The most common e-mail question I receive is "how do I use the novel My Brother Sam is Dead in my classroom" and "what grades are best served by this novel".
I believe the best way to use this novel in the classroom is to explore the issues My Brother Sam is Dead highlights. Each chapter touches on a number of topics and issues that will allow you to give your students a better understanding of the cause and affect of the American Revolution on individuals, their families, their churches, their towns, their neighbors...in short, allow them to see the war from the position of those that lived through it.
Keep in mind that My Brother Sam is Dead starts in April 1775 and ends in February 1779...these were very volitile years and at this point in the American Revolution is was not clear which side would win the war. Many were either still confused about the issues or unwilling to solidify a position on the issues. To properly use this novel in the classroom you must realize the authors chose this timeframe and this township purposely, they wanted to make us aware of the personal hardships war brings and they did quite an amazing job of it. That is what I really love about the novel....it quietly touches on all the topics and issues that occurred during the early years of the Revolutionary War by weaving them into a tragic story of a 10 year old boys role in a war he doesn't understand.
For example: My Brother Sam is Dead Chapter I
The story begins in April of 1775. Sam Meeker returns home from college in uniform and full of excitement. "We've beaten the British in Massachusetts" are the first words out of his mouth. This comes as a surprise to his father, mother, brother, minister and other locals in the taproom of the Meeker's tavern; they are unaware of the rebellion brewing in Boston.
The topics are vast in the opening of the first chapter, with them:
1. you can discuss the events that lead to the skirmish at Lexington and Concord
2. you can discuss the history of colleges in America and why they would be pro-rebellion
3. you can discuss the uniform Sam is wearing, what a militia was, why a militia was necessary in colonial America, why an American would be wearing a red uniform and not a blue uniform.
etc...
In addition to the topics related to Sam's arrival in Redding. You have a number of other topics of discussion in the first chapter:
4. you can discuss what a tavern was and the importance it had in colonial times
5. you can discuss why Anglicans would be opposed to a split with England
6. why Americans who weren't Anglicans would be opposed to a split with Englands
7. you can discuss muskets...how they worked, how accurate they were, how they made bullets for them, why they would be called Brown Bess, etc...
I have listed a large number of issues and topics used in the novel and you can read my breakdown of them, chapter by chapter here: http://www.historyofredding.com/my-brother-sam-is-dead_summary.htm
The second question, "what grades are best served by this novel", is complicated by some of the language and events in the novel. For example: In reaction to being smacked in the head by Tim Meeker as she tries to wrestle a letter away from him, Betsy Read shouts "You Little Bastard!"; In another heated exchange between Sam Meeker and his little brother Tim over their father's gun, Sam says: "You would have shot me, you little pig, wouldn't you?" "Are you all right?"
Tim replies: "I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't, you son of a bitch. By this time they've probably killed Father."
The book contains profanity because the authors are trying to provide us with a realistic portrayal of life during the American Revolution. There were conflicting opinions in that timeframe and there were heated discussions, during which, people actually (gasp) swore at each other.
The best way to censor the language is to read the book to your class if they are 5th grade or below...after that I'm very sure they've heard their share of profanity and won't be harmed by it.
Overall, content in this novel works well for teachers and/or homeschoolers teaching their students about the early years of the American Revolution and colonial life.
I've started a novel study section that I'll be adding to frequently here: http://www.historyofredding.com/my-brother-sam-is-dead_novel-study.htm
Feel free to request information, photos, maps, etc...
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