The eighteenth-century city of Williamsburg was composed
of people from all social levels. In this lesson, students will use
biographical information to learn about the various types of people
who lived in eighteenth-century Williamsburg.
Objective:
Students will identify the social levels of eighteenth-century people
in Williamsburg.
Materials:
- Character sketches printed from the Meet the People section of the
History Explorer.
- Optional: Character sketches from the Official Guide to Colonial
Williamsburg.
Procedures:
- Using the background information (see below), introduce various
people living in eighteenth-century Williamsburg. Model how to extrapolate
key information that will help students determine the social level
of an individual by using a character sketch.
- Assign a character sketch to pairs of students, in proportion to
the percent in the population.
- Have students perform Step 2, and decide which social level their
characters belong in.
- When all of the students have decided which level their characters
belong in, place the social level titles in different areas of the
room. Have each student stand in the appropriate area for his/her
character's social level. Students share reasons why they think their
characters belong to that social class.
Background Information:
Social Levels :
- Gentry (professionals who worked with their minds; those born into
this social level)
- Middling sort (people who worked with their hands such as merchants,
tavern keepers, and artisans)
- Lower sort (small farmers - including tenant farmers, free blacks,
itinerant travelers, the poor, and the homeless)
- Slaves (black Virginians who were considered to be property)
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Historic Triangle
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