Women in the American Revolution: The Story of Deborah Sampson

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, students will explore the life of Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War. Through close reading and character analysis, students will examine how Deborah Sampson demonstrated grit. Students will also practice generating thoughtful questions about character development and support their analysis with textual evidence. These activities will enable students to explore how Sampson’s character strengths motivated her to contribute to the Patriots during the Revolutionary War and become one of the earliest female lecturers in the country.

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Unit at a Glance

Unit Essential Questions

• The Declaration of Independence lists several self‐​evident truths: People, by their very existence, are free, equal, and have rights. No one, not even a king, can govern them without their consent. What are freedom, equality, rights, and government with consent?
• To what extent were the women covered in these lessons able to use their character strengths to achieve the self‐​evident truths outlined in the Declaration of Independence?

Objectives

• Identify and analyze a historical individual’s character strengths.
• Compare and contrast one’s own thinking with the key pieces of evidence from a written text.
• Engage in the close reading of a text using annotation to identify key characteristics of a historical figure.
• Engage respectfully in small‐ and large‐​group discussions, showing positive collaboration and cooperation skills.
• Demonstrate command of standard English grammar and usage while speaking and in writing.

Materials

• Deborah Sampson: The Grit of a Soldier” text
• Blank sheets of copy paper

Warm‐​Up

• Hand out blank sheets of copy paper and post the following prompt on the board.
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  • Draw or explain your response to this question: What were some of the abilities needed by an American soldier in the Revolutionary War?
• When all students have finished, have them share their writing or drawing with a partner.

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Lesson Activities

Characteristics of a Soldier

• As a class, brainstorm the characteristics of American soldiers in the Revolutionary War and list the characteristics on the board.
• Then hand out or have students draw a Venn diagram like the one shown here. Have students use a pencil to list the characteristics you just brainstormed under the “Revolutionary War Soldier” side. *Note: It’s important for students to use pencil so they can erase and rewrite as needed.

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Read About Deborah Sampson

Hand out the text “Deborah Sampson: The Grit of a Soldier.” Have students read the text individually or in pairs.

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While students are reading, have them highlight or underline important characteristics of Deborah Sampson. Then, individually or in pairs, have students list Deborah Sampson’s characteristics (in pencil) on the “Deborah Sampson” circle of the Venn diagram.

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Extension Activity for the Venn Diagram (if students struggle with the text)

• Show students this short video: Here’s the story of Deborah Sampson, the first woman to ever enlist in the US military by CBS Boston (about 4 minutes).

• As the students watch, have them answer the following questions on a sheet of notebook paper:
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  1. What was Deborah Sampson the first woman to do?
  2. How many years did Sampson serve?
  3. At Sampson’s first skirmish, what happened?
  4. How did Sampson show grit?
  5. What did Sampson begin in 1802?
  6. What key characteristics did Sampson show throughout her life
  
  
• Facilitate a whole‐​class discussion (2–3 minutes) about the answers to the questions. Then have students write Sampson’s characteristics (in pencil) on the right side of the Venn diagram.

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Activity

• Separate students into pairs or small groups and have them collaborate to determine which characteristics in their Venn diagrams should be placed in different sections. Remind students that the characteristics that are shared between their original ideas of a Revolutionary War soldier and Deborah Sampson should be placed in the middle where the circles overlap.
• After students have finished revising their Venn diagrams so that all the characteristics are placed in the correct spot, allow them to add characteristics as needed.

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Debrief

• Facilitate a whole‐​class discussion about the differences between their original idea of a Revolutionary War soldier and what they learned about Deborah Sampson. The following questions can help you begin this conversation:
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  • What surprised you about Deborah Sampson’s story?
  • Did you originally think of a woman as a soldier in the Revolutionary War? Why or why not?
  • How did Deborah Sampson’s story change your perspective?
  • If you could go back to your original response to the Warm‐​Up question (“What were some of the abilities needed by an American soldier in the Revolutionary War?”), how might you respond differently?

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Closing

Individually, through an exit ticket, ask students the following question:
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• The Declaration of Independence lists several self‐​evident truths: People, by their very existence, are free and equal, and they have rights. No one, not even a king, can govern them without their consent. To what extent did Deborah Sampson show grit to achieve the self‐​evident truths outlined in the Declaration of Independence?

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