1. to demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by explaining the importance of agriculture and its influence on slavery.
2. to demonstrate knowledge of the colonial Virginia economic system by using the following terms: debt, barter, credit, tobacco, and money.
3. to help students understand colonial Virginia history as it was related to the Fredericksburg area.
Sol VS 4a & 4d
ACTIVITES:
1. Divide the students into small groups. Have each group read Tobacco and Slavery in the Virginia Colony and complete graphic organizer. Then have each group share their key facts. List student responses on the board. Lead a discussion on the influence of tobacco in the Virginia colony. Complete Tobacco and The Virginia Colony for independent practice, homework or as an assessment.
2. Have students work with a partner to use context clues from Tobacco and Slavery in the Virginia Colony to define key economic vocabulary terms (bold/italic) using Colonial Virginia Economic System vocabulary worksheet. Next, have a class discussion on each term's meaning. As a follow up, have students complete Colonial Virginia Economics and Colonial Virginia Economics Questions worksheet. As an assessment or for homework, have students complete Colonial Virginia Economic Vocabulary and write a journal entry from the perspective of a local colonial businessman, Fielding Lewis.
3. To further enhance student knowledge of the importance of tobacco, have students read Valuable Tobacco and complete Valuable Tobacco Questions. Use the related primary source document to show students an example of how tobacco was used instead of cash to make purchases.
(Use Primary Source Document: Invoice from Crosbies & Trafford)
4. Lead a discussion on how tobacco encouraged slavery in the Virginia colony. Have students create a list of the pros and cons of slavery in colonial Virginia. Students should explain their answers to the class. You may want to have the class divide into two teams-- Pros and Cons-- and have each team debate their position, as it was related to colonial life in Virginia.
5. Divide students into small groups to participate in a role-play activity picking tobacco and packing it into hogsheads, using Tobacco and Slavery worksheets.
6. Lead a discussion on the many different jobs performed by slaves on a plantation. Explain how plantations were self-sufficient and closely resemble a small town, pointing out those tasks that required skilled labor, such as a carpenter or blacksmith. Give each student a copy of the primary source documents listed below. As students read the documents, have them create a list of jobs performed by slaves on a plantation. Following the class discussion, have students complete The Many Jobs of a Slave worksheet. Close the lesson by comparing and contrasting jobs performed on a plantation with jobs of today. Lead students to make connections between the past and present.
(Use Primary Source Document: Ads from The Virginia Gazette; List of Slaves Belonging to Fielding Lewis)
7. Continue with the class discussion on the many different jobs performed by a slave. Have students work independently or with a partner to complete Slave Labor in the Virginia Colony.
(Use Primary Source Document: Ads from The Virginia Gazette; List of Slaves Belonging to Fielding Lewis)
8. To further enhance student knowledge of slave labor on a plantation, have students choose one job that interests them. Inform students, that they have been hired to write and design an ad for The Virginia Gazette. Students should research their job and then write a Help Wanted ad describing the duties for their selected job. Students should illustrate their ad.
(Use Primary Source Document. List of Slaves Belonging to Fielding Lewis)
9. Read A Fredericksburg Plantation with the class. Brainstorm with the class, the similarities and differences between a plantation and a small town. Use Plantation vs. Small Town worksheet to compare and contract the two, completing the questions at the end. Lead the class into a discussion upon completion of worksheet.
10. Have students determine the cause and effect relationship of tobacco and the growth of the Virginia colony by completing Tobacco in Colonial Virginia - Cause & Effect worksheet. Have students draw conclusions about the success of tobacco and how it transformed life in the Virginia Colony.