Primary Source Analysis: Washington's Letter to Phillis Wheatley |
| This activity requires students to analyze Washington's letter and answer questions about it. |
Use this Activity: |
| Discuss and Engage- Explain to students that a primary source is an actual document or artifact related to a historical event. While this activity isn't an actual document, it does contain the text from an actual letter that Washington wrote to Phillis Wheatley. Read the letter aloud to students and ask them about the tone of the letter. What is Washington hoping to express to Wheatley? Ask students about the vocabulary in the letter. There are a lot of words they're likely to be unfamiliar with such as "encomium," "panegyrick" and "dispensations," among others. Ask them if they can infer the meaning of these words through the passage. |
| Reading Groups - This activity serves as an excellent tool for enrichment-based reading groups in language arts or social studies. |
| Morning Work - This activity takes students about 20-25 minutes. |
| Homework - This activity is a great way to assign homework in social studies or language arts. |
| Part of a Lesson - Teaching about Phillis Wheatley? This activity serves as a great extension. |