In this instructional activity, 5th graders look at ideas and British policies that contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution. Includes background information for the teacher. Students explore ideas that were circulating in America before the war, what the Townshend Duties were, and they participate in performing a reader's theater script where they enact a trial that took place after the Boston massacre. Next, they explore the events that took place at the time of the Boston Tea Party and the different perspectives on the tax laws imposed by the British. Student resources are included in the instructional activity.