Beyond Thanksgiving: A Montessori Approach & Guide to the People of 17th Century New England during an Age of Possibilities “Native Americans in New England: A Historical Overview” National Endowment for the Humanities Professors Alice Nash and Neal Salisbury, Directors University of Massachusetts July 7 - 27, 2013 As compiled by Carol Harding
Goal D r. Maria Montessori intended the exploration of history to be more than a series of wars and dates. It is the purpose of this project to provide access to primary and secondary resources that will foster research by practitioners and students leading to contemplation and informed thinking about the possibilities presented to the indigenous people of the eastern woodlands and European colonists during the 17th Century period of contact and transition in southern “New England.” Because of the holistic, interdisciplinary approach to historical studies, options and resources are provided to support concomitant investigations in geography, biology, art, language and literature.
Intentions T his project is not intended to serve as an isolated presentation, but as background to ongoing discoveries and revelations as supported by a guided investigation of primary documents, secondary sources and materials by upper elementary students. Resources, links and cited sources can thus be used as a means of accessing information regarding the circumstances encountered by people during an age of sustained contact and colonization in 17th Century New England. Conflicts and collaborations are thus viewed as a complex interaction between diverse people as indigenous cultures sought to maintain their traditions of reciprocity, consensus and spirituality in the midst of an invasion of ideologies, technologies, religions and pathogens from post-Feudalistic Europe.
Background Information/ Historical Context for T eachers: T he typical lineage of study of American history begins with the last period of glaciation and extends through periods set apart by their references to ancient peoples and their adaptions to changing technologies, climates and level of engagement in cultivation of plants. The context for this study is the geology, geography, flora, fauna and peoples of the mid-Atlantic Coastal region. Clans of people here engaged in village based agriculture, communal use of resources and supplemented their needs with hunting, gathering and fishing to provide food, shelter and clothing. First contacts that began with Norse explorers had expanded to include trade with European fishermen. Some of the exchange included pathogens that devastated indigenous populations, laying the stage for the sustained contact and settlement or colonization. This project explores the relationships and events as documented through deeds, maps,documents and other resources from and about this time.
Overview: How to Use This Project T hrough the provision of documents , deeds, treaties, maps and information about the culture and influences guiding developments in 17th Century New England, teachers can facilitate authentic research and realizations among students. Comparisons of images and information about how people met their needs can be applied to time lines, or Fundamental Needs Charts, and background information about the geography of place and the social, political, economic and religious practices of people can be converted into cards for use with History Question Charts, or as a source of materials for reports. Actual copies of deeds, treaties, and maps serve as primary sources as to what actually happened during this period of time, allowing for discussion about the encroachments, impositions and decisions that changed the course of history during an age of opportunity and possibility for peaceful coexistence.
Objectives T o provide students with historical resources that allow for engaged discourse, interpretation, comparison and evaluation of context, evidence and circumstances relating to 17th Century New England and beyond T o provide access to primary sources consisting of documents, treaties, maps and deeds as supporting evidence to researched conclusions T o promote the use of scholarly secondary sources as background material T o relate a sense of possibility as opposed to inevitability that existed during a period of negotiated peace between diverse people T o provide students with the tools for understanding current events as influenced and directed by the policies, politics, economics and religion of monarchical, tyrannical and often intolerant agencies of war-torn, disease- ridden, resource-depleted, land-hungry Europe of the 17th Century T o provide students with the means of finding truth through individual and collaborative endeavor, thereby becoming conscious agents of their own time and place
T he Montessori Approach to Historical Studies across Time and Place involves the use of: Fundamental Needs Charts History Question Charts Migration Charts Timelines
Fundamental Needs: T he Fundamental Needs of Human Beings chart provide a cross-cultural framework for organizing information relating to how people met their material needs for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, defense, etc., as well as for spiritual needs. Images & information relating to how people met these needs can be culled from books, encyclopedias, and other resources and applied to a hand-drawn diagram. Series of depictions of how material needs changed over time in different categories are often used as comparison studies when applied to a linear timeline. Each one of these areas provide the seed for further branching. Fundamental Needs of Humans Spiritual Material o o o o o o o o Housing o Religion Clothing Culture Food Art Vanity T ransportation Defense
History Question Charts H istory Question Charts are intended to serve as keys for the study of any period, culture, or civilization. The questions support exploration and research through the reading and placement of information cards on their corresponding charts. Cards relating to Wampanoags and English colonists can be developed by teachers or students through use of the suggested references and resources and used as a study in comparisons and contrast. PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES of the PEOPLE The NA TURE of the COUNTRY What were the types of work and occupations? What were the soil and climate like? What did they produce? What were the flora and fauna like? What tools and techniques did they have? What people lived here? How did they find their country and how did they adapt? How did they come and why? How did they make use of the natural resources? INTELLECTUAL & SPIRITUAL ASPECTS RELATIONSHIPS within the GROUP & OTHER GROUPS Did they trade among themselves? Did they trade with others? What language did they speak? What about their wars and conquests? What was their education like? Did they have slaves and take people into subjugation? How advanced was their learning? What about travel and migrations? How and why did the people settle where they did? What was their art like? How were their money and goods held--individually or tribally? What were their ideas of life and death? Was care taken of the poor? Who, if anyone, was their spiritual leader? What about their dress, food, houses, customs, family life? How were they governed? What concept of justice was there? What care did they give their children?
Migration Charts M igration Charts are intended to give context and meaning to different forms of movement people have experienced throughout time. The effects of migration include changes in cultural characteristics and organizations, as well as exchanges and conflicts of ideas and belief systems. Migrations leading to displacement, disruption, reductions, and disorientation can lead to further migrations. T o study migrations is to understand how the geographical movements of individuals and groups have influenced events, communities, ecosystems, and empire-building throughout history. Titles of different types of migrations are given as the basis of further discussions about their implications and consequences for different cultures. Movement of Creation of Seaborne The Hunt the Glacier the Desert Migration Clearing of Nomadic Infiltration Breaking Down Displacement the Forest Horde & Fusion of the Wall
Timelines ______________________________ Chromesun Kincaid Site by Herbert Roe Seal of Plymouth Colony ColumbusT aking Possession... Aztec Smallpox Victims Portrait of King Philip c. 700-c. 1550 1492 > < 1520 1620 1675 Mississippian cultures Columbus Epidemics Plymouth Colony King Philip’s War C hronological timelines are collaborative or individual works that involve students in the process of creating a horizontal or vertical record of an historical period or civilization(s). The work is facilitated through use of oversized rolls of paper, a straight edge, and art materials for the application of maps, artifacts, and images in addition to dates and events to the period in question. Events in America typically unfold with the period of glaciation and continue as the students add to their understanding of developments in civilizations and lifestyles through the investigation of source materials.
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