STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.NS.A.1, MP2, MP6, MP7

TEKS: 6.3E

Article Options

Presentation View
Teaching Resources

A Revolutionary Message

YOUR MISSION:  As you read the panels, answer questions by dividing with fractions to learn about Emily Geiger, an 18-year-old hero of the American Revolution (1775-1783). During the conflict, American colonists in the Continental Army fought for independence from British rule. Use the online answer sheet to record your answers. 

March 2022
By Jennifer Hackett - Illustrated by Chris Schweizer

DIVIDING WITH FRACTIONS

When dividing any number by a fraction, you can use the reciprocal of the divisor to rewrite the sentence as multiplication. In a reciprocal, a fraction’s numerator and the denominator are flipped. All other numbers should be written as improper fractions.

The Continental Army had about 13,500 soldiers across all active areas, from modern-day Maine to Georgia. Each regiment had about 6 3/4 of the total soldiers. About how many men were in each regiment?


Before becoming a general, Greene was the quartermaster general for the Continental Army. His job was to procure weapons and ammunition. Each musket ball was made of 4/9 ounce of lead. How many musket balls could be made from 500 ounces of lead?


General Greene’s soldiers carried muskets, which were fired using an explosion of gunpowder. Each soldier carried 6 ounces of gunpowder, and one shot required 1/5 ounce to fire. How many shots could one soldier fire before needing to resupply?


During sieges, Greene’s regiment also used cannons. A cannon required 1 1/4 pounds of gunpowder to fire. If General Greene set aside 56 1/4 pounds of gunpowder for the cannons, how many times could his soldiers fire them before running out?


Soldiers in both armies carried ingredients to make their own meals. Each soldier received 1 1/2 pounds of beef or pork per day. If a soldier used 1/2 pound of meat per meal, how many meals could he make?


British soldiers each got 1 1/10 pounds of flour per day to make hardtack, a cracker-like bread. It took 1/2 pound of flour to make 10 pieces of hardtack. How much hardtack could a soldier make per day?


Women and children made bandages for soldiers by tearing up fabric into rectangular pieces, with an area of roughly 2 4/5 square inches. How many bandages could be made from a fabric that is 98 square inches?


Emily traveled an average speed of 3 1/3 miles per hour for 46 2/3 miles before running into the British soldiers. For how many hours did she travel alone?


Before destroying the letter, Emily memorized it. If she took 1/30 minute to memorize each word, and it took a total of 1 1/15 minutes to memorize the entire letter. How many words long was it?


If General Greene’s message was written on a piece of paper with an area of 3 1/8 square inches, and if Emily tore it into equal pieces with an area of 1/8 square inches, how many pieces would she have torn the paper into?


While being escorted by the British soldier, Emily traveled 2 2/3 miles to her uncle’s plantation. Their average speed was 1 1/3 miles per hour. How many hours did it take to arrive at her uncle’s plantation?


To get from her uncle’s plantation to General Sumter’s camp, Emily traveled  20 2/3 miles. She rode at an average speed of 2 3/5  miles per hour. How long did it take her to reach General Sumter’s camp?


 Use any of the numbers in the story to write your own question using fraction division.


The Revolutionary War: Colonists vs. British

Continental Army

Commander-In-Chief: George Washington

Number of soldiers: 48,000

Advantages: Familiarity with the terrain, dedication, quick communication

Disadvantages: Insufficient supplies and funds, lack of support from some Americans, lack of training

Goal: Form a country independent of England


British Army

Commander-In-Chief, North America: Sir Henry Clinton

Number of soldiers: 22,000, plus  25,000 colonists loyal to England

Advantages: Well funded, well trained, top military in the world

Disadvantages: Slow communication, unfamiliar with the terrain

Goal: End the rebellion in the colonies


Continue the Learning Journey

  • Write a journal entry from the point of view of Emily Geiger. You can write a summary of what happened on her journey or elaborate on a major scene. Be sure to use language that is personal and honest and shows what Emily goes through in her thoughts, actions, and emotions.
  • Number a set of note cards 1 through 9, shuffle them, and randomly select 3 cards. Use the cards to create a fraction division expression, using one card to represent the whole number and the other two as the fraction. Then evaluate your expression. Place the cards back in the deck, shuffle them again, and create and solve at least 5 fraction division expressions.
Fractions
Fraction Division
videos (3)
videos (3)
videos (3)
Skills Sheets (5)
Skills Sheets (5)
Skills Sheets (5)
Skills Sheets (5)
Skills Sheets (5)
Lesson Plan (1)
Article (1)
Text-to-Speech