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What was a typical day like in 1774? How did people live? Actually, it depended on who you were. Colonial Williamsburg's A Day in the Life instructional video series looks at the lives of eight people—men and women, young and old, free and enslaved—to give students a look at daily life in colonial America. Each eighteen-minute segment is a window to the daily life of people in early America. The segments include:

  • Compare and contrast the lives of the gentry, slave, and working classes with Prissy, Dennis, and Tom's Day.
  • Explore the colony's political life with Mr. Carter, a member of the Governor's Council.
  • Follow Daniel Grove's education as a young gentleman.
  • Go to the slave quarter with Jill, a field hand at the Grove plantation.
  • Glimpse into the life of Anne Sparks and the free black community.
  • Spend a day in with Patsy Grenville in her father's store.
  • Work with blacksmith apprentice James Campbell.
  • Learn the skills of housewifery with Mrs. Wood, the carpenter's wife.

Each module also has an accompanying student Web activity. These interactive investigations, developed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to be used in conjunction with the video segments, help students understand what daily life was like in the American colonies during the third quarter of the eighteenth century. More information/How to order A Day in the Life

Living in a plantation slave quarter.In the Enslaved activity, students take on the role of an enslaved field hand to learn about slave life and the total lack of freedom experienced by slaves in the 18th century. Begin exploring Enslaved!