Teach the Revolution with Polly.
Every scene in the play is a real moment in history with a real date. These one-pagers turn the story into classroom-ready material — what happened, the words to know, who to watch for, and questions to spark talk — for grades 2 to 6.
Before the show
Who is Polly?
A real fashion doll, twelve inches tall, who arrived in Boston in 1773 on the Dartmouth — the same ship whose tea was thrown into the harbor. She is on display at Revolutionary Spaces, and children have written to her for over a century.
The big idea
Polly lets students feel the Revolution at a child's eye level. Every scene is a real, dated event — so a story your class already loves becomes a doorway into the history behind it.
How to use this pack
Pick the events you're teaching. Each one-pager gives you the history, four words to know, who to look for, and two discussion questions — before or after the show. Print any of it, or the whole pack.
One-pagers, by event
Tap an event to open its one-pager. Eight real moments, from the tea in the harbor to the Declaration read aloud in Boston.
02December 1773 · Tarkenton's ShopA queen leaves the crate
What happened
Boston was a busy seaport. Ships from England brought cloth, china, and even fashion dolls used to show off the latest styles. The real Polly arrived on the Dartmouth — one of the three ships carrying the East India Company tea that would soon be thrown into the harbor.
Talk about it
- Q.Why would people in Boston want to buy things made all the way across the ocean in England?
- Q.We don't use fashion dolls anymore. How do we learn about new styles today?
Watch for it in the show
Watch Polly step out of her shipping crate like a queen leaving a carriage — proud to be brand-new and from London.
Words to know
- Port
- A town where ships load and unload their goods.
- Fashion doll
- A doll dressed in the newest styles, used to share fashions before photographs existed.
- East India Company
- The powerful British company that shipped the tea to the colonies.
- Colony
- A place that is settled and ruled by a faraway country — here, Britain.
Who's who
- • Boston shopkeepers and merchants
- • The Dartmouth — the ship that carried the tea (and Polly)
03December 16, 1773 · Boston Harbor, nightThe Tea Party
What happened
On the night of December 16, 1773, colonists who were angry about a tax on tea — and about having no say in Britain's Parliament — disguised themselves and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. It was a daring protest against 'taxation without representation.'
Talk about it
- Q.Was dumping the tea a fair way to protest? What else could the colonists have done?
- Q.What do people do today when they think a rule or law is unfair?
Watch for it in the show
Polly leans over the ship's rail, thrilled, as the tea rains down into the harbor.
Words to know
- Tax
- Money people are required to pay to a government.
- Parliament
- Britain's group of lawmakers — the colonists had no vote in it.
- Boycott
- Refusing to buy something as a form of protest.
- Representation
- Having someone speak and vote for you in government.
Who's who
- • The Sons of Liberty (some disguised as Mohawk men)
- • Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson
04March 1775 · Tarkenton's ShopHard times
What happened
To punish Boston for the Tea Party, Britain closed the harbor with the Boston Port Act of 1774 — one of the laws colonists called the 'Intolerable Acts.' With no ships allowed to trade, shops emptied, work dried up, and many families went hungry.
Talk about it
- Q.How would closing the harbor change daily life for a kid in Boston?
- Q.Why might hard times actually make people MORE willing to fight for change?
Watch for it in the show
Polly trades her fine London gown for scratchy homespun — and begins to care about the patriot cause.
Words to know
- Boston Port Act
- The 1774 law that shut down Boston's harbor as punishment.
- Intolerable Acts
- The harsh British laws colonists could not stand — they pushed many toward rebellion.
- Homespun
- Rough cloth made at home instead of bought from Britain — a sign of protest.
- Patriot
- A colonist who wanted the colonies to be free from British rule.
Who's who
- • General Thomas Gage (British military governor)
- • Everyday Boston families and shopkeepers
05June 17, 1775 · The streets of BostonThe spy mission
What happened
By June 1775 the war had begun. On the morning of June 17, Boston was tense as colonial militia and British troops prepared to fight near Charlestown. Families could feel the danger right in their own streets.
Talk about it
- Q.What would it feel like to have a battle happening close to your home?
- Q.Why would both sides want to know what the other side is planning?
Watch for it in the show
Amy drags Polly tree to tree on a pretend 'spy mission' — the tense morning seen at a kid's eye level.
Words to know
- Militia
- Ordinary citizens who train and serve as part-time soldiers.
- Spy
- Someone who secretly gathers information about the other side.
- Continental Army
- The colonies' new army, soon led by General George Washington.
Who's who
- • Local Boston militia
- • Curious children like Amy, Polly's young owner
06June 17, 1775 · Inside the Auchmuty MansionCommissioned
What happened
Armies set up headquarters in large houses, where officers spread out maps and made their plans. The play imagines Polly and Amy sneaking into one of these headquarters on the day of the battle.
Talk about it
- Q.Why are maps so important to an army during a war?
- Q.This scene is invented for fun. How can we tell the difference between what really happened and what a story imagines?
Watch for it in the show
Polly and Amy get 'commissioned' as colonels of the 'Children's and Dolls' Division' — a giggle inside a real setting.
Words to know
- Headquarters
- The place where leaders gather to make plans.
- Officer
- A leader in an army who gives orders.
- Commission
- An official rank or job given to someone in the army.
Who's who
- • Continental Army officers
- • Polly and Amy (an imagined, playful moment)
07June 17, 1775 · Rooftop of the mansionBunker Hill
What happened
The Battle of Bunker Hill (really fought mostly on nearby Breed's Hill) was one of the first major battles of the Revolution. The British won the ground but lost a huge number of soldiers, proving the colonists would fight hard. During the battle, British forces burned the town of Charlestown.
Talk about it
- Q.How can an army 'lose' a battle but still send a powerful message?
- Q.Why do you think Americans still remember Bunker Hill today?
Watch for it in the show
From a rooftop, Polly and Amy watch Charlestown burn across the water — awe and fear at the very same time.
Words to know
- Battle
- A major fight between armies.
- Redcoats
- A nickname for British soldiers, after their red uniforms.
- Charlestown
- The Boston neighborhood the British burned during the battle.
- Retreat
- To pull back or move away from a fight.
Who's who
- • Colonel William Prescott (said to order, 'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes')
- • British General William Howe
08March 5, 1776 · Dorchester Heights, pre-dawnDorchester Heights
What happened
Over the winter of 1775–76, Henry Knox hauled cannons about 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston on sleds. Overnight on March 4–5, 1776, Washington's troops secretly fortified Dorchester Heights with those cannons. Outgunned, the British evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776.
Talk about it
- Q.How can smart planning win a victory without a big fight?
- Q.Why was keeping the plan a SURPRISE so important here?
Watch for it in the show
Polly, now wearing a tricorn hat, grips the rope and helps pull a cannon up the hill as the sun rises.
Words to know
- Cannon
- A large, heavy gun that fires iron balls.
- Fortify
- To build up defenses to protect a place.
- Fort Ticonderoga
- The captured fort in New York where the cannons came from.
- Evacuate
- To leave a place, usually for safety.
Who's who
- • General George Washington
- • Henry Knox — the bookseller who became the officer who moved the cannons
09July 18, 1776 · Old State House balconyDeclaration Day
What happened
The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. It was first read aloud to the people of Boston from the Old State House balcony on July 18, 1776. The crowd erupted in cheers — America had declared itself a free and independent country.
Talk about it
- Q.The Declaration says all people have rights that can't be taken away. Which rights matter most to you?
- Q.Why read the Declaration OUT LOUD to a crowd instead of just printing it?
Watch for it in the show
Polly cheers loudest of all — her journey from a vain London doll to a proud patriot is complete.
Words to know
- Declaration of Independence
- The document announcing that the colonies were free from Britain.
- Self-evident
- So clearly true that it needs no proof.
- Independence
- Freedom from the rule of another country.
- Liberty
- Freedom — the right to make your own choices.
Who's who
- • Thomas Jefferson (the main author of the Declaration)
- • The cheering people of Boston
Pairs well with
A short reading list to build a unit around the show, for independent or read-aloud.
Polly Sumner: Witness to the Boston Tea Party
Richard C. Wiggin, ill. Keith Favazza
The picture book the play is based on. Start here.
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
Jean Fritz
A funny, kid-friendly look at the Revolution from King George's side.
George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides
Rosalyn Schanzer
Compares King George III and George Washington — great for discussion.
…And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
Jean Fritz
A lively picture-book biography of the famous midnight rider.
Grades & standards
Built for grades 2–6. The pack supports social-studies work on the American Revolution and founding ideas, and ELA work in reading informational text, vocabulary, and speaking & listening.
Detailed standard alignment (Common Core ELA, the C3 Framework, and state social-studies standards) is being finalized — ask and we'll map it to your grade and state.
Bring Polly to your class.
Book a school matinee or a touring performance, or license the play to stage it yourself. We reply within 48 hours.