Read a book and get a chance to earn 100,000 frequent flyer miles! As described in
The Daily Record - but you heard it here first! NJ's favorite history teacher has a new book out & your 6th grader has a nice incentive to read it.
If we can get 100 names of 6th grader who reads John Cunningham's
Uncertain Revolution, they will be entered in a 24
th February drawing for 100,000 Continental frequent Flyer miles. One winner only. As long as we can get the names of at least 100 6th graders to award the 100,000 miles. If fewer 6th graders participate, the number of miles donated will depend on the number of participants, i.e. if 67 6th graders read the book and enter their names, 67,000 miles will be awarded. The book lists a $25 but it available at amazon.com for $17 - and at your library for far less, or contact Betsy to get a discounted copy!
Why are we doing this? One mom, knowing that her 6th grader would start their Revolutionary War unit in February, heard that Mr. Cuningham would speak on Morristown's role, and tagged along to a talk in December 2007. In a scant hour, he had 167 of us on the edge of our seats as he proved that Morristown was the most important place to the Patriots' Revolutionary War's success. Volcanic eruptions! Smallpox plague! Gore, scheming, riots! Perfect fodder for 6th graders to feel like history is cool, and so is Morristown. Even remarkable teens are in the tale: who knew Hamilton and Lafayette were teens when they went to work for Washington during the war? She wanted to kick herself for not taking her son to the talk. Instead of me telling him about it, he could have heard it with no expectations for himself.
Mr. Cunninham's new book on this topic-how Morristown is the most important place in America to the success of Revolution-is terrific. It's accessible and action packed. I smell one of those rare opportunities to get kids really vested in their communities...and history. In local history. The FMS social studies textbook notes only that Washington moved his headquarters to Morristown at some point, and spends a full page on the terrible winter at Valley Forge. Turns out the winter at Valley Forge was one of the mildest, and the 4 harshest winters of the war were spent in Joisey: 3 in Morristown. Not only is Cunningham a fabulous raconteur both in person and in print, but it will be sort of cool for the kids to challenge what they read in the textbook, and realize that a textbook is just a starting place. School learning can be fleshed out in so many ways.
Reading level: It's not written for middle schoolers, but strong readers in 6th grade can manage the book themselves. I think it's a great read-a-loud book for families or reading circles. Reading circles: next e-mail. This is a cool idea as well. Please, please pass this on to names you don't see on this list. We'd like to reach out to every 6th grader in the area.
To get a reduced price copy of the book: "
Morristown area sixth-graders can get a reduced-cost copy of John Cunningham's local history book, The Uncertain Revolution, or can join a reading circle to hear the book read to them, by leaving a message for Betsy Harvin at (973) 451-1097 or at betsychina@aol.com"
John Cunningham also spoke on the book, Tuesday, November 27th at 4:30 pm at the Morris County Parks office on Mendham Road. The 6th graders attending entered their name in a drawing for a $50 Morristown Partnership gift certificate - it was handed that night ... just in time for holiday shopping.
Last updated: 1/7/2008
