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Education in Colonial America

Developed by Melanie Bray, Mindy Ruvinsky,
and James Klosson

Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion

Introduction

Imagine that you are in Colonial America and that you were sent back to this time to discover how the children of this time are different than you. What would your day be like? Who would be your teachers? What would you play with?

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Task

Your task will be to find out how you and children in Colonial America are the same and differnt. You are going to be doing this project so that you can better understand what it was like to be a Colonial student. You have the choice of either doing an oral presentation where you will talk about the topic, or you can put on a play to show your knowledge.

Each presentation will be ten minutes.

You will also be doing a diorama to show everyone how you see education in Colonial America. You can make a model of what a one-roomed Colonial classroom would have looked like.

There will be a test at the end based on the information that is presented in class. You will need to scored at least a 70 on this test in order to show that you have understood enough to complete this task.

These will both be presented on the same day.

You need to be able to answer the following questions in order to complete your mission.

How is your classroom set up differently from the Colonial American District School classroom?
How are your teachers different?
What kinds of games did they play in Colonial America that are common to games you play today?
How did the students in Colonial America learn? What books did they use? Did they take test?
How were the students punished differently than you today?

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Process

You will work in groups of 4 people.
Each group will be doing an Oral Presentation or a Play.
First you will need to do research about education in Colonial America.
Next you will need to be able to answer the questions above.
In your groups you will have to bring all of your research together.
Next you will need to pick who will be talking about each of the questions, or you will have to start working on your play.

For the play you will have to pick characters and decide what they are going to be talking about.

Practice will make talking in front of the class easier.

Time to make the diorama.

One person needs to bring a shoe box.
One person needs to bring scissors and glue.
One person needs to bring color paper and string.
One person needs to bring extra chardboard.

All four group members will work together in making thier version of what a Colonial one-roomed classroom would have looked like.
Relax and enjoy playing a game. Word Search Puzzle.htm Your teacher will have to print this out for you.
Last get ready to present to the class what you have researched about Colonial America.

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Resources

http://www.stratfordhall.org/ed-boysgirls.htm History of education in America

http://www.allsands.com/misc3/educationhistor_zlr_gn.htm Education for wealthy boys and girls

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/books.html Horn Books and Battledoors

http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/schooling.html Horn Book, Dame School, and the New England Primer

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/latingra.html Latin Grammar Schools

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/masslaws.html Massachusetts Education Laws of 1642 and 1647

powerpoint 2.ppt Our slide show about Colonial American Education

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Evaluation

You will be graded on how well you show what you know about Colonial American Education.

Your will get a grade for your oral presentation or play.

Your diorama will be graded on creativity and how well it represents Colonial America.

A test at the end will show how well you understand how Colonial America is the same and different than kids today.

The Diorama will show that you understood what a one-roomed classroom would have looked like.

The test at the end will be done by your teacher. It will be on the different material covered by the presentations.

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Conclusion

Congratulations!!! You have reached the end of your task. We hope that you had fun in learning about education in Colonial America.

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http://www.stratfordhall.org/ed-boysgirls.htm	History of education in America
http://www.allsands.com/misc3/educationhistor_zlr_gn.htm	Education for wealthy boys and girls
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/books.html	Horn Books and Battledoors
http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/schooling.html	Horn Book, Dame School, and the New England Primer
http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/latingra.html	Latin Grammar Schools
http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/masslaws.html	Massachusetts Education Laws of 1642 and 1647
powerpoint 2.ppt	Our slide show about Colonial American Education