Mary Geddy’s Day and Mine
Patricia
Liefer
Red Bud Elementary School
200 W Field Dr
Red Bud IL 62278
Background Literary Preview: Ten-year Mary Geddy from Williamsburg, Virginia, narrates this literary piece. She is faced with excitement as the town anticipates news of a vote for independence. However, this may mean that her good friend may have to move back to England. This book contains actual photographs from Colonial Williamsburg. At the end of the book, there is excellent historical information on Williamsburg, the prelude to independence, slavery in the Virginia Colony, Native Americans in Colonial Virginia, the “Geddy” family, crafts/recipes, and a glossary.
Lesson Overview: Students will step back into Colonial Williamsburg as they listen to the instructor read aloud Kate Waters’ Mary Geddy’s Day: A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg. As a response to literature, an independent writing response, a whole-class Venn diagram comparison of Mary Geddy and children from today’s time period, and a grid map activity of a colonial town are explored.
Connection to Curriculum: Language Arts and Social Studies
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 2 to 4
National Geography Standards:
Standard #1: How to use maps and other geographic representations,
tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information
from a spatial perspective.
Standard #12: The processes, patterns, and functions of human
Settlement.
Geography Themes: Location, Place, and Regions
IL State Learning Standards: English Language Arts—l.B, 2.B, 4.A, 4.B, 5.A and Social Science 16.A, 17.A, 17.D
Topics/Themes: Colonial America, Maps, and Friendship
Time: Two to three 40-minute class periods
Materials:
§ Mary Geddy’s Day: A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters—one copy for teacher read aloud
§ 2 large hula hoops
§ 100--4” x 6” blank index cards
§ masking tape
§ die-cut letters (A, B, C, D, E,)—two of each letter
§ die-cut numbers (l, 2, 3, 4, 5,)—two of each number
§ plastic square tablecloth—flannel on back (solid color—white works well)—provide one tablecloth per group
§ teacher resources/websites for teacher resource (see references)
§ colonial bulletin board set/colonial trades poster (available at most teacher supply stores)
§ reader response journals—one notebook/journal per student
Prior to the lesson: This lesson should follow a lesson on colonial trades/occupations so the children are already familiar with them. Also, the grid map tablecloths should be made ahead of time by the teacher for the group activity. (See diagram at end of this lesson.)
Objectives:
§ Students will activate prior knowledge, set purposes, and predict outcomes for a read-aloud story.
§ Students will listen to an oral reading and be able to discuss story elements.
§ Students will compare/contrast their lives with those of the main character.
§ Working in cooperative groups, students will design a colonial village on a prepared grid map.
§ Groups will create at least four game questions using their grid map village.
§ Students will demonstrate knowledge of grid maps by solving game questions.
Procedure:
1. Tell the class to close their eyes and imagine living in another time period when girls had to always wear dresses and boys rode horses not skateboards. This was a time when people like George Washington lived.
2. Activate prior knowledge by showing the cover of Kate Waters’ Mary Geddy’s Day: A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg. Ask the students if this is what they imagined. Show a few pictures from the book and discuss the real photographs. Ask if the pictures are from the 1700’s or if they are dressed up to look like that time period.
3. Read the book aloud, stopping to ask several questions and allowing time for predictions and comments.
4. After the reading, the students should respond in their reader response journals to the following: “How is your life like Mary Geddy’s? “How is your life different than Mary’s?” “Think about your day.” “What do you like to do for fun?” “What chores do you do?”
5. Place two hula hoops on either the floor or blackboard, making sure they overlap, forming a center section. (This should resemble a Venn diagram.) Label the left circle “Today”, the right circle “Mary Geddy’s Day”, and the center section “Both”. (Index cards work well for the labels—put masking tape on the backs if using the blackboard.)
6. Ask the students to offer information from their response journals to help fill out the Venn diagram. Write their responses in short form on the index cards and complete the diagram as a whole-class activity.
7. On the next day divide the class into cooperative groups of four to five students. Each group should pick a group name (names of famous colonial people or other).
8. Review the concept of grid maps with the students. Draw a simple grid map on the blackboard or chart if necessary to review this skill.
9. List several colonial trades/buildings in a typical colonial village on a chart. (Students should be able to identify several because of a previous lesson, books, posters, bulletin board set, etc.) Trades may include blacksmith, tanner, silversmith, printer, spice shop, weaver, teacher, cooper, clockmaker, etc.
10. Give each group a grid map tablecloth and about 10 blank index cards. On the cards the group should write the name of a different trade on each card. Then the group should tape each trade at a different location on the grid map to resemble a colonial village.
11. When all desired trades are taped on the map, the group needs to create at least four questions about the location of a specific trade for the other groups to answer. For example: “What is the location of the candle maker?” (D,5) “What direction do you need to travel to get from the weaver to the printer?” (South)
12. A group member should write each question on a blank index card. (The answer should be written on another sheet of paper and given to the instructor.)
13. Each group should make sure the cards are kept with their grid map at the end of the period, making sure that their group name is marked on both the question cards and the grid map.
14. On the following day, each group should travel in a clockwise manner around the room, stopping to visit each of the “colonial villages”. At each village they should write down the answers to the cards, making sure they keep track of each which group they visit and write their own group name on their answer sheet.
15. After each group has visited each group’s grid map village, answers may be shared.
Assessment: Make information observations. Evaluate each group’s questions and answers.
Extensions:
Language Arts—Compare Mary Geddy’s life with Samual Eaton, Sarah Morton, or Tapenum (see references). Design colonial trade business cards.
Play a game of charades and act out colonial occupations. Make a class ABC colonial book. Interview Mary Geddy (have a volunteer act as Mary and the other students ask questions). Set up a classroom colonial village. Students may pick a specific colonial trade and set up a booth (desk) with items to depict that trade. Visitors may browse the village and ask the students about their trade. (This is nice at Christmas time—have a “Colonial Christmas”.) Students can even make tree ornaments from that time period.
References:
Schneck, Susan
& Strohl, Mary. Colonial
America Cooperative Learning
Activities, Grades 1-4.
Scholastic Professional Books, New York,
New York, 1991.
ISBN 0590491334
Waters, Kate.
Mary Geddy’s Day: A
Colonial Girl in Williamsburg.
Scholastic Press, New York, New York, 1999.
ISBN 0590929259
Waters, Kate.
Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day
in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy.
Scholastic Trade, New York,
New York, 1996. ISBN 0590480537
Waters,
Kate. Sarah Morton’s Day:
A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
Scholastic Trade, New York, New York, 1993
ISBN 0590474006
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colunit.htm
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/Colony.htm
http://history.org
SAMPLE GRID MAP
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
|
A |
Weaver |
A |
||||
|
B |
Teacher |
B |
||||
|
C |
Tanner |
C |
||||
|
D |
Candle- maker |
D |
||||
|
E |
Printer |
Silver- smith |
E |
|||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
NOTE: Use masking tape to make grid lines on the tablecloth. Tape letters and numbers around outside border of the tablecloth. Students add names of colonial trades on index cards in the game activity.