American Revolution

Times were different in the days before America was an independent nation. America was a group of thirteen colonies that belonged to Great Britain. Some colonies tried to pass laws prohibiting baths—and this was in the days before showers! Can you guess which colonies? A common kitchen utensil familiar to all was a "mush stick"—what would that be used for? And, any school students were given hornbooks to learn from? Can you guess what a hornbook was?

By the time the colonies were ready to break free from England new Americans were involved in many rebellious events…you may have heard of The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre. By 1774, a Continental Congress was formed to debate and vote on what the colonies should do about their troubles with England. Virginia's Thomas Jefferson was drafted to write a Declaration of Independence with help from other colonial leaders. It took Jefferson seventeen days to write the famous Declaration of Independence…..and, he did something every day before he sat down at his desk to write. Do you know what it is?

American Revolution by Mary Pope Osborn and Natalie Pope Boyce is a non-fiction companion to the book Revolution on Wednesday by Mary's Magic Tree House series. It's a book that anyone can read for information about Revolutionary War times. And, you can find out the answers to some of the more interesting questions about life in the America before it was the United States of America such as the ones posed above.

American Revolution is a great book for readers in third grade or above….or, for parents needing to brush up on American Revolutionary War history before helping kids with homework.

Osborne, Mary Pope and Natalie Pop Boyce. American Revolution. New York: Random House. 2004. Print.

Blown Away!

Oh my goodness…..what a book! I picked up Blown Away because it is a contender for this year's Virginia Reader's Choice Award in the Elementary category. I was happily reading through a sweet story of a boy named Jake, his friends Mara, a mule named Jewel and her best dog friend Ruby and an old man named Sharkey. Jake's life revolves around his family and his friends in the 1930s Florida Keys. Not surprisingly, the story paints sunny mental pictures of sand, shore, fishing and sweet life in a small, remote town until……the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 blows through and gives the story its title. By page 148 I was so convincingly wrapped up in the monster hurricane that I couldn't put the book down until I finished it on page 250. Wow! This is an incredible story about a "storm of the century", government response and the combination of fate, circumstances and "grit" that enable people to survive the strongest forces of nature. I was impressed by and touched by the role poetry played in this story…a very nice way of integrating emotions of the characters in good and challenging times.

After the hurricane, Jake must do what he can to save his family with some unusual help from his friends. The author thoughtfully provides readers with details that are true about the history and facts the story were based on. Blown Away is a great book for boys as the main character is a thirteen year old boy. I'll be waiting to see if Blow Away wins a prize in Virginia this year.

Harlow, J. Blown Away. (2007). New York. Aladdin Paperbacks.

Picture Books that illustrate 6th Grade US-VA History

I had a fantastic opportunity to volunteer at Mayfield 6 this spring. Since the school was without a library for the second half of their year, Mayfield librarians found ways of bringing library to their students—a remarkable feat—but that is a story for another day.

One teacher asked me to bring books to read aloud to her students that fit with their 6^th grade Standards of Virginia Learning: The SOLs. Since Social Studies is my "thing," I found this assignment more than just a little fun.

All of the books below are picture books—a GREAT way for students of any age to learn about history. However, these books are especially helpful to reluctant readers/learners. If you have a fifth grader looking ahead to 6^th grade US History, give some of these books a look over the summer. All of these books were borrowed from the Prince William County Library.

Title	Author	Category	Description/Comment
The Escape of Oney Judge	Amy Arnold McCully	E = Easy Reader	Oney is Martha Custiss Washington's slave. George Washington frees his slaves upon his death…but Martha's family doesn't. Oney must escape to experience freedom. True story.
Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story	Janet Halfman	J=Juvenile	Robert is a slave that achieves the rank of ship's captain in the Confederacy until he escapes to the Union. Smalls goes on to greatness after. True story.
The Story of the H.L. Hunley and Queenie's Coin	Fran Hawk	J	The development of submarine warfare…astoundingly good and true story.
Daniel Boone's Great Escape	Michael Spradlin	J Bio	Exciting picture book biography of Daniel Boone. Kids LOVED it.
January's Sparrow	Patricia Polacco	J fic	We can teach facts about slavery and escaping to freedom but cannot give the feeling of it like Polacco can. Based on a true story
Pink and Say	Patricia Polacco	J fic	We can teach facts about fighting the Civil War but cannot give the feeling of it like Polacco can. Based on a true story.
Mississippi Mud: Three Prairie Journals	Ann Warren Turner	J	Poems of the journey west to Oregon from the points of view of 3 children in a family.
The Legend of Blue Jacket	Michael Spradlin	J	Incredible story of a young American's kidnapping and adoption into the Shawnee tribe….Blue Jacket's life is intertwined with Daniel Boone. Based on true stories.
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek	Deborah Hopkinson	E	Not an SOL book….but oh, so much fun to read. Will have kids giggling and thinking about a different side of Abe Lincoln and his buddy.
Don't Know Much About the Pioneers	Kenneth C. Davis	J	Author of the fun "Don't Know Much" series…Davis presents lots of interesting facts about pioneer life. This one is not one that I got to read aloud…would of if I had the time.
Duel of the Ironclads: The Monitor vs. The Virginia	Patrick O'Brien	J	I left this book for the teacher to read aloud. It's a wonderful story about the making of the first ironclads—true story but reads like a fiction book with amazing illustrations.