The Battle of Lexington and Concord

Teacher Notes:

Introduction to Case:

In this case, students explore the question of who fired the "shot heard 'round the world" at Lexington Green which touched off the revolutionary war. Students will explore testimony from British and colonial participants, various newspaper accounts, and multiple secondary sources as evidence. During the investigation, students fill out a "detective's log" which leads them through the document analysis process. In the end, students are challenged to write a paragraph answering the following question: Who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington and Concord? Please indicate whether you were satisfied with the evidence and list any additional questions that have been left unanswered through your investigation.

From the trenches...

Insert case study, video here


Acknowledgements:

This exercise was inspired by an exercise in Samuel Wineburg’s book, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past.

Standards:

NCSS Theme II: Time, Continuity and Change
Focus on reading and reconstructing the past to:
1. include various perspectives on historical events;
2.draw upon historical knowledge during the examination of social issues;
3. develop the habits of mind that historians and schalors employ.

National Center for History in the Schools
Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Standard 4: Historical Research Capabilities
Standard 5: Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making

Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum Standards
Grade 8A1b: Evaluate the political and social issues and events that led to the American Revolution, such as the effects of British Colonial policy.

Virginia Standards of Learning
USI.6: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by:
a. identifying the issues of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution;
c. describing key events and the roles of key individuals...

Implementation Ideas:

 

Word document of Case and documents

 

Becoming a Detective

Who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington and Concord?

There are a series of documents that follow. It is your job to determine the type of evidence included within this file, the credibility of each piece of evidence and how the evidence fits together. Finally, you will be asked to come up with a plausible explanation of who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and how you came to that particular conclusion.

 

Investigating the Evidence

Click here to view the documents.

  • Document A: Letter from Joseph Warren (President pro tem), April 26, 1775
  • Document B: Affidavit sworn by 34 minutemen on April 25, 1775
  • Document C: Excerpt from the novel April Morning by Howard Fast, published in 1961
  • Document D: Entry for April 19th 1775, from the diary of British Lieutenant John Barker
  • Document E: Newspaper account from The London Gazette, June 10, 1775
  • Document F: From the diary of Ezra Stiles, pres. of Yale College, August 21, 1775
  • Document G: From The United States: Story of a Free People, published 1963
  • Document H: British Ensign Jeremy Lister, personal narrative written in 1782.

 

Searching for Clues

Please answer the following questions about each document or download the formatted Case File (Word Format | PDF format).

  1. Who authored the document? When was the document authored? What type of document is this? Who was the audience for the document? Why was it created? Who was the aggressor in the incident according to the document?
  2. What questions did you ask while evaluating these sources?
  3. On what points do the accounts agree?
  4. On what points do the accounts differ?
  5. Which of these sources aligns most closely with what you already knew about the Battle of Lexington and Concord? How so?
  6. Which of these sources is most reliable in determining what actually happened on Lexington Green? Why do you think so?
  7. Describe the difficulties in developing an accurate account of historical events like this?
  8. If you were asked to write your own historical account of the events, how would you go about doing so?

 
 

Cracking the Case

Based on your analysis of the eight documents and citing evidence to support your answer, please write a paragraph answering the following question: Who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington and Concord? Please indicate whether you were satisfied with the evidence and list any additional questions that have been left unanswered through your investigation.