Journey
Back in Time
to
Colonial Days
A WebQuest for
4th Grade
SOL VS 3, 4.1,
4.2, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8
Designed by
Melissa Warren
mwarren@bristolvaschools.org
Introduction
What would it be like to have
been born at a different time? Or as another person? Our class is going to
travel back to Colonial Days. You will each choose to become either a man, a
woman, or a child from colonial times. You will bring your character to life as
you pretend to live as a colonial.
The Task
Each of you will become a character from
Colonial Times. Everything you do on this project will be from the viewpoint of
the character you have chosen. This will include your writing, research, and
performance. The chart below lists your character choices. Would you
like to experience life as a slave, as a student, as one of our country's
founding fathers, or perhaps as Betsy Ross? You will write about
your life as that character. You will also include an authentic document that
was written during the time period in which you lived. The final step in
your project will be to create a brochure documenting your life. We will
use PrintMaster or MS Publisher to accomplish this task.
The Process
Pick a character from the table
below. Use the Internet resources listed below to gather
information about this character. Look at the information that is needed for
your brochure. Once the information is gathered you will publish it.
Download and print the worksheet to help you organize your information and plan
your project.
| apprentice | baker | basket maker |
| Betsy Ross | blacksmith | brick maker |
| cabinetmaker | carpenter | child / student |
| colonial woman / mother | cooper | Founding Father |
| gunsmith | manor lady | manor owner |
| merchant | miller | printer |
| shoemaker | silversmith | slave |
| tanner | wheelwright | wigmaker |
We will be creating a Tri-Fold Brochure, similar to a travel brochure.
The Cover
Your cover will have a picture of you as the colonial person. We
will accomplish this by using the scanner, digital camera, a few props, the
internet, and a graphics program. You will include your name (character's
name) and what you do in your colonial life.
Page 1
Gather information about your character from the list of resources below. On
the first page, introduce
your character and give some of your family history and background.
You are going to want to bring your character to life, so you will want to
include the following information:
- your name (make sure your character has an authentic colonial name)
- your family background
- your occupation
- your age
- your educational background
- your religion
Pages 2-3
You will write 3 journal entries. These journal entries should tell about your trade and describe shelter, furnishings, costume, education, food, chores, and/or recreation common to your colonial character. Describe your family life as a colonial. The journal entries can be consecutive daily entries or they can be selected from several weeks or months. Try to express the thoughts and feelings of your character as he/she goes about daily life in the colony. Some ideas to include are:
- daily schedule/routines
- work details
- free time activities
- a sample of an authentic document written during and/or about the colonial period.
Page 4
You are to write up a recipe (that you enjoyed as a 'colonial
person') or write up a description of a game that was popular during that
period. We will have a Colonial Day where you can prepare the recipe for the
class to sample. We will also play the games. If you choose to write about a game then the
materials need to be brought in for Colonial Day and you will instruct the class
how to play it.
Resources
African
Americans
Aunt
Abigail's Cookbook
Colonial
Children
The
History of the 13 Original Colonies
Archiving Early America: Early American
History Documents
Black
Life in Colonial America
Everyday Life in
Colonial America
Great Colonial Game
Book
People
of Williamsburg
Politics
in Colonial Virginia
Religion
in Early Virginia
Trades of
Colonial Times
Evaluation
Now that you have completed your work on
colonial times, lets take a look back and see how your efforts have helped you
to understand the historic time period you studied. We will have a Colonial Day
and the students will dress up as their character and present their brochure to
the class. Students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the other
trades after the entire presentation.
Conclusion
Do you have a better understanding of
life as a colonial person? Do you think you would have liked to live
during this time period? Why or why not? How did life differ from what you
have now? What would you have liked best about life then, and what would you
have missed most about life now?
Disclaimer: The links here have been scrutinized for their grade and age appropriateness; however, contents of links on the World Wide Web change continuously. It is advisable that teachers review all links before introducing Web Quests to students.
