GUEST BLOGGER BETH ANDERSON
In THE PATRIOTS AND THE POX: GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BATTLE TO SAVE THE CONTINENTAL ARMY, George Washington faces an agonizing decision. He desperately needs more soldiers if the patriots are to have a chance at winning independence, but smallpox has proven more deadly than the British. As Washington wrestled with his options, he initiated another kind of revolution in science and medicine.
This LitLinks activity has three parts:
- Use context clues to determine meaning of Tier 3 science vocabulary.
- Explore cause and effect relationships.
- Use math to understand the impact of smallpox on the Continental Army.
Part 1: Context clues
To comprehend the risk George Washington faced in the story, the reader must understand key science concepts about disease. After reading the book, use this activity from the Educator Guide to determine meaning of Tier 3 science vocabulary.
Part 2: Cause and effect relationships
Next, explore CAUSE and EFFECT relationships associated with these words.
| CAUSE | EFFECT | |
| infection | ||
| contagion | ||
| immunity | ||
| inoculation | ||
| quarantine |
Part 3: Math
This real world math problem dealing with cause and effect helps readers understand the impact of smallpox on George Washington’s Continental Army.
Use Addition and subtraction
- One man infected with smallpox enlists in the army. He joins 99 other men, and they travel together to the main camp, stopping in towns along the way.
- Twenty of the men have natural immunity. The rest are infected.
- When the first infected soldier breaks out in a rash that bubbles up, ten terrified men flee.
- Twenty-eight of the remaining infected men do not survive.
How many of these 100 soldiers will fight in the Continental Army?
Advanced: Use percentage
- One man infected with smallpox enlists in the army. He joins 99 other men, and they travel together to the main camp, stopping in towns along the way.
- 20% of the men have natural immunity. The rest are infected.
- When the first infected soldier breaks out in a rash that bubbles up, ten terrified men flee.
- 40% of the remaining infected men do not survive.
How many of these 100 soldiers will fight in the Continental Army?
[Answer: 62 soldiers. Don’t forget the immune soldiers.]
Discuss
How does working with numbers in this math problem add to student understanding of the challenges George Washington faced?
Featured image credit: “NYC – Metropolitan Museum of Art: Washington Crossing the Delaware” by wallyg is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Beth Anderson is the author of more than ten illustrated books for young readers. Her books have received Bank Street’s Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, ILA Nonfiction Honor, Colonial Dames of America Young Readers Award, JLG Selection, and appeared on lists from Bank Street College of Education, Chicago Public Library, Museum of the American Revolution, Kirkus Reviews, Parade Magazine, NCSS-CBC, and NSTA Best STEM Books. Beth’s experience as an educator continues to inspire and inform her writing as she shares true stories that widen our world and invite kids to laugh, ponder, and question. You can visit her at https://bethandersonwriter.com and follow BlueSky • Threads • Instagram • FaceBook • Pinterest.
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