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In the Classroom > Course Overview > Unit Overview
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Lesson 7: Victorian Philosophies in the Connecticut River Valley: The Connection between Mind, Body, and Spirit

Lesson Central Question:

In This Lesson:

How were new ideas infused into everyday activities in the Connecticut River Valley? How did the 19th-century person regard him/herself in relation to the natural environment?

Lesson Length
Key Ideas
I.L.O.s
Preparation
Materials
Activities

Lesson Length

2 class periods (85 minutes each)

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Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and Teacher Background


The Progressive Era was a period of increasing insecurity in America. Health and religion combined in activities that develop physical and spiritual health.

Teacher Background Essay: Nurturing Physical and Spiritual Health at the Turn of the 20th century

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Intended Learning Outcomes

Understandings
Students will understand:

  • There are many resources that one can use to learn about a community.
  • The effects of the Civil War affected the demographics of the Deerfield area.
  • Industry and technology reshaped life and thought in Deerfield and the Connecticut River Valley.
  • The expansion of communication and transportation impacted the daily lives of Deerfield people.
  • Social change brought about by industrial development and immigration resulted in the creation of social clubs and the beginning of reform movements.

Skills
Students will be able to:

  • Analyze a variety of images and documents;
  • Make inferences from their readings and articulate causality;
  • Present learned information to their peers;
  • Locate historical evidence on a website to support their presentations;
  • Create artifacts to archive, such as a newspaper, an album, or scrapbook from their writings, drawings, and projects

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In Preparation for Teaching

1. Read Teacher Background Essay: Nurturing Physical and Spiritual Health at the Turn of the 20th century

Further Background Reading:
Green, Harvey. Fit for America. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1986.

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Materials

Primary and Secondary Sources:

Unless otherwise noted, all can be found on the American Centuries website.

  1. Russell Cutlery Factory with billowing smoke (1991.28.02)
  2. Turners Falls Dam and Canal - the use of waterpower (1999.17.02)
  3. "Young People's Camp" - Rowe Camp (L02.139)
  4. Summit Houses:

  5. Mt. Sugarloaf (1999.03.0020, 1999.03.0045)
  6. Mohawk Trail Whitcomb Summit House (1999.03.0032)
  7. Mt. Tom Railway and Summit House (1997.08.01.0056)
  8. The picnic on Mt. Sugarloaf (1999.03.0021)
  9. Hockanum Ferry... Mt. Holyoke in Distance (1999.03.0028)
  10. Mineral Springs:

  11. Bottle from Hathorn Spring/Saratoga, NY (1985.0024.020)
  12. Bottle from Guilford Mineral Springs, Vermont (1985.0024.018b)
  13. "Saratoga Illustrated: The Visitor's Guide to Saratoga Springs" (L02.170)
  14. "The Hermit of Erving Castle" (L02.172)
  15. National Park Movement: Forest Park, from Our County and its People A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts (L02.136) and "Yosemite Falls" (1996.14.0920.01-.02)
  16. Boy Scouts of America and Theodore Roosevelt (L02.166)
  17. Lake Pleasant Camp Meeting Guide for 1876 (L98.048)
  18. Boat Landing and Jacob's Well, Lake Pleasant (1999.03.0037, 1999.03.0036)
  19. Camp Meetings- Ashfield, MA:

  20. Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2616)
  21. Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2622)
  22. Gospel Meeting Tent (1996.12.2618)

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Activities Materials in Context

Class Period 1: National Background

  1. Invite students to research and be prepared to discuss two of the following topics (Please reference a national map in your discussion):
  2. • "The Hermit of Erving Castle"
    • Sanatoriums
    • National Park Movement
    • Theodore Roosevelt
    • The Summit House
    • Spiritualists
    • Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts of America
    • Saratoga Springs, NY
    • Camp Meetings: Ashfield, MA

  3. Invite students to discuss as a group the topic "natural environment" in terms of what you know about the following:
  4. • The climatic and topographical environment in the East
    • The West
    • The South

  5. Distribute the following images and invite students to learn about the areas in Massachusetts that incorporated and supported the 1880-1920 understandings of the connection between climate and physical health:
  6. • The picnic on Mt. Sugarloaf
    • The Mountain houses
    • Health Springs (spas)

  7. Distribute the following images and invite students to learn about the areas in Massachusetts that incorporated and supported the 1880-1920 understandings about how the individual interacted with the environment:
  8. • The Russell Cutlery Factory with billowing smoke
    • Images that illustrate the use of waterpower.

  9. Distribute the following images:
  10. • Pictures of camping, skating, sliding, fishing, and swimming

Assignment:

Reflect on contemporary America. Write from your point of view the ways that our society "mimics" the life philosophies/ideals of the Victorians? How does it contradict the Victorian life philosophies/ideals?

Class Period 2: Campgrounds and Spiritualism

  1. Invite each student to read the Lake Pleasant documents,
  2. • Select and write down 10 significant words or phrases that reflect the purpose and function of the camp meeting. Exchange these phrases with a member of your group.
    • Write down some of the reasons why you think such a movement began at this point in time. Why do you think camp meetings became a part of Spiritualist activities?
    • Write a letter home to a fellow classmate telling about your "camp meeting experiences" at Lake Pleasant. Your correspondence must include the exchanged phrases and a drawing.

Assignment:

Complete the "Letter Home" from a Camp Meeting at Lake Pleasant. These will become a part of the "letter box" that will become an artifact of the class.

 

 

• "The Hermit of Erving Castle" L02.172
• Sanatoriums:
Saranac Lake L02.169
• National Park Movement:
"Forest Park" (L02.136) and "Yosemite Falls" (1996.14.0920.01-.02)
• Theodore Roosevelt:
The Boy Scouts Year Book (L02.166 p. 30 and p. 164)
• The Summit House:
Mt. Sugarloaf (1999.03.0020, 1999.03.0045) Mohawk Trail Whitcomb Summit House (1999.03.0032)
Mt. Tom Railway and Summit House (1997.08.01.0056)
• Spiritualists:
Lake Pleasant Camp Meeting Guide (L98.048)
Boat Landing and Jacob's Well, Lake Pleasant (1999.03.0037, 1999.03.0036)
•Boy Scouts of America:
The Boy Scouts Year Book (L02.166)
• Saratoga Springs, NY:
"Saratoga Illustrated: The Visitor's Guide to Saratoga Springs" (L02.170)
Bottle from Hathorn Springs, (1985.0024.020)
Bottle from Guilford Mineral Springs, Vermont (1985.0024.018b)
• Camp Meetings- Ashfield, MA:
Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2616)
Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2622)
Gospel Meeting Tent (1996.12.2618)

• The picnic on Mt. Sugarloaf (1999.03.0021)
• The Mountain houses:
Mount Tom Railway and Summit House (1997.08.01.0056)
Mohawk Trail Whitcomb Summit House and Gift Shop (1999.03.0032)
Mt. Sugarloaf Summit House (1999.03.0020)
Hockanum Ferry ... Mt. Holyoke in Distance (1999.03.0028)
• Health Springs (spas):
see above.

Russell Cutlery Factory with billowing smoke (1991.28.02)
Turners Falls Dam and Canal - the use of waterpower (1999.17.02)

 

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