This class will show students what it was like living in the 18th century (the 1700s) in Boston at the time of the American Revolution.  The class will be taught by Jacob and Nancy Bloom (both Outschool teachers.)   In nine 55 minute classes meeting weekly, we will provide a lively peek at what life was like in that time and place, including activities to keep the kids engaged and excited about early U.S. history.  There will be lectures as well as plenty of time for discussion – and we will include pictures and text from those times.  

The class sessions will deal with:

What things that we have now didn't exist in the 1700s, and what was used instead?

Levels of society.  Landowners, merchants, craftspeople, indentured servants, and enslaved people all had different statuses, as did men, women and children.  Most of the people living in the area at that time were of Native American, Northern European, or African descent, which affected their status as well.

Paul Revere had sixteen children.  What was school like for them?  What chores did they have to do?

What kind of clothing were the people of Boston wearing?  How different (or similar) were they to today's clothing?

Games, Toys, and Riddles - and the learners will make a toy of their own.  

Paul Revere sent some of his children to a dancing school.  How were they taught to stand and move?  How did they bow or curtsey?  We'll learn some colonial steps and a colonial dance.

Communication, Printing and Penmanship.  The information technology of the 1700s - how people learned about current affairs, how the English language has changed, printing and penmanship.  We will practice writing in 18th century script.

Currency (pounds, Spanish dollars, American dollars) and Bartering.  The kinds of money used in commercial activities during the 1700s (and what else was used as currency).  How do you do arithmetic with pounds, shillings, pence, and Spanish dollars?

Worklife, various occupations and why they were needed.  What occupations did the local people have?  Which one would you like to do?

We will be using a mixture of different teaching styles to allow for different kinds of learners to access the material in different ways.  We intend using dance, movement, 18th century ‘guessing games’, 18th century math problems and a lot of discussion to make colonial America seem more real and less like history from a book.  We also will compare and contrast life back then to our lives in the 21st century.