Tier One Historical Thinking Methods and Our Writing Project

Before the winter break, we will finish up our thirteen colonies unit in my classroom.  As a culminating activity for this unit, my students will be asked to write a "Colonial Narrative" where they write as if they were one of the original members of the Plymouth Colony.  Students will be provided with the background information about what this is like by listening to the books Sarah Morton's Day and Samuel Eaton's Day.  This project will really allow students to build a "Personal and Intimate Connection to the Past."  Students are being asked to write a story from the perspective of a colonial child, so they will have to reflect upon the life of these children and the comparisons and contrasts to their own life will naturally take place.  Students will provide a voice to historical events to which they may have been previously disconnected.  My hope is that after completing this project my students will have a much greater understanding of the difficulties that the Pilgrims faced in their everyday lives.