Diary of a Colonist

A WebQuest for 5th grade (Colonial America)

Kerry Daimon

Click Here to visit the Student WebQuest

Introduction

In this WebQuest, students will create a diary from the perspective of a colonist living during Colonial America. Students will choose which colony they live in and then create three diary entries from the perspective of a colonist. Students must have a journal entry on the following topics: occupation (trade/work) and daily life (where they live, type of food they eat. The last diary entry can be on anything of their choosing, but examples might be: how/why their family immigrated to the colonies, interactions with Native Americans, or how they feel about living under British rule in the colonies. The students will be finalizing their diary entries on paper and pen to create the effect of being written during Colonial times. The activity is designed as if students are creating these diary entries as a display for the Smithsonian Museum of American History that is designing an exhibit around what it might have been like to live during Colonial America.

Learners

This lesson is designed for 5th graders studying Colonial America for their social studies unit. The lesson is intended to allow students to gain an understanding of what every day life in the colonies might have been like for the colonists. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of Colonial America by creating a three entry long diary from the perspective of a colonist. Prior to this lesson, students have had learned about the geography of Colonial America and had discussions on why people immigrated to the colonies. For this lesson, students must have a general understanding of who the colonists were and why they might have been immigration to the colonies.

Curriculum Standards

Fifth grade Social Studies Standards Addressed:

NCSS.5.3 Explain the religious, political, and economic reasons for movement of people from Europe to the Americas and describe instances of both cooperation and conflict between Native American Indians and European settlers.

NCSS.5.4. Identify and locate the 13 British colonies that became the United States and identify the early founders, describe daily life (political, social, and economic organization and structure), and describe early colonial resistance to British rule.

NCSS.5.13 Describe and summarize how colonial and new states’ governments affected groups within their population (e.g., citizens, slaves, foreigners, nobles, women, class systems, tribes).

Along with these social studies standards, students will be using research skills to decide which facts and details are important enough to include in their diary entries. Additionally, students will be using writing skills to compose creative, detailed, and well-composed diary entries through the eyes of a colonist.

Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the life of a colonist by researching information and creating a diary from the perspective of a colonist.

Process

This lesson will take place over the course of multiple days or social studies blocks. These are the steps provided to the students on the student version of the WebQuest:

1.Choose which colony your colonist is from and the type of job or trade that they worked in. The following is a list of the 13 colonies along with the types of jobs or trade that you may choose to research and write about:
Massachusetts Apothecary
New Hampshire Chandler

           Connecticut                             Gunsmith
           Rhode Island                            Tailor
           New York                                 Homemaker
           New Jersey                              Blacksmith
           Pennsylvania                            Wheelwright
           Delaware                                  Wigmaker
           Maryland                                  Printer
           Virginia                                     Milliner
           North Carolina                          Cooper
           South Carolina                         Cabinetmaker
           Georgia

If you have an idea for a different job or trade, please come check with me first for approval before you begin your work.

2.Then, conduct research on the websites provided in order to answer the following questions:

Diary Entry 1 - What was daily life in your colony like? What did you eat? What kind of a house did you live in? What did you do for enjoyment or fun?

Diary Entry 2 - Describe in detail the type of work that you did What might a typical work day look like for you? Were there certain tools you used? What was your contribution to the colony?

Diary Entry 3 - A diary entry topic of your choice. Some examples might be interactions with Native Americans or why your family chose to immigrate to the colonies.

Your research should be recorded in your social studies journals. After you believe you have conducted enough thorough research, show me your notes so that I can ensure that you have enough information to thoroughly complete the diary entries.

It is recommended that teachers provide research note taking scaffolds for students as needed. The teacher can create worksheets that ask bulleted questions for students to answer or columns with general categories for students to take notes on. Providing different types of note taking materials is important so that students can choose which they feel they need in order to provide them the support to complete the assignment.

Research Websites:

http://www.history.com/topics/thirteen-colonies

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13colonies1.htm

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm - Browse through the variety of links here, lots of different types of information!

http://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/jobs_occupations.php

http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/colonial-life/Colonial_Life.pdf

3.Once I have approved your research notes, it is time to get creative! Using the information you have collected, write a narrative piece describing your research from the perspective of the colonist you have chosen. Once you have completed a draft of one diary entry, show it to me so that I can provide you feedback before you move forward with the other two journal entries.

The teacher should be evaluating these diary entries based on the guidelines of the rubric. Is the student using creativity in the diary entry? Are they referring back to data and evidence collected from the research process?

4.After completing a draft of all three diary entries, find a classmate to trade diary entries with. Then, read each others diaries and provide each other feedback. Once you have done this peer review step, turn it into me for final editing.

5.You are almost finished and ready to show off your diary! Once I have returned your diaries with feedback and edits, go to the writing table to pick up some colonial-style paper and pens. Now, carefully create your handwritten diary. Be sure to include dates and at least three drawings or diagrams to illustrate the story you have told.

Be sure to emphasize to the students in person that handwriting is crucial for this step of the assignment. While it is encouraged for students to use creativity and use “old fashioned” hand writing in script or cursive, it is more important that an audience member can read the completed works.

6.Please be sure that you have included your name on the back of the diary and then submit it to the turn-in box. Tomorrow, we will be binding the diaries together with covers.

Resources Needed

Materials:

-computers or laptops

-pencils

-note-taking paper

-black ink pens (for final drafts)

-special colonial diary paper

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated using the following rubric:

Conclusion

This lesson is an integration of creativity and using evidence within narrative writing to convey facts and information. Is it an interesting way for students to learn about life during Colonial America while using creativity and perspective taking to convey what they have learned. It also provides students with guided practice on conducting research.

Credits & References

Thank you to the following websites that provided me with pictures and resources for putting together this WebQuest:

http://www.landofthebrave.info/american-history-of-13-colonies.htm

http://www.ahsd.org/reading/ColonialAmerica.htm

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http://www.history.com/topics/thirteen-colonies

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13colonies1.htm

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm -

http://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/jobs_occupations.php

http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/colonial-life/Colonial_Life.pdf