This past week we wrote letters to the main characters from our colonial novels: Maria's Story (1773) and John's Story (1775). As we read our novels, we notice that life for children over 200 years ago carried far more responsibilities. For instance, Maria is expected to care for her younger brothers, cook meals and keep up with the housework. Going to school is not an option for her and she is intent on teaching herself to read and write so she can assist in the family business of operating the printing of the Virginia Gazette. John, on the other hand, is part of the elite gentry class and lives with many privileges including household servants. John is struggling internally with the decision to fight against the British along with his older brother, or to try a more diplomatic approach to solving problems, as his father suggests. Both John and Maria are close in age to our fourth graders.
In our letters, we asked questions about games they play, hobbies, clothing, and friendships. We also drew pictures of John and Maria based on what we have read out in our novels and other sources regarding colonial attire.
No comments:
Post a Comment