Lesson Plan

The French and Indian War 1754-1763: How Did The War End? - Unit 5

Grade Level:: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:: Social Studies
Lesson Duration:: 90 Minutes
Common Core Standards:: 4.RI.9, 5.RI.7, 4.SL.1, 4.SL.2, 4.SL.3, 4.SL.4, 5.SL.1, 6.SL.2, 6.SL.3, 6.SL.4, 4.W.2, 4.W.2.b, 4.W.9.b, 5.W.2, 5.W.2.b, 5.W.9.b
Additional Standards:: National History Standards: K-4 Topic 2: 3A, 3B, 3D, 3E; K-4 Topic 3: 5A; US Era 2: 1A, 1B
Thinking Skills:: Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations.

Essential Question

Guiding Question: How did the French and Indian War end? How did it spark Pontiac’s War? What were the consequences of the Royal Proclamation of 1763?

Objective

Student Objectives: Students will…
• Identity three locations in North America that changed hands as a result of the Treaty of Paris
• List one thing the American Indians thought about the Proclamation Line of 1763
• List one thing the American colonists thought about the Proclamation Line of 1763

Background

This is Unit 5 from the teacher’s guide “The French and Indian War 1754-1763.” It includes one lesson plan:

“Making Peace” Students learn about the consequences of the end of the war for the British, French and American Indians. They will use what they have learned to negotiate a peace treaty.

Critical Content: The Treaty of Paris which ended the French and Indian War changed the balance of power in North America. This led to changes in the American Indian trade policy that adversely affected the American Indians. Many of them united under Pontiac to fight the British as a result of these changes. Policy-makers in Great Britain were astonished at the number of American Indian victories. Without the threat of the French many British colonial settlers moved across the Allegheny Mountains. This broke an earlier treaty with the American Indians and caused conflict between the two groups. To settle troubles with the American Indians the British policy-makers in London decided to draw a line down the Appalachian Mountains and reserve the land between the line and the Mississippi River for the American Indians. This action angered many British colonists.

See the “Related Lessons and Educational Materials” section for links to the other units in the teacher’s guide.

Preparation

The teacher should make copies of the Making Peace Activity Worksheet and the Treaty of Paris 1763: Before and After map.

Materials

The downloaded lesson plan includes an introduction (p 79), teacher instructions (p 80-81), the activity worksheets (p 82) and the map "Treaty of Paris 1763: Before and After."

Download Lesson Plan – How Did the Conflict End?

The teacher background covers from the beginning of the war to the beginning of the American Revolution. For this unit read pages 25-26, How Did the Conflict End?

Download Teacher Background: The French and Indian War 1754-1763

This color map shows the French and British colonies and the disputed area. It also shows where the American Indian Nations lived and where French and British forts were located. It shows the Proclamation Line of 1763.

Download Map: Indian Nations and French and Indian War Forts 1754-1760

Lesson Hook/Preview

At the end of the French and Indian War the British gained control of large amounts of land in North America. The American Indians had a treaty that said the British would not settle west of the Allegheny Mountains, but the British had also given some American colonists land grants, or permission to own and settle land, to that same land. At the same time the British changed their trade policies with the American Indians in a way that really hurt them. So the American Indians attacked the British, starting Pontiac’s War. Write about a time you thought something was settled only to have the solution cause another problem.

Procedure

The Making Peace lesson plan

1. Review the time line with your students pointing out the events that led to the end of the war.

2. The Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, spelled out the terms for peace between Britain, France and Spain.

3. Give students copies of the maps Treaty of Paris 1763 Before and After. Through questions and examination of the maps have the students determine the changes that resulted from the treaty.

4. Teach the students about the new trade policies the British enacted with the American Indians and the hardship it caused, thus sparking Pontiac’s War. The bad news from Pontiac’s War pushed the British policy-makers in London to draw a line down the Appalachian Mountains, reserving the land to the west of it for the American Indians. It was called the Proclamation Line of 7163. When making this policy they did not consult the American colonists or the American Indians.

5. Ask the students if they think the Treaty of Paris was fair. Was the Proclamation Line of 1763 fair? How would the American Indians view the treaty and the proclamation? How would the American colonists view the treaty and the proclamation?

6. Review what the students learned about the goals of the American colonists and the American Indians from the What Were They Fighting For? Unit 2 lesson plan.

7. Assign groups of students to be the British, American Indians and American colonists.

8. Challenge the groups to come up with their own treaty or solutions to the conflicts in the post-French and Indian War British colonies. Have them write their treaty down.

9. Have groups of students come together to negotiate a final treaty. Use the Activity Worksheet Making Peace to help the student find solutions as they negotiate.

Vocabulary

Negotiate: To bargain with others in preparing for a treaty or when making a deal.

Treaty: A formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace or other relations

Assessment Materials

Assessment Unit 5: How Did the War End?

The assessment includes two rubrics for evaluating the Making Peace lesson plan.

Assessment The French and Indian War 1754-1763 - Unit 5: How Did the Conflict End?

Download Assessment

Supports for Struggling Learners

The teacher can help struggling students by filling in the “Our Goal” column on the Making Peace Activity Worksheet. The teacher can disperse the struggling learners evenly among the groups.

Enrichment Activities

Using the two maps “The Treaty of Paris Before 1763” and the “Treaty of Paris After 1763” have the students color the maps by nation. Have them create their own key for the Spanish, British, French, Disputed, and American Indian Reserve.

Have the students do additional research on the Proclamation Line of 1763 and Pontiac’s War.

Additional Resources

Fort Necessity National Battlefield web site

A Charming Field for an Encounter the park's handbook

Becoming George Washington a curriculum about George Washington in the French and Indian War

Related Lessons or Education Materials

“The French and Indian War 1754-1763” Teacher’s Education Kit is broken into eight units and a Teacher Background section. Units 1 - 6 chronologically follow the war from start to finish, including how the war set the stage for the American Revolution.

Links to the other units:

Unit 1: Who Were the People Involved?

Unit 2: What Were They Fighting For?

Unit 3: How Did the Conflict Begin? (This includes two lessons on George Washington)

Unit 4: How Did the War Progress?

Unit 5: How Did the Conflict End? What Were the Consequences?

Unit 6: How Did the French and Indian War Set the Stage for the American Revolution?

Unit 7: Biography Cards (there are nine American Indian, nine French, nine British biographies)

Unit 8: Primary Documents and Artifacts

Introduction

French and Indian War Historic Sites in Western Pennsylvania