Colonial Connecticut: Literature and Websites Unit

Michael Festi

EDU 553

November 2005

Grade Level: 4^th

Subject: Social Studies

Supplemental Material and Connecticut Standards Connection:

Literature and Website Resources PowerPoint

Theme: The following unit has been created for use with various literature and website resources pertaining to Colonial Connecticut. It is part of a larger project entitled Colonial Connecticut: A Teacher’s Resource Guide.

Timeframe: This unit should take approximately five to seven 45-60 minute social studies sessions.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Colonization

Goal: By the end of this lesson students will be familiar with the early settlers that came to colonial America (Roanoke and Plymouth). Students will have an introductory understanding of the reasons why the settlers came to the “New World”, where they settled, who they met when they arrived (Native American Tribes), and early interactions between the groups.

Materials:

Chart Paper, Pen, Pencil, Notebook Paper, Computer with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, Internet connection

Roanoke, the Lost Colony (Yolen, Stemple & Rush, 2003)

Squanto’s Journey (Bruchac & Shed, 2000)

The Connecticut Colony (Fradin, 1990)

Making Thirteen Colonies (Hakim, 1993)

Growing Up in Colonial America (Barrett, 1995)

Part I - The Roanoke Colony

Exploration:

The lesson begins with a read-aloud of the story Roanoke, the Lost Colony (Yolen et al., 2003). Students should be given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments during the read-aloud when appropriate. The story will introduce the students to the colony of Roanoke, Virginia, (located in present day North Carolina) and offer several legitimate explanations as to what happened to the colonists who went missing. It should be emphasized that there is still great debate today as to what happened to these settlers.

Once the reading is complete, discussion ensues. Students should be asked their opinions on what happened to the people of Roanoke. Some students may offer theories that have not been presented by the authors. If students do come up with their own theories, they should be asked to identify factual support for their ideas, as well.

Explanation:

Since the students have discussed their theories, they must now choose one explanation about what happened to the Roanoke colony to write about. Students must choose one of the theories presented in the book. Students need to use factual evidence to support their opinions. They must also state why they chose the particular theory. The students’ writing should be used to evaluate their understanding of the events that took place at Roanoke. Depending on the availability of computers, students should type up a finished copy of their writing using a word processing program.

Expansion:

The class shares their theories and takes a poll to find out how many students believed in each theory. As part of a math extension, the teacher might ask the students to find the percentage of the class that believed in each explanation. Because there are a variety of explanations as to what happened, the class may be divided unevenly in their opinions.

Next, students form groups based on the explanations they chose. Within the groups, members will share their writing and create a three-slide PowerPoint presentation on their theory. The presentation should adequately explain the group’s theory and why they chose that theory. The group’s goal is to convince the class that their explanation is the true explanation as to what happened to the colonists at Roanoke.

The final portion of the lesson consists of the class discussion about the arguments that the various groups presented. Discussion might include topics like, what were the strengths and weaknesses of each group’s theory or did the theory not account for any evidence found at the Roanoke colony.

Part II - Making a KWL Chart

Exploration:

The teacher begins by asking the students what they already know about colonization (America and Connecticut), Pilgrims, Plymouth, and Native Americans. This will be the KNOW portion of the KWL chart. Teachers should write the students answers on a piece of chart paper instead of a whiteboard or blackboard. This way, the class will be able to preserve the KWL chart for the entirety of the unit. The teacher should include everything that the students offer, even misconceptions, so they can evaluate their prior knowledge at the end of the unit.

The teacher reads aloud the story Squanto’s Journey (Bruchac & Shed, 2000). Squanto narrates the story in the first person, and he describes the events surrounding the first Thanksgiving with the pilgrims of Plymouth. This story is used as an introduction to the Pilgrims and Plymouth because the Native American perspective of the Pilgrims’ arrival may often be overlooked in colonization curriculum. Students’ will probably have several preconceived notions about what took place at the first Thanksgiving. Therefore, it is again important to allow students the opportunity to comment and ask questions during the read-aloud. Another story the teacher may choose to read is The Land of Grey Wolf (Locker, 1991). Although neither of these books is about the colonization of Connecticut, they do introduce background knowledge about colonization. This information is necessary so that students understand that the colonists settled in other locations prior to Connecticut. It is integral that students realize Native Americans were already living in the “New World” when the colonist arrived.

Following the read-aloud, the class should take the time to discuss the events of the story and how the material conflicts with any of their previous knowledge about the Pilgrims, Native Americans, or Thanksgiving.

Explanation:

Just like the Native Americans knew little and wanted to learn more about the new people that began to inhabit their land, it is time for the students to discuss what they WANT to learn about colonization, particularly the colonization of Connecticut.

First, the students need to investigate some literature and website sources in order to determine the topics they want to learn about. In partners, the students use the literature located in the classroom (the books listed with the materials, as well as those listed in the Book List section) to determine what they want to learn. Students can also browse information from the following websites:

www.pequotmusuem.com

http://colonialancestors.com/ct/ct23.htm

http://www.kids.state.ct.us/history.htm

http://www.chs.org/

http://www.cthistoryonline.org/

**Students might also try using a search engine to look for sites on Colonial Connecticut or other related topics.

After the students have had time (10-15 minutes) to skim the literature and websites, the class comes back together to fill-in the Want to Know section of the KWL chart. The students, most likely, will list a variety of topics to learn about. The teacher might ask the students to group information into categories that cover similar topics. Things like dress, food, and housing might be included under the banner heading of Everyday Life.

Other want to know items students might include are: Native American Tribes in Connecticut, why did settlers come to Connecticut, where did they settle, where did they come from, did settlers interact with the Native Americans, and what were their lives like (both Native Americans and settlers).

Expansion:

The expansion activity does not come until the end of the unit. At this time, students will fill in the What We LEARNED portion of the KWL chart. This acts as an excellent assessment tool for both the students and teacher to compare what they knew at the beginning of the unit to what they learned. Also, it allows the class the opportunity to make sure they have discussed all the topics in the Want to Know section.

Discussion should go into great detail about how the students’ knowledge changed from the beginning to the end of the unit. It is extremely important that the students reflect on any misconceptions they had at the beginning of the unit. By addressing the misconceptions, students will be less likely to perpetuate these ideas.

Assessment: Students are assessed based on the following rubric for this lesson. A large part of the lesson was class participation and interaction with partners or small groups. Assessment for this lesson should be based on teacher observation and the collection of written assignments. Students are assessed based on a 4-point scale, 4 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Part I - The Roanoke Colony

	Excellent 4	Good 3	Acceptable 2	Needs Improvement 1
Participation and Cooperation	Actively participated during read-aloud, discussion, group work, and debate. Worked cooperatively.	Participated during read-aloud, discussion, group work, and debate. Needed 1 reminder to work cooperatively.	Participated limitedly during read-aloud, discussion, group work, and debate. 2 reminders to work cooperatively.	Did not participate at any point during the lesson. Did not get along with group members or did not contribute to group work.
Choice of Theory	Choice of theory from literature was relevant and clearly stated.	Choice of theory from literature was relevant and stated.	Choice of theory from literature was somewhat relevant and not clearly stated.	Choice of theory was not stated or from the literature. Not relevant to the topic.
Evidence to Support Theory	Provided a great deal of factual evidence to support theory.	Provided factual evidence to support theory.	Provided a limited amount of evidence, or not factual, to support theory.	Provided no evidence to support theory.
Debate	2 minutes, stance clearly stated, support was relevant and numerous.	1.5 to 2.5 minutes, stance stated, support was relevant	1 to 3 minutes, stance stated, limited support, lacked relevance.	1 to 3 minutes, stance not stated, no support, argument not relevant.

Part II - Making a KWL Chart

	Excellent 4	Good 3	Acceptable 2	Needs Improvement 1
Participation and Cooperation	Actively participated in the lesson, including read-aloud, partner work, and KWL discussion. Cooperated and remained on task.	Participated in the lesson, including read-aloud, partner work, and KWL discussion. 1 reminder to work cooperatively or on task.	Participated limitedly during read-aloud, partner work, and KWL discussion. 2 reminders to work cooperatively and on task.	Participation in lesson was severely lacking. Did not work cooperatively or on task with partner.
Investigation	Displayed evidence of thorough investigation of literature for topics interested in learning about.	Displayed evidence of investigation of literature for topics interested in learning about.	Displayed limited investigation of literature for topics interested in learning about.	No investigation of literature for topics interested in learning about.
Comparison of Knowledge from Beginning to the End of Unit	Found numerous comparisons between what the class knew and what the class learned. Identified misconceptions.	Found comparisons between what the class knew and what the class learned. Identified 1-2 misconceptions.	Found few comparisons between what the class knew and what the class learned. Identified 1 misconception.	Found 0-1 comparisons between what the class knew and what the class learned. Identified no misconceptions.

Lesson 2: Exploration of Natural Resources

Goal: By the end of this lesson students will be familiar with the different settlers that colonized Connecticut. Students will understand the reasons why these settlers came to Connecticut (religious persecution, natural resources). Students will be able to identify the three Connecticut Colonies.

Materials: For this lesson, students will need access to book resources including:

The Connecticut Colony (Fradin, 1990), Making Thirteen Colonies (Hakim, 1993), The Land of Grey Wolf (Locker, 1991), and The Colony of Connecticut (Whitehurst, 2000). Other materials necessary for this lesson are paper (white lined, blank, and construction), pencils, crayons, markers, paste, and scissors.

Lesson Overview: Students are introduced to the settlement of Colonial Connecticut. In this lesson students will discuss the Dutch settlement of Connecticut, the English settlement of Connecticut (including settlers emigrating from Massachusetts); the exploration by Adriaen Block; and the Connecticut Colony (including the three river towns), Old Saybrook Colony, and New Haven Colony. Students will examine the natural resources that were integral to the survival of the colonists. Activities in this lesson involve writing and map making. An approximate time frame for this lesson is one to two 45 to 60 minute class periods.

Procedure

Exploration:

The lesson begins with the teacher asking the question: “Does anyone know when Connecticut was first settled?” Students should apply the information they learned from the previous lesson about the colonies at Roanoke and Plymouth. Based on the student answers, the teacher will guide the discussion to cover the topics of who (Dutch and English), when (1614-1638), where (Connecticut Colony, Old Saybrook Colony, New Haven Colony), and why (religious persecution, natural resources).

Explanation:

After the discussion, students are prepared to take part in the activity. Each student is going to pretend that they are an explorer, exploring Connecticut to discover what natural resources it offers. Their task is to write a journal entry describing the resources of Connecticut that they find. In the journal entry they are going to write about animal life, vegetation, quality of the soil (rich or rocky), the topography of the land, water sources, and any other elements they think are important to include.

Before writing, the teacher might want to take the class outdoors for nature inspiration. Ask the students, what types of things they see and how do they think explorers felt seeing things for the first time. The teacher might instruct the students to imagine what the area looked like four hundred years ago with very few human-made constructions around.

Expansion:

The expansion activity draws greatly from the students’ journal entries created during the explanation phase. Students are going to use the descriptions they wrote to construct a topographical map of land for a future Connecticut settlement. The students can determine the size of the land they want to map; however, they must include a legend, a distance scale, a water source (the Connecticut River), a change in elevation, a clearing, and a forest. Students must also include where an initial settlement would be built. In a supplement to the map, students will describe why they chose to build the settlement where they did. Students might include things like distance to natural resources from the settlement.

Students have a choice to either draw their map or make it using construction paper cutouts. However, students must include all of the items, listed above, in their maps.

After the students finish constructing their maps, they share their journal entries and maps with the rest of the class.

Assessment: Students are assessed based on the following rubric. The students writing and maps play a large role in the assessment of this lesson; therefore, the collection of student created materials is extremely important. Students are assessed based on a 4-point scale, 4 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Exploration of Natural Resources

	Excellent 4	Good 3	Acceptable 2	Needs Improvement 1
Participation	Actively participated during the discussion, no reminders to remain on task. 4	Participated during the discussion, 1 reminder to remain on task. 3	Participated limitedly during the discussion, 2 or 3 reminders to remain on task. 2	Did not participate during the class discussion. 3 or more reminders to remain on task. 1
Journal Entry about Natural Resources	Grand description used for several different natural resources found in Connecticut. No spelling or grammatical errors	Good description of natural resources found in Connecticut. 1-2 spelling or grammatical errors.	Described natural resources but some of the resources are not native to Connecticut. 3-4 spelling or grammatical errors.	Little to no description of natural resources. Resources not native to region. Numerous spelling and grammatical errors.
Topographical Map	Included all the required map elements, exhibited creativity, supplemental writing was insightful.	Lacked only 1 of the required elements for the map, exhibited creativity, supplemental writing explained choices.	Lacked 2-3 of the required map elements supplemental writing minimally explained the site of the settlement.	Lacked 4 or more map elements, did not exhibit creativity, insufficient or no supplemental writing.

Lesson 3: Colonist and Native American Respective Perspectives.

Goal: By the end of this lesson students will be able to describe two different perspectives of colonization (Native American and Colonist). They will be able to identify characteristics about individuals in those groups. Students will be able to describe the ways in which the colonists and Native American tribes interacted.

Materials: For this lesson, students will need access to book resources including:

The Connecticut Colony (Fradin, 1990), Making Thirteen Colonies (Harkin, 1993), The Land of Grey Wolf (Locker, 1991), Stranded at Plimoth Plantation 1626 (Bowen, 1994), The Colony of Connecticut (Whitehurst, 2000), and The Primrose Way (Koller, 1992). . A technological resource appropriate for this lesson is the Internet. Other materials necessary for this lesson are paper (white lined and blank), pencils, crayons, and markers.

Lesson Overview: Through literature, students are exposed to the perceptions that Native Americans had of colonists and that colonists had of Native Americans. After listening to some of the different perspectives, students will write two descriptions, one of a colonist from the eyes of a Native American and one of a Native American from the eyes of a colonist. Students will exchange their descriptions with another student to develop an artistic rendering of their partner’s writing. An approximate time frame for this lesson is two to three 45 to 60 minute class periods.

Procedure

Exploration:

The lesson begins with a read-aloud of the story The Land of Grey Wolf (Locker, 1991). The story is narrated by Running Deer, a Native American boy who describes the white settlers that came to his tribe’s land. The story is important to the lesson because it emphasizes the Native American perspective, a perspective students might be unfamiliar with. Students should be given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments during the read-aloud when appropriate.

The class discussion that follows should center on how the students feel this account differs from others they have read about white settlers colonization. The teacher might ask the students opinion of the colonists that Running Deer described. Explain to the students how it is important to look at all perspectives of a particular event. The teacher should also take this time to introduce the children to the Native American tribes (Pequot, Quinnipiac, Tunxis, Niantic) that lived in Connecticut during colonization. Teachers should connect the tribes to the different regions that were discussed in the previous lesson. If possible, direct students to the website www.pequotmuseum.com for information about the Pequot tribe that lived in the Connecticut.

To cover the colonist perspective, the teacher can read excerpts from the books Stranded at Plimouth Plantation 1626 (Bowen, 1994) or The Primrose Way (Koller, 1992). Discussion on these readings should center on the description of Native Americans and the similarities and differences that can be seen in The Land of Grey Wolf.

Explanation:

Students use the literature resources located in the classroom and Internet resources (see Literature and Website Resources PowerPoint) to research the Native American tribes that lived in Connecticut during colonial times. The research that they find will aid the students in writing their descriptions of both the Native Americans and the colonists. Students might include descriptions of appearance (dress, physical characteristics), living spaces, language, tools or technology used, and action (what is the person doing when you see them). The teacher should allow roughly twenty minutes for the students to research.

Once the students have had adequate time to research, they can begin the writing assignment. The teacher should inform the students that a partner will use their descriptions to draw a picture of the people they describe. Therefore, students should be sure to include plenty of description and use their best handwriting. Some students may benefit from the opportunity to publish their writing using word processing software.

Expansion:

When the students have finished writing, it is time to switch papers with another classmate. Depending on the classroom, the teacher may want to choose the students’ partners.

The students share their perspectives with their partners and then begin working on the artist rendering. Students must do an artistic rendering for both the Native American and the colonist. The emphasis here is not on artistic ability but the inclusion of details found in the writing. Students share their artistic interpretations with their partners. Students can volunteer to read their Native American and colonist perspectives and then show their partners drawing.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher should initiate discussion about why it is important to create accurate descriptions. In the case of the colonists and Native Americans, if a person had not yet seen someone from the other group, they could only go by the descriptions they were told. When the information is passed along, the descriptions might be exaggerated or even false.

Assessment: Students are assessed based on the following rubric. The lesson included activities that were done alone and in partners. Assessment for this lesson should be based on teacher observation and the collection of written assignments. Students are assessed based on a 4-point scale, 4 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Colonist and Native American Respective Perspectives

	Excellent 4	Good 3	Acceptable 2	Needs Improvement 1
Participation	Actively participated during read-aloud, discussion, and partner work.	Participated during read-aloud, discussion, and partner work	Participated limitedly during read-aloud, discussion, and partner work.	Did not participate at any point during the lesson.
Native American and Colonist Perspectives	Provided extremely well detailed and accurate descriptions of the Native American and colonist perspectives.	Provided well detailed and accurate descriptions of the Native American and colonist perspectives.	Descriptions of the Native American and colonist perspectives needed more detail and were not always accurate.	Descriptions of the Native American and colonist perspectives were not accurate and lacked sufficient detail.
Collaboration for Artistic Rendering	No reminders to remain on task. Evidence of high level of artistic effort.	1 reminder to remain on task. Evidence of good artistic effort.	2 or 3 reminders to remain on task. Evidence of satisfactory artistic effort.	3 or more reminders to remain on task. Evidence of little to no artistic effort.

Lesson 4: Connecticut Towns’ Histories

Goal:

Students will be able to use Internet resources to develop a PowerPoint presentation on a Connecticut town while working cooperatively in a group.

Materials:

Students will need access to a computer and PowerPoint software to develop their presentations.

The following are a few town websites that might help students develop their presentations:

Barkhamsted Historical Society

East Hartford Historical Society

Enfield Historical Society

Manchester Historical Society

New Haven History

Somers History

Somers Historical Society

Stonington Historical Society

Windsor Historical Society

Town of Wethersfield

Students should be encouraged to use search engines to research the town they are assigned. Also, information towns’ historical societies can be found at the Index of Connecticut Historical Societies.

Lesson Overview:

In groups of two to three, students will develop a PowerPoint presentation on an assigned Connecticut town. The presentation should include:

1. What year was the town founded?

2. Who founded the town?

3. How did the town get its name?

4. Where is the town located (Northeast, Southeast Connecticut)? Is it near any natural resources (rivers, lakes, state forests)?

5. Information about the town’s historical society.

6. Any miscellaneous information the group finds of interest.

Procedure:

Group students into pairs and assign each group a different Connecticut town.
Inform the students that they will research their towns and create a PowerPoint they will present to the class. Provide the students with a reference to questions they will be required to answer in their presentations. *found in lesson overview*
Provide an informational session about conducting Internet research. Model the appropriate ways to use a search engine. Discuss with students why it is important to examine the credibility of where their information is coming from.
If the school has a computer lab, time should be reserved for the students to work in the lab as a group. If a computer lab isn’t available, students should have the opportunity to work on the classroom computer. A schedule should be made up to make sure that all students have an equal amount of research time.
Students should be provided time to finish the presentations using the school computers. If the students do not finish within that time period, they will have to complete their projects on their own time.
Set up a schedule for the students to present their Connecticut towns to the class. The best option would be to do 4-5 presentations over the span of week instead of doing all the presentations in one day.
Have the students provide feedback to their classmates about positive and negative aspects of their presentations.

Assessment: Students are assessed using the following rubric. Because the lesson was based on a group endeavor, a large portion of the assessment should be based on cooperation and participation in the group. Students are assessed on a 4-point scale, 4 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Connecticut Towns’ Histories

	Excellent 4	Good 3	Acceptable 2	Needs Improvement 1
Participation and Cooperation.	Strongly participated in group research, preparation, and presentation of Connecticut Town. Evidence of cooperative group effort.	Actively participated in group research, preparation, and presentation of Connecticut Town. Evidence of cooperative group effort.	Participated, limitedly at points, in group research, preparation, and presentation of Connecticut Town. A few reminders to work cooperatively.	Participation with group was severely limited, needed several reminders to work cooperatively.
Presentation	Presentation was informative and kept the audience’s interest. Audience was actively involved. All group members participated equally.	Presentation was informative and kept the audience’s interest. All group members participated.	Presentation was somewhat informative. Audience lost interest at points. All group members participated but at varying levels.	Presentation was not informative and did not captivate the audience’s interest. One group member did the majority of talking.
PowerPoint	Visually appealing, consistent, and exhibited a strong knowledge of the software. Group answered all the questions outlined in the lesson overview.	Visually appealing and exhibited aptitude using the software. Group answered most of the questions outlined in the lesson overview.	Lacked visual appeal and consistency. Exhibited a limited knowledge of the software. Group answered some of the questions outlined in the lesson overview.	Lack of visual appeal and consistency. Exhibited a limited knowledge of the software. Group answered 0-1 questions outlined in the lesson overview.

Literature Resources

Barrett, T. (1995). Growing up in colonial america. Connecticut: Millbrook Press.

Bowen, G. (1994). Stranded at plimoth plantation 1626. New York: HarperCollins.

Bruchac, J. & Shed, G. (2000). Squanto’s journey: The story of the first thanksgiving. New York: Harcourt Inc.

Fradin, D.B. (1990). The connecticut colony. Chicago: Childrens Press.

Hakim, J. (1993). Making thirteen colonies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Koller, J.F. (1992). The primrose way. New York: Harcourt.

Locker, T. (1991). The land of grey wolf. New York: Dial Books.

Whitehurst, S. (2000). The colony of connecticut. New York: Powerkids Press.

Yolen, J., Stemple, H.E.Y. & Roth, R. (2003). Roanoke, the lost colony: An unsolved mystery from history. New York: Simon & Schuster.