Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...

Remember the Alamo! Scholars investigate the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. Using models, maps, quotes, biographies, and the Oath of Allegiance, the Alamo comes to life as the stories of those who fought and died in...

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...

Students examine the effects that cultural background and specific historical events have upon the development of a colony. They research the colonies to design their own.

After observing a map of trails that settlers took in the 1800s, your class will write a journal with the perspective of a settler. In their journals, they must describe the trail they traveled, geographical features they saw, states and...

Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact. 

Fifth graders carefully analyze the artwork, Les Emigrants, and explore the reasons that people emigrated to the United States, and what life was like for new arrivals. They discuss what things immigrants were able to bring with them and...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

In this exploration of the America's study guide worksheet, students respond to 13 short answer questions. The questions correlate to assigned readings in a textbook.

Eighth graders explore the nature of the European colonization in the Americas. They compare how it relates to the inception of their community. Students identify the major players in America's colonization and explore the motivations...

Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...

Elementary and middle schoolers examine and evaluate different perspectives concerning events leading to the American Revolution. In this case, they hone in on the Stamp Act. They research controversial bills, laws, or events of the time...

Ninth graders compare and contrast different Carnavals throughout Latin America. In this Latin American lesson plan, 9th graders study the geography and colonial history of Latin America.

  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...

Students complete a research project.  In this American History lesson, students work in groups to research reasons that people wanted to settle in America.  Students record the information, share what they found and write down...

After studying the reasons settlers entered the New World, primary learners try to persuade others to enter this new land. Class members present their arguments in a variety of ways including posters, writings, and charts. Richly...

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...

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...

Students analyze the significance of Jamestown in the broader picture of colonization and analyze a historical document to determine the effects of previous explorations on the expectations of the Jamestown colonizers

Students analyze the European colonization of America. In this colonial America lesson, students use provided Internet resources to research colonization and representative government. Students use their finding...

Students identify 50 States and the major geographic features, regions, and political representation of each. In connection, they investigate the causes and effects of European colonization on North America. They identify the formation...

Eighth graders conduct research on the Anza Colonizing expedition utilizing the Web de Anza website. They read diary entries, answer questions, and create a poster highlighting an event that symbolizes the Expedition.

Fifth graders research a colonial America region. They navigate specific Internet site to locate information. They use a project theme organizer to organize the information they have collected. They create a brochure using clipart.