This was a good game to get students into this time period and to build schema.
Community Review for Mission US: For Crown or Colony?
My Take
This was a great game to get students involved in a time period of which they have very little understanding. I used this with 5th graders, and they loved being in control of the game and how they progressed. They were given objectives, allowed to make choices (for good or bad), and they were able to experience (virtually) how life was for colonists on the brink of the Revolution. The game was short, however, and once it was completed there wasn't much to extend the learning for students.
How I Use It
I use this as an "into" activity to build background in the early stages of a Revolutionary War unit. This was also an adequate replacement activity for students who were not able to attend a field trip to Riley's Farm (a hands-on experience where students physically live out a day in the live of a Revolutionary). Students who stayed back at school that day played the game and were able to relate to the students who went on the field trip and the experiences they went through.