Village Life in Early Vermont

This kit offers artifacts from the lives of farmers and storekeepers in the early 1800s to illustrate the barter economy, the connection between work and seasons, and the expanding world view - key themes in the years of 1820-1850, also known as the era of Agricultural Expansion. Included are hands-on activities, stories, reproduction artifacts, maps, graphics, discussion questions, and work sheets that integrate the study of nineteenth-century Vermont with geography, mapping, mathematics, and reading comprehension.

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In the Farming section of the kit, students will collect and use primary resources in building original historical interpretations by examining a farmer's account book; explore different concepts of time through a discussion of seasonal rhythms on a farm; and identify the elements of a barter economy.

In the General Store section of the kit, students will explore different concepts of time through a discussion of seasonal rhythms of a general store; distinguish between needs and wants, and evaluate how both are met in a barter economy; and use maps to understand Vermont's broadening economy in the era of Agricultural Expansion.

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For each section of the history kit, the Teacher's Guide provides teaching objectives, a list of related artifacts, images and stories, background information, discussion questions, and student worksheets.

Funding for this kit provided through the generosity of the: 

• A.D. Henderson Foundation