Martha Ballard's Diary
I ran across this site, Martha Ballard's Diary, seven years ago and was amazed by it. I included it in all my primary source workshops. There is a PBS documentary about the same topic. I was reminded of the site by a listing on Blue Web'n listserv-- be sure to check out the diary site as well as the documentary.
American Experience: A Midwife's Tale (PBS)http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/mwt/index.html
Description: In 1785 Martha Ballard began the diary that she would keep for the next 27 years, until her death. At a time when fewer than half the women in America were literate, Ballard faithfully recorded the weather, her daily household tasks, her midwifery duties, and countless incidents that reveal the turmoil of a new nation. Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich discusses the importance of Martha Ballard's diary and what it reveals about 17th century America and women's roles at that time. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "A Midwife's Tale," Teaching Activities may be adapted in the absence of the for-fee film.
American Experience: A Midwife's Tale (PBS)http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/mwt/index.html
Description: In 1785 Martha Ballard began the diary that she would keep for the next 27 years, until her death. At a time when fewer than half the women in America were literate, Ballard faithfully recorded the weather, her daily household tasks, her midwifery duties, and countless incidents that reveal the turmoil of a new nation. Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich discusses the importance of Martha Ballard's diary and what it reveals about 17th century America and women's roles at that time. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "A Midwife's Tale," Teaching Activities may be adapted in the absence of the for-fee film.
1 comment:
Nancy, you have accomplished quite a bit for someone who says they don't like to write:-)Your primary source samples and ideas are very relevant, as well as beautiful.
I am also involved in a project to teach primary sources,which I decided was urgently needed. Over the past years of judging ThinkQuest websites, I note a profound discrepancy has developed, between the authors of the judging rubrics and those in charge of the contest. I am hoping to encourage them to discuss that.
Most of my work relates to citations and other types of documentation, so it is not quite as elegant as yours. I can only hope it is practical.
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