Colonial Day Presentations
Our Fifth grade “Colonial Day” will be Tuesday, November 22nd.
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For your presentation you will chose a colonial trade or craft to research and present to the
class. Your report will be on an index card and should include the following:
*What training is required for your trade or craft?
*What skills are needed to do your job or craft?
*How do you do your work?
*What tools do you use?
*What is the final product that you sell or trade?
*Who depends on you to do your job?
*Who do you depend on to do your job?
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Your presentation will include a sign to “advertise” your trade or craft. Your sign should
encourage “townspeople” to shop at your store or want to purchase your craft. The sign
should be simple and easy to read.
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You will also need to dress as a colonial boy or girl.
A simple costume for boys can be sweat pants pulled up to your knees with “tube” socks
(soccer socks) underneath to look like “breeches”. A “chefs” apron could also be worn. Girls
may want to wear a long skirt or dress with an apron and a scarf around your head or you
might want to wear a bonnet or hat.
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The final requirement is to make, draw or bring in the tools you would use to do your job.
The tools could be made from construction paper, cardboard, foil or poster board. Be
creative. Think how to reuse some of your regular household items as tools of your trade.
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Have fun collecting information on your trade or craft. You may come to school dressed in
your costume or you may change after you have your specials at 9:00 a.m.
This will count as a grade for our Colonial unit.
Do your best to recreate a colonial trade,
so we may turn our classrooms into small colonial villages!
COLONIAL TRADES
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Apothecary/Medicine
Architect
Basket Maker
Blacksmith
Book Binder
Boot Maker or Cobbler
Brick Maker
Cabinet Maker
Carpenter
Carriage Maker
Chandler
Confectioner
Cook and Baker
Cooper
Glassblower
Goldsmith
Gunsmith
Handicrafts/Stitchery
Hatter
Instrument Maker
Miller
Milliner (Clothing and Ladies Hats)
Painter
Paper Maker
Potter
Printer
Rugmaker
Shoemaker
Silversmith
Tanner
Tavern
Weaver
Wheelwright
Wigmaker
Colonial Day
Scoring Guide
Student’s Name: ____________________________________
Colonial Trade: _____________________________________
Dress:
20 points
__________
20 points
_________
Comments:
Sign:
Comments:
Report / Class Presentation
50 points
__________
Including:
Training
Skills Needed
How you do your work
Tools of your trade
Products (end results)
Others you depend on
Who depends on you?
2 resources used (bibliography)
10 points
__________
Comments:
TOTAL POINTS:
Grade: ____________
Comments:
100 points
____________
HOW TO “FAKE IT” for Colonial Day
Boys commonly wore:
-- optional
breeches (knee-length NOT JEANS) or trousers (ankle-length)
neckerchief
cap or hat -- optional
Here is how you can "fake it" for a day:
a plain white shirt with sleeves that go to your wrist
breeches can be made from old pants cut at the knee and folded into a cuff or baseball pants are a great alternative.
White long soccer type socks that meet the cuff of the breeches.
a plain vest (optional)
a handkerchief or cloth napkin, tied at the neck (this helped keep your shirt collar closed; forerunner of the modern
necktie)
a straw, felt hat, tricorn hat or cloth cap if you wish
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Girls commonly wore:
Here is how you can “fake it” for a day:
de from a scarf with ribbons safety pinned onto scarf, so you can tie it around your waist like an
apron
WEBSITES:
http://gibson.cr.k12.ia.us/Classroom/IMC/Colonial%20America.htm
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/trades/tradehdr.cfm
http://www.kidinfo.com/american_history/colonization_colonial_life.html
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The 5th grade team will be hosting
Colonial Days on Friday 22nd.
Each child will be given a job or trade to represent in the living history museum
which will be “built” in our classrooms. Each student will be required to do the
following:
1. Use the information given in class or do their own research to locate information
about their trade(job).
2. Write or type a one –two page description of the colonial trade.
3. Make a sign for the trade such as the ones shared in class. Signs of the trades
had pictures of the items used in that trade.
4 . Gather or make artifacts, props, or items for the store or trade.
5 . Dress up like that person during Colonial America (1600-1700's).
6 . Prepare a short talk, about two - three minutes, explaining the trade being
represented. Practice the talk so students can tell rather than read about their
trade.
11 . Be ready to demonstrate the trade to the students of Southern Elementary
School who will come through our living history museum on Friday, November
22nd.
We ask that students be ready with this project on Nov 20th before the museum, so
we will be prepared to set up the museum before the actual presentation on Friday.
Note that there is no need for students to purchase anything for this project. Instead,
we would like them to be creative and look for props around the house or make them
out of cardboard or paper.
Each student will be assigned on of the following trades:
Carpenter: You work with wood to make things such as buildings.
Brick Maker: You make bricks.
Basket Maker: You make baskets.
Cooper: Creators of casks for everything from wine to gunpowder
Shoemaker: You make shoes and boots.
Blacksmith: You make horseshoes and place them on the horses.
Cooper: You make wooden barrels.
Whitesmith: You make tin objects such as lanterns.
Tailor: You sew men's clothes.
Barber: You cut men's hair and give them a shave.
Wheelwright: You make wagon wheels.
Miller: You have a windmill and you grind the town's corn, wheat, rye, and barley.
Cabinetmaker: You make cabinets for homes.
Silversmith: You work with silver to design fine silverware (tea pots, pitchers, utensils).
Goldsmith: You work with gold to design jewelry, bowls and vases.
Tanner: You tan or preserve cow hides to be used in leather goods such as shoes, pants, saddles,
reins, etc.
Hatter: You make and sell men's hats.
Cobbler: You make, sell, and repair men's shoes.
Baker: You bake and sell bread, cookies, and cakes.
Milliner: You make and sell women's hats
Apothecary: You mix chemicals and herbs t make medicines like a pharmacist does today.
Town Crier: you walk the streets at night to check on people, you call out the time, you light candles
and extinguish them in the morning..
Merchant of the General Store: You gather items and sell them in your store.
Seamstress: You are a dressmaker.
Tavern Owner: You own the town inn. An inn is where people eat, drink, be merry, and stay when
they are visiting the town.
Weaver: You weave thread into material.
Wigmaker: You make wigs for the men of the town. You sell them at your store.
Spinner: You spin wool into yarn and you dye the yarn so that it can be sold to be woven into cloth.
Chandler: You make and sell candles to the merchants in town.
Painter: You painted pictures
Printer: You run a print shop and mail is delivered to you. The post rider gets the mail from you for
delivery.
Sawyer: You own and work in the sawmill where you cut trees into lumber.
Butcher: You prepare the meat (beef, pork, chicken) for the town.
Stocks attendant: You watch over the people who have been placed in the stocks as punishment.
Glass Blower: You various glass products such as vases, bottles, pitchers.
Surveyor: You use surveyor's instruments to map the land.
Instrument Maker: You make instruments
Name ___________________________________
Colonial Day Project
Trade __________________________
What training do you need?
What skills are needed?
How do you do your work?
Tools of your trade
Products you make
Who depends on you or your products?
Who do you depend on to do your trade?