1. Colonial Newspaper Directions and Requirements

2. The Blank Template

3. The Soapbox As part of your Colonial newspaper you will write a SOAPBOX opinion just like those seen in the Coloradoan newspaper. Remember a SOAPBOX is a longer, essay length, opinion. In this case you are the King of England. You are writing about how you will have to raise taxes on the Colonial people to help pay for the French and Indian War. YOUR GOAL: The reader of your newspaper should know why, after the French and Indian War, the King of England wanted to raise taxes on the colonists.

4. Soapbox What do Need? 1) you were happy to help defeat the French and Indians although it was expensive 2) why the Proclamation of 1763 is important 3) why smuggling is bad 4) why the Sugar Act, Stamp Act and Townsend Acts are important.

5. Editorial As part of your Colonial newspaper you will write an EDITORIAL opinion just like those seen in the Coloradoan newspaper. Remember an EDITORIAL is written by the editors of the paper and reflects the opinion of the newspaper. You are writing as an editor in response to the KING’s SOAPBOX about raising taxes (which was your last assignment). YOUR GOAL: The reader of your newspaper should know how the Colonial people responded to the tax increase. Please include the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, the Coercive Acts and the Continental Congress. Your writing should be at least 4 paragraphs long.

6. Editorial DO THE FOLLOWING: You are an editor writing an editorial about how the Colonial people responded to British taxation. Please include the following…how the British troops sent to control the colonists in Boston lead to the Boston Massacre, how British taxes on tea lead to the Boston Tea Party, how the British passed the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for their resistance in Boston, how the colonists responded by organizing the Continental Congress to boycott British goods and to form militias to fight the British.

7. Journal This article is based on your diary entries you made from the pictures of life in the colonies. The article should refer to at least three of the diary topics you recorded.

8. Letter to the Editor As part of your Colonial newspaper you will write a Letter to the Editor, just like those seen in the Coloradoan newspaper. Remember a Letter to the Editor is written by a citizen who wants people to know how they feel about something. You are writing to encourage others to join you as either a “Loyalist” or a “Patriot” in the upcoming Revolutionary War. You have to choose one or the other. YOUR GOAL: The reader of your newspaper should know why you feel it’s important to be either a Loyalist or a Patriot. Your letter should be two paragraphs long.

9. Final Touches Make the title fit your paper Loyalist or Patriot? Do you have all the parts? Soapbox? Editorial? Traveler Journal? Letter to the Editor?