California Missions
Michele Lamb & Nancy Gularte
Introduction
You woke up this morning thinking it would be just another day, until your mother breaks the news to you. Your family is moving to live on a mission. You have heard some good things and some bad things about living on a mission. It sounds exciting, but it also means you will be leaving your best friend, Little Tree. You promise to keep in touch and write soon.
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Task
You will research one mission and use this new information to write a letter to your friend telling him/ her what it is like living on a mission.
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Process
Using the links on this web page, choose the mission you
will be visiting. Your research should
focus on the following information:
1)
Who founded the mission?
2)
When was the mission founded?
3)
Where is it located?
4)
Why is it located there?
5)
What was the name of the tribe of Indians who joined
the mission?
6)
Who else lived at the mission?
7)
What were the main crops?
8)
Was it a successful mission?
a)
Why or why not?
9)
What job would you imagine for yourself?
10)
What led to its decline? (Be specific - there should
be several reasons listed and explained.)
11)
Did the mission stop functioning as a parish? When?
a)What was it used for when it was not used as a
church?
12)
What parts of the mission were destroyed? What parts
were saved?
13)
Who was responsible for its reconstruction?
14)
When did reconstruction begin?
15)
What did the workers to do to restore the mission?
16)
How long did restoration take?
17)
Is restoration continuing?
18)
If the mission began functioning as a parish again,
when did this occur?
19)
Describe how the mission looks today. How do its
pre-sent surroundings affect it? How does the mission's appearance today compare
to its appearance when it was first built?
Each student will be assigned a partner in class to
address a letter to.
Using the information obtained on your chosen mission
you will draft a personal letter to your partner. The letter will be written as if the
mission were productive again and should include details about items 1 through
19. You must also include 1 or 2 pictures and a drawing of the layout of the
mission and surrounding farmland.
As you research your mission, picture
the mission in your mind and write your letter as if you want to give that
picture to your reader. Use descriptive language (adjectives
and adverbs).
Example; “The adobe walls were a pale orange with a
rough
texture. You can see the pieces of yellow straw that were mixed into the
mud when the blocks were made”.
Sample:
Dear Littletree,
October 9, 1795
I am in the company of Father Junpero Serra and the Esselen Indians of the
Mission Nuesta Senora de la Soledad. Father Serra is a frail looking man. He has
little hair and wears the traditional brown robes of the Franciscan order. The
Esselen Indians are peaceful and friendly. They have welcomed me as one of their
own. Father Serra founded the mission on October 9, 1791. It is located in the
fertile Salinas valley because the earth here is rich in nutrients that are
perfect for growing crops and grazing livestock. My job is to harvest crops in
the field. The work is hard and I am tired and sore every night but everyone
works hard. No one is looking forward to the winter. The Padre is worried about
a weakness in the adobe structure. The damp weather is eroding the adobe in some
places. The mission is cold at night and will only get colder. There is also
fear of the Salinas River rising with the rains. The Padres assure me that there
will be plenty of time to get out if that happens.
The mission has gone through some major changes. The river washed away the
church building 150 years ago and the mission was restored by the Native
Daughters of the Golden West in 1954. A small wing of seven rooms and a small
chapel are all that exist today. The mission is still a functioning church
parish and you can have a baptism or wedding here.
I am tired and weary from the long hard day in the field so I must say
goodnight.
Your friend,
Emily
Your letter must be in letter format and placed in an envelope addressed to your
partner. I will give you your partner's name and address when you complete your
research, before you start your letter.
Once you have completed your letter and envelope you will hand deliver it to
your partner. When all letters have been completed and delivered we will have
class time to read the letters.
The final part of
this assignment will be for partners to come together and compare their letters.
Together you will choose 5 points about your missions to compare and contrast
using the following sample chart. Two partners will hand in one comparison chart
with both names on it.
Example:
| Detail |
Mission San Jose |
Mission La Senora de La Soledad |
| Main crops |
|
|
| Date founded |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
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|
| |
|
|
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Resources
http://missions.bgmm.com/
http://www.jspub.com/~jsp/4grdch03.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1051/General_Info.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/3615/
http://www.escusd.k12.ca.us/MissionTrail.html
http://www.notfrisco.com/almanac/missions/
http://www.thecaliforniamissions.com/
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Lomita_Magnet/missions/missions.html
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Cathedral/3300/
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Evaluation
California content standards
History-Social Sciences
3. Describe the Spanish exploration and colonization of
California, including the relationships among soldiers, missionaries, and
Indians (e.g., Juan Crespi, Junipero Serra, Gaspar de Portola).
5. Describe the daily lives of the people, native and nonnative, who occupied
the presidios, missions, ranchos, and pueblos.
English-Language arts
Writing
1.0 Writing Strategies
Students write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central
idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students
progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting,
revising, editing successive versions).
2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their
Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events,
and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American
English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in
Writing Standard 1.0.
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Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized
fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.
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Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but
the organziation could have been better.
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Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very
clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was
about.
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The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated
sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
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Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.
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Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
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Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling
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Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or
spelling.
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The letter contains at least 10 accurate facts about
the topic.
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The letter contains 7-9 accurate facts about the
topic.
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The letter contains 4-6 accurate facts about the
topic.
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The letter contains less than 4 accurate facts about
the topic.
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Salutation and closing have no errors in
capitalization and punctuation.
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Salutation and closing have 1-2 errors in
capitalization and punctuation.
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Salutation and closing have 3 or more errors in
capitalization and punctuation.
|
Salutation and/or closing are missing.
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Conclusion
Now that you have a better
understanding of the missions, and what mission life was like, think about how
you would like to have lived on a mission.
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