Eleventh graders examine how in this volatile period, colonial powers and Native groups competed for trade goods and land, coming into conflict repeatedly. They also explore primary and secondary sources.

In this social studies activity, students complete a 25 question multiple choice quiz about early American colonial life and the Cherokee and other Native American tribes.

While Benjamin Franklin enjoyed fame and success in colonial Philadelphia, that was not the experience of all coming to the British colonies. Young scholars trace the life of an indentured servant using a scholarly biography and reading...

The impressive story of Benjamin Franklin, including his rise from a printer’s apprentice to a statesman, color upper-level scholars’ understanding of the possibilities of life in colonial Philadelphia. But not everyone had the...

Often forgotten and written off as the model minority, Americans with heritage in Asia and the Pacific Islands have played an essential role in American history, including Congress. Budding historians reclaim history by researching the...

Who were the enslaved people in colonial America? Using ads from enslavers looking to recapture escaped people, young historians put faces and identities to them. Primary sources, such as wanted ads, help scholars reconstruct who these...

Students explore American colonial times. In this U.S. history activity, students research typical colonial life and script interviews with people that might have lived during the time period. Students create podcasts of the interviews.

Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...

What were the conditions that led to the American Revolution? What are the conditions that lead to revolution in other times and places? Class members examine primary source materials and use evidence drawn from these documents to craft...

In this colonial American instructional activity, students read a 1-page selection about the Jamestown Colony and then respond to 5 short answer questions about the selection.

Young scholars 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...

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...

Role-play and simulation exercises are fantastic ways to help learners understand the reality behind many social and historical events. Pretending they are colonists, upper graders choose a location, create a history, establish laws, and...

An outstanding lesson on the Thirteen Original Colonies, and the settling of Pennsylvania by William Penn is here for your learners. Valuable discussion takes place regarding how the colonies were settled, and some excellent handouts are...

Young scholars examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.

In this American Deep South instructional activity, students examine their knowledge through ten fill in the blank questions that relate to the aforementioned topic.

Young scholars 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...

Students examine the life and lifestyles of New England colonists in the year 1628, and then investigate what life was like in their own area during the same time period. After watching segments from the PBS history series, "Colonial...

Fifth graders visit each center that is set up in the classroom. They participate in each activity and answer the questions at each center in writing with 90% accuracy. Student centers are colonial food, coloinal closet, colonial...

Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...

Students identify items made in Jamestown and draw conclusions about their economy. For this Jamestown economy lesson, students use the internet to complete a worksheet which required them to look at photographs of goods made in and...

Students examine the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America instructional activity, students read literature regarding the document as well as excerpts of the document itself. Students also perform a Reader's Theatre...

Students play a game about taxation where they have tax collectors that simulate the feelings and reasons that led to the American Revolution. In this taxation lesson plan, students learn about why the people in the colonies were so...