Lesson Plan

You Don't Have Mail!

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Social Studies

Grade(s)

4

Overview

This lesson will provide students with two primary documents, a drawing of a postal stagecoach and a newspaper article outlining the difficulties of mail delivery. Students will complete a graphic organizer to provide evidence that details a specific perspective described in the documents.

Students will examine the cultural and economic aspects of the early nineteenth century and will refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences. Students will be able to explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points of view.

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 4

SS10.4.6

Describe cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.4.6

Vocabulary

  • plantation
  • Yeoman
  • townspeople
  • inequity
  • agriculture
  • fertile

Knowledge

Students know:
  • During this time, most families in Alabama did not own slaves; most slaves were owned by Plantation Owners.
  • Most of Alabama's families made a living through agriculture.
  • The Black Belt and fertile river valleys were major areas of agricultural production.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Compare and contrast cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.
  • Describe major areas of agricultural production in Alabama, including the Black Belt and fertile river valleys.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were cultural, political, and economic inequities in Alabama in the early 19th Century between slaves, Yeoman farmers, and Plantation owners.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.20

Use details and examples from a text to indicate what the text explicitly states.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.20

Vocabulary

  • Details
  • Examples
  • Explicitly

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Explicit means directly stated within the text.
  • Specific details and examples from the text an be used to demonstrate an understanding of the text's explicit meaning.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify details and examples from a text that demonstrates comprehension of the text's explicit meaning.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Explicit meanings are directly stated in text, and they can use specific details and examples from the text to show they understood the text's explicit meaning.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.20a

Interpret facts from an informational article, using details and examples from the text to explain the interpretation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.20a

Vocabulary

  • Interpret
  • Facts
  • Details
  • Examples
  • Informational article

Knowledge

  • Facts gathered from an informational article can be explained using details and examples from the text.

Skills

  • Explain facts sourced from an informational text, using text evidence to support the explanation.

Understanding

  • To demonstrate comprehension of an informational article, they can explain the facts using specific details and examples from the text.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.24

Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points and claims in an informational text or argument.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.24

Vocabulary

  • Reasons
  • Evidence
  • Points
  • Claims
  • Informational text
  • Argument

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of informational texts or argumentative writings often include logical reasons and evidence to support their points or claims.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify key points and claims in an informational text or argument.
  • Identify reasons and text evidence that supports the points or claims of an author.
  • Explain how the author used reasons and evidence to support their key points and claims.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Authors use logical reasoning and factual evidence to support their points and claims within informational texts or arguments.

Primary Learning Objectives

Students will work in pairs to gather information from two primary documents about early nineteenth-century culture and economics. They will be able to read and explain how authors use reasons and evidence to support a particular perspective. Students will locate the main idea and details and make inferences from a newspaper article and an illustration of a postal stagecoach. By completing a graphic organizer, the students will describe the evidence that led to the selected perspective.  

Additional Learning Objective(s)

Students will highlight information from the text that will provide information about the difficulty of postal delivery during early Alabama settlement.

Students will work with a partner to infer possible problems that may arise with mail delivery.

Procedures/Activities

Before:

  • If time and equipment are available, allow students to research early US postal services (Franklin's establishment of colonial service, the Pony Express, stagecoaches, railroads, etc).
  • Allow time for students to discuss successes and failures of early postal delivery. 
  • The teacher should display the Federal Road map and photograph of the remains of the road today.
  • Discuss the path of the road (Creek territory) and the possible problems that may occur.
  • Discuss how populated the area was and how the lack of communication may have been a problem.

During:

  • Put students in pairs for this activity.
  • Distribute the illustration and description of the American Stagecoach to each set of partners.
  • Allow the students to read the description and discuss the illustration with their partner.
  • Highlight any information that may be used as evidence of the difficulty of postal service through lower Alabama.
  • Discuss the stagecoach illustration and description as a class, and allow the students to ask clarifying questions and make comments about what they found interesting in the article.
  • Distribute the newspaper article about the difficulties of the postal service in lower Alabama.
  • Display the article under the document camera, if available. The teacher should read the article and encourage the students to ask questions and discuss the information.
  • Allow partners time to re-read and discuss the article.
  • Highlight any information that may be used as evidence of the difficulty of postal service through lower Alabama.
  • Discuss the textual evidence the students highlighted.
  • Distribute the Be the Thing graphic organizer to each student.
  • Instruct the students that they will complete the graphic organizer from the perspective of someone who has mailed a letter to a family member in New Orleans. (Description)
  • The perspective should include the concerns about the letter arriving safely to their family member.
  • The students should utilize highlighted information from the texts as evidence for the concerns.

After:

  • Allow students to work with their partners to complete the graphic organizer.
  • Discuss some examples of evidence from the texts to clarify any questions, if necessary.
  • Encourage students to complete the face on the graphic organizer to be that of the letter writer.

Assessment Strategies

Formative:

  • Students should be able to discuss the evidence that reflects the difficulty of the postal service in the early nineteenth century.
  • Students should highlight applicable evidence that reflects the difficulties of having mail delivered safely and timely.

Summative:

  • Students should complete the graphic organizer with evidence that reflects the difficulties of the early nineteenth century postal service in lower Alabama.

Acceleration

Students may read the Mobile Centinel and select an article they can use to complete the Be the Thing graphic organizer. The teacher should remind the students that they should select an article where evidence is given to support a specific perspective.

Additional reading on the Federal Road:

Bridges, Edwin C. ALABAMA: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN STATE. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2016, pp. 45-48.

Intervention

The teacher should pair students with lower reading abilities with students comfortable with reading primary documents.

Highlight and/or discuss words found in the text that may be difficult for students.

Allow students to turn in one graphic organizer as a team.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

31 to 60 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

Students will need to be familiar with the beginnings of the U.S. postal service (Benjamin Franklin and the colonial mail service). They should also be aware of the typical modes of transportation for the early nineteenth century (e.g.: horseback, wagon, stagecoaches, etc.). Finally, students should be aware of the possible problems that could have occurred on the Federal Road, such as tension with the Creek Indians, bad road conditions, lack of communication, and mishaps with stages.

Be prepared to display the Federal Road map that is attached.

Teacher may read from The Encyclopedia of Alabama Federal Road in Alabama for further information about the Alabama road system and postal service in the early nineteenth century.

The teacher can review the texts listed in the Bibliography for additional background information.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Technology Resources Needed

  • Document camera to display primary documents, if available
  • Laptops to research early postal services (Benjamin Franklin's creation of the colonial postal service; the pony express; stagecoaches; railroads, etc.), if available
  • Laptops to view primary documents and complete graphic organizer, if available

Approved Date

2017-05-18
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