I hope it helps. It's the only textbook I've found that gives students a good overview of the period and a solid chnological framework. It does a good job incorporating the major scholarly themes through its publication date, and it's short so you can move onto other topics quickly. It works well and is a nice change of pace. I'd second the opinion about using Paine's Common Sense.
Students enjoy reading it.
You might pair it up with Foner's Thomas Paine. These might liven up lectures. It is an extensively revised version of a book originally published in the early 1970s. The revisions incorporate much of the scholarship of the 70s and 80s and give the students a solid and very readable narrative. Dear Mr. Starr, I have not taught a class, but attended the one my advisor taught on the American Revolution.