Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month.  In light of this, and because I'm learning about the American Revolution this year, my Mom had me read these two books.  I liked them both.  I cannot pick a favorite.

For my assignment, I had to pick 5 of the women featured in the books and do poster reports on them, highlighting 5 facts about each woman.  Here are my posters:

The Nancy Hart State Park in Georgia is only a little over an hour away from our house, so we are going to have a field trip soon.  At the park is a replica of the cabin where she shot the British soldiers.

I hope I can be brave and courageous in my life, like these women were in their lives.  The saying goes,  "Well behaved women never make history."  I'll try to make good choices in my life, but not necessarily do what others think I should do . . . because being ladylike stinks.  (Direct quote.)

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Sarah Bishop Timeline and Character Analysis

My Mom and I read this book together.  It is about a young girl, named Sarah Bishop, who lives in New England during the American Revolution.  It is a great book and I highly recommend it.  Sarah has a crazy life, filled with tragedy and adventure.  To capture this, my Mom gave me the assignment to create a timeline of the main events in the story.  Then I was suppose to identify three traits in Sarah that I admire and support them with details from the story.  Here is my assignment:

Sarah Bishop's Timeline

• Her brother Chad became a patriot soldier.
• Her father was killed by the Sons of Liberty because he was a loyalist.
• She was accused of starting a fire that she do not start.
• Her brother Chad died on a war ship.
• She escaped from the Redcoats and became a wanted woman.
• She escaped from Sam Goshen, a man who wanted to do her harm.
• She moved into a cave on Long Pond.
• She fought off an Indian that wanted her out of Long Pond.
• She was accused of witchcraft by witch hunters.
• She went to trial and was found not guilty of witchcraft.

I think Sarah Bishop is brave because... She was accused of starting a fire she did not start, then she away ran from the Redcoats to live in a cave by herself. She was bitten by a copperhead and survived the bite. She was accused of witchcraft and actually went to to defend herself at the trial.

I think Sarah Bishop is intelligent because... She made a cave into a decent home. She survived on her own in the wilderness. She made almost everything she had in her cave by herself.

I think Sarah Bishop is strong because... She is not afraid to use her musket if someone would cause her harm. She fought off an Indian from her home. She found a way to live in peace even knowing that everyone in her family is dead.  

Signing Off,

*Evalynn* and Mom

Where, What, and Why - A Lolly Dolly Play

After reading several books about the American Revolution, my Mom and I created these Lolly Dollies of the historical people from the Revolution that I found most interesting and important.  My Mom drew the people and I colored them.  Then I was given the assignment to write questions I would like to ask them.  I typed up the questions, edited them for grammar, revised the questions, and practiced answering them with my Mom.  I created a time machine, went back to the late 1700s and grabbed all of these people, and brought them to my house to ask them my questions.  Hot off the press, here is my cutting edge journalism:

UGGGGHHH!  NEVERMIND.  My mom cannot get the video to load!  She has tried everything she can think of and it's not working.  Anyhow . . .

Here are the questions I asked the guests in the interviews.  See if you know all the answers.  I do.

King George the Third

King George, how are you?

Do you really have 15 children?

How do you manage?

George Washington

How could you believe in slavery?

Are your teeth really wooden?

Samuel Adams

Why were the Sons of Liberty so violent?

Were you really one of 12 children born in your family?

Patriot Soldier

How did you survive Valley Forge?

Why did you want to be in the Army?

Redcoat Soldier

Do you like King George?

What do you think of the taxes on the Americans?

Paul Revere

What was your horse's name?

How many miles did you ride?

Thomas Jefferson

How long did it take you to write the Declaration of Independence?

Was it hard to be President after George Washington and John Adams?

Benjamin Franklin

How did you get the French on our side?

How did you feel when the French King said France would help us?

Minute Man

Could you really get ready in a minute?

Button Spy

Were you scared that you were going to get caught?

Molly Pitcher

How did you feel when your husband fell wounded?

Signing Off,

*Evalynn* and Mom

Vote for George!

I've been reading books about George Washington.  My Mom gave me the assignment to pretend that George Washington was alive today and running for President again.  As his campaign poster designer,  my task was to make an eye-catching design and write five concise bullet points about why you should vote for him.  I wrote the bullet points based on the knowledge I gained from reading about him.  Here's why you should vote for George:

• I keep control of my emotions at all times.
• I am compassionate and always polite.
• My history shows that I am brave and determined.
• Most people agree that I am the best General in the history of America.
• I will work with all citizens to grow our Country to prosperity.

Signing Off,

*Evalynn* and Mom

George Vs. George

My Mom and I read George vs. George, by Rosalyn Schanzer.  This book is amazing.  It shows both sides of the American Revolution.  Before I read this book, I had not even thought about how the British might have felt about the war.  The writing and the pictures are informative and interesting.  I highly recommend this book to kids interested in the American Revolution.

My Mom gave me the assignment to write a test for her on the information we learned in the book.  Then she wrote a test for me too.  Do you want to see if you could pass our tests?  Here you go:

1.  How tall were both George Washington and King George III?
A.  5'7"
B.  Over 6'
C.  7'6"

2.  How many kids did King George have?
A.  20
B.  30
C.  15

3.  What was George Washington's wife named?
A.  Martha Custis
B.  Charlotte White
C.  Betty Mans

4.  What did Samuel Jackson say about the Americans?
A.  We should stop the taxes.
B.  How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of Negros.

5.  How many slaves did George Washington have by 1775?
A.  135
B.  600
C. 144

6.  What year did the Boston Tea Party happen?
A.  1774
B.  1775
C.  1773

7.  The Daughters of Liberty . . .
A.  did not exist.
B.  sang before battles.
C.  made their own tea and ball gowns instead of buying from the British.

8.  What is a Hessian soldier?
A.  A German soldier.
B.  An American soldier.
C.  A British soldier.

9.  Who had the biggest signature on the Declaration of Independence?
A.  John Hancock
B.  Ben Franklin
C.  Benjamin Harrison

10.  Where was the final battle of the war?
A.  Yorktown
B.  Bunker Hill
C.  Saratoga

11.  True or False: George Washington is known as the "Father of our Country" and King George III is  known as the "Father of the People."

12:  True or False: Great Britain made more money trading with an independent America than it did from owning and taxing the Colonies.

13.  True or False:  John Adams wanted to meet with King George III two years after the peace treaty, but King George refused him.

14.  True or False:  King George suffered from a hereditary condition that caused brief bouts of madness.

15.  True or False:  King Georg made the laws, not British Parliament.

16.  True or False:  King Louis XVI of France signed a treaty in 1978 recognizing the U.S. as a new nation and promising ships, soldiers, and money.

17.  True or False: A Quaker housewife living across from British headquarters in Philadelphia, spied on the Redcoats and sent the information sewn into shirts to George Washington.

18.  True or False:  General Cornwallis delivered a white flag of surrender to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781, signifying the unofficial end of the war.

19.  True or False: The First Continental Congress, with delegates from the 13 colonies, was the governing body of the new U.S. until 1789 when George Washington was elected president.

20.  True or False:  At Valley Forge, about 2,500 of George Washington's soldiers died from starvation, freezing, or sickness.


How do you think you did?  Here are the answers:

1.  B
2.  C
3.  A
4.  B
5.  A
6.  C
7.  C
8.  A
9.  A
10.  A
11.  T
12.  T
13.  F - King George actually accepted John Adams with open arms.
14.  T
15.  F - King George worked with Parliament to make laws.
16.  T
17.  F - She wrote the information on cloth buttons.
18.  F - Cornwallis sent his second-in-command to deliver the white flag.  George Washington would not accept it from the second-in-command, so he sent Cornwallis' messenger to his own second-in-command.
19.  T
20.  T

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Mini Book Review

My Mom and I read a hilarious book called, John, Paul, George, & Ben, by Lane Smith.  I think this book is funny and informative.  You probably need to know a little about the American Revolution in order to understand the jokes in the book.  My favorite thing I learned in this book was that Benjamin Franklin was known for his sayings.  My two favorites are:

1.  Fish and visitors stink after three days.

2.  Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

These are real sayings that Ben Franklin actually said.

In closing, I would totally recommend this book to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

American Revolution Comic Strip

After finishing a book with my mom about the American Revolution, I was assigned to create a 9-strip comic about some of the major events we learned about.  This is my finished masterpiece.

Boston Tea Party.  Who could forget that!?

I will include what I wrote in the quotation bubbles in italics:

No taxation without representation!

I hate this law!  And this tea.

Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet titled, Common Sense.  I'm sure most of you know about the famous speech that Patrick Henry gave when he declared, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Common sense, people!

Give me liberty or give me death!

On a midnight ride, Paul Revere bellowed, "The Redcoats are coming!"  The Redcoats were the British Army.

The Redcoats are coming!

I was in the middle of a perfect dream.

When they heard that the Redcoats were coming, farmers, who called themselves Minute Men, assembled to fight.  No one knows which side shot first, but 8 Minute Men were killed, and the war was started.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his famous poem, called that first shot "the shot heard around the world."

Bang!

What was that!?

I think a war has started.

On famous Bunker Hill, even though we lost, we proved to the Redcoats that is was not going to be easy to beat us Americans!

We won, but I think this is going to get uglier.

The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.  It was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson.  It officially declared to King George III and Britain that America was a free and independent country.  Even after they wrote it, they still had to fight for it.

It's the 4th of July, 1776.

We have declared our independence!

John!  Why is your signature so big!

In 1778 the French entered the war to help America.  They had a lot of warships and weapons.  This was a turning point in the war.

We are coming!

Molly Pitcher was a famous woman in the war.  When her husband fell wounded (he was in charge of the cannon), she stepped in and took his place.  She also carried water out to the soldiers right on the battle field.  I guess that's why she's called Molly Pitcher :)

Love you, Honey.  Bye!

At Yorktown we surrounded the British (also known as encircled), and won the war!  The British General Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.  The Redcoats played, "The World Turned Upside Down," as they gave their weapons to the Americans.  The peace treaty between Britain and America was signed in 1783.

I surrender!

You're encircled.

Thanks for reading.  Signing-Off,
Evalynn and Mom