TheCottonEconomy
LessonplansforprimarysourcesattheTennesseeStateLibrary&Archives
Author:ChristinaRogers,WhitwellElementarySchool
GradeLevel:4thgrade
DateCreated:May2015
Visitwww.tn.gov/tsla/educationoutreachforadditionallessonplans.
Introduction:TheIndustrialRevolutionbroughtsigni icantchangetothoselivinginTennessee
andthegreaterUnitedStates.ThegrowingofcottonandEliWhitney’sintroductionofthecottongin
wereresponsibleformuchoftheeconomicgrowthinantebellumTennessee.
GuidingQuestions:
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Identifylessonvocabulary
cottonboll‐theseed‐bearingpartofthecottonplantinwhichthecotton ibersareformed
iber‐a ine,threadlikepiece,producedbythecottonplant
cottongin‐amachinethatquicklyandeasilyseparatescotton ibersfromtheirseeds
Whoinventedthecottongin?
Howwouldyoudescribecottonbolls?
Whatfactswouldyouselecttosupportthecottonginasanimportantinvention?
Canyouelaborateonthereasonwhythecottonginwasnecessary?
Canyouexplainhowthecottonginaffectedtheprocessofmakingcloth?
LearningObjectives:Thegoalofthislessonistolookcloselyatacottonbollandconnecttheim‐
pactofEliWhitney’scottongininventiontotheIndustrialRevolution.Inthislesson,studentswillbe‐
comeactivelearnersastheyviewaprimarysource,examinecottonbollsandreadanon‐ ictionpassage.
Areadingcomprehensionassessmentisalsoincluded.
CurriculumStandards:
4.57AnalyzeanddescribethefactorsoftheIndustrialRevolutionoccurringintheUnitedStatesandinTennessee,
including:
EliWhitney‐CottonGin,SamuelSlater‐factorysystem,Watermills‐in luencegeography,Fulton‐steamboats
RI.4.3‐Explainevents,procedures,ideas,orconceptsinahistorical,scienti ic,ortechnicaltext,includingwhathap‐
penedandwhy,basedonspeci icinformationinthetext. Page1of4
MaterialsNeeded:
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Copyandprintlabreportsforstudentinquiry(seepage4)
StudentjournalsornotebookpaperforK‐W‐LChart
PostcardofCottonGinningtimeinMemphis,Tenn.
Cottonbolls
Ordercottonbollsfromoneofthefollowingsources
http://www.cottonacres.com/cotton‐bolls/
http://cottonclassroom.com/buycotton.html
Copyandprintnon‐ ictionreadingpassageforassessment
(seepage3forlink)
Background:
“Cotton”
Author:WayneMoore
SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture
“CottonGins” Author:CarrollVanWest
SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture
“MemphisCottonExchange” Author:LynetteBoneyWrenn
SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture
LessonActivities:
IntroductoryActivity
StudentswillviewCottonGinningTimeinMemphis,TN,postcard#37fromTheTennesseeStateLibrary
andArchivescollection.
1)WhileviewingthephotographstudentswillcreateaK‐W‐Lchart.ThisK‐W‐LChart,whichtracks
whatastudentknows(K),wantstoknow(W),andhaslearned(L)aboutthetopic,willbeusedbefore,
during,andafterresearchonEliWhitneyandthecottongin.
2)UsetheK‐W‐Lcharttodirectstudents’thinkingastheybegintoviewthepostcard.Askthemtoiden‐
tifythetitleandencouragethemtothinkaboutwhattheynotice.
3)Thenaskstudentstothinkaboutwhattheymightalreadyknowaboutthetopic.Encouragethemto
brainstormaboutthetimeperiodandposequestionsaboutthepeople,wagons,mulesandcotton.
Thesecanberecordedonachartasaclassorindividually.
4)Asthelessoncontinues,instructthemtorevisittheirquestionsinthe“WhatIwanttoknow”column
Page2of4
andanswertheminthe“WhatILearned”column. LessonActivitiesContinued:
SmallGroupActivity:Investigation
1)Insmallgroupsdistributecottonbollsandlabreports(seepage4)forstudentobservation.
2)Withapartner,studentsbegintogatherandrecorddata.
3)Studentsexaminethewoodystemandthebollholdingthe ibersandginthecottonbyremovingthe
seedsfromthe ibers.
4)Studentsdrawconclusionsandinterpretdata.
IndependentAssessment:MakingCloth:TheIndustrialRevolutionBegins
Studentswillreadthe4thgradereadingpassagelinkedabove(followtheredirect)onmakingclothandan‐
swerthecomprehensionquestions.Teachersmaydecidetousethisasanindependentassignment,addi‐
tionalwhole‐groupreadinginstructionorasanassessment.
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Name:_________________________
Date:___________________________
CottonBollLabReport
Mylabpartner’snameis__________________________________________________________________________________________
Wepredictwewill indthesethingsinourCottonBoll:
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OutsideofCottonBoll
Hereisasketchoftheoutsideofourcottonboll:
Ourbollfeelslike__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ourbolllookslike_________________________________________________________________________________________________
InsideofCottonBoll
Hereisasketchoftheinsideofourcottonboll:
Hereiswhatwefoundinside_____________________________________________________________________________________
Detailsweseeare_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ourpredictionswere______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________