Beatrix Potter
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Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Educator’s Guide to discovering science, nature, art, social history, and public land conservation through the Amazing Life and Works of Beatrix Potter an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage 1100 North St. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 501.324.9619 Email: [email protected] Website: www.naturalheritage.com Table of Contents page number General Concepts 1 Math activity 5 Mushroom activity 8 Coded Journal activity 11 Vocabulary 12 Resources Complete Potter book list 13 Books about Potter 14 Websites/DVDs 15 Correlations to ADE Curriculum Frameworks 16 Extensions Fungi & Modern Technology 18 Herdwick Sheep 22 Girl Guides 24 An Introduction to Beatrix Potter This summer (July 28, 2016) marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of famed children’s author Beatrix Potter. In addition to her beloved Peter Rabbit stories, Potter was a scientific illustrator and early land conservationist. To highlight her sesquicentennial birthday and the additional excitement of a newly discovered manuscript to be released as a book this fall, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) has developed educational materials and programs that use the story of Potter’s life to introduce facts about the mushrooms and lichens she illustrated, the struggles of women to be recognized in science and publishing, links to art and nature, and the importance of safeguarding public lands. The following information is provided as a supplement to these programs. GENERAL CONCEPTS Place Helen Beatrix Potter was born in London, England on July 28, 1866, and spent her entire life in the United Kingdom. Her stories also take place there. Students should have an understanding of where the island of Great Britain is located, both in relation to the world and to Arkansas and the United States. Older students may appreciate the differences between the United Kingdom (or U.K.) the country, Great Britain, the island, and England, one of the U.K.'s four administrative regions. GENERAL CONCEPTS CONTINUED PAGE 2 The map at the right illustrates the farms and lands that Beatrix Potter eventually acquired with the earnings from her children’s books. She lived at Hilltop Farm and Castle Cottage until her death in 1943. She rescued several areas from development and left over 4,000 acres to the UK National Trust. Public lands are lands that belong to a unit of government and are managed for the benefit of all citizens of that government. Students may not understand that many pieces of land or property in their community “belong” to offices or entities of local government, including the land of their school, favorite park, or athletic field. In some cases, governments use public tax funds to buy land, but in other situations, people donate their land to a particular government agency. People, such as Beatrix Potter, who want to make sure their land is not destroyed, developed or Public Lands changed sometimes choose to donate their property to a government to protect it. Ms. Potter chose the National Trust in Great Britain. In Arkansas, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) has the responsibility to protect areas of land in their natural state and over the years, people have chosen to donate their land to the ANHC to be sure that it is protected. One of those areas is H. E. Flanagan Prairie Natural Area in Franklin County, near Fort Smith. This property was donated by the late Senator Dale Bumpers’ wife Betty’s family. See more about this property at: http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-areas/h-e-flanagan-prairie-natural-area GENERAL CONCEPTS CONTINUED PAGE 3 Time Beatrix Potter was born July 28, 1866, which makes the year 2016 the sesquicentennial anniversary of her birth (see vocabulary words). She lived from 1866 to 1943 and spent the first half of her life in what is referred to as the Victorian era or period. Victorian times means during Queen Victoria's rule—the time Queen Victoria was on the throne. An in-depth study of British history is not necessary, but students should have a general understanding that during the early part of Ms. Potter’s life, there was no electricity. Instead gas lamps or candles were used for light. There were no cars, instead people traveled by horse, carriage or train. And women were generally seen as inferior to men. The role of women in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries directly impacted Ms. Potter’s life. The timeline below will help students with a general understanding of how women’s rights progressed through her lifetime. 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson becomes the first British woman doctor. 1869 Women are allowed to vote in local elections. 1880 In Britain three women are awarded degrees by the University of London. They are the first women to be awarded degrees by a British university. 1892 Isabella Bird becomes the first woman member of the Royal Geographical Society. 1895 Lilian Lindsay becomes the first woman in Britain to qualify as a dentist. 1898 Ethel Charles becomes the first woman in Britain to qualify as an architect. 1908 Aldeburgh becomes the first town in Britain to have a female mayor. 1914 Britain gets its first policewomen. 1917 In Britain, The Women's Royal Naval Service is formed. 1918 In Britain, women over 30 are allowed to vote. 1919 In Britain, the Sex Disqualification Act allows women to become lawyers, vets and civil servants. The Women's Engineering Society is formed. 1928 In Britain, all women over 21 are allowed to vote the same as men. 1946 Lilian Lindsay becomes the first woman president of the British Dental Association. 1956 Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge in Britain. 1958 Hilda Harding becomes the first woman bank manager in Britain. 1970 An Equal Pay Act is passed in Britain. 1973 In Britain women are allowed to join the stock exchange for the first time. 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against women in employment, education and training. GENERAL CONCEPTS CONTINUED PAGE 4 Publishing Beatrix Potter struggled to get her first books published and later relied on the sale of her books to support herself as a single woman. In these days of laser printers and photocopiers, students may need help appreciating that her first book was printed with a process using woodblock engravings of each page. They should also be encouraged to look at a hardback book and think about the different parts that must be printed and then assembled to make a book (see illustration). Money (and math) Beatrix Potter’s first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was originally published in 1902 and cost one shilling. Students should first understand the general idea that different counties have different types of money or currency and each of these have different values. In this country, we use the U.S. or American dollar ($). Great Britain currently uses pound sterling or simply “the pound” (£ )which is divided into 100 pence (singular penny). Refer to the chart at right for samples of coins. Today, £1 in the UK is equal $1.40 in the U.S. This means that to purchase something that costs a £1 in the UK, you would pay $1.40 in U.S. money. In 1902, when Ms. Potter’s first book was for sale, £1was equal to $4.87. Today, the currency of all the UK is based on a decimal system of one basic unit of currency with sub-units that are a power of 10 of the base. This type of system has only been in place in the UK since 1971. Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence, 12 pence were in a shilling, and 20 shillings were in a pound. On the following page, a student work sheet applies these monetary conversations to the price of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. ACTIVITY SHEET PAGE 5 How much did Peter Rabbit cost? g lin hil s 1 Beatrix Potter’s first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was published for sale in 1902 and cost one shilling. This is a one shilling coin, but if you did not have this coin, you might have used other denominations of money, such as a pence or one pound. Use the information below to answer the questions about how you might have paid for the book. 1 shilling equals 12 pence 1 pound equals 20 shillings 1. If you had 12 pence, could you buy the book? _____________________ Explain your thinking ___________________________________________________________________ 2. If you had 20 pence and wanted to buy the book, would you have any change left?__________ if yes, how much? _____________ Explain your thinking ________________________________________________________ 3. How many copies of the book could you buy with 1 pound? _____________ Explain your thinking ________________________________________________________________ 4. If you paid for one book with a 1 pound note, how much change would you get? ________ Explain your thinking __________________________________________________________ 5. In 1902, one pound (£ 1) was equal to four dollars and eighty-seven cents ($4.87), in U.S. dollars. How much would the book have cost, using U.S. money? ____________ Explain your thinking _______________________________________________________ GENERAL CONCEPTS CONTINUED PAGE 6 Beatrix Potter the mycologist and scientific illustrator Educated privately through governesses at home, Beatrix’s talent in drawing was recognized early and further tuition in painting was provided. However, Beatrix did not wish to copy other painters but experiment with her own style, later sticking with watercolors. Beatrix cared for a lot of pets at home and these provided a great source of inspiration for many of her drawings.