Lauren+Slenker+-+Cotton

S- Charles Lewellyn is writing to his master Mr. Cameron to give him an update on the plantation, slaves, and crop.
 * ** Source 1: (Lewellyn, May 11, 1845) **

C- The letter was written on May 11th, 1845 on the Stagville Plantation in NC.

I- The information within the letter is suggesting that Charles Lewellyn is having a little bit of trouble at the plantation. He states that he cannot keep up with the cotton crop, many workers are sick, one worker is injured by a plow, and the corn will not keep until as long as needed.

M- Why does he need this corn to keep for an extended period of time? || S- Charles Lewellyn is writing to his master Mr. Cameron to give him an update on the plantation, slaves, and crop.
 * ** Source 2: ( **** Lewellyn, June 1, 1845 **** ) **

C- The letter was written on June 1st, 1845 on the Stagville Plantation in NC.

I- The information in the letter is suggesting that Lewellyn has not written to Mr. Cameron for a few weeks and Mr. Cameron is getting angry. He gives him an update on the crops and informs him that Mr. Ruffin has been coming to the plantation to help out at least two times a week.

M- Why aren't the crops fairing well and what is a graf and why does it negatively affect the crop? || S- Charles Lewellyn is writing to his master Mr. Cameron to give him an update on the plantation, slaves, and crop.
 * ** Source 3: ( **** Lewellyn, July 3, 1845 **** ) **

C- The letter was written on June 3rd, 1845 on the Stagville Plantation in NC.

I- The information in the letter suggests that Mr. Ruffin has helped the crops on the plantation flourish, and that Mr. Cameron should expect a good crop of cotton and corn this year. He also mentions two by name that are sick, and one that has died already.

M- Who is Mr. Ruffin, and why are the workers getting so sick? || S- Charles Lewellyn is writing to his master Mr. Cameron to give him an update on the plantation, slaves, and crop.
 * ** Source 4: ( **** Lewellyn, August 1, 1845 **** ) **

C- The letter was written on August 1st, 1845 on the Stagville Plantation in NC.

I- The information in the letter suggests that two more of his workers have died from sickness, and ten more are laid up in the house sick as he writes. He would have saved all of his fodder if is hadn't been for sickness. The corn crop is doing great but the cotton crop has gone to rust.

M- What is fodder and how did the cotton get ruined by rust? || S- Charles Lewellyn is writing to his master Mr. Cameron to give him an update on the plantation, slaves, and crop.
 * ** Source 5: ( **** Lewellyn, August 16, 1845 **** ) **

C- The letter was written on August 16th, 1845 on the Stagville Plantation in NC.

I- The information in the letter suggests that the cotton crop is not yielding as much as he had hoped it would. He will pick very carefully in order to make sure he gets all that is salvageable. Many of the slaves are feeling better now and out picking cotton with him.

M- How much cotton did he hope to get from this season, and what was he yielding? ||
 * ** Corroboration: ** Tying all of the letter together, it seems as if Mr. Cameron is a micro-manager over Charles Lewellyn. So much so that Charles feels the need to write Mr. Cameron an update every few days to tell him the minor progress of crops, and daily updated status on sick workers. ||

Pedagogical Implications: The SCIM-C tool was actually pretty easy to use. I was a bit intimidated by it at first since each acronym was filled with 4-5 questions to be answered, however after reading them a bit more closely I realized that they were all asking similar questions that could be summed up within 1-2 detailed sentences. In thinking about my pedagogy as a social studies teacher I'd have to say that this inquiry tool lines up pretty well with 1) a student-centered classroom, 2) room for different interpretations on multiple sources, and 3) the use of solid evidence to support claims. The tool is student centered because it requires the student to conduct their own research while answering guiding questions. It leaves room for different interpretations since not everyone will read a document in the same context and have the same takeaways. Also, it requires the student to use solid evidence and examples to support their claim before presenting it to the class. I am very interested in how students will react to this tool, and since I am student teaching in a classroom that teaches both ELA and SS, I plan to ask my CT if we could give this a try!