The Puritans – Part 4: Artifact Exploration

Details

Author
Mary Gene Devlin, Bette Schmitt
Topic/Subject Area
Home Life, Household Items, Furniture
Historical Era
Colonial settlement, 1620–1762
Grade Level
Elementary (K–5), Middle School (6–8)
Creation Date
2000
Last Revision Date
2024

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About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Unit Central Questions:

What do primary and secondary sources teach us about the characteristics of “everyday life” of individuals living in Deerfield at the three turns of the centuries? What do these characteristics reveal about changes in the town since its beginning as an English settlement?

Key Content Ideas

The residents of Deerfield built modest homes and owned basic household goods, clothing, and tools. The roles of men and women were different.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Understandings:

Students will understand:

  1. That architecture and artifacts can teach lessons about daily life.
Skills:

Students will be able to:

  1. Read, analyze, and interpret a home and artifacts of the 1680-1720 period.
  2. Observe and draw artifacts.

Materials & Resources

  1. Worksheet: Reading an Object
  2. Object/artifact from teacher’s home.

Note to teacher: Bring a useful household object (artifact) from home for this activity. It can be something that might be puzzling to students, or something like a vase or other object with interesting detail.

Teaching Plan

In Preparation for Teaching
  1. Review Worksheet: Reading an Object
  2. Bring artifact from home
Activities
  1. Distribute artifact Worksheet: Reading an Object.
  2. Show artifact from teacher’s home.
  3. Ask students to complete worksheet, using teacher’s artifact.
  4. Ask them to draw the artifact at the bottom of the sheet.
  5. Tell about the history, background, and use of the artifact.
  6. Lead students in a discussion about artifact research, what can and cannot be learned from objects.
Assessments

artifact drawings