From the Middle Ages Straight to You

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Students recognize that time and place affect point of view, and take another's point of view into consideration when writing a friendly letter.

OBJECTIVE

Students Will:

1. Identify the "historical" perspective of Dr. Seuss' character "Bartholomew Cubbins." (from Bartholomew and the Oobleck or The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins)
2. Read a "letter" from the fictional Bartholomew and note differences between the character's world and their modern world.
3. Write a letter responding to Bartholomew, indicating that they are taking into account the character's "world view."

MATERIALS

1. Chart paper or overhead transparencies
2. Pencils
3. Rough draft writing paper
4. Final writing paper
5. The book Bartholomew and the Oobleck or The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
6. Blackline master of Bartholomew Cubbins' letter (PDF)
7. Examples of student letters (PDF)
8. Example of Bartholomew's response letter (PDF)

SET UP AND PREPARE

1. Set up a chart or overhead transparency with the format of a friendly letter. (heading, sender's address and date, greeting, body, closing, and signature)
2. Make an overhead transparency of Bartholomew Cubbins letter.
3. Duplicate a class set of the Bartholomew Cubbins' letter.
4. Make an overhead transparency of the examples of student letters, if you wish to use these as examples for your students.

REPRODUCIBLES

1. Blackline master of Bartholomew Cubbins' letter (PDF)
   
2. Examples of student letters (PDF)
   
3. Example of Bartholomew's response letter (PDF)
   

DIRECTIONS
Day 1:
Step 1: If you have not already read the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck (from our previous unit on matter) to the class, read it or The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

Step 2: Discuss differences they notice between Bartholomew's life and our lives. Note these on chart paper or an overhead transparency.

Day 2
Step 1: Explain to the class that something puzzling and remarkable has happened. The post office has delivered, Special Delivery, a letter that seems to have come from a very different time and place. It was addressed to "Scholars in a Foreign Land." You have copied it and now will share this with them, since it seems only polite to respond.

Step 2: Use an overhead transparency of the "letter" from Bartholomew Cubbins and hand out copies of the letter to each student.

Step 3: Read over the letter with them and discuss.

Step 4: On a sheet of paper, have individual students (or groups of students if you prefer) note differences between their lives and Bartholomew's life, as you have done for the book previously read.

Step 5: Have each student make a pre-write "web" about how to respond to Bartholomew. Emphasize that the web should include responses to Bartholomew's questions and other information you think he needs to know about the modern world.

Day 3 and Day 4
Step 1: Review the parts of a friendly letter with your children.

Step 2: Students write a rough draft of the letter they will send to Bartholomew.

Step 3: Use the writing process (including peer edit, revision, editing, and final draft) in having students complete a final copy of their letter. (You can use the student letter examples if you feel these would be helpful for your students.)

Day 5: This is optional and should occur about a week or so after their letters are "mailed" back to Bartholomew.

Step 1: Respond to the letters the children wrote to Bartholomew (see example). You don't have to do this yourself. You can "team up" with another teacher, perhaps from an older grade, and have students respond to these letters. Either way, the students are delighted when they actually receive an individual response to their letters!

LESSON EXTENSION
This is a great lead-in to any historical "first meeting" of different cultures. I like to have the students relate this to the buying of Manhattan by the Dutch, for example. I begin by indicating that an alien culture has come to earth and needs air to breathe. They would like to purchase rights to breathe air for the sum of $1,000,000 from our class. Should we sell this to them? After the discussion (which usually ends with, of course, why not have the money if it doesn't make a difference?) Then, suddenly, the aliens arrive with a machine that proceeds to suck the atmosphere from the earth.

Next we discuss the encounter between the Dutch and the Native inhabitants of Manhattan. The Native Americans had a different view of the land than the Dutch. They saw rights to hunt, fish, and temporarily use the land as available, but no one "owned" land, just as now no one "owns" the oxygen in the air. The Dutch assumed that ownership meant exclusive ownership and wanted others to move out. The difference in how each side thought of land made a huge difference in what they thought their "agreement" meant, and led to later troubles.The encounters between Powhatan and Smith in Jamestown also lend itself beautifully to "acting out" negotiations from different points of view.

ASSESS STUDENTS
Teacher Observation:

1. Were students able to see the differences between Bartholomew's world and our own?
2. Did the students note the differences correctly?

Written Outcome:

1. Were students able to write a letter that took into account the differences in point of view?
2. Were the letters in correct format?
3. Did the letters tell about the students and their lives?

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Have students note differences between Bartholomew's world and our own.
2. Have the students write to Bartholomew explaining how our world "works."

EVALUATE THE LESSON

1. Was there enough time for the writing process?
2. Were the students successful or frustrated?
3. Could the students tell the differences in world-views?
4. Was this a new way to think about things for most students?

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