Build Background

• Cut out pages 14, 16, and 17 of Seeds of the Revolution (Level X). Provide multiple copies of these primary sources for groups of students to review.
• Have students use the sources to discuss what they already know about the causes of the American Revolution. (Events that led to the Revolution include: British Parliament passing the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, Boston Massacre, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts).
• Create a KWL chart on the board and hand out the KWL worksheet. Review or explain that the K stands for knowledge we know, the W stands for information we want to know, and the L stands for the knowledge we learned. As you discuss the American Revolution, fill in the first row with information students already know about the topic. Have students complete the same section of their KWL chart.
• As a group, brainstorm things students would like to know about the American Revolution, and have them fill in the second row of their chart. Write some of these questions on the class chart as an example. Have students choose questions to place of their chart.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students a copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to use information from the covers to offer ideas as to the content of the book.
• Preview the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title of book, author's name).
• Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in the book. Ask students what they expect to read about based on the chapter titles in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss how having prior knowledge about a topic, and asking and answering questions while reading, can help readers understand and remember the information in a book.
• Model asking questions using the table of contents.
  Think-aloud: I can use the table of contents to think of questions I'd like to have answered about the American Revolution. For example, Chapter 2 is titled "The Second Continental Congress." This makes me think there must have been a First Continental Congress. I wonder what the purpose was for establishing a second congress. I'll have to read the book to find out. I'll write this question on the chart.
• Have students look at the other chapters. Have them write any questions they have based on the covers and table of contents in the W row of their KWL chart.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at maps, photos, and captions. Show students the glossary and index. Have them add any additional questions they might have on their KWL chart. Invite students to share their questions aloud. Write shared questions on the class chart.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Make inferences

• Explain that not all information in a book is directly stated. Sometimes readers need to make inferences by using details in the story to understand the indirect language used. Explain that an inference is a conclusion drawn by connecting clues in text to information already known. Making inferences allow readers to understand ideas in text on a deeper level.
• Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Point out the chapter titled "Second Continental Congress." Ask students to explain why this title leads the reader to think that there must have been a congress prior to the Second Continental Congress (the word second denotes that there must have been something that happened before).
• Think-aloud: I know an author does not directly state all the ideas in a story and that I must make inferences to understand the story completely. I know that good readers do this, so I'm going to make inferences in this story as I read.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Cut out the illustrations on pages 5, 7, and 13 from the book. Write the following vocabulary words on the board: delegates, representation, petition, and self-governing. Explain that when King George refused to repeal taxes, it became clear that the colonies would have to take certain steps to gain their independence from Great Britain.
• Show students the illustration from page 5. Point out the group of men taking part in a discussion. Ask students to explain why the arms of some of the men might be raised (they are voting). Discuss how these few men were chosen to represent the larger group of colonists by speaking and voting on behalf of the group. Ask students to identify positions in the current United States government that fulfill these roles (representatives and senators). Write the words delegates and representation on the board. Explain that delegates represent the voice of many people. Invite students to explain why a few delegates might be more beneficial than a large group.
• Briefly create a fictitious scenario where recess will no longer be included in the school day. Write the following statement on a large sheet of paper: Recess should be a part of the school day. Ask students who agree with this statement to sign their name on the piece of paper. Explain that the document that was created is called a petition. Discuss how a petition is another way for the people's voices to be heard. Explain that sending a petition to King George III, the ruler of Great Britain, was another step the colonists took toward gaining certain rights.
• Ask students to explain what they know about the Declaration of Independence. Have them identify the meaning of independence and tell what might happen if this document did not exist (the United States could not create and enforce its own laws, the country would be under the control of another governing body). Write the word self-governing on the board and ask students what they think this word means (the right to create and enforce laws without interference). Have students explain why the colonists wanted to be self-governing.
• Have volunteers use the words delegates, representation, petition, and self-governing to predict the events that occur as the colonists battle for independence. Invite them to write additional questions from the discussion on their KWL chart.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about the American Revolution and write what they learned in the third row of their KWL chart. Remind them to use the information they learned to make inferences about events in the story.

During Reading 

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 7. Remind them to read for information about the American Revolution that will answer questions on their KWL chart. Encourage students who finish early to go back and reread.
• When they have finished reading, have students circle any questions on their KWL chart that were answered and add any new questions that were generated.
• Model answering a question on the KWL chart and filling in additional information.
  Think-aloud: I wanted to know the purpose for establishing a Second Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress met to choose a commander for the colony's troops to fight the British. I also found out that not every colonist supported independence from Britain. I wonder what will happen to those individuals who wanted to remain under British rule. I will write this question on the class chart.
• Ask students to use information in the text and their prior knowledge to infer why some people did not support independence from Great Britain (they may have been afraid of the British, they may have thought the colonists would not be able to win against the British). Have students identify information from the text that supports their inferences (Washington had a ragtag groupÉwith few weapons and little or no training; powerful BritainÉwell-supplied army and navy).
• Introduce and explain the make inferences worksheet. Have students complete the first row of the worksheet using the information from the previous discussion.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 8.
  Have them write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book. Based on the information in the book, ask students to infer why the victory at Fort Ticonderoga provided the Patriots with a boost in morale (their enemy was much more prepared for battle, but they won). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (they were a ragtag group of farmers, not professional soldiers; they were fighting against men who were very well-suited and supplied, and so on). Have students record this information in the second row of their worksheet.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their questions and use information learned in each case to make inferences. Encourage them to add new questions they might have to their chart as they read.

    Have students make a question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read the word and figure out its meaning.

After Reading 

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for answers while reading, keeps them interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find the answers to their questions and helps them understand and remember what they have read.

    Have students circle the questions on their KWL chart that were answered by reading the book and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Invite them to share answers they found while reading.

• Think-aloud: I wanted to know more about what happened to the individuals who did support independence from Britain. I found out that the colonists had to decide whether to be a Loyalist, someone who wanted to remain part of Britain, or be a Patriot, someone who wanted independence from Britain.
• Invite students to discuss the "Thinking Critically" questions on pages 6 and 20. Have students use this discussion to brainstorm questions that remain about the American Revolution.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Ask students to reread page 10. Ask what can be inferred about the character of the Patriot troops (they were brave, resilient, and so on). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (they were not trained well but fought anyway, they had to wait to fight until the enemy was very close, they had little gunpowder and therefore little protection, and so on). Have them record this information on their make inferences worksheet.
• Independent practice: Have students reread A Spy's End on page 14. Ask them to think about what can be inferred from Nathan Hale's last words. Have students complete the make inferences worksheet by recording their answer on their worksheet. When they have finished, discuss their answers as a group (he was proud to die for his country, he was devoted to the cause of independence, he would likely repeat his actions if given the chance, and so on).

    Extend the discussion: Have students use the inside front cover of their book to answer the "Thinking Critically" question on page 12. Discuss their answers as a group.

Build Skills 

Grammar and Mechanics: Compound adjectives

• Write the following sentence on the board: The British won control of the two hills at the cost of many British lives. Have individual students come to the board and circle the adjectives in the sentence (two, many, British). Then have them underline the noun that each adjective describes (hills, lives). Point out that the last two adjectives describe the same noun.
• Review or explain that adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. An adjective tells which one, how many, or what kind.
• Write the following sentence on the board: Washington had a ragtag group of farmers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. Circle the word group. Have a volunteer come to the board and underline the word that describes the group (ragtag). Explain that this word in an example of a compound adjective. Point out that each part of a compound adjective alone does not describe the noun. For example, it doesn't make sense to describe Washington's army as a rag group or a tag group, but together the words rag and tag create a compound adjective that correctly describes the group.
• Write the following sentence on the board: The Continental Congress wrote a document to provide them with self-governing rights. Circle the word rights. Have a volunteer come to the board and underline the word that describes the group (self-governing). Point out that the adjective self-governing is hyphenated. Discuss the differences between hyphenated and non-hyphenated compound adjectives.

    Check for understanding: Have students work in pairs to reread page 6 to find two compound adjectives (well-trained, well-supplied). Have them identify the nouns these adjectives describe (army and navy). Ask them to discuss with their partner the reasons why each word within the compound adjective could not describe its noun alone (It doesn't make sense to say a well army, and so on).

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compound adjectives worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers aloud.

Word Work: Prefixes dis-, mis-, un-

• Write the following prefixes on the board: dis-, mis- and un-. Discuss the meaning of each prefix: dis- (apart from; not), mis- (wrong), un- (not).
• Have students turn to page 4 in the text and locate the word unpopular. Ask what this word means (not liked). Have students explain how the meaning of the sentence would be changed if the prefix un- were not part of the word. Repeat the process with the words disagreements (page 4) and mistreated (page 15).
• Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board: continued, concerned, and understood. Have students identify the meaning of each base word. Then have students add the prefixes dis-, un-, and mis- (discontinued, unconcerned, misunderstood). Have students identify how the meaning of each word has changed.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the prefixes worksheet.

Build Fluency 

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section of the book.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students practice asking and answering questions about the story with someone at home. Then have them review their KWL chart to remember what they've learned.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Provide several print and Internet resources for students to research an historical figure from the time of the American Revolution (George Washington, Thomas Gage, John Burgoyne, King George III, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, William Howe, Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis, or Marquis de Lafayette). Have students choose one individual and write a research paper identifying the major contributions of that individual during the Revolutionary period and evaluating his impact on history. Allow time for students to present their papers orally. 

Science and Social Studies Connection
Discuss the consequences of only depicting one side of a story. Compare the accounts of the two spies described in this book: Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold. Discuss possible reasons why Hale is regarded as a hero in American history but Arnold is regarded as the ultimate traitor. Ask students to consider how history books in Great Britain might refer to these two players in the American Revolution and how their opinions of these men's actions may contrast with those of history books in the United States.

Assessment 

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• consistently ask relevant questions about the topic prior to and during reading; locate answers to their questions in the text and understand that not all answers are found in one source
• use context clues and prior knowledge to make inferences while reading and on a worksheet
• understand and identify compound adjectives used in the text and on a worksheet
• apply the correct prefixes on a worksheet

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric

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