The Secret Soldier is a biography detailing the life of Deborah Sampson. Ann McGovern tells Sampson's life story through a third-person narrative perspective. It begins when Sampson was born, and tells her life story in relation to what was going on in America during the same time. The biography informs the reader of several important characters in Sampson's life, including her mother, who was not able to care for her for very long, her cousin who raised her for a few years before dying, her 80-year-old aunt who raised her for years after that, and the Thomas family, who she worked for for ten years before earning her freedom, and Benjamin Gannet, her farmer-husband.
The biography focused much of its attention on what made Sampson famous- she disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the military in search of adventure. While there, she fought in the Revolutionary War, ran drills, and traveled all without being discovered. During the time that Sampson was in the military, she was shot twice in the same incident- once in the neck and once in the leg. In attempts to keep her secret safe, she removed the bullet from her leg on her own. This among other things illustrated just how strong Sampson was as a female living during a time that was dominated by males.
A doctor later discovered that she was a woman after examining her while she was in a coma. The Doctor kept the secret safe, but later wrote a letter to an official in the military. Once her secret was out and she dressed as a woman, none of the men that interacted with her on a daily basis recognized her! She was truly a secret soldier.
This book would serve well as the introduction to an exercise in which students practice writing from first person. The exercise may require the students to write journals from Sampson's perspective. A fun twist would be to have different students write about different periods of her life. Then, once everybody's journals are complete, the class would be able to work together to combine all of the entries, which wold allow them to compare differences in their writing styles and language codes, as well as help develop their teamwork skills.
The biography focused much of its attention on what made Sampson famous- she disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the military in search of adventure. While there, she fought in the Revolutionary War, ran drills, and traveled all without being discovered. During the time that Sampson was in the military, she was shot twice in the same incident- once in the neck and once in the leg. In attempts to keep her secret safe, she removed the bullet from her leg on her own. This among other things illustrated just how strong Sampson was as a female living during a time that was dominated by males.
A doctor later discovered that she was a woman after examining her while she was in a coma. The Doctor kept the secret safe, but later wrote a letter to an official in the military. Once her secret was out and she dressed as a woman, none of the men that interacted with her on a daily basis recognized her! She was truly a secret soldier.
This book would serve well as the introduction to an exercise in which students practice writing from first person. The exercise may require the students to write journals from Sampson's perspective. A fun twist would be to have different students write about different periods of her life. Then, once everybody's journals are complete, the class would be able to work together to combine all of the entries, which wold allow them to compare differences in their writing styles and language codes, as well as help develop their teamwork skills.
*Grade Level Equivalent: 4.3
*Interest Level: 6-8
McGovern, A. (1975). The secret soldier: the story of Deborah Sampson. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc..
ISBN: 9780590430524
* Information found on scholastic.com
*Interest Level: 6-8
McGovern, A. (1975). The secret soldier: the story of Deborah Sampson. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc..
ISBN: 9780590430524
* Information found on scholastic.com