Throwback and Move Forward

For some who use social media, today is Throwback Thursday, a day when they  post photos from the past on their Facebook page to enlighten viewers of today. In a way, today's post has a similar objective. Although I retired from SUNY college several years ago, relevant teaching skills still abide in my mind.  Presently, I am creating a curriculum strategy, one I encouraged my college students to use during their practicum as student teachers.

This one has a personal goal. My book, THE  RED COCKADE, is a historical novel, intended for ages 12  and up, or young adults. The story takes place in the year 1776 as struggles begin for the farmers of Cow Neck, Long Island, when British soldiers occupy Long Island and New York. Fourteen -year- old Joseph Onderdonk yearns to join the Continental army with his friend, Martin Freer, but his father refuses to allow it. Vignettes of Martin's soldiering life are interspersed with Joseph's struggle to help the Patriot cause. His loyalty is tested when his father in imprisoned  for tyranny against the crown.

I have a plan to correlate Language Arts with History as Middle school students read The Red Cockade. I have chosen topics to use that are woven into the action and narrative of  the book. The topics students could research and write stories about are: The Great Fire in New York in 1776, Spies in the Colonies, and Prison Ships during the Revolution.

Conflicts of loyalty and trust that Joseph experiences are still identifiable by today's readers, and it is my hope that the true characters and exciting events in my book will inspire a real identity with the past. This prompts me to donate the number of Red Cockade Ebooks needed in the classroom to make my goal a reality. Hopefully, it will be an experience to help students move forward with  the knowledge of our nation's beginning. I have witnessed too many of today's youth, and adults who have little knowledge of The American Revolution or the  founding fathers of our nation. Perhaps this experience will help.