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Classroom News
Colonial Research
These are just two examples of third graders' research into aspects of Colonial life
Time For Class
By Mrs. Wein's 3rd Grade
A colonial schoolhouse had only one room, and all the grades were in that room. Children from five to seventeen went to school together. Long tables were used as desks, and long benches were used instead of chairs. There was a bell that was rung when the students were supposed to be there. A wood burning stove kept the children warm. To get light, they kept the shutters open on the windows. Their chalkboard was made from wood.
Colonial children studied handwriting, math, and reading. They did not care how words were spelled. In Colonial Times, the math word problems also taught a lesson.
The books that the children used were called hornbooks and primers. The hornbook was a page placed on a piece of wood and covered with a thin slice of horn. It had the letters of the alphabet on it to teach the children to read and write. The New England Primer was given to older children to read. The supplies they used were quill pens, made from feathers, and slates to write on.
Call the Doctor
By Maxime & Saundra
There were not many doctors in Colonial Times. Usually a woman took care of someone who was sick. Some home remedies were to stop bleeding using a cobweb or rub a radish on a wart.
Some people sold fake medicine. People believed that evil witches put spells on you to be sick. They also thought that your blood was infected when you were sick. Doctors would bleed people or use leeches. Herbs were used to treat almost anything.
They had some strange cures for illnesses. If someone had a high fever, they would put some of the person's fingernails in a little linen bag. They would tie the bag around an eel's neck and put it in a tub of water. The eel would die and then the man would get well. Medicine was much different long ago.
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