A Revolutionary Field Trip: Poems of Colonial America

by Susan Katz

The class is embarking on the field trip of a lifetime, as they head to colonial America. This spirited collection of poetry brings our country's birth to life. With drummers drumming, Native Americans powwowing, and the signers of the Declaration inscribing independence forevermore, the class leaves no cobblestone unturned. And now you can discover for yourself how things really were.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, American Revolution

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2004

About the author

Susan Katz is the Camp Fire Girl on the left in the photo, which is what she still looks like on the inside. On the outside, she's morphed into the author of eight children's books.

Her first book was a middle-grade novel, SNOWDROPS FOR COUSIN RUTH, winner of the Paterson Prize and a Publishers' Weekly Flying Start honor.

Her most recent books are THE PRESIDENT'S STUCK IN THE BATHTUB (Clarion Books, Feb., 2012), a Junior Library Guild selection, and the humorous science-fiction e-book, FLAT LIKE FRED. story of the boy who saved the Earth from alien tadpoles and the planet Bovine (where the cow who jumped over the moon landed) from its terrible mouse-elephant rampages.

Her picture book. OH, THEODORE! was an Oprah Pick, winner of a Utah Beehive Award and a Texas 2 x 2 Award, as well as a selection of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.

WHEN THE SHADBUSH BLOOMS, co-authored with Carla Messinger - the story of two Lenni Lenape girls living through the round of the seasons, one in modern times and one in historical times - was a finalist for a National Children's Choice Book award.

Currently she's working on the final stages of a new children's novel, THE UNKNOWN LAND, and a collection of poems about Theodore Roosevelt and his six children, ARCHIE AND QUENTIN, Poems of a White House Childhood.

Reviews

[Tammy Barnett]

This book of poems was an interesting take on the revolutionary time period. I was drawn in by the title and topic. Teaching students about the past can be exciting and I thought a poem book related to that topic might be fun. After reading the book, I think I would still use it to add to the books students can pick to read during the unit I am not sure I would really focus on it as much as I would have originally thought. (But it could be because the poems are not the style I enjoy most, so maybe I would try to use it before making the final judgment.) The poems did include a lot of vocabulary which is really great and in the back of the book there was a glossary to help give a better understanding of the tricky words. The illustrations were fun and did include enough information to help understand the poems better. I liked the thought of a field trip and the pages guided the reader through the experience. It was a fun book that introduces poems in a social studies theme.

[Teri]

This book is a collection of twenty poems for elementary aged school children. These poems aim to entertain young readers while teaching them about pioneer life, native life, and American history. Colorful illustrations accompany each poem. Mrs. Brown imparts her enthusiasm for American history by taking her class on a series of field trips to historic sites. The book also includes an extensive glossary of Colonial terms and maps of both the British Colonies and "Native Tribes and Nations."

Age/Grade: ages 9-12

Instructional Ideas:
Using poetry to explore content vocabulary. The vocabulary level of this book has a good mix of familiar vocabulary, easy to sound out text, and new words for elementary school level children. Clues about the vocabulary can easily be gleamed from the surrounding rhymes as well as the associated illustrations.

[Marcia]

Third grade characters share poems of their field trip to a colonial village (similar to Sturbridge or Deerfield). The poems aren't great, but the third grade voices ring true. A fun connection to the 3rd grade American History unit.