Lesson Plan - A Daring Mission

Choose the activity that best supports your students:

• Visit junior.scholastic.com to view the video “Was the Revolution a Civil War?” Ask students to write down five key terms they hear as they watch, then review those terms as a class.

• Direct students to examine the map of the 13 Colonies on p. 18. Ask students to identify what they notice and what they wonder. If students have been studying the American Revolution, activate prior knowledge by asking them to identify locations on the map where events they have studied took place.

• Use the skill builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms: colonist, Continental Congress, legacy, merchant, siege, skirmish, tax, and treaty.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to circle or highlight any words whose meanings they are unsure of. If possible, have students interact further with the text by annotating in the margins with these symbols: 

! = something surprising 

? = I have a question. 

X = something bad 

+ = something good 

✓ = I already knew that. 

Begin a discussion by asking students to share about their annotations.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• What is the mood of the first paragraph of the article? What words help convey that mood? (Word Choice)
The mood of the first paragraph is tense and apprehensive, as Dicey Langston prepares to cross a raging river. Words like pitch-black and churning set the tone for the article by communicating the danger that Dicey is facing.

• Why did the British military set its sights on the southern colonies in the late 1770s? (Key Details)
British military leaders set their sights on the southern colonies in the late 1770s because they thought they might find more support there than in the north, where they were having trouble defeating the Continental Army. They zeroed in on South Carolina because it was a wealthy colony with many colonists still loyal to Great Britain’s King George III.

• Use textual evidence to support the idea that the war deeply affected everyday people. (Text Evidence)
Sample response: After the capture of Charleston, South Carolina, there was intense conflict between patriots and loyalists in that colony. The text states, “Neighbors and even family members turned on each other.” People within the same communities found themselves on opposite sides of a violent conflict.

• How were patriot militias and the Continental Army similar? How were they different? (Compare and Contrast)
Patriot militias and the Continental Army were similar in that they both played key roles in winning the American Revolution. Militias had existed in the colonies since the 1600s. They were groups of men and teenage boys that took up arms in defense of their towns and colonies when needed. They usually had limited training. In contrast, the Continental Army was formed in June 1775 to fight for the colonies’ independence from Great Britain. It was organized under a single commander, George Washington, and its members were trained as professional soldiers.

• Choose one example of Dicey Langston’s bravery and summarize it in your own words. Be sure to explain both what she did and the effect of her actions. (Summarizing)
Sample response: Dicey overheard that a band of loyalists intended to attack a patriot settlement where hundreds of people, including her brother, lived. She embarked on a long trek alone at night to warn her brother and the rest of his militia. Her actions ultimately saved hundreds of people, as her brother and the other militiamen were able to alert the rest of the settlement about the planned attack in time for them to evacuate.

• The text states that Dicey took significant personal risks during the war because she was passionate about the patriot cause. What is one additional factor that might have motivated Dicey to take action? (Making Inferences)
Sample response: Dicey was likely also motivated by a desire to keep her family safe. When Dicey crossed the Enoree River to share vital information with patriot militiamen, she protected her brother. Later in the war, when loyalists entered her home and aimed a gun at her father, she protected him, standing between the gun and her father and persuading the men to leave.

• What is the purpose of the section “Sharing Her Story”? (Author’s Purpose)
The section “Sharing Her Story” shows how Dicey persevered through the rest of the war and gives information about Dicey’s life after the war. It also explains how Dicey’s story was preserved by one of her descendants and gives examples of how people in South Carolina continue to honor her today.

Your Turn: Write a Journal Entry

Direct students to the “Your Turn” prompt at the end of the article. Ask students to choose an event from Dicey’s life that is described in the text and write a journal entry about it from Dicey’s point of view. Share this prompt: What might Dicey have been thinking and feeling in that moment?

Analyze a Political Cartoon

Share the political cartoon skill builder Join, or Die to help students explore one way that the patriots spread their message of protest during the American Revolution. Ask students to talk through the questions in small group, student-led discussions before sharing their ideas with the whole class.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.