At Home: 1700: Father Meurin - Suggested Activities

Suggested Activities

1. Writing in Character

Write a diary entry for Father Meurin when he first arrives in Kaskaskia.

Consider how he might feel alone in the Illinois wilderness, so far from France and his family.

Write a diary entry for Father Meurin when he learns that he has been ordered to return to France.

Consider how he might feel, faced with a forced departure from Illinois and the Kaskaskia Indians, among whom he has spent the better part of his life.

As a class, read each other's work and discuss any changes noted in Meurin's attitude toward Illinois and the Kaskaskia Indians.

2. Creating a dramatic letter, speech, or dialogue

Imagine how Father Meurin might break the news to other Jesuits that he has decided to remain in Kaskaskia--write a letter, a speech, or a dialogue to document this event.

3. Historical Essay

Choose two of the cultural groups from Side by Side and write an essay comparing them and analyzing what habits, beliefs, food, or clothing each group borrowed from the other.

In researching your topic, refer to the other narratives, Maps, Objects, the Timeline, Clues to the Past, and Side by Side.

You may want to use this theme of cultural comparison and cultural exchange as the basis for comparing colonial Illinois with Illinois today.

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