Whether you want your children to understand the cotton factor in slavery and the Civil War in United States history, or you simply think they should know where their T-shirts come from, here is a great hands-on activity you can get from Cotton Classroom. Your kids will never forget it.
Order the amount of raw cotton you need for the number of students you have. The "Cotton Sample" was plenty and then some for my family.
Divvy out piles to your children and tell them they need pick out all the seeds and burrs and particles.
The cotton must go from this:
to this:
It's tedious, time consuming, will likely make their fingers sore, and it will give them a new real-life perspective on slave tasks, the cotton gin, and work. They also might stop taking clothing for granted.
In addition to the educational reading/helps at Cotton Classroom, here are some videos I used to further understanding.
"Understanding the Cotton Plant and its Physiology"
"Cotton Picking Time Down South"
Georgia Stories has a video on King Cotton and the Cotton Gin
For a longer video that connects current cotton harvesting with the past, check out Modern Marvel's "The History of Cotton"
This looks awesome! Thanks for posting about it. : )
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff! I think I'll do this with the kiddos. I remember walking past fields of cotton on my mission in South Carolina and thinking how much work it must have been to keep the production of cotton going on a plantation before modern machinery. I was so intrigued I kept a handful of freshly picked cotton to bring home!
ReplyDeleteMelora