Teacher's Guide for COBBLESTONE ^® Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Distribute copies of the magazine to the students. Invite them to look at the cover, the article titles, and the illustrations and photographs throughout the magazine. During a class discussion, record the students' thoughts and impressions about Charles Carroll on chart paper.

Ask the students:

• During what time do you think Charles Carroll lived?
• Why do you think he is known as "Charles Carroll of Carrollton"? Where do you think the name Carrollton came from?
• How do people who aren't "famous" become a part of history?
• Are you surprised to see all these articles on someone you may not have heard of before? Why or why not?

Before reading, lead the students in a discussion to determine prior knowledge of this time period. Ask:

• What types of prejudices might someone have encountered during Colonial America times? (You might have to introduce the idea of religion here.)
• What is an indentured servant? What does slavery mean?

Divide the class in two. Ask one group of students to read "Colonial America" (pages 4 - 7), including the sidebar on "The Calverts" (pages 6 - 7). Ask the second group of students to read "Servants and Slaves" (pages 12 - 14).

After reading, lead a class discussion on the material.

• What is an indentured servant?
• What is a slave?
• How were indentured servants and slaves treated?
• What would life be like as an indentured servant? What would life be like as a slave?

Ask students to write three paragraphs comparing and contrasting being a slave and an indentured servant.

Give the students time to go back through the issue on their own, choosing articles or sidebars to read independently. Getting more familiar with the magazine will help them as they begin the time line activity.

Objective:

Students will visually represent the significant events in the life of Charles Carroll, as well as important events in the American Colonies and the formation of the United States of America government.

Materials:

September 2002 issue of COBBLESTONE^®; legal size paper (or larger); drawing materials such as pens, pencils, colored pencils, and markers; a ruler for drawing straight edges. Reference books on U.S. history should also be available for looking up dates about the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence.

Process:

Lead a general class discussion on time lines. Ask questions such as:

• What kinds of events are considered milestones in someone's life? (birth, graduation, travel, marriage, children)
• What kind of national or world events influence someone's life? (wars, new laws, the Declaration of Independence, and so on)
• What kinds of events prior to someone's life should we include? (e.g. a family coming to a new country, a war, etc.)

Draw a rough sketch of a time line of your own life (or use someone else's) on the board or on chart paper. Include graduation dates, world events, and other influences.

Tell the students that they can use COBBLESTONE^® to find information on Charles Carroll. Encourage them to look for important events in his life, such as studying in Europe. Also encourage them to add personal touches - drawings and more information - to their time lines.

Invite students to look at the illustration on page 2 of COBBLESTONE^®. Introduce the idea of "coat of arms" and family symbols. Ask:

• What do you think this symbol represents?
• Why do we have family symbols?
• What do you think the Carroll family symbol says about them?

Ask the students to create their own "coat of arms" and motto for their family.

Use the vocabulary words highlighted in COBBLESTONE^® as well as other words from the articles as a basis for building a small dictionary. You can divide students into partners or groups for this project, or assign a selection of words to different individuals.

Suggested vocabulary words

blacksmithing classical confiscated coopering dairying

dissenters idelogy indentured servants overseers provincial

reproach secondary education spinning stonemasons

You might also ask students to create mini-dictionaries based on words they came upon in the articles that they needed to look up.

Home

Back

Print

Updated: 8/30/08 10:58 am
Log In