread of disease.

3 This didn't seem fair to the colonies as they were not represented in British Parliament and didn't have a say on how the taxes should be done. They refused to pay taxes on the tea and asked that the tea be returned to England. When it wasn't, they decided to protest Britain's unfair taxes by throwing the tea into the ocean. Was it planned? It's unclear to historians if the protest was planned. There had been a big town meeting earlier that day led by Samuel Adams to discuss the tea taxes and how to fight them. However, no one is quite sure if Samuel Adams planned the destruction of the tea or if a bunch of people just got mad and went and did it unplanned. Samuel Adams did later say that it was the act of people defending their rights and not the act of an angry mob. It was just tea, what's the big deal? It actually was a lot of tea. The 342 containers totaled 90,000 pounds of tea! If you used today's money that would be around a million dollars in tea. Fun Facts about the Boston Tea Party The three ships that were boarded and had their tea dumped into the harbor were the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. The Beaver had been quarantined in the outer harbor for two weeks due to a case of smallpox. Paul Revere was one of the 116 people who participated in the Boston Tea Party. Party on Paul! The actual location of the Boston Tea Party is thought to be at the intersection of Congress and Purchase Streets in Boston. This area was once under water, but today is a corner of a busy street. The tea that was destroyed was originally from China.

4 This stamp shows an artist s portrayal of the Boston Tea Party.

5 Boston Tea Party Quiz Answer the following questions based on the Boston Tea Party Passage. Put a mark on the line of the correct answer. 1) Why is the Boston Tea Party an important event in history? It signaled the opening of the British colony of Massachusetts. It was a major event leading up to the American Revolution. The first shot in the Revolutionary War was fired at the Boston Tea Party. It was a celebration of British Law and the colonies` loyalty to the king. It happened on the night when the United States issued the Declaration of Independence. 2) Who did the colonists dress up as when they boarded the ships in protest? British Redcoats Policemen Sailors Frenchmen Mohawk Indians 3) What was the main reason that the colonists were protesting? They didnʼt like the type of tea that was shipped to them They were bored and needed something to do They felt they were being taxed unfairly without being represented in the government They wanted the ships to leave They thought the tea was priced too high 4) True or False: Destroying the tea was not a big deal. TRUE FALSE 5) How much tea did the colonists destroy? 90,000 pounds of tea Around 1 million dollars worth in today`s money 342 containers of tea All of the above

6 None of the above 6) Was the Boston Tea Party a planned protest? Yes No No one is sure Paul Revere planned it Samuel Adams planned it 7) How many ships did the colonists board and destroy their cargo of tea? ) Who led the town meeting earlier that day to discuss the unfair taxation of tea by the British? Samuel Adams Paul Revere John Adams Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin 9) Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Boston Tea Party? The colonists liked to drink tea The colonists asked that the British take the tea back to England The British only allowed the colonists to buy tea from the East India Trading company The British thought that the Mohawk Indians had destroyed the tea The Tea Act put a high tax on tea 10) About how many people participated in the Boston Tea Party protest?

7 Reading Response Questions 1. Identify three nonfiction conventions from the text. These are features in the text that help you understand the nonfiction information. Describe how it helps you understand this passage. Nonfiction Feature How does it help you - - -

8 2. The Boston Tea Party was just one of the events that led to the writing of The Declaration of Independence. Here are some of the most famous words from The Declaration. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. What does that mean exactly? Well Some rights should be clear to everyone. For one thing, all men are equal. People have certain rights that nobody can take away. These rights include the right to life and a right to freedom. People should be free to find happiness. Let s make the bold words more clear: Men- Today we would say people instead of men. Find happiness The declaration doesn t say that we have a right to be happy. It says we have the right to try to be happy. Happiness is a goal, not a promise. Write a paragraph that explains how those famous words from The Declaration apply to you in your life.

Sample Set Boston Tea Party Grade 4

Sample Set Boston Tea Party Grade 4 Standard 7 Government and Political Systems Students explain the structure and purposes of government and the foundations of the United States democratic system using