Colonial Trade Fair Draws Students and Visitors Into the Past

On Friday, March 3, fourth graders at AFS presented their much anticipated Colonial Trade Fair, the culminating event in the study of Colonial America. Several weeks prior, fourth graders chose a colonial trade which interested them.

Using a variety of nonfiction sources, they researched in-depth each of their trades, learning about the tools and skills required, what a typical day was like, with whom their tradesperson interacted and why a particular trade was important to a colonial community. Students created informational brochures about their trades, synthesizing the information into their own words and fashioning unique illustrations with watercolor paints. Art teacher Amanda assisted the students in fashioning signs out of wood that hung at each child's station.

For the event, students transformed the fourth grade classrooms into a colonial village, taking on the roles of their trades-people. Wearing historically accurate garb, students welcomed members of the community, tempting guests to visit their stations or booths with historically-themed interactive activities and demonstrations.

Woodworkers invited visitors to hammer nails, blacksmiths demonstrated the use of an anvil, apothecaries filled the classroom with the fragrances of freshly ground herbs and spices, innkeepers explained their central roles in colonial communities while offering fresh baked goods, and barbers offered straight razor shaves (in this case, the "razor" was a popsicle stick!) The day was rounded out with a lesson from music teacher Keisha on how to dance the traditional Virginia Reel.

Role-playing activities in historical contexts such as the Colonial Trade Fair draw students into the past while promoting engagement, imagination and improvisational skills. Students and visitors alike walked away from the event with new knowledge and insight into Colonial America.