Learn about the Randolphs, a wealthy family of influence in Colonial America.

Here's a site with lots of information written by middle school students. Click on English Colonial Life, then Development of Self-Government for more information on government of the colonies.

Several examples of pots for coffee, tea, and chocolate from the colonial period. Learn how Americans adopted the practice of drinking coffee and tea, and how this practice affected society, daily life, and the decorative art created by...

This lesson focuses on Colonial period slave narratives including the autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" by Olaudah Equiano. Links are provided to the narrative and the website Africans in America:...

This lesson focuses on the assignments for the unit on Colonial Literature. It features a list of reading assignments, thought questions, a mini-research project assignment, and links to websites on Native American Culture and Native...

Charles Cornwallis began his career sympathizing with the colonist's views before the Revolutionary War, but loyalty to the king won out when called upon to suppress the rebellion in America. Learn about major events in his life, battles...

Lesson plan using primary sources in which students examine colonial ship passenger lists to identify diversity in the colonies.

This detailed article on the life of Susanna Moodie has information on what Moodie wrote prior to marriage and emigration to Canada, her early experiences in Canada and writing that stemmed from them, and the hardships she and her family...

The Aztec pictorial manuscript later known as the Codex Telleriano-Remensis was created in sixteenth-century Mexico, about a generation after contact. It is considered one of the most beautiful and informative remaining works by the...

colonial life

Site offers young scholars the opportunity to design their own gardens. Several disciplines can be used through this imaginative group lesson.

This page has a collection of downloadable lessons on New Amsterdam and New Netherland. The lessons look at native people, trade, slavery, religion, people, families, and children. They incorporate many primary source materials...

This page goes directly to the homepage of Colonial Williamsburg, which historically reenacts the life of early English settlement in Virginia.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on comparing and contrasting through which students learn how to compare two items using key terms, compare and contrast two non-fiction texts on similar topics, and compare and...

Original recipes from colonial times in Williamsburg. You can try them yourself!

Article on crime and types of punishment used in Colonial Virginia. Gives students an idea of what it was like to live in the English colonies.

This site explores the politics involved in Colonial Williamsburg, leading up to the American Revolution. Content focuses on famous speeches, documents, and influential people.

This essay discusses colonists who questioned the "Anglican establishment." It then explains how religion was used to convince colonists to support the war.

Whatever early colonial prosperity there was resulted from trapping and trading in furs. In addition, the fishing industry was a primary source of wealth in Massachusetts. But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small...

This site describes the influence of the Reverend Joseph Bellamy and religion in 18th century colonial life. This lesson plan has excellent information, an inquiry question, historical context, maps, readings, images, and activities.

This National Humanities Center site from the University of Delaware discusses family life, childrearing, and the importance of religion in colonial America as written about in various books.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the typical life of a child during the 1800's. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

This on-line encyclopedia article gives information about Phillis Wheatley, the Boston slave who surprised colonial America with her poetry. She was the first African-American woman to have her work published.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students learn to understand Colonial American regional differences by applying knowledge of places, resources, economics, land climate, products and trading centers. Extension of knowledge to include...