Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Elizabeth Murray Project
The Education of Women in Colonial America
What educational opportunities were available to women during the colonial era in American history? How did the opportunities available to women differ from those for men? To answer this question, class members examine a series of...
Curated OER
One Room School House Reading Lesson
Students explore schools during the Colonial period. In this American history instructional activity, students participate in a simulation of school days in Colonial America. Students visit a museum and use the schoolhouse as a setting...
New York City Department of Education
Colonial America and The American Revolution
How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...
Curated OER
Colonial America Introduction
Students watch a teacher presented Readers Theater about Colonial America to introduce the students to the topic. In this Colonial America lesson, 4th graders recreate a timeline of early American history, using unconventional...
Curated OER
Kids in the Colonies
Students compare and contrast family life in colonial America with life today. They describe what communities were like in colonial times and how they varied from life today. A spokesperson from each group will present a verbal report...
Curated OER
The African and the Pequot in Colonial America
Learners determine that the lands the English settled on were owned and inhabited by 70,000 Indians. They consider that the London Company sold land charters to the English, which gave them illegal title to lndian land and that the...
Curated OER
School Life Today and in the Past at Freyberger School
Students compare and contrast school life today with that of Pennsylvania in the 1900's. In this school life lesson students create a description of a typical one-room schoolhouse. They think critically about attending school in a...
Curated OER
Colonial Customs
Students experience Colonial life and explore the customs of the 17th century. In this colonial America lesson plan, students play dress up, barter items, author pledges, and review 17th century etiquette.
Curated OER
Labor Needs in Colonial America
Students examine the labor needs in colonial America. Using primary and secondary resources, they explore the major events and life in the United States during colonial times. They complete a chart listing the pros and cons of a slave...
Curated OER
Slavery in Colonial America
Students examine the experience of the middle passage of slaves. They review slave songs and discuss their common themes. They develop a monologue in which they integrate a fragment of an actual slave song into a poem they have written.
Curated OER
Early American Woodworking
Pupils compare and contrast tools used in colonial America to modern ones. They create a bootjack, coat rack, or candleholder based on actually using the tools. The students also compose a description of a colonial woodworker based upon...
Curated OER
Pilgrims and Puritans
With graphic organizers galore, learners will follow the changes of church and state in early colonial America. They look at the differences between the pilgrims and the puritans in terms of beliefs and life ways. Myths and...
Curated OER
Education in Colonial New England
Fifth graders examine schooling now and in New England Colonies. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders describe schools of the present to schools of the past. Students also investigate the goals of schooling and the part...
Curated OER
Spanish Colonies in South America
How did the Spanish govern its South American colonies? This presentation provides a series of questions, images, and an informative outline for learners to ponder. They will review the colonial caste system, the encomienda system, and...
Curated OER
American Revolution Simulation: Colonial History, Drama
Learners explain why the American colonies declared the independence, students should relate to that which is held most dearly i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They participate in a drama that illustrates this.
Curated OER
Colonial Rules
How did Colonists react to British rule prior to the American Revolution? Give your high schoolers a taste of oppression with this role-play activity, then let them come up with a revolution of their own. This excercise is intended to...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Differences Among Colonial Regions
Classes look at and analyze primary source images to explore the differences between the colonial regions during the Revolutionary era. They break into groups to tackle each region and then present their findings to the class. A final...
Curated OER
Everything was up to date in 1628
Learners view a video of Colonial House, a reality series where people lived according to the standards of European immigrants to the U.S. in 1628. In this colonial history lesson, students research changes in geographic areas over time...
Curated OER
Emailing Colonial Pen Pals
Fifth graders write emails to a friend imagining they are traveling to colonial America. In this emailing penpals activity, 5th graders discuss appropriate language and topics in email communication, use correct format and write...
Curated OER
Colonial Writing Project
Fourth graders write from the perspective of a child in the colonial period. In this writing lesson, 4th graders create a fictional character living in the colonial period and write about daily life from their perspective.
Curated OER
Colonial America
Students discover the history of Colonial America by creating a class presentation. In this U.S. History lesson plan, students utilize the Internet to research one of 20 topics in which they will create a PowerPoint or other type of...
Curated OER
Colonial Living: A Look at the Arts, Crafts, History, and Literature of Early Americans
Sixth graders examine the different aspects of life in Colonial America. At home, they make traditional colonial recipes to share with the class. In groups, they read a book about the purpose and act of quilting and create their own...
Curated OER
Teaching Justice: Schooling and the Four Waves of U.S. Immigration
U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...