Fourth Grade Travels Back to Colonial America Through Their Trade Research

The fourth grade is deeply immersed in their research of the many different colonial trades and professions that were available to men, women and children during the 18th century. We pulled all the books our library had on the subject and brought them into the classroom. We then spoke a little about each profession and let the students look through the pile of books we had on hand. They were asked to write down their top trade choices and were later given one of them to research. 

The students are learning about organizing topics and ideas. They were given a guide to use to break their research into manageable sub-topics and questions they needed to discover the answers to. They are using coded index cards as a way to record their facts, sources and page numbers. They are required to use three sources, including any of the following: books, magazines, internet and video. 

Once the student and their teachers are satisfied that they have answered all their questions on their topic, they sequence their cards in an order that they feel best tells the story of their trade. At this point, their creative juices get flowing and they start to write their story weaving in their facts from their cards with knowledge they have accrued from all their reading. The students will be creating a trifold pamphlet to hand out at their Colonial Trade Fair. It is on the calendar for February 6th commencing at 8:30 am. The students will be dressed in period clothing while presenting their knowledge and skills trying to persuade attendees to come and apprentice with them. All are welcome to attend!