Project INSIGHT Lesson Plan

Title: Labor and Life in the Southern Colonies

Teacher: Kristen Schneider

School: Kirkpatrick Middle School

Overview and Significance:
An important aspect of life and economy in the Southern Colonies
during the 18th century was the growth of plantation farming. It was
during this time period slavery began to spread through the Southern
Colonies as a wise economic investment. Looking at slaves as a piece of
property leads to the harsh treatment and punishment of slaves known
as the slave codes.
Key Concept(s): Culture, Interaction
Essential Questions: What roles have culture, economics, gender,
political and social systems played in developing and maintaining the
United States?
Module Questions: Where and why did slavery have the most impact?
Objective(s) with identified TEKS:
Analyze how physical characteristics of the environment influenced
population distribution, settlement patterns, and economic activities n
the United States during the 18th century. (8.12A)
Materials:
Sale of Newly Arrived Africans, Charleston, July 24, 1769
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?
categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:
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%20African%20Coast%20and%20the
%20Americas&theRecord=69&recordCount=73
Slave Sale, Charleston, South Carolina, 1760
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?
categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:
%20African%20Coast%20and%20the
%20Americas&theRecord=32&recordCount=73
Virginia Slave Legislation: An act for preventing Negroes
Insurrections (Act X - June 1680)
http://www.vagenweb.org/hening/vol02-23.htm#bottom
One piece of poster board or butcher paper per group
Supplemental Resources
American Nation pages 115 119
Allotted Time: Two 45 minute periods or One 90 minute block
Procedures:
Engaging Student Activity Pretend you are a plantation owner
in the southern colonies in the 1700s. What would you need to have a
successful and profitable farm?
Teacher will chart student responses.
Student responses will vary but need to include the people needed
to work on the farm. If students do not mention laborers, ask
probing questions to guide the students to think about labor on
the plantations.

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Lesson
1. Slave Auction Posters Activity
Divide students into groups of 4.
- Teachers may want to create the groups with various levels
of students before the class period.
Students will analyze two different slave auction posters using
TACOS and will answer the following summary questions:
- Who worked on plantations?
- Why do you think the poster creators mention the negroes
physical well being on the poster?
- What kind of work do you think the women and girls will
do on the plantations?
- Why do you think plantation owners are willing to buy
these slaves instead of paying people to work?
Give half of the groups Sale of Newly Arrived Africans, Charleston,
July 24, 1769 slave auction poster.
- Give the remaining groups Slave Sale, Charleston, South
Carolina, 1760 slave auction poster.
Give each group a poster board or piece of butcher paper. Ask
each group to divide it in half.
On the left side of the piece of poster board or butcher paper, each
group will use TACOS to analyze the slave auction posters.
T time, A action, C caption, O objects, S summary
- Prior to beginning the group activity, introduce the two
primary sources to the class. Model the process of analyzing
the posters by filling in one letter from the TACOS acronym.
- Teacher needs to monitor group responses to TACOS while
students are working. Redirect if groups have incorrect
information.

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Once the groups have completed their TACOS, give each group the
list of summary questions to discuss and answer.
Groups will present their poster of TACOS information and
discuss answers to the summary questions.
2. Group discussion questions: Do you think plantation owners
viewed the slaves as a part of the family or piece of property? Why?
How do you think the plantation owners treated their slaves?
3. Treatment of Slaves Activity
Give each group of 4 a copy of the Virginia Slave Legislation: An
act for preventing Negroes Insurrections.
- Preview document before the lesson for vocabulary students
may struggle to understand.
- Read the document aloud with the students and discuss
difficult vocabulary.
Instruct students to write APPARTS down the right side of the
poster board or butcher paper.
A- Author A prior knowledge

T the main idea

P place/time A audience
S - summary

- Prior to beginning the group activity, model the process of

analyzing the primary source by filling in one letter from the
APPARTS acronym.
- Students will fill in the information for APPARTS using the
Virginia Slave Legislation.
- Teacher needs to monitor group responses to APPARTS
while students are working. Redirect if groups have
incorrect information.

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Once the groups have completed analyzing the primary source

using APPARTS, each group will discuss answers to the following
summary questions:
- Why do you think slave owners had such harsh rules for the
slaves?
- Do you think the slaves ever rebelled against their owners?
If so, how do you think the slaves rebelled?
Groups will share their APPARTS information with the class and
discuss the answers to the summary questions.
4. Reflection Questions
In the students CDs, answer the following questions in complete
sentences:
- Why were slaves important during the colonial times?
- Where and why did slavery have the most impact?
Students may discuss their responses within their groups of four
or as a class discussion.
5. Plantation Owner or Slave Journal Entry individual student
activity
Students pretend they are a slave working on a tobacco plantation
or a plantation owner during the 1700s.
If students choose the slave point of view:
- Write a journal entry that describes how they felt being
auctioned off, the kind of work they did on the plantation,
and how they were treated by the slave owners.
If students choose the plantation owner point of view:
- Write a journal entry that describes the type of slave you
looked for at the slave auction, the kind of work the slave will

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do on the plantation, and the rules you expected the slave to

follow.
Teachers should post grading rubric, criteria chart, and model.
6. Wrap Up Activity TAKS formatted question (last page of lesson
plan)
Product and Assessment
Slave or Plantation Owner Journal Entry
Teacher created rubric
TAKS formatted question
Differentiation
Before beginning group work, discuss key vocabulary terms and
concepts such as economic activities, labor, and geography.
Provide short definitions with visuals on word wall for difficult
vocabulary and concepts.
When creating the groups of 4, mix various levels of students to help
one another grasp key concepts and vocabulary.

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Wrap Up TAKS Practice

Why were African slaves introduced in the southern colonies?
A. They were fleeing religious persecution
B. They wanted to get rich quick.
C. They were a cheap form of labor.
D. They wanted to start over in the New World.

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