INVITATION

How can we help students learn about the diverse colonial models employed by European nations from the fifteenth through the twentieth centuries? How can we help students to empathize with and represent the experiences of different people? How can we engender an understanding of the legacy of colonialism in our own and other countries? How can we help students develop systems for organizing and analyzing information?

TASKS

In this project, students research the colonial period in world history and create timelines representing the development of various European colonies. Using Decisions, Decisions: Colonization, they explore the ramifications of different colonial practices from the points of view of both the colonizers and the colonized. They then debate the advantages and disadvantages (economic, social, cultural, and political) of the colonial system, based on their assessment of modern conditions in former colonies.

TOOLS

Computers; the Internet; Sherlock; iMovie (optional).

AppleWorks; Decisions, Decisions: Colonization; Eyewitness History of the World; TimeLiner; World Book Encyclopedia.

Inspiration (optional).

INTERACTIONS

The teacher works with the librarian or media specialist to gather resources for the students' initial investigations. Students work in pairs to develop an initial understanding of the colonial practices of the major colonial powers. They work in groups of four to conduct in-depth research, compare and contrast the experiences of the colonizers versus the colonized, and develop points of view regarding the benefits or burdens of colonization on indigenous populations. In the culminating phase of the project, groups divide into teams to debate the merits and long-term effects of various colonial practices.

SITUATIONS

Phase 1 of the project takes place in the classroom, where students may spend up to four class periods developing an initial understanding of various colonial practices and creating tables to compare and contrast them. In-depth research in Phases 2 and 3 may take place over a period of up to two weeks, as students choose a particular colonial power on which to focus and investigate the colonial experience from the point of view of both the colonizers and the colonized. During this period, students work in the library, the media center, at home, and at computer stations in either the classroom or the computer lab. In the final phase, students work at computer stations in the classroom or the lab, researching over a period of three or four days the legacy of colonialism in the colonized areas and developing charts and graphs to illustrate their findings. They then reconvene in the classroom to debate, over the course of two or three class periods, the merits of various colonial practices.

The total length of time required to complete the project may approach four weeks.

ASSESSMENT

For Phase 1, the teacher and the students can develop a checklist of issues relating to colonial practices (treatment of native language and culture, treatment of native lands, form of colonial government, and so on) that students can use to guide their initial discussions and investigations. Teachers can add the tables students create to their electronic or print portfolios. Students can use the same checklist to guide their research in Phase 2.

Also for Phase 2, teachers can use a rubric to assess the quality of the timelines students create. Elements of the rubric might include key dates and events and their representation of specific points of view. Teachers can add the timelines students create to their electronic or print portfolios. Teachers can use the same rubric to assess the quality of the timelines students produce in Phase 3, again adding the timelines to students' portfolios.

For Phase 4, teachers can add the charts and graphs students create to capture their findings regarding contemporary conditions in former colonies to students’ online or print portfolios. The effectiveness with which opposing teams present their points of view and the strength of the evidence upon which those views are based can be assessed via peer review. Help students develop a list of questions or guidelines they can use to aid their evaluation.

Beginning in the 1400s, European nations created global networks of colonies that sustained the expansion of European power. As sources of gold and other riches, the "New World" (Africa, South Asia, and the South Pacific) provided the wealth that fueled the Renaissance and the development of modern Europe and introduced new foods, materials, and customs to Europeans. In turn, European governors, merchants, missionaries, and settlers transformed the cultural institutions and the lives of people in the regions that they colonized. Today we must listen carefully to the voices of both the colonizers and the colonized if we are to understand how these events shaped and are still shaping the world in which we live.

What does it mean to "discover" a land that is inhabited by cultures that are centuries old? Why did Europeans choose to inhabit other continents? How did they bring about changes in the colonies they established? How are those changes influencing life in former colonies today?

In this project, students explore the history of European colonization, capturing the points of view of both the colonizers and the colonized in illustrated timelines. They examine how colonization has shaped contemporary social, cultural, political, and economic life in the former colonies and divide into teams to debate its merits.

Phase 1: Trading cultures

Introduce the project by reading excerpts from Benjamin Franklin's "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America." (Click the button to access the template.)

Why does the American Indian spokesman decline the offer? What does his counterproposal mean? What lessons can we draw that might be applied to other situations?

Show the class clips of videos that dramatize the colonial period. (See the "Resources" section.) How are relations between the colonizers and the colonized portrayed? How do they contrast with the relations revealed in Benjamin Franklin's pamphlet?

Review with the class various formulas for the establishment of colonies:

In North America and Australia, Europeans pushed the natives they encountered farther and farther from their homes.

In India, the English established an occupation government that was essentially a dictatorship.

In Latin America, Spanish and Portuguese became such dominant languages that in some countries, such as Argentina, only a few thousand people speak native languages today.

To help students begin to organize information in ways that facilitate analysis, ask them to work in pairs to create tables in AppleWorks that compare and contrast the colonial practices of each of these examples. Each table should have four columns, with column headings corresponding to North America, Latin America, India, and Australia. Row headings might correspond to such things as style of government, degree of occupation, degree of autonomy accorded the colonies, appropriation of native lands, respect for or suppression of indigenous languages and customs, and so on. These tables will form the foundation upon which students will extend their research later on in the project. If students need help creating tables in AppleWorks, they can use the Step-by-Step Card "Creating Tables With AppleWorks 6."

Phase 2: Representing the colonizers

Divide the class into groups of four, asking each group to choose one of the major European colonial powers: Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, or England. Groups can use Eyewitness History of the World to begin their research, investigating the 1700 to 1825 period in the Africa section, the Dutch Golden Age entry in the Europe 1600 to 1700 section, and many entries in the American section from 1600 to 1900. There are also many relevant references in World Book Encyclopedia. (Keyword searches can include "Colonialism," "Dutch East India Company," "Spice Trade," "Art and Latin America," "Architecture and Latin America," "London Company," "Jamestown," "Cortes," "Pizarro," "Aztec," and "Maya.") Students can use the Step-by-Step Card "Searching World Book Encyclopedia" to help with their research.

In TimeLiner, suggest that groups explore the American History, the Native Americans, and the World History (African Independence, Central America) timelines in the Data Disks folder. Groups can also use the library to research information about the power they’ve chosen; and they can use Sherlock to search the Internet for information as well as for geographical maps of different areas. If students need help using Sherlock, they can use the Step-by-Step Card "Searching With Sherlock 2."

As they work, groups should note down interesting pictures, text, and other information that they can copy and paste into their timelines.

Ask each group to use TimeLiner to create a timeline of colonial history in one region, interpreting that history from the point of view of the colonizers. For example, the English entry for 1607 at Jamestown might read, "The London Company established the first permanent settlement in Virginia, bravely withstanding bad weather, disease, and Indian attacks." The timeline can cover the entire period during which the region was colonized and represent economic, political, cultural, and other events. If students need help creating timelines, they can use the Step-by-Step Cards "Creating a Timeline Using TimeLiner" and "Customizing a Timeline With TimeLiner."

Phase 3: Representing the colonized

Next, challenge groups to begin considering the experiences of native peoples during colonization. Each group can begin creating a second timeline, using resources that they have already identified as well as new ones to represent the colonial period in their region from the point of view of the colonized: the Native Americans, Africans, South Asians, Australian aborigines, or other indigenous peoples. For example, the Native Americans' timeline entry for 1607 might read, "Strangers in a large canoe arrive. They are sick and hungry, and do not know how to grow food." What was life like for the native peoples before the arrival of settlers and other colonists? How did it change? How did they react to colonization?

Next, invite groups to use Decisions, Decisions: Colonization to research the colonization process from the points of view of both colonizers and the colonized. (Although the simulation examines a hypothetical colonization in space, the issues it examines are as relevant to the colonial periods in European and American history as they are to the future.) Ask that students complete a "decisions log" based on both points of view.

Then ask the groups to re-examine key events in the success or failure of the colonies from both points of view, incorporating them into a single, comprehensive timeline. When they are finished, print the timelines and post them around the room.

Phase 4: Colonization: good or bad?

In the final phase of their research, groups use tools such as World Book Encyclopedia and Sherlock to search the Internet to research the current condition of their primary region of study.

Students consider how the physical health of the people is reflected in life span, or how their intellectual health is revealed in levels of literacy and education. (The "Africa/People" entry in World Book Encyclopedia, for example, includes information about life expectancy and education, including literacy rates, for each of the major regions on the African continent.) What is the basis of the country's economy, and how much individual wealth does it generate? Invite groups to add this information to their timelines.

What has been the role of the colonial power in fostering the former colony's development? How much did the colonial power contribute to the colony's domestic economy? its education system? its health system? Does the colonial power continue to provide aid to its former colony?

What has been the effect of colonialism on the colony's indigenous peoples, their population, language, and culture? Have traditional elements of the indigenous culture survived, or have they been supplanted by the colonial power's language and culture? Did the colonizers bring with them diseases to which the indigenous peoples had no immunity? (European diseases such as smallpox, for example, decimated Native American populations; more recently, indigenous cultures such as the Yanomami in Brazil have suffered similar fates.)

Suggest that students use the name of the country or region as a keyword to search World Book Encyclopedia, focusing especially on the "Economy" and "People" sections of the particular country or region. They can also use keywords such as "World Health Organization," "UNESCO," "World Trade Organization," and "Indigenous Cultures" in conjunction with Sherlock to search the Internet.

Students can use AppleWorks to create a spreadsheet and charts and graphs that capture and illustrate their findings. They might use a bar chart, for example, to compare literacy rates, life expectancy, median income, and so on in the former colony with similar figures from the former colonizer.

Finally, have each group divide itself into two teams, one preparing to argue that colonization has benefited its region, the other preparing to argue that colonization caused harm to its region. Teams from each group can then present their cases, using evidence from their timelines and from other sources, and engage in discussion and debate on the topic.

If you have digital camcorders and iMovie software, consider having students film part or all of the debates. A project like this would give students good practice in editing techniques, since much of the footage would ultimately need to be cut to keep the size of the desktop movie manageable and to highlight the important parts of the debate.

Phases 2 and 3: The timelines that students create in these phases should include much more than names, events, and dates. Help students design their timelines so that they can include a paragraph, if necessary, at each event.

Phase 4: Help students decide what kind of chart or graph is best suited to illustrate the information they've captured; then provide some guidelines and tips to help them design the chart. What, for example, is the appropriate scale? If they are graphing information over time, how should they label the x and y axis?

PREPARATION

Use items in the "Resources" section to prepare a short collage of colonial representations.

Meet with the school librarian or media specialist to collect pertinent resources and make them available to students.

Make copies of any of the Step-by-Step Cards students might need to help them accomplish the tasks in this project.

To prepare students for creating their timelines, have them use the TimeLiner Walkthrough located on the product’s CD.

You might need to allow instructional time to introduce and discuss rules and procedures for the debate in Phase 4.

In Phase 2, assist groups in distinguishing regions on which to focus. Groups working in Africa, for example, may have difficulty matching today's maps with the geographic realities of the colonial period.

Groups can use Inspiration to create a visual representation of the colonization of their region, illustrating the relationships between important economic, political, and cultural events.

When students create their timelines in Phases 2 and 3, they can film themselves acting as a colonist or an indigenous person telling their point of view. They can then use iMovie to create a desktop movie to include in their timelines.

Consider refocusing this project to address the colonial experience in the United States alone. Groups can focus on different regions, such as the Northeast and the Southeast, the Midwest, Texas, and the West. When and how did these regions join the Union? What were the costs involved? Who benefitted?

Check with a Language Arts teacher for connections to and tips about helping students develop a point of view.

Artists in many cultures have used objects and images within boxes, such as retablos, shadow boxes, and dioramas, to depict scenes from life, collections of memories, and points of view. Invite students to work in small groups to create memory boxes that illustrate the perspective of a culture in colonial times. What objects, symbols, and ideas are significant? Boxes may be organized around a theme such as an historical event or situation.

Ask students to discuss at home the arrival of their families in the United States. Where did they come from? Why did they come? Where else do the members of their families live? Post a map of the world and invite students to place pins with their names attached (like pennants) wherever members of their families have lived. How does the map call into question the ideas of national boundaries? How has this situation changed since the colonial period?

VIDEOS/MOVIES

1492 (with Gerard Depardieu)

Amistad

Betye and Alison Saar: Conjure Women of the Arts by Linda Freeman L and S Video, 45 Stornowaye, Chappaqua, NY 10514

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Gunga Din

The Last of the Mohicans

Pocahontas

The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

BOOKS

The Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition by Karen Zeinert

The Arts and Sciences: A Sourcebook on Colonial America (American Albums from the Collections of the Library of Congress) by Carter Smith (Editor)

Blue Feather's Vision: The Dawn of Colonial America (Adventures in Colonial America) by James E. Knight and George Guzzi

Colonial America: A Complete Theme Unit Developed in Cooperation With the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation by Mary Kay Carson

Colonial American Craftspeople (Colonial America) by Bernardine S. Stevens

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (excerpts)

The Leatherstocking by James Fenimore Cooper (excerpts)

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (excerpts only)

Saints and strangers: being the lives of the Pilgrim fathers and their families, with their friends and foes; and an account of their posthumous wanderings in limbo, their final resurrection and rise to glory, and the strange pilgrimages of Plymouth Rock by George F. Willison

The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Tainos: The People Who Welcomed Columbus by Francine Jacobs

A Time for the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein

The Village: Life in Colonial Times (Adventures in Colonial America) by James E. Knight

Wild Justice: The People of Geronimo vs. the United States by Michael Lieder and Jake Page

MUSIC

"1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone

"Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland

"Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

"My Country 'Tis of Thee, Thy People are Dying" by Buffy St. Marie

"Simple Gifts" by Aaron Copland

"The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa

"This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" by George Cohan

ART

"Betye Saar" in Visions, Stories of Women Artists, by Leslie Sills

Betye Saar: Personal Icons produced by Exhibits USA - 800-473-EUS

"Betye Saar, Roots of Art Making: Collection and Imagination"
by Diane V. Horn in SchoolArts, February, 1997

"Objects, Memories and Meanings" by Joyce Vroon in SchoolArts, February, 1995

"The Retablo and Beyond: A Cross-Cultural View of Personal Shrines"
by Nancy Walkup Reynolds, in Arts and Activities, January, 1995

INTERNET RESOURCES

The American Colonies and Colonial Life
http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Colonization_Colonial_Life.html

Colonial Gazettes
http://www.lva.lib.va.us/pubserv/vnp/index.htm

Colonial Currency
http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCurrency/index.html

Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.history.org/

Colonial Williamsburg Almanack
http://www.history.org/almanack.htm

History Channels Links to History Sites
http://www.historychannel.com/index.html

History of Jamestown
http://www.apva.org/history/index.html

The Leslie Brock Center for the Study of Colonial Currency
http://www.virginia.edu/~econ/brock.html

Rare Map Collection-Colonial America
http://scarlett.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/colamer.html

Showcase of Colonial Currency
http://www.frbsf.org/currency/independence/show.html