Children's Clothing in Colonial Times

Children’s Clothing in Colonial Days

Primary Learning Outcome(s) (PLOs):

A. Students will identify different clothing pieces by matching the clothing name to its definition.

Essential Question(s):

What is a bodice?
What are breeches?
What is a chignon?
What are culottes?
What are gaiters?
What is a kilt?
And so on………

B. Students will compare and contrast children’s clothing of colonial times to children’s clothing if modern times by completing a Venn diagram.

Essential Question(s):

What are some of the characteristics of colonial children’s clothing?
What are some of the characteristics of modern children’s clothing?
How are the different?
How are they same?

Related QCC Standard(s):

Grade: 4
Social Studies

Topic: Exploration to Colonization

Standard: Compares and contrast early colonial settlements in the New England, Middle Atlantic and Southern Colonies

-climate
-physical features
-settlers’ country of origin
-forms of government, and
-use of natural resources

Language Arts

Topic: Listening/Speaking

Standard: Determines the literal and figurative meaning of words.

Materials and Equipment:

David Schimpky and Bobbie Kalman. Children’s Clothing of the 1800s. Crabtree Publishing company 1995.

Matching vocabulary handout

Venn diagram

Pencils

Procedures:

Step One: Introduction

How many of you like to go shopping for clothes and shoes? What do you think it was like for children of colonial times to go shopping for clothing? Do you think that the children of colonial times had the opportunity to go shopping? Well today, we are going to explore how the children of colonial times dressed. We will see how their clothing was different and similar to our clothing. We will also see the importance of each piece of clothing that each child possessed. After reading the book, you will complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the clothing of colonial and modern times. You will also complete a vocabulary handout that will require you to match the piece of clothing to its definition or description.

Essential Question(s):

What are some of the names of colonial time’s clothing?
What are some of the names of today’s clothing?
How are they alike and different?

Step Two: Teaching the Primary Learning Outcome(s)

Develop content relevant to the outcome.

<> (1) “Today we are going to talk about the clothing for children during the colonial times.”

(2) “During this time, children had only two outfits.”

Question(s):

Does anyone know how many outfits each child had during this time?

(3) At this time, the teacher will discuss the fact that children only possessed two outfits. The teacher will explain that one outfit was to wear during the week and the other outfit was saved for Sundays and special occasions.

<> (4) The teacher will explain that not all families could afford to have their clothes made by a dressmaker or tailor; instead they had to make their own clothing, sometimes even the cloth.

                      (5)   The teacher will explain that some children dressed like adults. He/she will explain that in the cities, fashionable parents dressed their children in the latest styles. The girls wore fancy dresses with tight bodies and wide skirts while the boys were formal suits. The teacher will also include that children were not allowed to play in their fancy clothing (the book being read during this time has very detailed pictures of the clothing that the teacher will be describing for the students to observe).
                      (6)   The teacher will explain that in the later 1800s, children’s clothing became more comfortable. He/she will introduce the first vocabulary word to the students that will be one the matching/identifying handout. “During this time the girl’s dresses became looser and the boys wore more casual clothes, such as sailor suits and short pants called knickers.”
                      (7)   The teacher will now cover “everyday clothing” worn by children during colonial times. The teacher will explain to the students that many children lived on farms, in small towns or on frontiers (the word frontier can be reviewed to refresh the students’ memory). The teacher will explain that living on farms, children of colonial times had to work and that it was very important for their clothes to last for a long time.

Question(s):

<>            “Can anyone tell me what kind of clothing that girls wore during this time?”
                   “What were some of the pieces of clothing called?”
                   “Can anyone tell me what kind of clothing boys wore during this time?”
                   “What were some of the pieces of clothing called?”

(8) The teacher will then explain the types of clothing that the children wore and identify the names of each piece of clothing. “Girls’ dresses were often made of linen or wool. Sometimes these two fabrics were woven together to make a sturdy fabric called linsey-woolsey. Girls also wore skirts that were loose and long and reached their ankles. A long apron, or pinafore, was worn to protect their dresses from stains. Boys wore long cotton shirts and woolen or linen pants. Some boys had to wear simple jackets over their shirt and trousers. On the frontier, boys wore shirts, jackets, and breeches, which were trousers reaching to, or just below the knees, made of soft leather called buckskin.

(9) The teacher will now discuss what type of shoes the children of colonial times wore. “Although most children had a pair of shoes, parents often encouraged their children to go barefoot. Shoes were expensive, so one pair had to last a long time. Parents would buy their children’s shoes too big so they would last several years. The children who lived one the frontiers wore homemade buckskin moccasins, which were light and comfortable shoes that were made from leather and had no heel.

(10) The teacher will now explain how clothes were cared for during colonial times. “People did their laundry once a week. In some towns, mothers would send their dirty clothes to a washerwoman, but most of them took care of their own laundry. The first step of washing the clothes consisted of them soaking their laundry in a large tub of very hot water. After soaking, the clothes were rubbed with bars of soap and beaten with a large stick to loosen the dirt and grime. Next, the soapy clothes were scrubbed up and down on a washboard (the teacher may ask at this time if anyone has ever seen an old washboard. Also if the teacher has access to one, he/she could bring it into class.) The clothes are then rinsed, wrung out, and shaken to get out the excess water.” The teacher will then add that during the summer time, clothes were hung outside to dry but in the winter, they were hung near the fireplace.

(11) The teacher will also explain that after the clothes were dry, they were to be ironed. The teacher will explain what the iron looked like back then and describe its features. He/she will also add that when clothes were ripped, they were not thrown out. They were mended, or darned.

(12) The teacher will continue to go through the book and describe each piece of undergarments that each child possessed. He/she will explain that the girls wore corsets or in today’s society a girdle. The teacher will also share that part of some of the girls attire consisted of a parasol, a small umbrella, a cage crinoline, a petticoat that had a dome-shaped frame of hoops, and culottes, which were skirts that were divided to look like pants.

(13) At this time the teacher will introduce some of the boys’ attire. The teacher will explain that “During their younger years, boys wore dresses. Every boy could not wait until they were old enough to drop the dresses and pick up their trousers or sometimes breeches, pantaloons, which were long trousers, or knickerbockers, knickers for short, which were the same as breeches. Boys also wore, at times, a waistcoat. This consisted of a jacket, trousers, and a short vest.

(14) To wrap up the description of children’s clothing, the teacher will explain that hats were an important part of every outfit.

Question(s):

“Can anyone tell me what kinds of hats were worn during colonial times?”

(15) “Women and girls were especially careful to protect their skin from the sun. The boys wore hats to match their attire as well. They wore hats such as sailor hats, a shako, bowler hats, top hats, and flat hats called tam o’shanters” (As each of these hats are described, a picture will be shown to the students).

Check for Understanding before going on.

(1) “What are some of the names for the clothing that the girls wore during the colonial times?”

(2) “What are some of the names for the clothing that the boys wore during the colonial times?”

(3) “How many outfits did each child usually have?”

(4) “When did they wear certain outfits?”

(5) “How many pairs of shoes did each child have during those times?”

(6) The teacher will prompt questions and have the children to jot down the responses or he/she will record the answers on the board.

(7) The teacher will review the details and vocabulary for each of the clothing pieces.

Provide practice and feedback related to the Primary Learning Outcome(s).

(1) The teacher will allow the students to review the names of the each piece of clothing.

(2) The teacher will distribute the matching vocabulary handout for the students to complete.

(3) The students will complete the vocabulary handout independently and then review the answers orally with the class.

Question(s):

“Are there any clothing names that you can not remember and need a sentence containing that word?”

<> (4) The teacher will distribute the Venn diagram and instruct the students to compare and contrast the clothing of colonial times to the clothing of today’s time. He/she will remind the students that they can use names of clothes to compare and contrast, as well as the description of each.

Estimated time: 40 minutes

<>Step Three: Closure

(1) “Today we discussed the clothing for children of colonial times.”

(2) The teacher explain and showed detailed pictures of children’s clothing of the colonial times

(3) The students identified each piece of clothing by completing a vocabulary matching handout.

(4) The students compared and contrasted children’s clothing of colonial times to children’s clothing of today.

(5) The students will understand the importance of clothing during the colonial times and why children only possessed what clothing they had.

Estimated time: 10 minutes

Assessing the Primary Learning Outcome(s)

The students will display their knowledge of the names of each piece of clothing for children during the colonial times. The teacher will listen to oral responses and look at their answers to their matching vocabulary handout. The assessment will occur during Step 2 (1) #6, #8, #9, #12, #13, and #15. Also, the assessment will occur during Step 2 (2) #1 and #2 and during Step 3 (1) and (3).

The students will use the information that they were given to compare and contrast children’s clothing of colonial times to children’s clothing of today. The assessment will take place during Step 3 (4).

Extension:

This information can be given to the students dramatically by having actual pieces of clothing that is being described. The students can choose a piece of clothing, research it in the library or on the Internet, and write a report on their findings that can be shared with the class.

Remediation:

Students can partner with others having more advanced skills. The teacher can ask the students to write a summary of what they learned from the reading.

Accommodation:

For students with exceptional needs, changes can be made in instruction and teaching delivery to enhance student participation and learning.

Pre/Post Test Questions:

1. What kind of clothes did women and girls wear?
       A.) Breeches , Pantaloons, and Knickerbockers.
          B.) Shift, Stay, and Petticoat.
          C.) Trousers and Waistcoat.
                D.) Highland suit, Sailor suit, or a Fuantleroy suit.

2. How were the clothes of the poor people different from the rich people?

Rubric to assess open-ended question:

Described 3 or more details	10 points
Described 2 details	6 points
Described 1 detail	2 points