Name: ______Hour: ______

Mrs. Mertens’s Book Study

My Brother Sam is Dead

By: James Lincoln and Christopher Collier

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day One

We will be reading My Brother Sam is Deadin class. Upon finishing our book club, there will be a test and a final project. These questions will help you prepare for the upcoming activities!

We will be reading chapters 1 and 2. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
2 / Patriots
2 / Minutemen
2 / Lobsterbacks
6 / treason
6 / Tories
6 / Loyalists
8 / Parliament
21 / subversion
29 / bayonet

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 1-2

  1. Where was Sam coming from when he arrived at home?
  1. Who was Captain Benedict Arnold?
  1. What was Sam’s real reason for going home?
  1. Why are Sam and Father arguing?
  1. What excuse does Tim give his father so he can visit Sam at Tom Warrup’s place?
  1. How does Sam ask Tim to help at the tavern while he is gone?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • Explain Mr. Meeker’s statement, “You may know principle, Sam, but I know war.”
  • Explain the statement that Mr. Meeker makes, “But you never get rid of injustices by fighting.” How is Mr. Meeker’s comment an argument against war?
  • Explain Sam’s statement, “Either we’re going to be free or we’re not.” How is Sam’s comment an argument for war?
  • With whom do you agree with... Mr. Meeker or Sam? Why?

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Two

We will be reading chapters 3 and 4. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
41 / idling
51 / disarm
52 / peered
55 / muzzle

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 3-4

  1. What did Tim expect from the war the summer of 1775 and what actually happened?
  1. Why was it illegal to have a copy of Rivington’s Gazette from Verplancks?
  1. Why did Betsy Read linger at the tavern when she’d stop by to shop?
  1. What did the continental soldiers want from Tim’s dad?
  1. What did Tim do to try and help his parents while they were manhandled by the soldiers?
  1. Why didn’t Sam shout for Tim to stop running while he was chasing him back to the Tavern?
  1. When Tim turns to face Sam, shy is he crying?
  1. Why can’t Sam help Tim and his parents again the Continental soldiers at the tavern?
  1. Why did Sam run away?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • How would you explain Tim’s statement, “It made me wonder how the war was going to make us freer if you couldn’t read any paper you wanted anymore.” What does this tell you about war and revolution in general?
  • Tim said, “…anybody who joined the army to fight couldn’t be a coward.” Do you agree or disagree? Support your opinion.

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Three

We will be reading chapters 5 and 6. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
41 / idling
51 / disarm
52 / peered
55 / muzzle

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 5-6

  1. Why were guns so important to the people of Redding?
  1. Why does Tim envy Sam?
  1. What is the real reason for Mr. Heron’s visit? How did both father and Tim respond? H Explain your answer.
  1. How does Tim devise a way to deliver a note to Fairfield for Mr. Heron?
  1. Why does Betsy want to intercept the letter that Tim needs to deliver?
  1. What did the letter say?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • Why do you think men like Tom Warrups could work for both the Patriots and the Tories?
  • What is your opinion of people who take both sides of a dispute?
  • What was the message in the letter?
  • Why was Mr. Heron sending it?
  • What does this tell you about communication during this time period?

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Four

We will be reading chapters 7 and 8. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
86 / enlistment
87 / hardtack
91 / roving
100 / pallets
101 / retaliates
102 / sedition
104 / moored
112 / veer

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 7-8

  1. Which items were in short supply as the war continued through the summer of 1776?
  1. Why did Father insist that Mother not respond to Sam’s letters?
  1. Why did Father travel to Verplancks Point every year?
  1. Who were the six men who approached Father and Tim on the road to Verplancks Point?
  1. How did Tim and his father escape from the cow-boys?
  1. What is life like where the Platts live amongst the Rebels and Loyalists?
  1. What dilemma does Father face on the way home from Verplancks Point?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • How did the war affect Tim’s family? Think beyond physical affects!
  • What did Tim really think about the war?
  • Had Time made up his mind which side he was on?

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Five

We will be reading chapters 9 and 10. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
119 / turmoil
119 / ambush
129 / depreciation
136 / vanguard
141 / fusillade
144 / arc

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 9-10

  1. Why did Father ride ahead of Tim and the oxen on the way home?
  1. Why does Tim become nervous on the way home from Verplancks Point?
  1. What happened to Father?
  1. How does Tim outsmart the cow-boys who stop him on his way home?
  1. What was the biggest change in Tim’s life?
  1. In the spring of 1777, what changed about the war?
  1. What happened to the Rebel messenger who came riding into town?
  1. What does Tim witness as he races down the road to fetch a doctor?
  1. What does Tim conclude as he continues on his way to find Dr. Hobart?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • What do you think happened to Mr. Meeker?
  • What impact will it have on Tim?
  • Explain Tim’s statement, “I still hadn’t figured out what he was fighting for. It seemed to me that we’d been free all along.”

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Six

We will be reading chapters 11 and 12. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
153 / insignia
174 / unscrupulous
174 / compunction

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapters 11-12

  1. Who approaches Redding after the British have left?
  1. What does Tim discover about Sam by the end of the chapter? How does this change Tim’s attitude toward his brother?
  1. What did Tim and Mother find out in June 1777?
  1. How has Betsy Read’s attitude about the war changed from the beginning of the novel?
  1. What did Tim hope to do with the eight cows they had left? What does Sam advise him to do with the cattle?
  1. How was Sam able to get into town every week or ten days?
  1. Why is General Putnam so strict?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • Mrs. Meeker begs Sam to come home after his father’s death. Sam refuses. Tim says that he realizes that his brother will never leave the army because he thinks he is part of something big. Explain what Tim means by “something big.”
  • Explain the statement, “In war the dead pay the debts for the living.”

Name: ______Hour: ______

My Brother Sam is Dead Agenda: Day Seven

We will be reading chapter 13 and the epilogue. As you read, watch for the following vocabulary words and define them using either the context clues or a dictionary. Then answer the questions.

Page / Vocabulary Word / Definition / Picture
184 / foreboding
194 / clemency
196 / stockade
201 / whet
208 / mallet

When you’re reading is completed, you will answer the following discussion questions. Please use complete sentences including proper usage of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discussion Questions: Chapter 13 and the Epilogue

  1. How does Colonel Parsons respond when Tim tells him about the accusation against Sam?
  1. What dilemma does Sam face according to the accusation?
  1. When Tim finally gets in to see General Putnam, how does the General respond to Tim’s plea?
  1. What was General Putnam’s final decision about Sam’s case?
  1. What is Tim’s plan for helping Sam before his execution?
  1. When Tim turns back to look into the stockade, what does he discover?

Discuss the following questions with your group members. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class! 

  • Patrick Henry, a famous Patriot, said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” How might his words have inspired soldiers like Sam?