Graphing Sugar Consumption, 1600-present

Context

Sugar is a relatively new commodity in the history of Western food. Unknown in Europe until the interaction between Arab and European worlds as a result of Muslim conquest and Christian Crusades. At first sugar was extremely rare (King Henry II of England was only able to acquire four pounds at a time—and he was the king!) and expensive. by the 1700's sugar was starting to trickle down into the diet of the upper classes of Europe who quickly developed a taste for sugar. Extravagant decorations were created from sugar to demonstrate wealth. By the 1800's with the increase in sugar production sugar was becoming more common in the middle and poor classes. With the onset of the industrial revolution and tax incentives supported by the British government, sugar became affordable and a major source of calories for the working class.

• Purpose:
  • E9: make hypotheses about economic issues and problems, testing, refining, and eliminating hypotheses and developing new ones when necessary
  • E10: present economic information by developing charts, tables, diagrams and simple graphs.
• Standards: Social Studies Standard 4 -Economics, Key Idea 2: Economics requires the development and application of the skills needed to make informed and well-reasoned economic decisions in daily and national life.
• Materials: Graphing worksheet
• Number of class periods needed: 1

Connection

In social studies, we have been learning about the history of sugar and how it influenced world events. We can look at how people's diets changed over time and use our knowledge of history to think about what might have caused this change. Today, we are going to look at some historical data, graph it, and then think about what we can learn from it.

Procedure

• Hand each student a copy of the worksheet.
• Review instructions and guide students in setting the graph as needed.
• Have students complete the graph in small groups or individually.
• Share out descriptions and hypotheses about the change in sugar consumption over time.

Assessment

• accuracy and neatness in presentation of graph
• accuracy in mathematical description of graph
• use of prior knowledge, information from class timelines and in notebooks to generate and support hypotheses
• ability to revise or confirm thinking based on the ideas of others

Hell: Life on a Sugar Plantation

Context

Life on a sugar plantation was brutal and the work was unrelenting. Because of high worker mortality rates on sugar plantations, large numbers of enslaved Africans were brought to work in the Caribbean. Slaves, many armed with machetes for harvesting sugar cane, vastly outnumbered the free whites and workers. Economies of scale, the need to process sugar quickly, and the fear of slave rebellion resulted in the overwork and mistreatment of the Africans. By the early 1800's, the moral conscience of many consumers was starting to be pricked. Abolition was becoming a powerful political and social issue. Frederika Bremer and Olaudah Equiano both wrote about and published descriptions of the experience of enslaved workers. Coming from very different lives -- educated Scandinavian woman and freed slave seaman, their descriptions are different; each powerful in its own way.

• New York State Standards:
  • Standard 1: New York and US History Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
  • Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.
• Purpose:
  • H10: consider different interpretations of key events and/or issues in history and understand the differences in these accounts
  • H12: view historic events through the eyes of those who were there, as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts
• Materials:
  • The texts and the analysis sheet.
  • Watercolor paper, watercolors and brushes, black fine line permanent markers
  • History notebooks
• Number of class periods needed: 3

Connection

We have been studying the story of sugar and how it has played an important part in history. The difficult work of growing sugar and the high mortality rate of sugar workers resulted in a new trade network. The "triangle trade" brought Africans to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations, sugar to the United States and Europe in exchange for other goods that either were from those places (for example, wood from the United States) or were brought to those places from far away (for example, tea came from India to England and then on to the United States). Today, we are going to begin reading two different descriptions of life for the enslaved Africans. By reading these documents, we will develop a deeper understanding of what life must have been like on the plantation.

Procedure

• Students work in groups to read the documents. It is recommended that the students read one document by itself, share and discuss what they learned, and then read the second document. After reading each document, engage the class in a discussion of the author's point of view of life on a plantation with consideration of what the author is trying to say and the evidence provided to support that point of view.
• After students have completed reading both documents ask them to create a water color and ink drawing of an image that these documents generated for them.
• What images do these two documents create in your mind? What words or phrases help to create that image? Using art supplies provided create an image that expresses the contrast between the two documents or
• These images can be ‘representational' (you try to make them look realistic) or ‘symbolic' (you use shapes, lines, colors, etc. to create an image that conveys ideas or feelings.)
• When you have finished, write an artist's statement about your picture. What does it show? Why did you decide to make this image the way you did? What parts of the texts were especially influential?

Assessment

Look for evidence that students are engaging in the procedural practices of history:

• Noticing and considering the role of authorship and date of publication/creation
• Placing the document in historical context
• Differentiating own ideas from the ideas expressed in the text
• Asks questions, makes connections ot other parts of life refers back to the original text to support opinions/interpretations

The Haitian Revolution and U.S. History

Choral reading is an often overlooked strategy for building reading fluency. It is also a powerful tool to help students "hear" the voices of history and to provide a basis for learning about historical events. This learning experience as presented here focuses on the Haitian Revolution and its impact on American history. Quotes were pulled from websites, secondary sources and a book of primary source documents, Slavery, Freedom, and Law in the Atlantic World: A Brief History with Documents. All sources are cited in the section on Sugar Resources.

• New York State Social Studies Standards: Key Idea 1.2: Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events acrss time and from a variety of perspectives.
• Purpose: This lesson provides students with the opportunity to "hear" the voices of people that were connected to the story of the Haitian Revolution and to begin to think about how the story of the Haitian Revolution is not an isolated event but is connected to the larger sweep of world history. The selection of quotes highlights the impetus of the Revolution and the response to this revolt in American history. All quotes have approximate or actual dates.
• Materials:
  • Word Document of quotes.
  • Copy of quotes cut into strips.
  • A timeline constructed on a classroom wall. The earliest date on the time line should be 1490 or 1495 depending on your scale. The most recent date on the time line should be at least 1940. Determine the scale of your timeline based on the space available in the classroom.
• Number of class periods: 1

Connection

You should explain to the students the purpose of the day's lesson and how it fits into the broader context of the unit of study. You might say something like this:

"We have been learning about how the sugar trade influenced and was influenced by events in the Caribbean and the wider world. The Haitian Revolution was a key moment in the story of sugar. Today, we are going to share out quotes from people who were involved in this event or who felt affected by it. While we are reading the quotes, remember to be thinking like a historian: Ask yourself how this fits with what you already know, what questions it raises for you, and how events are linked, and how different people's voices are important in this story."

Procedure

1. Provide each student with a quote.
2. Have students higlight the date on their quote and read their quote silently several times. This rehearsal will help students read aloud smoothly and with confidence. You may also want to have students practice reading their quote aloud for a partner.
3. When students are ready, explain to them that they will be reading quotes aloud in time order. The earliest quote is 1496. After they read their quote aloud, they should affix it to a prepared timeline in the room.
4. After everyone has shared, debrief the experience with the students. Consider some of the following questions to guide the conversation:
   • What did you learn about the Haitian Revolution from this reading?
   • Did you hear anything that surprised you? Perhaps things that didn't match the story as you knew it from before?
   • What questions do you have about what you heard?
   • What patterns or trends do you notice on the timeline.
   • Was there any unusual language, words, or phrases that surprised you? Why?

Extensions

• You can have students try to sort the quotes by content or time frame. What other patterns do they notice?
• Students can select parts of the quotes and create a found poem with the excerpts.

Assessment

In the conversation that results from this exercise, listen for evidence that students understand that the Haitian Revolution was not an isolated event. It was influenced by a series of events and the actions and responses from diverse people from around the globe that preceded it. It had a profound impact on American history as a result of its success.

Written reflection

Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the following statements:

• I used to think..., but now I realize....
• I used to think..., but now I wonder....

Timelines of Sugar

Context

Sugar originated in Southeast Asia and, by the time of Alexander the Great, sugar had arrived in Persia. In the 600's AD, Muslims began to conquer Persia to the east and to spread across Africa. They would ultimately arrive in Spain. As they conquered these different areas, they adopted and adapted new technologies, foods, and forms of knowledge. They also introduced these things to their new homes. Through trade and conquest, cultures came in contact with each other providing opportunities for peoples to learn from each other and to generate new knowledge and technologies.

• New York State Standards:
  • NYS Social Studies Standard 2 Elementary, Key idea 2: Establishing timeframes, exploring different periodizations, examining themes across time and within cultures, and focusing on important turning points in world history help organize the study of world cultures and civilizations.
• Purpose:
  • Performance Indicator H17: develop timelines that display important events and eras from world history
• Materials:
  • Blank map of world for each student (http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/world_cont.pdf)
  • Wall map of the world (preferably one that can be written on)
  • Illustrated timeline of the story of sugar
  • Large timeline on the classroom wall that covers 8000 years. This time line should be somewhere that it can stay up for the whole unit. The scale should be such that it allows for dates to be added as the class continues the study. Indicate 6000 BC at one end of the time line, the year "0", and 2000 AD at the other end.
• Number of class periods needed: 1

Connection

This series of lessons launches a study of the history of sugar and how it contributed to history. Typically, we think of historical events in isolation. In reality, many historical events are linked in ways that can challenge how we view the unfolding of history. For example, on his way back to the "Indies" on his second voyage in 1493, Columbus stopped off in the Canary Islands where he procured some stalks of sugar cane from a plantation. This plantation was developed by Muslims. Sugar, which was to become a powerful economic force, would enrich many lives and cause unimaginable deprivation and misery for others.

Procedure

Have students respond in writing or with partners to the guiding question:

Where does sugar come from? What do you think you could learn about the history of people by studying the history of sugar?

Mapping the voyage of sugar.

• Each student, or small group of students, should receive one segment of the illustrated time line of sugar (date, description, and image).
• Each student should receive a blank world map.
• As the class creates the time line and identifies key places on a world map in the classroom, individuals should take notes on their blank maps. They can use arrows to indicate the spread of sugar and code events in the margins. They should indicate: Key dates of the story of sugar; Important stories or events relating to sugar in a certain place; and Key place names related to the history of sugar.
• Have the student(s) who have the earliest event (6000 BC, sugar cane used in Papua New Guinea) add the date to the time line and locate Papua New Guinea on the classroom world map. Put a #1 and the date on PNG. Model how they should do this on their maps with a key for the event number.
• Continue having students come up to add their information to the timeline and world maps in order. Have them indicate with arrows, the spread of sugar. They should continue to take notes in their notebooks and on their maps as well.
• As the class constructs this time line together, have them discuss observations and raise questions about how knowledge is spread and to think about how events across time and place influence each other.
• Upon completion of the time line, have students reflect on the following prompt:
• Go back to your thinking about where sugar comes from that we wrote at the beginning of this project. Given what we have learned, write a new response to these questions. Where does sugar come from? What do you think you could learn about the history of people by studying the history of sugar? How has what we have learned changed your thinking?

Assessment

Look closely at student work for evidence of:

• Sequencing
• Question asking
• Curiosity
• Use of evidence to support thinking