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Revolutionary War Charleston
Lesson Plan

Revolutionary People of South Carolina

A lesson plan for 4th grade.

People make history! Let’s learn about South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and examine the lives and choices of people who shaped our nation’s independence and our state’s unique story. 

  • Did you know that one of the first American victories during the Revolutionary War took place in South Carolina? The Battle of Sullivan’s Island, fought on June 28, 1776, came just days before the Declaration of Independence was signed and encouraged other states.
  • Did you know that the British really wanted to keep South Carolina (and other southern colonies) under their control because of their rich agricultural crops? This brought military campaigns to South Carolina in 1780 as British and Americans fought for control of the state.
  • Did you know that the war in South Carolina divided many people and communities? Frequently, people had to chose whether they would be Loyalists (support the British) or be Patriots (join the cause for independence)? Men and women and sometimes children from all different backgrounds had to make these choices, and sometimes their decisions had big outcomes or consequences in the revolution. 

Today, we’ll explore some Revolutionary War history in South Carolina and study the lives of some famous or lesser-known men and women who made or changed history!

This Lesson Plan can be used as a prepared resource by following this curriculum plan which aligns to South Carolina State Standards.

This Lesson Plan's assets can also be used on their own as supplemental resources. The display format is prepared for easy access, exploring, and learning.

Curriculum Modules

Upon completion of this lesson, the students will be able to:

1. Knowledge

  • Learn about the American Revolution in South Carolina and explore biographies of influential South Carolinians.

2.   Comprehension/Application/Analysis

  • Read a biographical article about a historical person and take simple notes.
  • Watch a short video about historical people.
  • Discuss differences between the article and video.

3.   Evaluation

  • Discuss how individuals influenced the American Revolution and talk about how history is about real people. 

 

 

Check out the Lesson Plan Teaching Guide for more instructions on using the prepared Lesson Plan.

Lesson Plan Primary Source Activity

  1. Use the Lesson’s PowerPoint to explore the context and history of the American Revolution in South Carolina.
  2. Introduce the following ideas:
    1. History is about people.
    2. People make history happen.
    3. Sometimes people doing “ordinary” or “common” things that end up being important in history.
    4. While some people are famous in history, lesser-known people did/do important things too and have fascinating stories to discover.
  3. Have students choose a person to research. (You might want to preselect a shorter list of biography options or choose biographies that pair with the videos on the Lesson Plan Page.)
  4. Distribute the lesson plan worksheet.
  5. As a class, in groups or individually have students read their selected biography and fill out the simple answers for on their worksheet.
  6. Invite students to share who they researched, why they chose that person to study, and what they learned. (You could also use Questions 10-12 on the worksheet for discussion, too.)
  7. Watch a couple of short biography videos, ideally ones about some of the historical people your students have researched. (Find the videos on the Lesson Plan Page.)
  8. Emphasize to students that they have now read a biography article and watched a biography video. Both are secondary sources!
  9. Discuss:
    1. What are some of the same facts mentioned in the video and the biography article?
    2. What facts were different between the two sources?
    3. Do you have any extra questions about this person (these people)?
    4. What do we learn about choices people made in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War?

OPTIONAL HOMEWORK/ASSESSMENT/ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: 

Option 1: Classroom Timeline Activity

Create a timeline on paper or a dry-erase board in your classroom with key events related to the Revolutionary War. Use a different color pen to show South Carolina specific events. Here are some timelines to reference:

Working from their worksheets from the main activity (above) or reading through a biographical article and noting dates, have students make a list of important dates in a historical person’s life. Next, merge important dates from the biographies onto the large timeline; use different colors for each person or a small print-out of the historical person’s image.  Point out what people were doing during some of the “big timeline events” – where they present or doing something else? How did events in people’s lives contribute to the American Revolution at different times.

Option 2: Art All In Blue

Indigo—a plant that creates blue dye—was a valuable crop grown in South Carolina during the Colonial Era and American Revolution. Usually cultivated on plantations by enslaved laborers, indigo became a crop associated with South Carolina’s history. (Learn more about indigo and its cultivation here in this article from Charleston County Public Library.) 

Invite students to create a portrait of a historical person they have studied, using only blue colors. Reflect how indigo and its blue color can symbolize aspects of South Carolina history in many ways – 

  • Slavery
  • Colonial agricultural wealth
  • British hopes to control southern colonies during the Revolutionary War particularly because of their valuable crops
  • Blue in Revolutionary War flags – like the Moultrie Flag or the upper left field of the United States flag

Does creating unique art inspired by unique personal stories all in one color reflect unity? Does this help to see many different people’s influence on the common history of our state, South Carolina?

Display the art in the classroom, possibly in the shape of the state of South Carolina with a large border outline. 

South Carolina State Social Studies Standards

Grade 4

  • 4.2.CO Compare the roles of marginalized groups during the American Revolution.
  • 4.2.CE Examine the economic and political motivations for colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
  • 4.2. CX Contextualize South Carolina’s role in the development of the new nation.
Videos
Articles
Biographies

This Lesson plan
contains the following:

3 Activities | 35 Resources

Audience: Elementary school

This Lesson plan is a part of:
| South Carolina & The American Revolution Curriculum