| Lesson 11: Refinement in Deerfield
as Exemplified in the Visual Image of the Town
1 class period (85 minutes)
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| Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and
Teacher Background |
Refinement within a community can be revealed
through a walk down a New England street. Public and private buildings
and public spaces tell much about the values held by a community.
Teacher Background Essay: Neo-Classicism and Refinement
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
Understandings
Students will understand:
- Deerfield became prosperous because of the
river trade and improved agricultural practices. This prosperity
led to increased refinement.
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Make the connections between the changing
ideals of "decencies" of life, new modes of behavior,
and consumption, which together resulted in what is known as the
middle class.
- Use information gained from this and other periods to
develop a continuum showing the growth of the Deerfield community.
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| In Preparation for Teaching |
1. Read Teacher Background Essay: Neo-Classicism and Refinement
Further Background Reading:
Hutchins, Catherine, ed. Everyday Life in the Early Republic.
Winterthur, Delaware: Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum, 1994.
Wood, Joseph. The New England Village.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.
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Primary and Secondary Sources:
Unless specified, all can be found on the
American Centuries website.
- Federal Period Architecture from "The
Land; 1780 - 1820" from the Turns of the Centuries Exhibit
Section on this web site.
- Plan
of Deerfield from the Turns of the Centuries Exhibit, The
Land: 1780-1820
- Paper for creating a map of the main street
in the students' hometown.
- Refer to the student essay from lesson 10
"Lifeways, 1770
- 1850" as students look at the houses.
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| Activity |
Materials in Context |
- Invite students to create an
image of The Street in Deerfield, locating their families'
homes. Identify what characteristics demonstrate "refinement."
- Then invite each student to draw
a picture of the main street in their respective town, indicating
what would be classified as "refinement" characteristics.
- What items indicate a sense of
the classical world?
- What areas indicate a strong economy?
- What areas indicate a waning economy?
Assignment: Based
on the character you are developing within your Deerfield
family, write a letter to a cousin in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Describe a change that has taken place in your post-Revolutionary
town, which caused the town to look and you to feel that you
are living in a refined community. Be convincing so that your
cousin will want to visit.
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The letter written to a cousin.
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