Description of lesson/activity
1. use research to determine an individual's rank in the hierarchy of colonial society.
2. justify the reasons a person is ranked at a particular social level.
3. write a short essay applying the information gathered about social ranks to develop a plan for upward mobility in colonial society.
4. interpret data.
5. gather and organize information.
6. predict changes in social rank in colonial society.
7. understand how to take information and pattern it in a new way.
1. Before this part of the unit is covered, students should study the diverse range of groups which had settled in the colonies. Teacher should refer to "Teacher Resource--Social Rank" for more information on this topic. Several ideas should be explain ed to students during pre-activity preparations.
2. Since the class activity is to create a social ladder, the teacher needs to provide side rails upon which students will place their rungs. These can be poles or sticks, real or paper, or any other creative idea will do. Cut rungs on which students will record their information. These might be about two inches wide and eight to twelve inches long.
3. Each student will assume the identity of a specific calling found in colonial society. The student should either randomly draw an identity or be assigned one. A list of the callings is found in the accompanying "Teacher Resource--Rungs for the Social Ladder." Students should not be told if a calling is gentry, lower, etc., until the ladder has been completed. Other callings can be added to the list if needed. If more are added, keep in mind that some may need more information to clarify the role. For example, an iron monger could be at the apprentice level. The students should gather information on their callings using the accompanying "Social Rank in the Colonies Worksheet."
Some callings such as slave may have no further information included. A slave's rank may seem obvious but there was a hierarchy even in their world - field slaves, house slaves, etc. Students are to be instructed to research the definition of slave and reasons why other members of colonial society considered them inferior.
4. Students need the resources made available for research to determine and justify their rank. This could be done in class or the library. Since most students would not have access to the resources at home, this does not make a good homework assignment . They should not do a report on the job description of the identity they have. Remind them periodically to stick to the criteria. Students may not come up with definite answers on topics such as birth rank but the information gathered should allow them to make educated assumptions. The teacher should determine whether research is a group or individual task.
5. When the research is completed, the student should record the information gathered on her/his rung.
6. In a large group, each student should attach his or her rung on the social ladder and justify its placement to the class. The teacher should then guide class discussion on the placement. The class might decide it is misplaced and have it moved. The end of the activity should include a comparison of social mobility in colonial and modern times.
7. As an extension activity, students should write a paragraph or short essay on how they might move up the ladder using seventeenth-century thinking. A good resource would be Benjamin Franklin's maxims, samples of which are found on the student resource , "Advice From Ben Franklin." There are numerous publications available for many more of his commentaries. Using these will help students break away from present-day thinking.
1. Bridenbaugh, Carl. The Colonial Craftsman. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980.
2. Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Living. New York: The World Publishing Company, 1957.
3. Wright, Louis B. The Cultural Life of the American Colonies. New York: Harper and Row, 1957.
Several series of books are especially accessible to students. Among these are:
a) Colonial American Series. Titles include: The Glassmakers, The Shipbuilders, The Silversmiths, The Wigmakers by Leonard Everett Fisher. Franklin Watts Inc.
b) Historic Communities Series. Titles include: Home Crafts, The Kitchen by Bobbie Kalman. Crabtree Publishing Company.
c) Sourcebooks on Colonial America. Titles include: Governing and Teaching Daily Life, The Arts and Sciences edited by C. Carter Smith. Milbrook Press,Inc.
Resource 1: Teacher Resource: Social Rank
Resource 2: Teacher Resource: Rungs for the Social Ladder
Resource 3: Social Rank in the Colonies: Worksheet
Resource 4: Advice from Ben Franklin