When faced with
the decision of
loyalty or liberty,
what would you
decide?
MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD by James & Christopher Collier
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?
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 Revolution
Colonial 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
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.
“Why should they get
rich off our taxes
back in England?”
-Sam p.7
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. 2
I 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.
Before
Reading Page
3
2
1
Before
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.
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 Acts
Boston Massacre and Tea Party
Battles 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:
Tory
Lobsterback
Patriot
Loyalist
Turncoat
Continental 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.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/barnold.htm
http://www.history.org/kids/
Images
www.scholastic.com
www.hcsv.org/O_page/PressPage.htm
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