Lesson Purpose
A lesson challenging students to analyze primary and secondary sources to answer the question How many enslaved individuals named Grace, Isaac, and Suckey were there at Mount Vernon from 1750-1799? Using information available to researchers and scholars at the Washington Library, students become historians as they work to answer a question that has no definitive answer. As an optional extension, students can create a biography about one of the individuals identified in their research.
Tags
Lesson Objectives:
- Students will use primary and secondary sources to learn about life as an enslaved person at Mount Vernon.
- Students will evaluate primary sources to make a claim about historical evidence and (optional extension) create a secondary source about an enslaved individual at Mount Vernon.
- Students will work in teams on a project that does not have a definitive final answer.
Related Standards:
- Research and Evidence Based Analysis
- Revolution and the New Nation
- Working in Teams
- Communicating
- Application of Knowledge through higher-order thinking skills
- Reading Standards in Technical Subjects
- Analyze how people’s perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created
- Evaluate the relevancy and utility of a historical source based on information such as maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose
- Develop claims and counterclaims while pointing out strengths and limitations of both.
