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Assignments: Essays
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Essay 1: Perspective on Changing Land Use in the Region: Partner and Jigsaw
- Teacher Notes
- Student Resources
- Assignment
- Perspectives in Review
- Questions for Thought
- Assignment Objectives
- Assessment Rubric
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Teacher Notes
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Under the slave system, plantations became increasingly large, especially as new products like cotton became important. According to Mills Lane (1992, "Masters and Slaves," in The People of Georgia), in the 18th century, about half of the landowners had slaves, with an average of about 8-9 slaves per plantation; in the 19th century, with the production of cotton, slave-holdings became more concentrated, so that about 1/4 of the southern landowners had an average of about 16 slaves each.
(Cotton was of course a 19th century product; its cultivation followed the invention of the cotton gin; in the eighteenth century most plantations were focused on the cultivation of rice.)
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Nevertheless, most slaves lived on plantations with under fifty slaves:
"Into the 19th century, the majority of slave owners held less than ten slaves. If we look at these statistics in terms of slaves' experiences, 1/4 of all southern slaves lived on holdings of 1-9 slaves; 1/2 of all southern slaves on holdings of 10-49 slaves; and 1/4 of all southern slaves on holdings of more than 50 slaves."
(From Holt House: Chronology of Slavery, at InnerCity.org (http://innercity.org/holt/chron_1790_1829.html))
- After the Civil War, plantations were subdivided into smaller land allotments;
see: James Hildreth to Abraham Lincoln, July 26, 1864 ("Plan for reconstruction," Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d3478000)))
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Some plantations, however, were simply abandoned after the War, and as a result converted to tenant farming; or else sold as a whole; still others have been made into parks.
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Some of the land allotments--mentioned above--were also ultimately sold to developers.
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My dad, who grew up during Roosevelt's "New Deal" era, used to say: "5 Acres for Every man."
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Today in the U.S. there are about 3 acres of land per person (high for the world average; only in a few regions of the world, such as Scandinavia, is it higher)--some of this land is in volcanoes, swamps, and Alaskan tundra. This amount is expected to shrink to about half its size--1/2 acre per person--in perhaps 30-60 years according to population organizations.
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Your Resources:
"Mired in the Great Dismal Swamp"; "Land Use in North Carolina"; "Interlude: Indian Perspectives on the Land"; "Interlude: African Perspectives on the Land"; Afterward: Land Use in the Roanoke, Tar, and Rock River Regions of North Carolina Today; Your Interview with a Community Elder on His/Her Perspectives on Land Use; Teacher Notes (above); other sections of the web site if appropriate to your perspective and argument (for example, "The Land" might be appropriate to some; as might "Slavery: Pro and Con" and "The Household".)
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Assignment:
In this essay, you will represent the perspective you represented when you created your journal/collection of artifacts. You will describe how land use has changed in the Albermarle/Pamlico Sound Regions of North Carolina from the 18th century till today--as these changes might be seen from your perspective (you do not need to research everything that happened between; concentrate on differences between the eighteenth century and today).
Your essay should be about 2-4 handwritten pages or about 150-300 words
Perspectives in Review:
- Planter
- Small land-holder
- Indian trader (European)
- Indentured Servant (European)
- Slave
- American Indian
- Male or female
- Age: any age old enough to create the journal and perspective
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Questions for Thought:
As you write your essay, consider the following--consider especially anything that pertains to the perspective you are representing in your essay.
But remember, there are no "right answers" to the questions below--though there are of course answers that represent research and thought, and answers that do not.
In your answer, you do not need to address all of the questions below, but you should think about addressing most of those that are related to your perspective and to the essay you are trying to write about it.
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Land allotments--small acreage--are believed to encourage democracy.
Do you agree? Why or why not? Can you think of any other advantages to individualized ownership of small amounts of land?
What groups of people believed in/encouraged individual ownership of small plots of land? Of larger plots? Group ownership?
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How would a small landowner deal with being on swamp land? A large landowner? Is there a difference? Or no?
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What do you think of swamps? Are there any advantages to having swampland? What advantages/disadvantages can you think of? What happens if you drain swamps-such as Byrd proposed doing with the Dismal Swamp?
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Is land today in North Carolina in smaller or larger holdings than in the 18th century? (Or is it a little of both?) Think about farms, corporations, homes.
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Are there any options to either (1), dividing land into small acreage or, (2), concentrating land in the hands of a few? What othere ways are there to deal with land ownership? (Be creative if you like and think of ways that are not often thought of as well as some of the more common ways.) What are the advantages/disadvantages to these other ways?
- How much land does one person need for his/her living space? To grow his/her food? For livestock needed for his/her food? To grow materials for clothing? To provide and purify his/her drinking water? To provide/purify air for breathing? To process waste? What kinds of land are needed for each of these tasks? Where might you find out more about the land needs of people?
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Assignment Objectives:
In your written argument you will:
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Address Land Use in the 18th Century (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- Address Land Use Today (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- Compare land use in the two periods (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- Demonstrate thought and reflection on at least three appropriate issues or questions above (3 points)
- Draw on appropriate information and materials in the resources available or linked to at the web site, as well as on what you learn from your interview with a community elder; you should draw on materials from at least 3-4 diverse resources (please state in your argument which sources you have drawn on) (3 points)
- Organize your thoughts/ideas
- Clearly (2 pts)
- and Logically (2 pts)
- Make at least one major point about land use and differences between the ways land was used in North Carolina in the 18th century and the ways it is used today (1 pt)
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and relate this point to the perspective you have taken (1 pt)
- Attempt to appeal to your audience (students, teacher, community) (1 pt)
- Finally, edit your writing for inconsistencies in grammar, spelling; for comprehensibility; and for length (but do not forget; you argument will have to be a certain length just to include the required substance; if the substance is not there, you could lose a lot more points!) (1 pt)
(20 points total for writing)
In your work with your partner and jigsaw groups you will:
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Read and discuss partner's writing with him/her (2 pts)
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Listen to and take notes on discussion with partner on your own writing (2 pts)
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Share ideas in essay in 'same-group' discussion (1 pt)
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Listen attentively & respectfully in 'same-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Respond thoughtfully to/comment thoughtfully on other 'same-group' members' ideas (1/2 pt)
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Make final revisions in essay in response to ideas/comments shared in 'same-group' discussion (1 pt)
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Share your perspective in 'diverse-group' discussion (1 pt)
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Listen attentively & respectfully to other perspectives in 'diverse-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Comment thoughtfully on other perspectives in 'diverse-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Bring back at least one idea from 'diverse-group' jigsaw to share with 'same-group' (1 pt)
(10 points total for partner and group work)
Assessment
[Go to Rubric for Essay 1]
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Essay 2: Everyman's Right: Partner and Jigsaw
- Teacher Notes
- Student Resources
- Assignment
- Perspectives in Review
- Questions for Thought
- Assignment Objectives
- Assessment Rubric
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Teacher Notes
- Trespassing is being on someone's private property illegally;
loitering is used for public places such as stores--where people who are not customers hang out too long.
- In many parts of the U.S., when you buy land for a home, space for a public sidewalk has already been ceded to the city or county that builds sidewalks in your area.
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Your Resources:
Afterward: Land Use and 'Everyman's Right' is a primary resource; other resources include: "The Land"; "Mired in the Great Dismal Swamp"; "Land Use in North Carolina"; "Interlude: Indian Perspectives on the Land"; "Interlude: African Perspectives on the Land";
Afterward: Land Use in the Roanoke, Tar, and Rock River Regions of North Carolina Today; Teacher Notes (above); other sections of the web site if appropriate to your perspective and argument.
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Assignment:
In this essay, you will again represent the perspective you represented when you created your journal/collection of artifacts. After studying the Virtual Finland links listed in "Afterward: Land Use and 'Everyman's Right,'" you will describe how variations of 'Everyman's Right' (whether made a part of the laws or not) might or might not be used to describe your character's perspective on land in the Albermarle/Pamlico Sound Regions of North Carolina in the 18th century. In addition, you will discuss how a member of the group whose perspective you are representing (if you represent a slave, of course, the slave system has been abolished in the U.S., but you might want to chose to represent instead a minority who works in a service position) might feel about variations on the 'Everyman's Right' concept of land today. You should decide if some form of 'Everyman's Right' to land use might be useful today to someone of your perspective; if so, what sort of 'Everyman's Right;' or if some form of 'Everyman's Right' to land use might in fact not appeal to someone of your perspective today; if it would appeal, when and why? if not, under what circumstances would it not, and why would it not?
Your essay should be about 2-4 handwritten pages or about 150-300 words
Perspectives in Review:
- Planter
- Small land-holder
- Indian trader (European)
- Indentured Servant (European)
- Slave
- American Indian
- Male or female
- Age: any age old enough to create the journal and perspective
* * *
Questions for Thought:
As you write your essay, consider the following--consider especially anything that pertains to the perspective you are representing in your essay.
But remember, there are no "right answers" to the questions below--though there are some that represent research and thought.
And also, you do not need to answer all of these questions, but you should think about addressing those that would be pertinent to your essay.
- What perspectives did various groups--African, American Indian, European--have of land ownership before the waves of Europeans started arriving in the U.S.? How might you research this?
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Did people in the 18th century ever use land they did not have a title to? What land? How did they use it? Did the Europeans have titles to land in the New World when they arrived? How did they get titles? Does anyone ever use land he/she does not have a title to in the 20th century? What sort of land? How do people use it? Is it legal? Always?
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How did the first people to own land on Earth come to own it? Who sold it to them? Who owned it before people?
- Is ceding private land to the city or county for the purposes of building a public sidewalk there a form of 'Everyman's Right?' How is it the same? How is it different? Which system do you like? Ceding land for sidewalks? 'Everyman's Right?' Both systems? Neither?
- Are there any advantages to ceding land for a sidewalk?
- Where does the 'Everyman's Right' law apply in Finland? On farmlands? In forests? In people's back yards? Everywhere? Where do you think that the 'Everyman's Right' law should apply? What would someone from the group whose perspective you are representing think?
- Why do you think Finland does not allow people to use motor vehicles or build fires on other people's land without permission --yet Finland allows people to walk, bike, picnic there?
- Would you let someone walk through a woods you owned? Would you cede land for a road? A sidewalk? Under what circumstances?
What about the perspective you represent? Would people with these perspectives let someone walk through a woods they owned? Or cede land for a road or sidewalk?
- Should a company that owns forest land allow people to walk through that land, or use it in any way?
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Assignment Objectives:
In your written argument you will:
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Address 'Everyman's Right'
- As it is practiced legally in Finland (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- As it seems to have been practiced--legally or not--in the eighteenth century U.S. (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- As it is practiced today (1 pt)
- From the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
- As it should be practiced today (1 pt)
- according to the appropriate perspective (1 pt)
Demonstrate thought and reflection on at least three appropriate issues/questions (3 points)
Draw on materials in the various appropriate resources available/linked to at the web site, including the Virtual Finland site linked to at "Afterward: Land Use and 'Everyman's Right,'" and others; you should draw on materials from at least 3-4 diverse resources (please cite in your argument which sources you have used) (3 points)
Organize your thoughts/ideas
- Clearly (2 pts)
- and Logically (2 pts)
Attempt to appeal to an audience (students, teacher, community) (1 pt)
Finally, edit your writing for inconsistencies in grammar, spelling; for comprehensibility; and for length (but do not forget; you argument will have to be a certain length just to include the required substance; if the substance is not there, you could lose a lot more points!) (1 pt)
(20 points total for writing)
In your work with your partner and jigsaw groups you will:
-
Read and discuss partner's writing with him/her (2 pts)
-
listen to and take notes on discussion with partner on your own writing (2 pts)
-
Share ideas in essay in 'same-group' (group of writers who take the same perspective you take) discussion (1 pt)
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Listen attentively & respectfully in 'same-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Respond thoughtfully to/comment thoughtfully on other 'same-group' members' ideas (1/2 pt)
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Make final revisions in your essay in response to ideas/comments shared in 'same-group' discussion (1 pt)
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Share your perspective in 'diverse-group' (writers who do not take the same perspective you take) discussion (1 pt)
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Listen attentively & respectively to other perspectives in 'diverse-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Comment thoughtfully on other perspectives in 'diverse-group' discussion (1/2 pt)
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Bring back at least one idea from 'diverse-group' jigsaw to share with 'same-group' (1 pt)
(10 points total for partner and group work)
Assessment
[Rubric for Essay 2 In Process]
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Assessment Rubric
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