Lesson 5: Town and Country
Activities
Activity 1: Farming and Trade
Materials: Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself! by Kris Bordessa
In today's reading, you learned about the lives of farmers (including not only people who grew a garden for their own family's use, but also people who grew indigo or tobacco as cash crops) and also about the lives of colonial tradesmen who made useful or decorative objects and provided services for fellow colonists. In this activity, you'll focus on either farming or trades. Ask a parent which option you should complete.
In this activity, your child will consider either, in Option 1, the steps and challenges of growing a cash crop (tobacco or indigo) or, in Option 2, the relative value of different trades to a growing colonial community. Option 2 requires more in-depth critical thinking, while Option 1 may involve more imaginative thinking as it asks the student to play the role of a farmer sharing important information with a son who will take over the family farm one day. Choose the option that seems most appropriate for your child.
Option 1: Colonial Farming
Review the sections of Chapter 5 about growing tobacco and growing indigo. Imagine that you are a planter growing one of these cash crops and you're making a list of the things that will need to be done to share with your oldest son, who is learning how to grow the crop properly. Remember that in colonial times, parents often handed down knowledge and skills to their children and taught them trades or agricultural skills that would help their offspring be successful later, and maybe take over the family farm or business someday. Be sure to include the following:
- Anything one would need to know about preparing the soil.
- The amount of labor to expect.
- The specific steps involved in planting, tending, harvesting, and processing the crop.
- Any potential problems (insect pests, weather problems, plant diseases, etc.) that might arise.
- A few comments that indicate the benefits and the pitfalls of growing this particular crop.
In this activity, your child will write out a list of important information that one would need to know about growing a colonial cash crop, either tobacco or indigo. Review the information in Chapter 5 to make sure that your child's list is accurate and relatively complete.
Option 2: Colonial Occupations
In the reading, you learned that as a colonial town grew, the demand for skilled craftspeople to provide goods and services for the town's residents grew as well. Towns might even advertise to attract the craftspeople that the town leaders thought would make the most valuable additions to their communities.
In this activity, you'll imagine that you are a leader of a colonial community that has grown from a few farms to a small but growing town. You and other leaders want to encourage people with important skills to come to your town and help it to prosper, and you plan to advertise in other areas, trying to encourage young, ambitious, and energetic workers to bring their skills and their trades to your community. But what kinds of tradesmen would be most helpful to you? See the "Colonial Occupations" activity page for more details!
In this activity, you'll imagine that you are a leader of a colonial community that has grown from a few farms to a small but growing town. You and other leaders want to encourage people with important skills to come to your town and help it to prosper, and you plan to advertise in other areas, trying to encourage young, ambitious, and energetic workers to bring their skills and their trades to your community. But what kinds of tradesmen would be most helpful to you? See the "Colonial Occupations" activity page for more details!
Optional:
If you have time and would like to create a colonial sign like the ones described on page 73 in today's reading, follow the instructions provided to create a sign for one of the colonial businesses that town leaders might want to encourage to set up shop in their community.
If you have time and would like to create a colonial sign like the ones described on page 73 in today's reading, follow the instructions provided to create a sign for one of the colonial businesses that town leaders might want to encourage to set up shop in their community.
Student Activity Page
In this activity, your child will fill in a chart with details on 10 colonial occupations. He will then rank the occupations from 1 to 10 based on how valuable each might be to a growing colonial community. The explanations of each job are provided in the answer key below, but your child's rankings and reasons for those rankings may vary. He should understand, however, that some jobs provided services that may have been more essential to survival and success than others (for example, a blacksmith who could make iron farming tools might be more immediately valuable to a growing town than a milliner selling finery).
| Answer Key | |
| Occupation | What They Did |
| Blacksmith | Made iron tools and things like latches, hinges, nails, and horseshoes |
| Silversmith | Made fine items like silver bowls, silver eating utensils, tea sets, and candlesticks |
| Woodworker or Cabinetmaker | Made furniture, may have also made wooden tools or farm implements and buildings |
| Apothecary | Served as a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, and shopkeeper |
| Cooper | Made wooden tubs and barrels |
| Chandler | Made candles |
| Printer | Published newspapers, printed announcements and broadsides, often served as a post office |
| Hatter | Made hats |
| Shoemaker | Made shoes and repaired worn or damaged shoes |
| Tavern Keeper | Provided lodging for guests as well as meals and drinks for local people |
Activity 2: A Hands-On Colonial Project
Materials: Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself! by Kris Bordessa
As you've learned, colonists had to make a lot of things themselves. In this activity, you'll have the chance to make something similar to what colonial families might have created and get a feel for what it would have been like to have to make your own playthings, or do the work of a colonial housewife (cooking) or tradesman (tinsmith or tool maker). Read through the possible projects on the "Colonial Crafts" page with a parent and choose an option that appeals to you. You may be able to incorporate what you make into your final project presentation about colonial life later in the unit.
Whatever project you choose, think about what materials a colonial cook or craftsman might have used and where those materials might have come from. Would ingredients and supplies have been grown or manufactured at home? Bought from a local producer? Imported from England? How would making each of these things benefit a colonial family? What would be the advantage of making something (like a physical puzzle or a pump drill) over buying something similar from a shop? Talk with a parent about these questions.
Work with a parent to be sure that you have the equipment that you need and that you have parental supervision and assistance where necessary.
Whatever project you choose, think about what materials a colonial cook or craftsman might have used and where those materials might have come from. Would ingredients and supplies have been grown or manufactured at home? Bought from a local producer? Imported from England? How would making each of these things benefit a colonial family? What would be the advantage of making something (like a physical puzzle or a pump drill) over buying something similar from a shop? Talk with a parent about these questions.
Work with a parent to be sure that you have the equipment that you need and that you have parental supervision and assistance where necessary.
Student Activity Page
For this activity, your child will create a hands-on colonial project. It may be a food that was eaten in colonial times, a puzzle that would have been played with in the colonies, models of tinware, or models of tools. Your child may be able to use this project as part of his final project for the unit as well.
Some of these activities require the use of knives, tools, or heat sources and so should be completed with parental supervision. Be sure to read over all of the instructions in the book carefully and advise your child on the choice of a project and be available to assist him and supervise his work as necessary.
Your child should think about what materials a colonial cook or craftsman might have used and where those materials might have come from. Would ingredients and supplies have been grown or manufactured at home? Bought from a local producer? Imported from England? How would making each of these things benefit a colonial family? What would be the advantage of making something (like a physical puzzle or a pump drill) over buying something similar from a shop? Talk about these kinds of questions with your child as he works on his craft.
Some of these activities require the use of knives, tools, or heat sources and so should be completed with parental supervision. Be sure to read over all of the instructions in the book carefully and advise your child on the choice of a project and be available to assist him and supervise his work as necessary.
Your child should think about what materials a colonial cook or craftsman might have used and where those materials might have come from. Would ingredients and supplies have been grown or manufactured at home? Bought from a local producer? Imported from England? How would making each of these things benefit a colonial family? What would be the advantage of making something (like a physical puzzle or a pump drill) over buying something similar from a shop? Talk about these kinds of questions with your child as he works on his craft.