Early Puritans and Pilgrims learned that the new world required both cooperation and help from unexpected sources. The Erik Erickson conversation plumbs the possibilities and limits of interdependence. Does it promote strength and versatility? Or does it allow vulnerability, compromise, or the loss of identity and purpose? After reading Puritan John Winthrop’s sermon “A Model for Christian Charity” and an excerpt from Pilgrim William Bradford’s journal, Of Plymouth Plantation, students may hold Socratic Seminar on the essential question, “How do we know when we should depend on others?” or they may write about it in relation to a current movement.
Level: Secondary English/Language Arts
Subject Area: American Literature/U.S. History
Author: Karina Isley
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