When faced with the decision of loyalty or liberty, what would you decide?

Imagine yourself traveling back through time. It’s 1775. You arrive in a land called New England, a land where you hear talk of colonists and Kings. Your family immigrated here from England and your father is still loyal to the King. Your older brother calls himself a rebel and talks of independence and fighting for the cause. You’ve always looked up to your brother but you don’t want to disappoint your father.

“Loyalty or liberty?” they ask.

What will you decide?

MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD by James & Christopher Collier

You will need the following materials:

•My Brother Sam is Dead by James and Christopher Collier

•George Vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer

•Reading Response Journal and a pen/pencil

•Internet Access to the following sites

Perspectives on Liberty Voices of the American RevolutionColonial Williamsburg

•Empty shoe box filled with items to remember Sam by(may be actual or virtual- in the form of a Powerpoint presentation)

1. Visit Perspectives on Liberty. Explore what daily life in the colonies was like and read about the different military perspectives from Revolutionary War soldiers. Use the information you’ve learned to decide if you will side with the Patriots or Loyalists. Write about your decision and give at least two reasons to back up your thinking.

2. Visit Colonial Williamsburg. Click on the colonial characters to learn how everyone played an important role in a colonial village. Discuss some of the characters you found interesting with your group.

3.Make a prediction about the main character in the story. Tim lives in Redding, Connecticut and comes from a loyalist family. His parents are loyalists but his brother is a Patriot. His brother Sam even joins the Patriots as a member of the Rebel Army. When the battle reaches Redding and Tim has to decide what side to be on, what side do you think he will choose? Use what you have learned and what you know about Tim’s family to make a prediction.

4.Examine the Cyber-lesson rubric so you know how your work will be scored.

1. As you read, jot down some of the dialogue that Life and Sam say that exemplify how passionate they are about their beliefs. Keep a double entry journal. On one side list quotes from Life and Sam and on the other side reflect on what the words make you think and feel. (See sample on next page.)

2. Keep a delicious words page. Add the new or interesting words you find as you read. If you don’t know the meaning be sure to look up the definition as well. (See sample on next page.)

Quote from Text

My Reaction

“I will not have treason spoken in my house, Sam.” -Life p.6

“Why should they get rich off our taxes back in England?” -Sam p.7

Here Sam is telling his family about the battles in Lexington and Concord. It is clear that Life doesn’t want to hear about Sam’s role in fighting against the British. If I were Sam, I would be afraid to talk like this in front of my loyalist father.

Here Sam is arguing with his father about why he wants to fight against the British. It reminds of when we learned about tax acts like the stamp and sugar acts. I don’t think I would want my money to go to another country either. I can understand why Sam wants to fight.

DELICIOUS WORDS

Scarlet-pg. 2I love how the authors use scarlet instead of red to describe Sam’s coat. It is such a strong adjective.

Please choose one of these activities to complete.

1.On the cover of the book, it says, “Tim was caught in the middle of war.” Explain the double meaning behind this line. Be sure to use at least three examples from the text to support your thinking.

2.Write about the theme of this book. Use at least three pieces of text evidence to support your conclusion. (To get yourself thinking about theme, think about what the authors are saying about life or people in general.)

3. Tim lost his older brother in the war. If you were Tim, what items would you put into a memory box and keep to remember Sam by? Create this box and include at least three items (it can be actual or virtual) and explain the meaning behind each item.

Please complete two of the following activities.

1. Read George Vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer. Compare and contrast the two different perspectives on the American Revolution. Use a Venn Diagram to write about the ideas of King George the 3rd and George Washington. Then pick an idea that connects to one of Life’s or Sam’s quotes. Explain how the ideas connect.

2. Then visit Voices of the American Revolution and read about Benedict Arnold. Take notes on what you learn about him. Write a letter from either Life or Sam to Benedict Arnold. In the letter show Life’s or Sam’s opinion on Arnold’s decision to trade to the British side.

3. Think back to your original decision about choosing a side during the Revolution. Did your learning in this cyberlesson change your mind at all? Explain why or why not.

3 2 1Before Reading

RRJ: Thoughtful and detailed summary of new learning and explanation for choosing a side based on information collected.Discussion: Shared ideas and responded to others thoughtfully and respectfully.Prediction: Prediction is clear and contains information from the websites and cyberlesson.

RRJ: Brief summary of new learning and explanation for choosing a side loosely based on information collected.Discussion: Shared some ideas and listened to others.Prediction: Prediction is based on some evidence collected from the website and cyberlesson.

RRJ: Summary is not logically based on information collected.Discussion: Student listened but did not take part in discussion.Prediction: Prediction is not based on the information in the cyberlesson or websites.

During Reading

RRJ: Student selected several quotes that clearly demonstrate Life and Sam’s thoughts on the war. Reflections are insightful.Delicious words page has been added to on a consistent basis. New words are defined and work shows that the student understands their meaning.

RRJ: Student selected a few quotes that attempt to demonstrate Life and Sam’s thoughts on the war. Reflections are thoughtful.Delicious words page have been added to but not reflected on.

RRJ: Student’s selection of quotes do not demonstrate understanding of Life and Sam’s thoughts on the war, reflections are incomplete.Delicious words page does not appear to have been updated nor reflected on.

After Reading

RRJ: Prompts are responded to and thinking is backed up with text evidence.Memory Box: Items selected have significant meaning and show the relationship between Tim and Sam.

RRJ: Prompts are responded to and mostly backed up with text evidence.Memory Box: It is unclear why each item has been selected.

RRJ: Responses are not adequately backed up with text evidence.Memory Box: Items selected do not demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between Tim and Sam.

Beyond Reading

Venn Diagram: Perspectives of British and American arguments are clearly supported with text evidence.RRJ: Connection to Life or Sam is clear and supported with evidence from both texts. Letter: Opinion is clearly supported with information gleaned from website and text.

Venn Diagram: British and American arguments are supported with some text evidence.RRJ: Connection to Life and Sam is supported with some evidence from both texts.Letter: Opinion is supported with some information gleaned from website and text.

Venn Diagram: British and American arguments are not supported with text evidence.RRJ: Connection is not supported with text evidence.Letter: Opinion is not supported with information.

Before Reading Page

Teacher Tips

Before using this cyber-lesson students should know about the conflicts between America and England in the 1770s. Students will need to understand the following concepts:Tax ActsBoston Massacre and Tea PartyBattles of Lexington and Concord

They will also need to know that Americans were divided over whether or not they should break away from England. They will need to know the following terms:ToryLobsterbackPatriotLoyalistTurncoatContinental Army

*This book is a bit challenging and works best when read with students reading at or above a fifth grade level. The lesson will take about 1-2 weeks to complete when students have 30 or more minutes for daily reading.

References

Books My Brother Sam is Dead written by James and Christopher Collier

George vs. George written by Rosalyn Schanzer

Websites

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/perspectives.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/barnold.htmhttp://www.history.org/kids/

Images

www.scholastic.comwww.hcsv.org/O_page/PressPage.htmacroixfam.home.comcast.net/.../RevSoldier.gif