War Is . . . Perspective - Revolutionary Period - Inquiry Unlimited Practitioner formerly Boston KidWeb at Joseph Lee School, Boston, MA

[ Duplication; Disclaimer | "War Is" Student products | American Revolution ELA activities]

Create a "War Is . . . " poem
based on character experiences
from "The Fighting Ground" by Avi (Perspective)

All right, gumshoe. Recalling the reactions to war of varying characters in the book, create a sentence about war that each of the characters might realistically have said about war.

PART ONE -
Create four sentences about war from the perspective of four of the following characters.
The sentences should be realistic and believable.

Select four characters:

Jonathan's mother (OR any mother)
Jonathan's father (OR any father)
Jonathan (OR a boy who wants to go off to war)
The Corporal (OR any military person)
A Tory (OR any person who politically supports the current government)
A Patriot/Rebel (OR any person who believes war is the only way to get change
An orphan child as a result of war
An enemy soldier

What to do once you have selected the four characters:

Recall the reactions to war of those characters during the story.
Revisit pages in the text associated with how those characters were affected by war to determine how they might respond to an interview question beginning with the phrase, "War is . . ."
Prepare a poem, "War Is . . ." repetitively using the lines "War Is . . ."

EXAMPLE:
War is the uncertain time when patriotic sons are sent to protect their country while mothers worry whether they will return alive. (A mother)
War is a nightmarish conflict where innocent young recruits who survive return as cautious, experienced wiser men who will be wary of beginning the next war. (A father)

PART TWO - Peer-edit a classmate's poem while they edit your poem.

PART THREE - Recopy your poem.