Next Stop:Rochester

SPRING, 2007-2008

First graders will examine the answers to the following questions. Why did people move to and settle in Rochester? What did settlers use to meet their needs? As a class, first grade will take part in a simulation during which students will take on the role of a family member from a settler family. Throughout the Expedition, students will prepare to live a day in the life of a settler by determining the needs for the trip, training for a long walk and preparing the food and goods needed for survival. Each child will add to a settler scrapbook that includes anecdotal evidence about their life in New England, the long trip, and settling in Rochester. Scrapbooks will also include historical fiction letters written to friends left behind in New England. A culminating field study will be a day in the life of a settler. First grade will invite kindergarten to participate in this field study as we demonstrate the skills needed for survival as a settler.