Lesson 4: Continental Congress
Getting Started
In this lesson, you'll read about the challenges facing John and Abigail Adams while John served in the Continental Congress. You'll also learn about verb mood and work with vocabulary terms from the reading.
Stuff You Need
- Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
- dictionary
Ideas to Think About
- How can the use of different verbs and verb forms influence the power and clarity of one's writing?
Things to Know
- Verb moods typically express attitude (such as a question or command).
- The indicative mood is used for statements, the interrogative mood for questions, and the imperative mood for commands.
- The conditional mood is used to describe situations that might be true under a certain set of conditions.
- The subjunctive mood is used to describe hypothetical situations.
Skills
- Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. (LA)
- Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general, academic, and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. (LA)
- Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action; expressing uncertainty or describing a state contrary to fact). (LA)
Parent Introduction
In this lesson, your child will read about the challenges facing John and Abigail Adams while John served in the Continental Congress. She will also have the chance to learn about verb mood and work with vocabulary terms from the reading.
Materials: Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
Read Chapters 7 and 8 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober. Then answer the following questions.
Questions
- Why do you think John Adams wanted Abigail to save their correspondence?Answers will vary, but your child may mention that they recognized the importance of the historical moment in which they lived and John Adams's potential role in it and wanted to preserve the letters for future generations.
- What challenges did Abigail Adams face while John was away at the Continental Congress?She needed to manage the household and financial affairs, take care of the children, see to their education, attend to the farm, manage John's law practice, and make other decisions for the family in John's absence.
- What role did faith play in the way Abigail Adams handled the challenges of war?She turned to her faith during times of stress and anxiety, quoting the Bible in a letter to John discussing the death of Joseph Warren.
- In what ways did Abigail Adams support the patriot war effort?Answers may vary, but your child might mention housing militia men, melting down the family's pewter to make bullets, and other actions.