Students examine the roles of women during the Revolution. They learn about women's contributions both on and off the battlefield and explore the stories of some female heroes of the period.
Students examine the roles of women during the Revolution. They learn about women's contributions both on and off the battlefield and explore the stories of some female heroes of the period.
Students are introduced to the lesson focus on women’s roles in the Revolutionary War and the objective. They examine the “We Can Do It!” World War II poster and respond to a poll about its main purpose, then read a short explanation connecting women’s contributions on the World War II home front to similar roles played by women during the American Revolution.
Teacher MovesReview the lesson objective and use the World War II poster and poll responses to prompt students to think about women’s contributions to war efforts, setting up connections to women’s roles in the Revolutionary War.
Students read The Roles of Women in the Revolutionary War to learn how women supported the Continental Army on and near the battlefields, then complete a graphic organizer listing different roles women played in assisting the army. Next, they read about women’s contributions from the home front, including Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, and Abigail Adams, and then read The Daughters of Liberty: Who Were They and What Did They Do? to understand how women organized for independence. Finally, they answer a multiple-choice question about how the Daughters of Liberty helped the fight for independence.
Teacher MovesUse the sample roles (nurses, seamstresses, cooks, maids, spies, soldiers) to support students as they complete the graphic organizer, and discuss how both battlefield and home-front activities contributed to the Revolutionary cause.
Students read the poem “Address to the Ladies,” published in the Boston Newsletter in 1769, examining how it encouraged women to support the patriot cause through their clothing and purchasing choices. They post a summary of the poem’s main idea to a class wall, then respond to a second prompt imagining themselves as women living during the Revolution and explaining which role they might have played and why.
Teacher MovesUse the note that the poem’s main idea is to persuade women that it is more fashionable to wear simple, homemade clothes instead of expensive British clothing to guide students in summarizing the text and connecting it to women’s political and economic actions during the Revolution.
Students explore images of specific female figures from the Revolutionary era—Emily Geiger, Molly Pitcher, Nancy Hart, Mrs. Schuyler burning her wheat fields, the statue of Sybil Ludington, and Deborah Sampson presenting a letter to General Washington. They select one image, paste it into a shared drawing canvas, and annotate it with a brief caption that identifies the woman and describes her contribution to the Revolutionary War.
Teacher MovesUse student annotations to highlight the variety of women’s heroic actions during the Revolution and to reinforce how individual stories illustrate broader patterns of women’s contributions.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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