Let's take a walk down the main street of a colonial town. Clip-clop! A horse pulls a wagon past the shops. Every shop has a special worker with a special job.
The blacksmith hammers hot iron into horseshoes and tools. The cooper makes wooden barrels. The cobbler makes and fixes shoes. The printer prints newspapers, and the baker fills the street with the smell of fresh bread.
In the middle of town stands the meetinghouse, where people gather for church and town meetings. There were no big factories back then — almost everything was made by hand, one piece at a time. These skilled workers were called craftspeople.
1. What does a blacksmith make?
2. Who makes and fixes shoes?
3. What happened at the meetinghouse?
4. Why do you think craftspeople were so important to the town?
Write what each word means in your own words.
Write the name of the worker who does each job: blacksmith, cooper, cobbler, printer, or baker.
| Job | Worker |
|---|---|
| Bakes fresh bread | |
| Hammers iron into horseshoes and tools | |
| Makes wooden barrels | |
| Prints newspapers | |
| Makes and fixes shoes |
Write T for true or F for false in each circle.
1. Which colonial job would you want? Why?
2. Where do we get shoes, bread, and tools today? How is that different?
1. The hammers hot iron into tools.
2. The cooper makes wooden .
3. The makes and fixes shoes.
4. The fills the street with the smell of bread.
5. People gathered for meetings at the .
6. Almost everything was made by .
Draw a colonial main street with at least two shops. Add signs so we know what each shop sells!
| I learned... | Circle one |
|---|---|
| Jobs people did in colonial towns | YES / NOT YET |
| What craftspeople made by hand | YES / NOT YET |
| What the meetinghouse was for | YES / NOT YET |