Build Background

• Discuss what students already know about the causes and events of the American Revolution. Ask them to share what they already know about the events that followed the American Revolution. Create a KWL chart on the board. Introduce and explain the KWL worksheet to students. 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 the topics are discussed, fill in the first row (K) with information students know about the topic. Have students complete the same section of their own KWL chart.
• Ask students what they would like to know about the American Revolution. Have them fill in the second row (W) of their chart. Write their questions on the class chart.
• For a better understanding of this book, have students first read Seeds of the Revolution (Level X) and Battling for Independence (Level Y). Provide multiple copies of these books for groups of students to review.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their 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 offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
• Preview the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss how asking and answering questions while reading, can help readers understand and remember the information in a book.
• Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and how it is organized. After previewing the table of contents, use it to model asking questions.
• Think-aloud: I can use the table of contents to think of questions I'd like to have answered about the events that happened after the American Revolution. For example, Chapter 3 is titled "The Treaty of Paris." I know that Paris is a city in France. Is France helping the colonists? Perhaps they are helping them to build the new nation. How might France help the colonists? What was written in the treaty? I'll have to read the book to find out. I'll write these questions 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: Problem and solution

• Write the words problem and solution on the board. Ask students to explain their understanding of the meaning of each word.
• Review or explain that a problem is something that is difficult to deal with or hard to understand and must be worked out or solved. A solution is an act or a process of solving a problem. Ask students to share examples of a problem they faced and how they found a solution for, or solved, the problem.
• Explain to students that good readers of nonfiction text look for problems and solutions as they read. Model finding problems and solutions.
  Think-aloud: I know that early on, the colonists faced many struggles with Great Britain. Eventually, the colonists faced the problem of wanting to gain independence from Great Britain. What were some of the causes of the colonists' unrest? (They were tired of Britain's tyrannical rule, unfair taxation, and soldiers taking over their homes.) These acts on the part of Great Britain frustrated the colonists and led them to find a solution to their problem. What was the colonists' solution? (They declared war on Britain, stating their desire to be free of its rule.)
• Ask students to explain whether they think the colonists will continue to experience problems after the end of the war with Great Britain. Discuss what types of problems the colonists might face and why.

Introduce the Vocabulary

    Cut out the illustrations on pages 12 and 13 from the book. Write the following vocabulary words on the board: representatives, appointed, constitution, and ratify. Say each word aloud with students.

• Show students the illustration from page 12. Point out the group of men taking part in a discussion. 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 representatives and appointed on the board. Explain that the delegates represent the voice of many people. The people appoint, or vote into office, those representatives. Invite students to explain why a few delegates might be more beneficial than a large group.
• Show students the illustration from page 13. Ask students to explain what they know about the Constitution of the United States. Have them discuss the meaning of constitution and tell what might happen if this document did not exist (the United States government could not create and enforce its own laws, the country would not have a document to refer to when debating about new laws).
• Write the word ratify on the board and ask students what they think this word means (to approve through legal means). Have students explain why the representatives had to work hard to get all of the people to ratify the Constitution.
• Read the definitions of the four vocabulary words in the glossary. Have volunteers use the words representatives, appointed, constitution, and ratify to predict the events that occur as the thirteen colonies struggle to build a nation.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions and write what they learned in the L row of their KWL chart. Remind them to use the information they learned to identify problems and solutions encountered as the colonies worked to build a new nation.

During Reading 

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Remind them to look for information 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 whether the existence of the Treaty of Paris meant that France was helping the colonists. Although the treaty was signed in Paris, France, I learned that the Treaty of Paris was actually between Great Britain and the 13 colonies. It was an official document that ended the American Revolution. Although the text does not explain why the treaty was signed in France, why might you think it was signed there? (France was a neutral ground for both sides.) I also learned that after the war ended, the United States had huge debts from the war but no power to tax people to raise money to pay off those debts. Why might it be difficult to convince the colonists to agree to more taxes? (The colonists have been taxed unfairly by Great Britain, which was one of the causes of the American Revolution.) I wonder whether the United States will use taxes to pay off the debts. I will write this question on the class chart.
• Ask students to use the information in the text and their prior knowledge to explain why the government's inability to tax was a problem for the new nation (money problems led to rebellions, the nation could not pay back individuals and other nations that lent it money). Ask students to share possible solutions to this problem. Write these on the board. Invite students to share another problem faced by the new nation (a stronger government was needed).
• Introduce and explain the problem and solution worksheet. Have students record the problems on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 15. 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 identify the solutions to the problems of an inability to tax and a need for a stronger federal government (a constitution was drafted that gave Congress the power to tax; three branches of government--a legislative, executive, and judicial branch--were established with a system of checks and balances). Have students compare these solutions with their possible solutions. Have them record the final solutions to each problem on their worksheet.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their questions and use information learned to identify problems and their solutions. 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 words and figure out their meanings.

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 whether the United States used taxes to pay off the war debts. I already learned that the United States created a document called the Constitution, which gave Congress the power to tax.
• Invite students to discuss the "Thinking Critically" questions on page 21. Have students use this discussion to brainstorm questions that remain about the topic.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Discuss how, as the new nation was being built, it encountered problems that needed to be solved. Ask students to reread page 16. Ask them to identify an additional problem faced by the United States (what to do with the amount of land gained after the Revolutionary War). Have students record the problem on their worksheet. Then have them identify the solution to the problem (The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established how to fairly divide up the land) and write it on their worksheet. When students have finished, discuss their answers.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the problem and solution worksheet by identifying an additional problem faced by the United States during this time period (British and French ships began seizing and searching U.S. ships). Have them record the problem and its solution (the U.S. declared war on Britain in 1812) on their worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.
• Enduring Understanding: Change is not only inevitable but continues to take place in our world. Change, such as building a nation, is a process that takes time. Now that you know this, how does this information affect your understanding of developing countries in our world today?

Build Skills 

Grammar and Mechanics: Compound adjectives

• Write the following sentence on the board: The peace treaty established two important ideas. Have individual students come to the board and circle the adjectives in the sentence (peace, two, important). Then have them underline the noun that each adjective describes (treaty, ideas). 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: He served a four-year term as president of the United States. Circle the word terms. Have a volunteer come to the board and underline the word that describes the terms (four-year). Explain that this word is 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 the terms as four terms or year terms, but together the words four and year create a compound adjective that correctly describes the word term.
• Have a volunteer come to the board and circle the compound adjective (four-year). Have another volunteer underline the noun that the compound adjective describes (terms). Ask students why they think the hyphen is important. (The phrase year term doesn't make sense, so the hyphen connects the word four with year, becoming four-year term. Also, if the hyphen is missing, the sentence could be read and comprehended incorrectly.)

    Check for understanding: Have students work in pairs to reread pages 5 and 7 in their book to find the two compound adjectives (present-day, British-controlled). Have them identify the nouns these adjectives describe (United States, Canada). Ask them to discuss with their partner the reasons why each word within the compound adjective could not describe its noun alone.

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

Word Work: Prepositional phrases

• Write the following sentence on the board: I'll do this after lunch. Point out the word after. Ask students to explain the word's meaning in the sentence (it explains when something will be done).
• Review or explain that the word after is a preposition, and that prepositions are words that show a relationship between things. They provide information about where, when, how, why, and with what something happens. Ask students to identify possible prepositions that identify where, when, how, why, or with what something happens. Record these in a list on the board. (A list of common prepositions includes: aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but, by, down, during, except, for from, in, inside, into, like near, of, off, on, out, over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.)
• Explain that a phrase is a short group of words, and that a prepositional phrase is the group of words beginning with the preposition and ending with the word that is the object of the preposition. Refer to the sentence I'll do this after lunch. Ask students to identify the prepositional phrase (after lunch).
• Write the following sentence on the board: It would take several years after its approval to show its flaws. Point to the word after. Have a volunteer explain how the preposition is used in this sentence (it explains when). Ask a student to come up to the board to circle the prepositional phrase (after its approval).

    Check for understanding: Have students look through the text and circle     examples of prepositional phrases. On the board, circle the prepositions students    identify in the book. Discuss the type of information each prepositional phrase provides (how, when, why, and so on) and how each one links the words in the sentence. 

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the prepositional phrases 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 discuss with someone at home the problems and solutions the United States encountered as it worked to build the nation.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Provide several print and Internet resources for students to research one of the first three presidents of the United States: George Washington, John Adams, or Thomas Jefferson. Have students write a research paper that includes such information as: date of birth, where he was born, education, events leading to oath of office, date he took office, the major contributions during his presidency, and an evaluation of his impact on history. Allow time for students to present their papers orally.

Social Studies Connection
Review the Timeline of the American Revolution on page 22 of the book. Discuss how even though the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the first state did not officially enter the union until 1787. Provide several print and Internet resources for students to research the order in which states entered the union. Have them record the name of the state and date of entry on a timeline.

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
• understand and effectively identify problems and solutions in the text during discussion and on a worksheet
• understand and identify compound adjectives in the text and on a worksheet
• correctly identify and understand the use of prepositional phrases during discussion and on a worksheet

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