Revolutionary War Spies - A Lesson Plan

Today I want to share an activity I use during our American Revolutionary War unit.  The story of how Washington used spies to gather information on the British is often underestimated. Gathering intelligence was of critical importance to both sides in their efforts to win the war.

The science and art of communicating as a spy is a fascinating part of the war and one that students generally enjoy learning about in our Revolutionary War unit.

Here is a screencast I created to accompany the activity on Revolutionary War spies.

In the past I have used "George Washington Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War" by Thomas B. Allen as a selection for my History Geeks book club with students.  It is an engaging read with lots of great stories and a code hidden within the book itself.  A great book for junior high students wanting to learning about Washington's use of spies.

If you want a more detailed book on spies in the Revolutionary War check out "Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution" by John A. Nagy.  Great detail and more description about the techniques used by both sides in the war.

Mr. Nagy was featured in a C-SPAN author presentation recorded in New York in 2010 (52 minutes) that you can watch online here.

Do you do an activity in your classroom on spies in the American Revolutionary War?  Please let us know by leaving a comment on this blog post.