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A Day at the Market
Grade level: Elementary School/Middle School
Background information: The market
place was a daily stop for Williamsburg households,
as fresh foods for meals were purchased here. Each
day, farmers would come into the town to sell their
produce to the residents of the colonial capital.
The market was also a place for the farmers who came
to town to purchase supplies that they needed, so
families were engaged in buying and selling fresh
foods and other items.
Time required: Two to three 50-minute sessions
Materials:
- Primary source material
- Art supplies
- Flip chart paper and markers
- Space for a “marketplace”
Instructional format
Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Describe the role of the market place in 18th-century Virginia
- Explain how trade and the economy were part of a young person's educational process
- Take part in the classroom marketplace
- Compare shopping in colonial times and as a part of today's culture
Setting the stage: Have students discuss how they get food today and how they participate in that process. Look at primary source documents to see what was being bought and sold in colonial times by families in Williamsburg. Discuss the roles each family member would have to bring about a successful day at the market as both a vendor and a customer.
Strategies/procedures: Have students form groups (“families”) to prepare for a trip to the market. What will they be selling? What will they need to purchase for their own supplies? Assign roles within the group so that the students can discuss what each family member would have been doing to contribute to this effort.
Have students read the primary source documents (aloud or silently). Have them discuss within their group observations on the role of the market place in 18th-century colonial society. Based on the sources, have each group of students share their observations with the class, keeping a list for reference. Summarize, as a class, the similarities and differences of marketing in the 18th century and the family responsibilities each of them would have.
Extension activity: Using what they have learned thus far, have the students set up and re-create a colonial marketplace in the classroom. Based on the primary sources, groups would bring their goods to the market, establish prices, sell to others, and purchase their own needed supplies. Follow up with a discussion of how successful their day at the market was in acquiring needed supplies and in selling their own goods. Relate this to how important this would have been for survival and compare to what students experience today.
Alternate plan: Create a graphic organizer with which the student can compare the market economy throughout the centuries – 1776, 1876, and 1976. Ask them to speculate what the role of the market will be in the year 2076. Students might also investigate the monetary system of colonial times.
Evaluation/assessment: Students or student groups keep a market account book to determine the success of their venture both anecdotally and financially.
Historic Triangle
