Lesson Overview
The mid-1700s saw the rise of plantations across the South and the move from sustenance to cash crops saw a greater dependence on slave labor. The labor-intensive, back-breaking work of planting and harvesting indigo and rice led to a surge in the African slave trade, and with it, both positive and negative impacts on the population, culture and economy of South Carolina. Seeing the world through another’s eyes oftentimes opens up perspectives that give new meaning to historical facts. In the following scenario you will have an opportunity to convey history from a whole new point of view in order to gain a new perspective on South Carolina’s past.
Problem
Your story begins sometime in the late 1700s on a South Carolina plantation where indigo and rice are the main cash crops. You are either a grain of rice or an indigo plant being grown on one of these plantations where African slaves labor in the fields owned by wealthy southern families. You will tell your story of what you see, hear, feel and smell to describe what life was like for those living on a plantation during this time period and to address the following driving questions:
- What was life like for various peoples on a South Carolina plantation during the 1700s?
- What were the contributions of these groups to South Carolina’s economy and way of life?
- What were the positive and negative effects of the growing slave population on the population of South Carolina, including way of life?
Essential Question
Would South Carolina have been one of the most prosperous of the 13 colonies without slave labor?
Grade(s):
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
8, 11
For photostory videos: iMovie, Slidestory.com, videolicious, Animoto, Prezi, PowerPoint, Keynote, Microsoft Photostory
For digital books/comic books: any word processor!, comic life, storybook creator app, Powerpoint, Keynote, iMovie
Possible graphic organizer/mind map tools:
Any word processor, popplet app, Bubbl.us, Mind42.com
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Log In to View LessonStandards
- 8-1 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the settlement of South Carolina and the United States by Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.
- I Inquiry-Based Literacy Standards
- I.3 Construct knowledge, applying disciplinary concepts and tools, to build deeper understanding of the world through exploration, collaboration, and analysis.
- I.3.2 Examine historical, social, cultural, or political context to broaden inquiry.
- I.3.3 Gather information from a variety of primary and secondary sources and evaluate sources for perspective, validity, and bias.
- I.3.4 Organize and categorize important information, revise ideas, and report relevant findings.
- I.3 Construct knowledge, applying disciplinary concepts and tools, to build deeper understanding of the world through exploration, collaboration, and analysis.
- Grade 1: Write left to right leaving spaces between words.
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Log In to View LessonLesson Created By: Christine Horowitz and Kim Buice
Lesson Partners: Spartanburg School District 7, ETV Education, Knowitall.org