Riding along with Paul Revere

Andrew Edwards

Tuesday, fifth-graders at Hope View Elementary School took a step

backward in time to learn about the life of Paul Revere.

“I just like hearing about people from the older times,” said

10-year-old Rance Mills.

Teacher Grace Siao led her class through a reading of “And Then

What Happened, Paul Revere?” by Jean Fritz, a children’s account of

the Revolutionary War icon and colonial Boston.

Siao asked her class why Fritz chose to open the book with a

detailed description of 18th century Boston’s streets, houses and

alleyways.

“Maybe, because when Paul Revere made his ride, he had to go

through all those streets and notify all those people,” answered

11-year-old Kevin Shepley.

Other details in the story made the children laugh, like the

passage where Fritz tells that Revere once fashioned a silver collar

for a customer’s pet squirrel.

The lesson was part of a broader curriculum at Hope Elementary

that focuses on American Colonial history and the fight for

independence from Britain. Siao’s students not only study the

revolution in their history lessons, but also read literature like

Fritz’s story in their language arts program.

In April, Hope View fifth-graders will attend a special “Walk

Through the American Revolution” assembly where they have the chance

to put their knowledge of history to the test by forming teams and

answering “Jeopardy-type” questions about Colonial times.

On Tuesday, Siao’s class did not finish Fritz’s story, but read

about Revere’s busy life as a silversmith, member of the Sons of

Liberty and participant in the Boston Tea Party.

When asked by Siao what kind of person Revere was, 11-year-old

Michael Schmidt used a modern phrase to describe the historical

figure.

“He likes to multi-task,” Schmidt said.

Siao said while it can be a challenge to interest fifth-graders in

history, the children often want to learn more about people and

events from the past.

“They really seem to get into the story behind the characters, the

story behind the events,” she said.

One of the students, 10-year-old Tim Larson, explained how history

would have been different if Revere and others like him did not take

part in the fight against England 200 years ago.

“We’d be British,” Larson said.