Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...
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The Settlement of the Chesapeake
Focusing on the Virginia and Maryland settlements in the 1600's, this presentation is a complete and thorough resource during a unit on Colonial America. It includes pictures, maps, and interesting discussion points for you to address...
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Lesson 1: English-Indian Encounters
What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...
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American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students explore daily life and its influences in the late 1700s for two families in different colonies- Delaware and Massachusetts by becoming historical detectives. After gathering information from artifacts to make inferences about...
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The Jamestown Colony
In this Jamestown Colony learning exercise, students read a 2 page article on the colony, answer 3 questions with multiple choice answers, fill in 5 blanks to complete 5 facts and determine if 3 statements are true or false.
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Jamestown
Fifth graders research the Jamestown settlement and examine life in the colonies from 1607-1610. They explore websites, develop a timeline, select two settlers to research, and write three letters written from the point of view of their...
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Mapping the New World Lesson Plan
Learners compare two maps of the same area from different time periods. In this American History lesson, students look at two maps of the English colonies from 1636 and 1651. They discuss why the maps changed and predict maps from the...
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Leadership in Jamestown
Students formulate the criteria for leadership in the Jamestown colony in order to develop understanding of early U.S. government. In this history instructional activity, students read an article about leadership in this colony and rate...
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The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...
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Leadership in Jamestown
Learners formulate criteria for leadership based on evaluation of Jamestown's leaders, and identify origins, compositions, and goals of the Virginia Company.
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Colonial Quilt Quest
Students identify key events and people from Colonial America.
Students identify key factors of daily life in Colonial America.
Students gather and use information for research purposes.
Students create candles in groups following the...
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Examining Passenger Lists Lesson Plan
Students learn about the colonists that settled in the New World. In this famous explorers instructional activity, students learn about famous explorers and how they used to keep diaries about their travels. Students read passenger...
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Reasons for English Colonization
Students explain the reason for English colonization. They review the reasons for the colonization and settlement in Virginia and trace the route from England to Virginia through the Chesapeake Bay to Jamestown on a map.
Power Show
Colonial North America
This 54-slide PowerPoint outlines the significant events in the history of Colonial North America, beginning in 1603 with the ascendance of James I to the throne of England. Designed to accompany a lecture on this time period, the...
Curated OER
English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia
Students participate in a three part lesson in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native Americans...
NOAA
Ocean Exploration
Sea explorers and scientists have found that because of temperatures being two to three degrees Celsius at the bottom of the ocean, most animals are lethargic in order to conserve energy. In this web quest, pairs of learners read about...
NPR
Women Of Jamestown Lesson Plan
To better understand the role women played in early 17th century US history, class members examine the National Women's History Museum's online exhibit, Building the New World: the Women of Jamestown Settlement. After studying the 11...
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A Nation of Nations Lesson Plan: Charting African Ethnicities in America
Students read a portion of the narrative, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, to explain the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans brought to the US. They create charts and bar graphs comparing ethnicities in the lowlands and tidewater regions.
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Graphing and Demography: The Domestic Slave Trade
Students create graphs or charts based on the data a narrative imbedded in this plan. They make them either by hand or by using Excel or a similar database program. This instructional activity utilizes technology in a meaningful way.
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Mapping Community Values
Students discuss the origin of various maps focusing on the values behind them. Students also explore how human needs and geography influence community settlement patterns. Students extend learning by creating and mapping their own ideal...
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The Battle for New Orleans
In this Battle for New Orleans activity, students read a 3 page article on the battle and then answer 10 true or false statements referring to the article.
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Overcoming Problems: John Smith
In this John Smith worksheet, learners read a 1 1/2 page passage about the history of John Smith and answer short answer questions about it. Students complete 7 questions.
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Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders read and analyze narrative writing by and about Henry Spelman, a boy-laborer who helped settle Jamestown. They read biographical information, discuss the harsh conditions, and write a narrative piece on Henry's experiences.
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"You Shall Do Your Best Endeavor" - Working With Primary Documents
Students read and interpret primary source documents regarding historic Jamestown. In small groups, they read the primary documents, answer questions, and view online maps of Jamestown Island and Virginia.