Archaeo-Tech: Design Your Own Colonial Fort
Students will design their own fort and identify its parts using colonial forts from South Carolina as models.
Lesson Created By: MegGaillard
Lesson Partners: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Essential Question
What were the strategic, cultural, and economic reasons behind the construction of colonial forts in South Carolina, and how did their design reflect the military threats of the time?
Grade(s):
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
· Build Your Own Fort Handout
· Blank Paper
· Pencils, color pencils, markers, or crayons
· Rulers
Lesson Progression
1. Give a brief history of Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve. Use the background information linked in the resources tab for reference.
2. Show the Fort Frederick Tabby documentary film (linked in the resources tab).
3. Optional. Show the Fort Frederick History documentary film (also linked in the resources tab).
4. Discuss with students the history of European colonization in South Carolina, and the role conflict played in that process.
5. Pass out the “Build Your Own Fort” Worksheet linked in the resources tab.
6. Brainstorm with students about how they would construct a fort if all they had available to them were local materials (i.e. clay, sand, water, stones, shells, trees). What could they make – bricks, stone walls, tabby, or wooden palisades?
7. Drawing from discussion and the pictures on the worksheets, have students design their own fort.
8. Once students finish their designs, have them label the five parts they think are the most important from the list on the worksheet. Students may wish to refer to the “Fort Vocabulary” sheet for definitions of these components.
9. On the back of their paper, have them list those five parts in order of importance to the fort or settlement, and have them explain their reasoning.
10. Today, old forts and other historic structures like Fort Frederick are considered cultural resources. Cultural resources are an invaluable part of a community, and archaeologists and historians spend a lot of time and energy preserving these structures, so people can appreciate and learn from them. Finish the activity by discussing with the students the importance of preserving historic sites and some of the challenges archaeologists face in this endeavor.
Teacher Notes
differentiate: Material/Resource Scaffolding: Provide a pre-selected list of 3-4 local materials (e.g., oyster shells, wood, sand, clay) and a brief description of the defense each one could provide. This limits the initial brainstorming and focuses them on the design.
extend: Historical Constraints: Require students to design their fort for a specific historical threat (e.g., defense against Spanish attack, defense against Native American raids, or defense against internal slave rebellion). They must justify how their design directly counters that specific historical threat.
Design Your Own Fort Handout
View ResourceFor Frederick Documentaries
View ResourceStandards
- De.C Connecting - I can relate artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.
- De.C Connecting - I can relate artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.
- De.C Connecting - I can relate artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.
- 3.5.1.HS Investigate and explain the economic, social, and political motivations behind human exploration of Earth.
- 4.1.CO Compare the interactions among cultural groups as a result of European colonization.
- 4.1.CE Identify the effects of changing economic systems on the diverse populations in British North America.
- 4.1.CX Contextualize the experience of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans in South Carolina.
- 4.1.CC Identify patterns of change and continuity in the development of economic systems in British North America.
- 4.1.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the economic, political, and social developments of British North America and South Carolina.
- 6.3.CO Compare European motivations for exploration and settlement.
- 6.3.CX Contextualize the experience of indigenous peoples due to expansion and the conflict that arose from it.
- 8.1.P Summarize major events in the development of South Carolina which impacted the economic, political, and social structure of the colony.
Assessments
Use the performance task linked in the resources tab to assess student learning outcomes.
