Lesson Plans

by Caroline Bare

Essential Question

Should UNESCO approve Barbados as an Industrial Heritage site?

Overview

This inquiry lesson is geared towards UNESCO’s role in preserving landmarks of cultural significance, specifically the recognition of Industrial Heritage sites. The island of Barbados, often referred to as “Little England” during colonial times, played a significant role in the cultivation of sugar. As a result of this sugar revolution, Barbados’ society, economy and geography were transformed as were England’s. In 2014, Barbados submitted a nomination to UNESCO to preserve 5 landmarks for the Industrial Heritage classification.

Materials

Lesson Plan Hook Activity

Timeline Activity Nomination Handout

Slide Show Exit Pass

Essential Question

How has the Earth (weather, topography, earth movements, water patterns, etc.) affected history?

Overview

This lesson focuses on the gullies of Barbados, because gullies offer a unique opportunity to consider environmental conservation in the face of historical activities. Though most of Barbados was clear-cut during the colonial era, gullies have remained because of their karst topography, making them too wet and too rocky for sugar cane production. Despite their small size, gullies house many of the island’s native plants and animals. The gullies of Barbados are an interesting discussion in the interdisciplinary nature of history and the environment, making this lesson accessible to both social studies and science teachers.

Materials

Lesson Plan Student Guide

Slide Show Plant Cards

Welchman Hall Handout

by Elizabeth Mulcahy

Essential Question

How does the natural environment influence the development of national identity?

Overview

The purpose of this lesson is to teach the concept of national identity through symbolism that reflects the geography of a specific place. Students will gain an understanding of the culture of Barbados through analyzing images of national symbols then compare the types of symbols to that of the United States. They will evaluate how the nations developed their national identity and analyze changes and continuities since independence.

Materials

Lesson Plan

Lesson PowerPoint

by Chris Cantone

Essential Question

Can freedom mean different things to to different cultures?

Overview

In this lesson, I seek to highlight the many similarities, as well as the differences between Barbados’ and the United States’ emancipation. The central question, “can freedom mean different things to different people?” is an obvious one. However, American classrooms typically root this discussion in the lens of US race relations. Through this lesson, it is my hope that students shift their lens to see racism as a global, rather than a domestic issue, and freedom as a universal golden standard.

Materials

Lesson Plan & Resources

by Emily Longenecker

Essential Question

How did the movement of ideas lead to and support the 1816 slave revolt on Barbados?

Overview

In this lesson, students will explore the 1816 slave revolt in Barbados by analyzing primary source documents, mapping the slave revolt, and creating an updated account of the revolt. The lesson will focus on the intertwining concepts of labor, mercantilism, and colonialism and ask students to identify the differing perspectives of white and black Barbadians during the colonial era.

Materials

Lesson Plan

Slide Show

by Lisa Roop Belcher

Essential Question

How was Barbados influenced by other nations? How did the architecture of Barbados specifically influence other parts of the world?

Overview

Students will be guided in acquisition of connections of chattel property in Barbados to other forms of similar property in the US. Additionally, students will be asked to research other architectural and historical connections.

Materials

Lesson Plan

Slide Show

Bibliography

by Amber Roberts

Essential Question

What’s in a name?

Overview

In this lesson, students will explore how the prevalence of British surnames within the United States and Caribbean reveal the enduring cultural legacy of the British Empire as well as inform us about similarities and difference in the patterns of migration, economic structures, and legacies of slavery in these two distinct areas of British settlement.

Materials

Lesson Plan

Follow that Surname Student Instructions

Follow that Surname Chart & Reflection

Visual Discovery Chart

by John Skelton

Essential Question

What shapes identity?

Overview

In this lesson, students will explore the relationship between the multiple factors that influence the human characteristics of place. The story of rum is inescapably intertwined with Barbados’ past and present. The outsiders’ perspective of the island rarely strays away from the distilled spirit and within the island, rum plays a critical economic and social role to the local inhabitants through its tertiary activities.

By learning how a country’s seemingly singular role and identity within the global community is a product of a wide range of factors, students can apply this deeper perspective to their own cultural identity or other people and places.

Materials

Lesson Plan & Support Materials

Essential Question

How have fish influenced the culture and economy of Barbados?

Overview

To examine how fish have influenced the culture and economy of Barbados, students will first research how fish are represented in Barbadian culture and present their findings in a Google presentation. Second, students will utilize charts and interactive graphs to discuss in groups how patters of food consumption and production have changed over time. Finally, students will select an article to read about how Sargassum seaweed outbreaks threaten fishing and related industries in Barbados. They will create a web of their findings.

Materials

Lesson Plan & Resources

Essential Question

In what ways did George Washington’s experience in Barbados influence his future as a businessman, statesman, and military general?

Overview

This lesson focuses on George Washington’s 1751-1752 voyage to Barbados. Students will work in small groups to analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources for the purpose of understanding what Washington experienced and how that may have impacted his future as a businessman, statesman, and general.

Materials

Lesson Plan Slide Show

Student Handouts Station One

Station Two Station Three

Station Four

Essential Question

How do current environmental events impact a community/geographical region?

Overview

This inquiry is an exploration into the concepts of time, continuity, and change in a community/geographical region with the dual purpose of establishing students’ understandings of the passage of time and explaining why current environmental events matter. The inquiry taps into a common student assumption about the authority of the present and its existence independent of future events and contexts. One way to explore present circumstances is through an examination of the short- and long-term effects. The constructs of cause and effect are complex, chiefly because multiple causes may be associated with one event, just as multiple effects can be tied to a single cause. Through identifying the relationship of cause and effect, students learn to recognize how continuity and change over time help us understand historical developments in our present communities/geographical regions.

Materials

Lesson Plan & Instructional Resources