When, Who, and Why It Was Written

A letter, diary, or advertisement in the style of long ago: its time period, who wrote it, the situation, and how that shaped it.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 77

Texts from long ago make more sense when you know their context: when they were written, who wrote them, and what was happening.
Read this letter, written for this lesson in the style of 1849.
When? 1849, the date at the top. Who? Thomas, a young man looking for gold. What was happening? The California Gold Rush, when sailors left their ships to dig for gold.
The situation shapes the writing. Letters took months by ship, so Thomas tells Mother not to worry. Today, Thomas could just send a text!
Ads from long ago show what life was like too. In 1909, most people had horses, so the Model T ad says a car needs no hay!

Georgia's K-12 English Language Arts Standards:

4.T.C.2.c — Identify the context in which a text is written (e.g., time period, individual, situational). (I)
4.P.ST.1.a — Use prior knowledge, formal or informal research, and discussions with others to identify the key components of context that are most relevant. (I/C)
4.P.ST.1.b — Consider how context impacts the purposes of the author and the audience. (I/C)