Road to Revolution

(Mack, S., & Champlin, S. (2009). Road to revolution!. London: Bloomsbury.)

 

Summary: Unlikely friends, Penny and Nick join forces as spies during the American Revolution on the side of the Colonists. From participating in fighting to eavesdropping on British captains to being chased by angry British, this book is narrated with engaging illustrations and text.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12, Lexile 430L

Key words/phrases:

1.      Graphic Novel

2.      American Revolution

3.      Boston 1775 -1783

4.      Friendship

5.      Teenage Adventure

Suggested Delivery:  Individual

Electronic Resources:

1.  Liberty! The American Revolution by PBS provides in depth information on the American Revolution for students as well a teacher's guide and additional resources for teachers.
2. Stan Mack’s Website provides information about the author and resources for teachers to use such as a teachers guide and Smart board activities.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: Blockading, grooms, street urchin, flogging, riffraff, standoff, traitor, withdrawal

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Have the student read the Prologue and look at the ‘The Main Characters’ page and ‘The Town of Boston 1775’ map. Students should ask any questions that these pages make them think of such as “Who was Dr. Warren?” or “If Britain wasn’t wanted, why didn’t they just leave?” These questions can be written down and be answered while reading the book.

         During: Using the pictures and text, have students make inference, conclusions and answer questions such as:

            -Should Penny have stood up for herself or was her father right? (p. 10)

            -Why would Penny help Nick? (p.13)

            -What do Penny and Nick agree to do? (p. 33)

            -What are the British planning on doing? (p. 36)

            -What problems does the Committee of Safety have in relation to the volunteers? (p. 66)

            -Did Penny really get permission from her parents to leave with Mr. Revere? (p. 77)

            -Why do the soldiers have different accents? (p. 77)

-Do you think at the actual battle soldiers felt it was their destiny or were they more ‘in the moment’? (p. 102)

            -What decision does Penny make when her family moves to the Ohio Valley? (p. 113)

         After: Have the students create a timeline, adding important events from the story such as Penny meeting Nick, and Penny and Nick deciding to become spies. The students can decorate it with drawings or pictures and it will then be displayed in the classroom to encourage other students to read the book.

Dr. Warren

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:

Have students draw and write text for a comic strip which continues Penny and Nick’s adventures. Their comic should include about 100-250 words of text, including conversation, thoughts of their characters, and narrative. Can think of such questions as: Where do Penny and Nick go? Do they fight in battles? Do they encounter other key parts of the American Revolution? Do they meet new people (i.e. Characters)? Students can use a Comic Creator online (http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/) or they can draw the comic themselves in a blank comic strip (http://www.hooverwebdesign.com/free-printables/comics/blank-comic-book-pages.html).

The Black Regiment of the American Revolution

(Brennan, Linda Crotta, and Cheryl Kirk Noll. The Black regiment of the American Revolution . North Kingstown, R.I.: Moon Mountain Pub., 2004. Print.)

Summary: This book discusses the role African –Americans played in the American Revolution as members of the Rhode Island Black Regiment. It analyzes the motives for joining, how their lives were before joining, what their experience fighting was like, and how their lives were after the war ended.

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12.

Key words/phrases:

1.      American Revolution

2.      African-Americans

3.      Black Regiment

4.      Rhode Island

5.      Slaves

Suggested Delivery: Individual / Small group

Electronic Resources:

1.      Black Soldiers in the American Revolution: This PDF compliments the book by providing individuals background information on the blacks who served in the army.
2.       African Americans In The Revolutionary Period  by the National Park Service provides background for teachers on the involvement of African Americans in the Revolutionary War.

 

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: emancipation, regiment, pension, redoubt, privateer, musket, mulatto, militia

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Survey the book to get an overall picture of what the book will be about. Have the students Note the title and headings, skim the overview and summary and note what main ideas are covered. After surveying, turn each of the headings into a question. These questions give a purpose for reading as they will be answered as the book is read.

         During: The students will then read the text to answer the questions created in the before activities, helping the student to focus their attention on specific and key ideas. 

         After: After reading the whole book, or perhaps just a section, have the student try to answer their question from what they remember from the text. If the student cannot answer the question, have them go back and review this portion of the text to be able to answer their question. Have them jot sown a brief answer to their question to endure that they can answer the question in a concise manner. The have students review the main points in the book in order that they can put all the ideas together into one connected idea.

 

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Write a poem or short story as a soldier in the black regiment expressing the emotions and experiences they would have experienced, making sure to describe his life before the war, and the changes it underwent because of the war, during and after the war ended.