Addressing the Essential Question with Visual Documents

How does this source answer my essential question? 

I have gathered and thought about the evidence from my source.  Now I will use this evidence to answer my essential question.

My Essential Question: 

Why would British soldiers shoot and kill American colonists at the Boston Massacre?

 

  • This poster makes the case that the actions of the British soldiers were planned and organized.  On one side, the soldiers are shown as moving forward in a close military formation.  This 'control' and 'organization' portrays the control and organization of the British actions.  The soldiers did not accidentally shoot the colonists, nor were they in a panic, the poster shows.  Rather, they deliberately shot into a crowd of colonists and were, perhaps, even ordered to do so by their officer.  
  • The evidence from this poster also shows that the soldiers had no justification for their organized attack on the colonists.  The crowd was disorganized and, in fact, leaning away from the British soldiers--the crowd was shown as trying to get away from the British.  The crowd of Bostonians are not shown as provoking the soldiers in any way.  On the contrary, the Americans are shown as victims of the British military.
  • Finally, the use of color to visually tie together the British uniforms with the blood of the fallen colonists strengthens the identification of the soldiers with the 'bloody massacre.' The color of the very clothes they wear connects them with violence, blood, and murder.

 

Poster of the Boston Massacre
Description | Source
A poster showing British soldiers shooting into a crowd of American colonists.
Poster showing a crowd of men and boys from Boston on the left, arranged in a disorganized group. Two men are laying on the ground, bleeding and a third man is being carried away. On the right side of the poster, British soldiers, dressed in bright red jackets, stand in two lines and are firing their long guns into the crowd. A commanding officer, slightly behind the soldiers, raises his sword. Buildings from the town of Boston can be seen in the background.Digital Source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division viewed on 9/15/09; http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/app:@FIELD%28NUMBER%283b51693%29%29

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Take Action:
Discuss how the evidence addresses your essential question

Put the information you have collected and your evaluation of that evidence to work.  

  • Think about how the facts, details and your interpretation help answer your essential question 
  • What questions remain unanswered?  Think about what you can do to answer them. 

Terry's Tips

Use group discussion to highlight and evaluate the qualities of a good response

Your students have gathered a lot of facts and details during their inquiry.   Encourage them to use these facts and details as they explain how the document addresses the critical question by modeling a response and highlighting the qualities that make the response strong. 

On this page, the author provides a model of proficient performance for applying the details to the essential question.  These types of models provide students with guides to successfully complete a task.