Founding A Colony On-site Activities

Founding a Colony - On-site Activity/Interpreter Led

Grade Level: 8
Content Area: History
Time to complete: 1.5 hours
Title of Lesson: Founding a Colony

South Carolina State Standards Addressed:

8.2.3	Compare and contrast early European settlements in South Carolina and the American colonies, including political, economic, and social institutions.
8.2.4	Explain ways in which South Carolina and other colonies addressed the labor shortage, including slavery.

Process Standards
Historical Comprehension
Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
Identify the central questions the historical narrative addresses.
Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Consider multiple perspectives.
Historical Issues: Analysis and Decision-Making
Identify problems and dilemmas in the past.
Propose alternative ways of solving a historical problem or dilemma.

Lesson Description:
Students will study aspects of daily life as a colonist in Charles Towne during the city's early history and the social and legal standards of the day. Students will be participants in a mock Grand Council meeting, where cases involving colonists will be tried. They will also study the plants that were grown in Charles Towne in the experimental crop garden.

Focus Question for Students:

1.	Should the government tell you what to grow in your garden?

Culminating Assessment:

1.	Explain what an indentured servant agreed to do.
2.	Explain the master's obligations.
3.	Name the body that made and enforced laws in the colony.
4.	Describe the purpose of the crop garden.
5.	List some of the instructions the proprietors gave about the crop garden.

Materials/Resources:
12 cards
Judge’s outline
Crop garden worksheet
Seeds
4” plastic pots (3 per class)
Small bags containing 3 types of soil
Garden tools
Examples from crop garden
Contracts and Grand Council verdicts on poster board
Easel or flip chart

Teacher Preparation:

1.	Teach the pre-site lesson about indentured servants prior to your field trip.
2.	Read the on-site information and contact Charles Towne Landing with any questions. The on-site lesson is interpreter-led.

Procedures:
Part I

1.	Walk to crop garden. On the way down, briefly discuss the history of Carolina.
a.	King Charles II gave the colony to the eight Lords Proprietors in 1663 to thank them for a favor.
b.	The king gave the proprietors full authority in the colony; their intention was to make money from the venture.
c.	In 1670, they sent three ships to Charles Towne with plants and seeds and instructions on what to grow and how to grow it. Included were olives, ginger and indigo, things that were rare and costly and would sell for high prices in Europe.
d.	The colonists had to grow their own food as well. They were instructed to ask the Indians what to grow and how.
e.	Since no one in the colony was familiar with the area, they were not sure what would end up being successful, so they planted an experimental crop garden with food, or provisions and commodities, or cash crops.
f.	Most of the original colonists in Carolina were indentured servants. They did most of the work in the colony.
2.	Crop garden: read the instructions that are quoted, discussing why each direction is important. Either discuss these instructions with the group, or divide them into three smaller groups of five to consider the quotations.
3.	Tour the garden, focusing on those plants which were included in the proprietors' original instructions. Name the plants, pass around examples of what the plant produces, and determine whether the plant was grown as a provision or a commodity (define as food and cash crops). You may want to give a very brief description of the process involved in producing dye or cloth. Have students fill in the columns as you go.
4.	Add the plants which are named in the instructions but not present in the crop garden. Talk about the fact that not everything was grown successfully, remembering that these were experiments.
5.	Working in the garden: Plant a row of whatever is appropriate for the time of year. After planting, mark their row with their school and/or teacher's name and the date the row was planted. Each class should provide their own marker for their row. (Instructions are included in the pre-site lesson: the marker should measure 3”x 5” and should stand 12” high.)
	Conclusion
	If the teacher expresses an interest in the indigo experiment, provide the required materials. Remind the class of the proprietors' instructions to test different types of soil and ask which type of soil they think would produce the best results. Explain that they will be testing three types of soil at school and that we would like to have their recommendations after they have conducted their experiment.

Part II

1.	Twelve students will have small parts to read during the trials. With the teacher's help, assign the roles and give each student the card with his part on it.
2.	Living in Charles Towne meant hard work for everyone. They had to grow their own food, build their own houses and keep on guard against attack from their enemies. Not only did they have to survive, they also had to produce crops or other goods that they could sell. When people did not do what they were supposed to do, it caused problems. The Grand Council was set up to make sure everyone did their part so that the colony could succeed.
3.	Follow the outline to reenact the two cases found in the Journal of the Grand Council involving indentured servants.
4.	Everyone not involved in a case will sit in the jury box. Encourage them to ask questions and give their opinions during the proceedings and to discuss and give reasons for their final votes.