The metaphors in this activity were everywhere. The red team had 8 of the tallest people in the class, but only 4 were doing the tug-a-war. The blue team had 8 of the shorter people, including me. When the tug-a-war started, all of us were on it. The people that were shorter that the 8 tallest but taller than the 8 shortest were on the white team. Mr. Solarz told us that everyone on the blue team that if we win, we wouldn't have to do this blog post (Turns out, we did.) Then, he told us that when he said go, we could start the tug-a-war.
"One, two, three, wait, wait, wait."
He did this many times, each time explaining something after the third "wait". It was usually a change of the rules or teams. Once, he told a student on the blue team that he wouldn't get the reward. Another time, he explained that to win, the red team needed to bring the knot in the rope past a point in 20 seconds. The blue team had to make sure that didn't happen. He also once said that the white team, who were standing out of the way of the tug-a-war area, had to cheer on the blue team during the game until he told them to go on their team and help them. After many changes to the rules, it finally started. About 5 seconds into the game, Mr. Solarz told the rest of the red team to go in. About 13 seconds into the tug-a-war, all the people on the white team joined the blue team, making them win. After it was over, Mr. Solarz told the blue team that they wouldn't be receiving the award. I think that the blue team was the Continental army, the red team the British, and the white team the French. The reason why the blue team started with more people than the red team was because in the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army had all it's soldiers here, while the British needed to bring most of them to America. They were strong and skilled, and that"s why the red team was made up of the tallest people in the class. The white team helped the blue team later in the tug-a-war because the French only started fighting with the Continentals late during the war. The teams kept changing, demonstrating how people changed opinions.
"One, two, three, wait, wait, wait."
He did this many times, each time explaining something after the third "wait". It was usually a change of the rules or teams. Once, he told a student on the blue team that he wouldn't get the reward. Another time, he explained that to win, the red team needed to bring the knot in the rope past a point in 20 seconds. The blue team had to make sure that didn't happen. He also once said that the white team, who were standing out of the way of the tug-a-war area, had to cheer on the blue team during the game until he told them to go on their team and help them. After many changes to the rules, it finally started. About 5 seconds into the game, Mr. Solarz told the rest of the red team to go in. About 13 seconds into the tug-a-war, all the people on the white team joined the blue team, making them win. After it was over, Mr. Solarz told the blue team that they wouldn't be receiving the award. I think that the blue team was the Continental army, the red team the British, and the white team the French. The reason why the blue team started with more people than the red team was because in the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army had all it's soldiers here, while the British needed to bring most of them to America. They were strong and skilled, and that"s why the red team was made up of the tallest people in the class. The white team helped the blue team later in the tug-a-war because the French only started fighting with the Continentals late during the war. The teams kept changing, demonstrating how people changed opinions.
1. Which team were you a member of? 2. How did you feel at the beginning of the game? 3. Who did you think would win the game at first (RED or BLUE)? Why? 4. How did you feel as the rules changed? Did you get discouraged or more confident? Why? 5. What were the reasons why the BLUE team won? 6. Historically speaking, what happened once America won the Revolutionary War? What changed in America? Why was it important that America won the war? 7. What would have been different if America had lost the war? | 1. I was a member of the blue team, or the team that, metaphorically, was America. I was on that team because I was among the shortest of the class. 2. At the beginning, I felt nervous. I was on a team with the shortest people in the class going against the tallest people. I thought I had no chance of winning. 3. I though the red team would win because they had the tallest people in the class, meaning that they had a better chance of winning. 4. I go much more encouraged as I learned that the white team would support us. I also was extremely relived to hear that we didn't have to go to far to win. These factors all made me more sure that we would win. 5. The blue team won mainly because of the numbers. While the blue team had about 16 members, the red team had only half. 6. Once America won the war, everything changed. Our colonies became states and our government was ran by former colonists. What changed was that we weren't run by a monarchy anymore, but a democracy. We were independent and free to do what we wanted. 7. If America lost the war, everything would be different. We would still be ruled by the British government and follow the British rules and Constitution. We would probably never be the strong, independent nation that we are. |