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Martha Washington and the Colonial Era

Lesson Author
Eastman, Lisa
Course(s)
American History
Required Time Frame
3 forty-five minute lessons
Subject(s)
Women's History
Grade Level(s)
9
10
11
12
Lesson Abstract
Spending time with Martha Washington to learn about the colonial era.
Description

An afternoon with Martha Washington. An overview of Martha’s life presented by Mrs. Eastman. A glimpse of the artifacts of colonial times. A light snack with Mrs. Washington.

Rationale (why are you doing this?)

To give students an overview of colonial times and the life of Martha Washington.

Lesson Objectives - the student will
  • Learn about the life of Martha Washington

  • Explore colonial artifacts

  • Have a snack with Martha during a Q & A session.

District, state, or national performance and knowledge standards/goals/skills met

Students in the Appleton Area School District will learn about the history of Wisconsin, the U.S. and the world, examining change and continuity over time in order to develop historical perspective, explain historical relationships and analyze issues that affect the present and the future: A. Time, continuity and change in U.S. history. B. U.S. cultures and cultural diversity. C. People, places and events in U.S. history. D. Process and investigation.

Secondary materials (book, article, video documentary, etc.) needed

Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington. Penguin Group, 2005.

Primary sources needed (document, photograph, artifact, diary or letter, audio or visual recording, etc.) needed

https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/washington-mrs-george-martha-bust

Technology Required

Computer with Powerpoint

Fully describe the activity or assignment in detail. What will both the teacher and the students do?

Students will receive the picture https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/washington-mrs-george-martha-bust of Martha Washington and will be asked to do a quick write of who they believe the person is, why is she dressed this way, and what can they generalize about the woman in the photograph.

Next students will be introduced Mrs.Washington.  This will be done in the form of a Powerpoint.

Students will go around the room and look at 30 items related to the colonial times. They will answer the assessment questions. A question and answer session will take place with an informal French twist snack and apple cider.

Assessment: fully explain the assessment method in detail or create and attach a scoring guide

Back in Time Name: ____________________

Look at each object and determine what it is and what it was used for in US History.

What would you call this artifact?   What do you think it is used for?

  1. _____________________________     1. ___________________________________

  2. ____________________________ 2. ___________________________________

  3. ____________________________ 3. ___________________________________

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What did you learn about each artifact?

1._____________________________     16. ___________________________________

2 .____________________________      17. ___________________________________

3. __________________________          18. ___________________________________

  1. _________________________     19. ___________________________________

  2. ____________________________ 20. ___________________________________

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  12. ____________________________ 30. ___________________________________

Artifacts used

1.      Playing Cards*-entertainment

2.      Cup and Ball

3.      Tic-Tac-Toe

4.      Musket Ball* used in rifles particularly the Brown Bess. The Brown Bess weighed about 7 pounds and was used in the revolution. Weapons were loaded with gunpowder and the musket ball by hand. The sharpest shooter could get about 3 rounds off in a minute.

5.      Jacks-Gentry had nice Jacks the poor had rocks and a wooden ball.

6.      Wooden Dice-George Washington despised gambling and would confiscate dice. He did not want his soldiers at Valley Forge to gamble.

7.      Needle Holder*-Needles were very expensive and easy to lose. Needle holders were created to hold a needle. Remember commoners would be buying their textiles and sewing their own clothes. The gentry went to a dressmaker

8.      Whirligig-game with the silver coin thing on a string

9.      Colonial Home (lunch box from Colonial Williamsburg)-houses had parlor, dining area/ kitchen and outhouse outside. Rooms upstairs

10.  Quill*-for writing

11.  Wig Curler*-used to curl wigs. Thread was placed around the curler to hold in place and then sprinkled with sugar water to hold.

12.  Night Cap

13.  Wax-for sealing letters.

14.  Bonnet

15.  Macaroni-mention Yankee Doodle- a macaroni is a derogatory term used to describe a dressed up man (metro sexual)

16.  Pipe Cleaner-TOBACCO extremely important to the colonists. In China tobacco became so popular it was believed it cured Malaria. Fact was so many people were smoking the smoke killed the mosquitoes that cased Malaria.

17.  Red Wax*

18.  Soap*made of pig fat and ashes from a fire. For scraping off dirty. Commoners bathed seldom. “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” June weddings due to the fact that people bathed in June, a bouquet was carried by brides to cover up the smell.

19.  Buggy Heater- bring to church use to keep feet warm could also heat a brick.

20.  Flint and Steel*-starting fire

21.  Newspaper-mind your p’s and q’s typesetting

22.  Slingshot

23.  Pieces of Eight I have a card for that one.

24.  Slate Pencil*

25.  Licorice Stick*root that smells of licorice used for scrubbing teeth. Again not a lot of hygiene in the 1700’s

26.  Snake

27.  Jaw Harp*    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v-Mrxxed54hcg

28.  Jacob’s Ladder

29.  Handkerchief –no Kleenex not sure of germs

30. Bedwarmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHaKjdBm90c