Sammy Get Your Gun or We Didn't Start the Fire...But We Fanned the Flames.

An Integrated, Interdisciplinary, Thematic, Standards-based Unit on the novel My Brother Sam Is Dead / The American Revolutionary War. On April 17, 1775, the "shot heard 'round the word" marked the beginning of the American War for Independence. Under the oppressive governmental control of Great Britain, the American colonists fought for their freedom from taxation and for their full entitlement to the rights and privileges of self-government. My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, is a novel of historical fiction and the account of one family's struggle with tolerance, human rights, divergent politics, and even death; Virginia's Patrick Henry summed up their stance with his cry: "Give me liberty or give me death!" Through this unit, students will gain new perspectives on the impact of war, the struggle for freedom, the development of a new nation, and a deeper understanding of the effects that personal decisions have on families and relationships.