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Lesson 10: A Second Visit to Deerfield
1 class period (85 minutes)
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| Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and
Teacher Background |
After the 1704 raid, Deerfield entered into a
period of relative tranquility. With the threat of hostilities diminished,
the people returned to the village, rebuilding the structures and
their lives, Capitalizing upon the richness of the land, its proximity
to the Connecticut River, and the familial connections among its
residents to those of other communities. The community slowly entered
a period of growth, financial stability, and subsequent refinement,
as evidenced by its meeting house, its graveyard and homes.
Teacher Background Essays:
1. The Wells-Thorn House
2. The Common and the Meeting House
3. Death and Dying in the 18th and 19th
Centuries
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
Understandings
Students will understand:
- that there were increasingly in this period competing political
agendas, and competition for land, power, and wealth in Deerfield.
- that land ownership conferred power because it was a determinant
of wealth, and a prerequisite for political participation.
- that in Massachusetts there was no division of church and state
as we understand it, and this condition influenced every aspect
of daily life.
- that the past has a significant influence on present day lives
and society.
- that it is valuable to study the lives, actions, ideas, political
experiences, and judgments of people in the past.
- how historians approach their work, using both artifacts and
documents.
- that both primary source materials and interpretive materials
of all types are rich sources of historical evidence.
Skills
Students will be able to:
- transcribe a primary document.
- use a variety of primary source materials, to analyze these
sources, and to make logical inferences and supported conclusions.
- make reference to previously presented material.
- utilize technology to research information and present projects.
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| In Preparation for Teaching |
Read these Teacher Background Essays:
1. The Wells-Thorn House
2. The Common and the Meeting House
3. Death and Dying in the 18th and 19th
Centuries
4. From Memorial Hall Website, "The
Turns of the Centuries Exhibit" : "Family - 1680-1720"
: "Childlife - Fleeting Mortality"
Further Background Reading:
Hawke, David Freeman. Everyday Life in Early America. New
York: Harper, 1989.
Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Living. Cleveland:
World Press, 1972.
Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Craftsmen. Cleveland:
World Press, 1965.
Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten.
New York: Doubleday, 1996.
Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. Puritan
Gravestone Art. Boston: Boston University, 1976.
Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. New
England Meeting House and Church: 1630-1850. Boston: Boston
University, 1979.
Forbes, Harrriette. Gravestones of Early New
England and the Men Who Made Them. 1653-1800. Boston: Houghton:
1989
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Primary and Secondary Sources:
1. images of the Wells-Thorn House:
2. Proper, David.
Singer of History: Lucy Terry Prince. Deerfield, Massachusetts:
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Historic Deerfield, 1998.
3. Menu
of Gravestone images and plot
plan of the cemetery
4. images of the Meeting House:
5. General web search using the keywords "New
England Meeting House" and "Colonial graveyards."
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| Activities |
Materials in Context |
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Activity 1
1. The Wells Thorn House
Instruct students to make a scale drawing
of their own kitchen at home, locating appliances and furniture.
Tell how many people are in the family and the number of
pets.
Instruct students during their virtual
visit to the Wells Thorn House to sketch details of the
architecture and furnishings of the ell of the house.
Ask students to repeat the exercise as
they visit the later addition, then write a paragraph, describing
the contrast between the two living areas during the colonial
period, and then with their own 20th century homes. Include
references to Lucy Terry Prince in the colonial exposition.
2. The New England Meeting House
Instruct students during their virtual
visit to the Meeting House to sketch details of the architecture
and furnishings.
3. The Graveyard
Instruct students to make a sketch of
a representative gravestone, telling about the materials
used, the design of the stone and the iconography used.
Talk about the Puritan beliefs about death that would impact
on the siting and care of the graveyard.
4. As a chronicler, describe the changes
that appear in both the meeting houses and the gravestones
over time. Can you account for the reasons?
5. Discuss as a class evidence that Deerfield
was becoming a stable settlement.
Assignment
Continue work on the Colonial person for the final presentation.
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Images of the Wells-Thorn House:
• East
Parlor - bed
• East
Parlor - dining area
• Kitchen
• Kitchen
- hearth
Images of the Meeting House:
• Fourth
Meeting House (1729-1824)
• Seating
Plan of the Meeting House
• Seating
Plan from History of Deerfield
• Deerfield
Meeting House
Menu
of Gravestone
Plot
plan of the cemetery
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Sketches and description of the chronicler of
the Wells-Thorn house, the Meeting House and the graveyard with
indications of Puritan influences will be assessed.
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