Which Grace: Analysis of Historical Resources

Lesson Purpose

A lesson challenging students to analyze primary and secondary sources to answer the question How many enslaved individuals named Grace, Isaac, and Suckey were there at Mount Vernon from 1750-1799? Using information available to researchers and scholars at the Washington Library, students become historians as they work to answer a question that has no definitive answer. As an optional extension, students can create a biography about one of the individuals identified in their research. 

Tags

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will use primary and secondary sources to learn about life as an enslaved person at Mount Vernon.
• Students will evaluate primary sources to make a claim about historical evidence and (optional extension) create a secondary source about an enslaved individual at Mount Vernon.
• Students will work in teams on a project that does not have a definitive final answer.

Related Standards:

• Research and Evidence Based Analysis
• Revolution and the New Nation
• Working in Teams
• Communicating
• Application of Knowledge through higher-order thinking skills
• Reading Standards in Technical Subjects
• Analyze how people’s perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created
• Evaluate the relevancy and utility of a historical source based on information such as maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose
• Develop claims and counterclaims while pointing out strengths and limitations of both.