A Day in the Life of a Revolutionary Soldier
Students will write a journal entry as if they were a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Students should discuss the importance of the soldier’s equipment in relationship to daily life.
Lesson Partners: The Powder Magazine of South Carolina, Knowitall.org
Grade(s):
- 4
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
None required, but computers with a word processing program will help students complete the required final product which is graded for assessment.
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
- Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, by Steven Krensky
- “Revolutionary Soldier Equipment Fact Sheet”
- “Excerpts from Joseph Plumb Martin’s Journal”
- “Fictional Account of a Revolutionary War Soldier’s Day” with online video
- Journal Worksheet
Lesson Progression
1. Introduce the students to the lesson.
- Open with the following question: Can anyone tell me what they think it would be like to be a soldier? This will get the students to start thinking about what it would be like to be a soldier.
- Read Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride; discuss the book with the students.
- Answer the questions: What war was this story about? Who was fighting the war? Why, do you think, they were fighting? What equipment do you think a soldier needs in order to do his job? Why are these items important?
2. Distribute the “Revolutionary Soldier Equipment Fact Sheet,” and ask the following question: What are some jobs that require you to have certain equipment to do the job?
- Discuss the terms provided on the Revolutionary Soldier Equipment Fact Sheet.
- Ask the students which item from the Revolutionary Soldier Equipment Fact
- Sheet they feel is the most important and why?
- Create a bar graph in class based on student opinion of the most important piece of equipment of a Revolutionary War soldier.
3. Read and show online video of “Fictional Account of a Revolutionary War Soldier’s Day.” Discuss what life was like for the soldier. Answer these questions: How do you think the soldier was feeling? Do you think his life was easy or hard? Did you recognize any of the equipment he was using? Name some of the equipment and how it was used.
4. Have students read Joseph Plumb Martin’s real-life account as a Revolutionary War soldier; have students write questions they have about the journal entries. Use the student’s questions to emphasize the hardships endured by a Revolutionary War soldier.
Teacher Notes
Extension Activities:
Language Arts Activity- Students will write a letter to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan to find out what daily life is like for him/her. Please visit www.amillionthanks.org for guidelines.
Revolutionary Soldier’s Equipment Fact Sheet
List of glossary terms of the equipment a Revolutionary War soldier would carry.
View ResourceExcerpts from Joseph Plumb Martin’s Journal (Private Yankee Doodle)
Personal journal entries of Joseph Plumb Martin
View ResourceA Day in the Life of a Soldier | Powder Magazine Museum
Glimpse how a continental soldier in the American Revolution might view his life during America's first civil war. Based on the personal diaries of a real continental soldier, Joseph Plumb Martin, the student can hear, from the words expressed through a soldier's letter, the harsh every-day conditions that soldiers in Washington's army experienced.
View ResourceThe Southern Campaign of the American Revolution
The Southern Campaign was critical in determining the outcome of the American Revolutionary War, yet the South’s importance has been downplayed in most historical accounts to date.
Eight online educational lessons are based around short video segments produced in a documentary style, consisting of historical reenactments, demonstrations, interviews with historians, period artifacts and music, artistic renderings, and maps.
Standards
- 4-3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the conflict between the American colonies and England.
Assessments
Students will write a historically accurate journal entry as James Southerland on the following day (April 2). Be sure to include at least three equipment terms from the Revolutionary Soldier Equipment Fact Sheet. A grading rubric is included in the resources.