| Lesson 7: Victorian Philosophies
in the Connecticut River Valley: The Connection between Mind, Body,
and Spirit
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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Primary and Secondary Sources:
Unless otherwise noted, all can be found on the
American Centuries website.
- Russell Cutlery Factory with billowing smoke
(1991.28.02)
- Turners Falls Dam and Canal - the use of waterpower
(1999.17.02)
- "Young People's Camp" - Rowe Camp
(L02.139)
Summit Houses:
- 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)
- The picnic on Mt. Sugarloaf (1999.03.0021)
- Hockanum Ferry... Mt. Holyoke in Distance
(1999.03.0028)
Mineral Springs:
- Bottle from Hathorn Spring/Saratoga, NY (1985.0024.020)
- Bottle from Guilford Mineral Springs, Vermont
(1985.0024.018b)
- "Saratoga Illustrated: The Visitor's
Guide to Saratoga Springs" (L02.170)
- "The Hermit of Erving Castle" (L02.172)
- 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)
- Boy Scouts of America and Theodore Roosevelt
(L02.166)
- Lake Pleasant Camp Meeting Guide for 1876
(L98.048)
- Boat Landing and Jacob's Well, Lake Pleasant
(1999.03.0037,
1999.03.0036)
Camp Meetings- Ashfield, MA:
- Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2616)
- Camp Meeting Residence (1996.12.2622)
- Gospel Meeting Tent (1996.12.2618)
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| Activities |
Materials in Context |
| Class Period 1: National Background
- Invite students to research and be prepared
to discuss two of the following topics (Please reference
a national map in your discussion):
• "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
- Invite students to discuss as a group
the topic "natural environment" in terms of what you know
about the following:
• The climatic and topographical environment
in the East
• The West
• The South
- 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:
• The picnic on Mt. Sugarloaf
• The Mountain houses
• Health Springs (spas)
- 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:
• The Russell Cutlery Factory with billowing
smoke
• Images that illustrate the use of waterpower.
- Distribute the following images:
• 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
- Invite each student to read the Lake
Pleasant documents,
• 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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