These activities are designed to be used either on their own or with the Concord Museum’s online exhibition Behind Closed Doors: Asleep in New England. They can be used in the classroom or at home to learn more about daily life during the 1700s and 1800s.
For more teacher and student resources visit our Education pages.
In the Bedroom — Guided Discussion
Introduce students to bedrooms in the 1800s by looking together at photographs of one of the Concord Museum’s period rooms. With suggestions for discussion questions and descriptions of specific objects, this activity allows students to develop their own ideas through close looking and open discussion.
Good Night, Sleep Tight — Brainstorming Activity
This activity encourages students to draw parallels between their own lives and those of children of the past. With room for students to illustrate the tasks that they perform each night before they go to bed, this lesson gives them information about how the same task might have been done differently during the 1700 and 1800s.
Sleeping in the Winter — Slideshow Presentation
This presentation complete with illustrations explores the challenges of sleeping in the wintertime while coping with cold temperatures. The clever methods that people used to keep warm include bed curtains and warming pans.
When I Think of Bedtime — Coloring Page/Writing
This activity gives children the opportunity to brainstorm freely about the many different images and memories that bedtime can evoke.
19th Century Bed — Coloring Page
With this coloring page, students can explore the intricate decoration of a bed from another time period.
Background photo: Friendship Quilt, Concord, 1847-49; Concord Museum, Gift of Mrs. Shirley K. Kearns (1961) T1310. Photo by David Bohl.