Schooner Sultana Gives 4th Graders a Hands-On Perspective

Since the beginning of the year, 4th graders have been steeped in the colonial history of the US, which they are examining through the lenses of identity, perspective, and choices. Teachers use questions to guide their studies such as: What factors influence how identity is formed? How does identity inform a person's perspective? How does perspective sway choices people make? Whose identities are represented in history and whose aren't?

Starting with the 4th grade summer reading book, Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose, teachers have intentionally chosen content representative of the many voices and perspectives from this period in history. In fact, they flip the common approach to teaching the colonial period, which typically focuses on the perspective of those coming to the US, and instead introduce the period from the perspective of people already in America at the time.

Fourth graders then move on to analyzing the French-Indian War. By the time 4th graders get to the Boston Massacre, their understanding "is pretty nuanced," says 4th grade Teacher J Bernick. J has observed that over time, students increase their ability to empathize with multiple perspectives. Through a wealth of resources and materials that students have access to, including first-person accounts, original documents, and artistic representations, they are able to identify whose voices aren't represented and imagine what life would have been like for those unheard. The upcoming lessons on the Boston Tea Party will introduce the concept of choice and how identity and perspectives influence people's choices.

Visits like the one last week from Chris Cerino of the Sultana Education Foundation, contextualize life during the colonial period for 4th graders. As Chris presented the story of the Schooner Sultana, a British Naval ship that patrolled and collected taxes along the Chesapeake Bay, the students listened intently. Chris recounted the sailors' experiences under tough conditions of life at sea. He reinforced 4th graders' understandings of colonial identities and perspectives by putting them through scenarios in which they had to make life and death decisions on the open waters. Holding artifacts such as navigational instruments, bricks of tea, tack and sugar cones, and surgical tools provided students with an invaluable hands-on learning experience.

Fourth Grade Teacher Karen Balian observes that the curriculum is igniting students' engagement: "They get excited for the underdog and have a good sense of what is just and unjust." They feel the difference between having voice and choice versus things that are imposed upon individuals.