A project on the various flags used at the time of the American Revolution teaches children to remember the number of original American colonies. The original flag contained 13 stars and 13 stripes, representing the colonies (later states) that made up the nation. To learn about the flag, create a craft project where the children glue together construction paper and create an American Revolutionary flag, representing the colonies that seceded from British rule.
A time line helps your third graders visualize the order of the major events of the American Revolution. Although you shouldn't expect eight- and nine-year-olds to learn about every battle, do include turning points before, during and after the war, such as the Sugar and Stamp acts, as well as the Boston Tea Party. For the war itself, include the inauguration of George Washington and the end of the war. When creating the time line, allow the children to draw pictures depicting the different events that they study.
Although children may not always relate to 18th century views on the Stamp Act and Sugar Act, you can create an interactive project that mimics taxation without proper representation. Instruct your children to split into two groups; one represents the British and the other represents the colonists. Give each student ten stars. Every day, require that the entire class forfeit a collective of ten stars, but only the British side is allowed to vote on how the stars are collected. At the end of the lesson, explain the relationship between the classroom activity and the events surrounding the Revolution.
Use pictures of the American Revolution to teach information to your 3rd grade students, based on an activity from Flatwell Elementary School's website. To do this, show pictures that depict the signing of the Constitution, the Boston Tea Party, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other events and people from the period. Explain each picture, and then encourage the children to develop a title for the picture, describing each picture's larger meaning.