Lesson Plan #: CC-0057
Lesson 3: People of The American Revolution in Fact and Fiction



Objectives: The students will be able to:

1. recognize the major events of the American Revolution.

2. understand what life was like for those who lived during the American Revolutionary Period, as portrayed in fictional accounts.

Description of lesson/activities:

1. A broad range of resources exist for teaching the American Revolution. Students will find the primary sources in The Revolutionary War: A Sourcebook , by Carter Smith, very accessible. Students should have a basic understanding of the ev ents of the war before continuing with this lesson.

2. The teacher should create a bookshelf of historical fiction and trade books on the American Revolution. Some titles for the shelf are listed in the book list below. The students should choose individual books from the prepared collection to read. S tudents should be given an opportunity to report on the books they have read.

3. During this project, the teacher might read a chapter each day, from the book If You Were There in 1776 , by Barbara Brenner. The teacher and the class could discuss the book at the end of each chapter.

Book List:

The following books should be included in the collection:

The Corduroy Road , by Patricia Edwards Clyne
Tib helps an American soldier to West Point during the Revolutionary War.

Samuel's Choice , by Richard Berieth
Samuel, a young slave in Brooklyn, must choose between helping the rebel colonists escape from the British and obeying his arrogant master.

Rabbits and Redcoats , by Robert Newton Peck
Vermont farm boys secretly join Ethan Allen's raid against the British-held Fort Ticonderoga, which everyone hopes will become the first American victory of the Revolutionary War.

This Time, Tempe Wick , by Patricia Lee Gauch
Discover how clever Tempe protects her best horse, Bon, and her sick mother from renegade Revolutionary Soldiers.

I Am Regina * , by Sally M. Keehn
Regina, captured by the Delaware Indians in 1756, journeys through terror, life threatening danger, and near starvation to find love and acceptance in a new life, only to have that threatened by a new enemy.

The Ice Trail * , by Anne Elliot Crompton
Tanial remembers when his name was Daniel before he went to live with the Indians.

My Brother Sam is Dead * , by James Lincoln Collier
Tim's parents are Tories and his brother is a patriot, but what will Time be?

Sarah Bishop * , by Scott O'Dell
Sarah hates the Revolution after a raid destroys her farm.

Mr. Revere and I * , by Robert Lawson
Sheherazade, Paul Revere's horse, tells his side of the famous ride.

Saturnalia * , by Paul Fleischman
William, a Narraganset captured by the Puritans and indentured to a Boston printer, adapts to his new culture while never ceasing to search for his old one.


* More challenging books for better readers