Intended Grade Level: 4
Topic Curriculum Link
What would your life be like if you were born in the colonies 250
years ago? So often when one thinks of life in colonial times, what
comes to mind are the traditional pictures of Pilgrims and Indians
from the 1st Thanksgiving. Was life in the colonies REALLY like that?
Enduring Understanding/Learning Objective
In the early 1600s, in addition to the 30,000 Native Americans already
living in Connecticut, Puritans from the Plymouth Colony and
Massachusetts Bay Colony established settlements along the
Connecticut River. After colonists settled in Connecticut, they made
use of natural resources to meet their basic needs for food, clothing,
and shelter. As time passed, resources, items, and ideas were shared
among the people. Students will be able to examine, analyze, and
interpret information to connect their understanding of the past to
the present which will allow them to make decisions about the
future.
Student Book(s) Connection:
Mentor Text: Colonial Voices by Kay Winters (2008)
Student Books (See Bibliography)
Procedure/activities
Teacher activities:
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Teacher will begin the unit by teaching students to read with a focus using Colonial Voices as the
mentor text.
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During the reading of the mentor text, teacher will model Fact, Question, Response/FQR (Table 1), the
What’s Familiar T chart (Table 2), and the Identification Note-taking Organizer (Table 3).
Student Activities:
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Students will book pass the texts and complete an FQR to familiarize themselves with the various texts.
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Students will select and read a text (see Bibliography) at their independent level and take notes
focusing on the familiar and the unfamiliar.
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As introduced by the teacher, students will complete an Identification Note-taking Organizer (Table 3).
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Students will participate in an HSI Investigation.
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Based on the investigation, students will complete a RAFT (Table7).
Becoming a Detective
What would your life be like if you were born in the colonies 250 years ago? So often when one thinks of life
in colonial times what comes to mind are the traditional pictures of Pilgrims and Indians from the 1 st
Thanksgiving. Was life in the colonies REALLY like that?
Your task is to sift through the historian’s clues to ascertain [find out] who you are during the American
Colonial period. Were you a Native American, a colonial boy or girl, or an African slave? To help you find out
who you are, you will handle artifacts and answer guided questions using the various texts you have been
reading. Once you have determined your identity you will complete a RAFT explaining the similarities and
differences between your life today and that of a colonial person.
Investigating the Evidence:
Artifact Filled Bags
Native American
 moccasin
 arrowhead
 wampum
 corn
 Three sisters
 turtle shell
 clay pot
 wooden hook (fishing)
 string of animal teeth
 image of dugout or burned out bowl
 corn husk doll
 cattail doll
 musical instrument
 bow and arrow
 image of small round house or wigwam
 basket
Note: above items to be supplied by Institute of
American Indian Studies, Washington, CT
Colonial Boy
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Colonial Girl
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moccasin
dress (bodice/apron/cap)
petticoat (chemise)
Bible
hornbook
corn
http://www.chs.org/embroidery
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a
05604/
http://www.earlyamerica.com/shopping/ebay
products.html?itemid=270236659274&rp=ea
rlyamericanart
http://www.earlyamericanimages.com/scene
s2.html
rag doll
spin top
cup and ball toy
headstone (Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum)
town census (Webb-Deane-Stevens
Museum) or inventory
Picture of home
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moccasin
dress (waistcoat/workshirt/breeches)
arrowhead
Bible
wampum
hornbook
corn
http://www.chs.org/embroidery
http://www.loc.gov/http://www.earlyamericani
mages.com/scenes2.htmlpictures/resource/c
ph.3a05604/
http://www.earlyamericanimages.com/scene
s2.html
http://www.earlyamerica.com/shopping/ebay
products.html?itemid=270236659274&rp=ea
rlyamericanart
Three sisters
clay marbles
fishing material
bow and arrow
quill pen (Silas Deane house)
headstone (Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum)
town Inventory (Webb-Deane-Stevens
Museum)
Picture of home
African Slave
kalimba- thumb piano
song – “tua tua” (see resources)
http://www.chs.org/embroidery
http://www.earlyamerica.com/shopping/ebay
products.html?itemid=270236659274&rp=ea
rlyamericanart
mortar & pestle
receipt of sale
rolling loop
run away ad (see resources)
headstone (Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum)
town census (Webb-Deane-Stevens
Museum) or inventory
picture of home
Searching for clues:
1. Examine the items in Bag A.
2. Using your sorting mat (Table 4) and Recording Mat (Table 5), sort the clues from Bag A.
3. In the beginning, you may place artifacts in more than one quadrant, but at the end of sorting Bag A all
items must fit into one quadrant.
4. Fill in Recording Mat (Table 5).
5. Then use your Recording Mat to answer the questions identifying who your person is.
6. Repeat for bags B, C, and D.
Questions to Ask….
See Table 6
Cracking the case…
Distribute the RAFT prompt to students. Each student will apply the evidence they obtained from the
investigation to write from the perspective of the Native American, Colonial boy/girl, or an African slave.
Assessment
Distribute the assessment “I used to think…but now I know…” (Table 8).
Differentiation
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Various leveled texts
Hands on materials that bring the abstract to concrete level
Use of graphic organizers to help student thinking
Manipulate materials in the bags depending on student level
Allow higher level students to sort and defend their choices
Extensions
These are resources that will help students gather additional information when appropriate. They include
video segments, sound clips, and interactive activities.
Courtesy of Plimoth Plantation, Inc. Plymouth, MA.
http://plimoth.org/kids/stories.php
-vocabulary from colonial times
http://plimoth.org/kids/talk.php
-language from colonial times
http://plimoth.org/kids/make.php
-games/activities from colonial times-Wampanoag
http://plimoth.org/kids/recipes.php
-Wampanoag : English Colonists’ recipes
http://plimoth.org/kids/homeworkHelp/
-WHO WERE THE PILGRIMS --Did you know that the "Pilgrims" weren't really pilgrims at all?
-WHO ARE THE WAMPANOAG --Learn more about the "People of the First Light."
- THE MAYFLOWER --Discover more about the ship, the people, and the journey.
-THANKSGIVING --The history goes much further back than Plymouth and 1621.
- GROWING FOOD --What it meant to the Wampanoag and the English Colonists.
-BUILDING A HOME --Two very different approaches to building a home.
-WHAT TO WEAR --Articles on Wampanoag and Colonial clothing.
-PLAYING AND LEARNING --Through games we still play today, important skills were developed.
-WHAT'S FOR DINNER --What the Colonists and Wampanoag thought fit to eat and drink.
-ANIMALS --The Wampanoag and Colonial views on animals and their purpose.
-A CHILD'S ROLE --The important place of children in both cultures.
-SARAH MORTON --There were many other days in her life than in the book Sarah Morton's Day.
-VOCABULARY WORDS --Definitions to common words and terms used in 17th-Century Plymouth.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/
-Colonial Kids: A Celebration of Life in the 1700's
http://www.noahwebsterhouse.org/lifein1770.html
-Connecticut Life in the 1770s
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/smartfun/colonial/intro/index.html
-Be a history detective. Go back in time and investigate the daily lives of the Daggetts, a colonial family from
northeastern Connecticut. Collect clues to uncover answers to 7 questions about colonial life in the 1700s.
Then prove your skills as a history detective by discovering "What's wrong with this picture?"
-includes real newspaper articles
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionarywar/maps/connecticut-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/mapcolonial-connecticut.htm&usg=__zZ0yQ6lHdXpnpPAEIWbp3Th8dY=&h=1081&w=1500&sz=717&hl=en&start=5&itbs=1&tbnid=XBN5yXUyPJ9tdM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=15
0&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dconnecticut%2Bcolonial%2Btimes%2Bimages%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1
-map of Connecticut from 1766
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ushistoryimages.com/images/colonialconnecticut/fullsize/colonial-connecticut-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ushistoryimages.com/colonialconnecticut.shtm&usg=__3ECCkXRc5ugIQ6NKCD9ZIBLD8E0=&h=586&w=600&sz=189&hl=en&start=32&itbs=
1&tbnid=e1pIK2pYt8Tv7M:&tbnh=132&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dconnecticut%2Bcolonial%2Btimes
%2Bimages%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1
-colonial Connecticut images (primary sources)
http://www.richmondancestry.org/colonial.shtml
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson_images/lesson411/HistorianWorksheet.pdf
http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/00qprint.htm questions for young historians
http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/00clues.htm clues for the mystery kids have to solve
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MAP/TERRITORY/1775map.html
http://www.stratfordhall.org/learn/teacher/education.php colonial school in VA
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1990/5/90.05.04.x.html comparing colonial life to today
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1294965/posts primary documents
Tables:
Table 1
Name: ____________
Text: ____________________________________________________
F
Q
R
(Fact)
(Question)
(Response)
Table 2
What’s Familiar?
Past and Present (Me, Too!)
What’s Unfamiliar?
Past Only (Not Me!)
Table 3
Games
Native
American
Colonial
Boy
Colonial
Girl
African
Slave
Outfits
Language
(How did they
dress?)
(Sayings,
vocabulary…)
Specialty
Items
Food
Chores
(Religious,
medicinal, daily
life items…)
Other
Table 4
Mat-smaller version (actual mat will need to be reproduced on larger paper to hold artifacts, images, etc.)
Native American
Colonial Boy
Colonial Girl
African Slave
Table 5
Native American Bag ___
Recording Mat
Colonial Boy Bag ___
Items that helped you make your decision:
Items that helped you make your decision:
Items you were unsure about:
Items you were unsure about:
Colonial Girl Bag ___
African Slave Bag ___
Items that helped you make your decision:
Items that helped you make your decision:
Items you were unsure about:
Items you were unsure about:
Questions for Bag____
1.
What person are you investigating? ________________________________________
2. What did this person do for work or play? How do you know? ___________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Find three artifacts that your person might have used. Identify each artifact and explain its use.
Artifact
Identify It
What It Is Used For
4. How might your life today be similar and different from the person who you are investigating?
Differences__________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Similarities__________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
RAFT
R. (Role)
A. (Audience)
F. (Format)
T. (Topic)
Native American
Present Day
Child
Oral Tradition
*Song
*Story
Colonial Boy
Present Day
Child
Written Piece
*Letter
*Song
*Story
*Diary/Journal
Entry
Daily Life
*Plant/Harvest
Crops
*Hunt/fish
*Live off land
Daily Life
*Chores (primarily
outdoor)
*School
*Clothing
Colonial Girl
Present Day
Child
Written Piece
*Letter
*Song
*Story
*Diary/Journal
Entry
Daily Life
*Chores (primarily
indoor)
*School
*Clothing
African Slave
Present Day
Child
Oral Tradition
*Song
*Story
Daily Life
*Caretakers
*Plant/Harvest
Crops
*Chores
Name _______________________________
Assessment HSI
Native
American
I used to think
___________________________________________________________________
but now I know
___________________________________________________________________.
Colonial
Boy
I used to think
___________________________________________________________________
but now I know
___________________________________________________________________.
Colonial
Girl
I used to think
___________________________________________________________________
but now I know
___________________________________________________________________.
African
Slave
I used to think
___________________________________________________________________
but now I know
___________________________________________________________________.
Sample Artifacts:
* starred items denote items that overlap into other bags
Native American Bag
Wampum
*Moccasin
Clay Pot
Corn
Bow and Arrow
Wigwam
Blanket
Animal teeth
Corn Husk Doll
Colonial Boy Bag
*Whirligig Toy
*Moccasin
*Drum
*Cup and Ball Toss Toy
*Corn
Musket
*Dress
Nightshirt
Tricorn Hat
Colonial Girl Bag
*Whirligig Toy
*Moccasin
*Copper Pot
*Corn
*Horn Book
*Dress
*Cup and Ball Toss Toy
*Bible
*Quill Pen and Ink
African Slave Bag
Mortar and Pestle
*Copper Pot
Kalimba (thumb piano)
Deed of Sale for “Negro Boy”
http://www.yale.edu/glc/citizens/stories/modul
e1/documents/deed_slave_sale.html
Runaway Slave Ad
*Corn
Butter Churn
Manure Fork
* Headstone
References:
Walter Woodward Connecticut State Historian
Nicholas Bellatoni Connecticut State Archaeologist
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
African game:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/images/grind_corn.jpg&imgrefurl=http://
www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/june04/teachstrategy.cfm&usg=__ZqSVtEywmQUNUwgpG37MJd4STJE=&h=356&w=232
&sz=33&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=_RLpwuFLgvh2YM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=79&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcolonial%2Bafrican%2Bchildren%2
6um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1
Runaway slave ads:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://teacherlink.org/content/social/instructional/runlit/images/banner.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.teacherlin
k.org/content/social/instructional/runlit/home.html&usg=__R57lJtSollxp6B8TnAftJnGsj94=&h=295&w=474&sz=37&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid
=tqaxTfc0--gKNM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drunaway%2Bslave%2Bads%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1
http://ourtimepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/SlaveAd.jpg
Bibliography
Branse, J. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Soldier. Rosen Classroom Books & Materials, 2002. Print.
Branse, J. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Glassblower. Powerkids Pr, 2002. Print
Branse, J. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Sea Captain. PowerKids Press, 2002. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Architects. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Blacksmiths. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Cabinetmakers. NY: Benchmark Books, 1997. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Doctors. NY: Benchmark Books, 1996. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Hatters. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Homemakers. Franklin Watts, 1973. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Limners : America's Earliest Portrait Painters. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Papermakers. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Peddlers. NY: Benchmark Books, 1998. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Schoolmasters. NY: Benchmark Books, 1997. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Shoemakers. NY: Benchmark Books, 1997. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Silversmiths. NY: Benchmark Books, 1997. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Tanners. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Weavers.NY: Benchmark Books, 1998. Print.
Fisher, Leonard. The Wigmakers. NY: Benchmark Books, 2000. Print.
Hoose, Phillip. We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History. Farrar, Straus and Giroux , 2001. Print.
*Isaacs, Sally. Life in a Colonial Town. Heinemann/Raintree, 2001. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie. A one-room school. Crabtree Pub Co, 1994. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie. Colonial Life. Crabtree Pub Co, 1992. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie. The General Store. Crabtree Pub Co, 1996. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie. Tools and Gadgets. Crabtree Pub Co, 1992. Print.
*Kalman, Bobbie. Visiting a Village. Crabtree Pub Co, 1990. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, and Antoinette DeBiasi. Colonial Crafts. Crabtree Pub Co, 1992. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, and Deanna Brady. The Woodworkers. Crabtree Pub Co, 2002. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, Ellen Brown, and Barbara Bedell. The Colonial Cook. Crabtree Pub Co, 2002. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, and John Crossingham. Colonial Home. Crabtree Pub Co, 2000. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, and Niki Walker. The Milliner. Crabtree Pub Co, 2002. Print.
Kalman, Bobbie, and Tammy Everts. A Child's Day. Crabtree Pub Co, 1994. Print.
Krebs, Laurie. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Indigo Planter. Powerkids Pr, 2004. Print.
Krebs, Laurie. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Lighthouse Keeper. PowerKids Press, 2004. Print.
Krebs, Laurie. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Miller. Powerkids Pr, 2004. Print.
Krebs, Laurie. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Shipwright. Powerkids Pr, 2004. Print.
Lenski, Lois. Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison. HarperCollins, 1995. Print.
Maestro, Betsy, and Giulio Maestro. The New Americans. Harper Torch, 2004. Print.
Merrill, Amy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Dressmaker. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. Print.
Merrill, Amy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Surveyor. Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. Print.
Sewall, Marcia. Thunder from the Clear Sky. Aladdin, 1998. Print.
Speare, Elizabeth. The Sign of the Beaver. Dell Pub Co, 1984. Print
Tunis, Edwin. Colonial craftsmen and the beginnings of American industry. Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 1999. Print.
Leeuwen, Jean. Hannah of Fairfield. Puffin, 2000. Print.
Wilmore, Kathy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Blacksmith. PowerKids Press, 2000. Print.
Wilmore, Kathy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Innkeeper. Powerkids Pr, 2001. Print.
Wilmore, Kathy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Printer. Powerkids Pr, 2001. Print.
Wilmore, Kathy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Silversmith. Powerkids Pr, 2001. Print.
Wilmore, Kathy. A Day in the Life of a Colonial Wigmaker. PowerKids Press, 2001. Print.
Winters, Kay. Colonial Voices. Dutton Childrens Books, 2008. Print.
*Additional Possible Mentor Texts