Primary
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: Colonization and Settlement

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An overview of all the materials that are available to students to explore the colonization and settlement of the Americas.
Website
Other

Exploring the Past: An Archeological Journey

For Students 9th - 10th
Through an overview of past archeological expeditions, the author recounts the "Land Bridge" theory and delves into the life of the first inhabitants of North America.
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The First Europeans

For Students 9th - 10th
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: New Netherland and Maryland

For Students 9th - 10th
Hired by the Dutch East India Company, Henry Hudson in 1609 explored the area around what is now New York City and the river that bears his name, to a point probably north of present-day Albany, New York. Subsequent Dutch voyages laid...
Website
McGraw Hill

Mc Graw Hill Higher Education: Old World, New Worlds

For Students 9th - 10th
This article from McGraw-Hill Higher Education discusses European exploration in the late 1400s and 1500s and its impact on English colonization hundreds of years later.
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Charles Dickens

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the life and work of Charles Dickens through this educational resource.
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Dev of Colonies and Early Western Explorations, 1700 1775

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of eastern North America showing the early development of the European colonies and westward exploration to the Mississippi River. The map shows the routes of several early explorers with dates of exploration, including La Salle,...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: French Explorations and Forts, 1600s

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of North America showing the routes of early French exploration of the Mississippi Valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico in the 1600's. The map shows the routes of Father Jacques Marquette (with Louis Jolliet) and...
Graphic
Curated OER

Western Hemisphere, Detail of Universalis Cosmographia, 1507

For Students 9th - 10th
English, Spanish, and Portuguese maps and letters about exploration and impressions of the Western hemisphere in the early 1500s. T
Article
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies

Mocomi: Christopher Columbus

For Students 4th - 8th
Explores the early life of Christopher Columbus and how he discovered America.
Lesson Plan
Other

Bringing History Home: Communities Long Ago

For Teachers K - 1st
This Grade 1 unit explores U.S. communities in a historical context. By exploring their own community's buildings and services of both long ago and today, children in non-Native American communities are introduced to concepts of change,...
Website
Other

Klass Kids Foundation: Amber Plan

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explores the Amber Plan by state. Learn what the Amber plan is, how the plan works, and what the initial criteria are to put the plan in action. Content also includes a state-by-state analysis of the Amber plan in each area.
eBook
Teaching American History

Teaching American History: From Bullets to Ballots Chapter 3

For Students 9th - 10th
An Anxious Confidence, The Anxieties of a New Republic, Chapter 3 of From Bullets to Ballots by John Zvesper explores the energy throughout the new nation as the democracy evolved.
Website
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial Religion

For Students 9th - 10th
The site provides a detailed overview of role religion played in the lives of the colonists. Content explores how religion played a part in the Revolution, and the statute for religious freedom, as well as providing a lesson plan, a link...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Failed Colonies, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Students 9th - 10th
Three European accounts of the disappointments, challenges, and outright failures to establish early successful colonial outposts in North America.
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: New Netherland and Maryland

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about Dutch exploration and settlement in the area explored by Henry Hudson. Scrolling through will take you to information about New Netherland and the settling of New Sweden which later became Maryland.
Lesson Plan
George Mason University

Chnm: Differences Among Colonial Regions

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will explore the differences among the three colonial regions of New England, Mid-Atlantic/Middle, and the Southern colonies. In small groups for each region, students will observe and note details of pictures, maps, and...
Primary
Other

All the News? American Revolution & Maryland's Press

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore this collection of digitized historical newspapers and broadsides from the 1760s about pre-Revolutionary topics. Requires Adobe Reader.
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Early Discoveries and Explorations, 1497 1621

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of the eastern coast of North America showing early European exploration from the voyages of Cabot (1497 and 1498) to the founding of New Netherlands in 1621. The map shows voyage routes, coastal features, rivers, and settlements...
Graphic
Curated OER

Early Settlements in New England and Distribution of the Indian Tribes, 1686

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of the Dominion of New England (1686), showing the early settlements and the general tribal lands of the Pawtuckets, Massachusetts, Wampanoags, Narragansets, Nipmucks, Pequods, and Mohegans. "New England, a collective name given to...
Graphic
Curated OER

Facial Reconstruction of Skull Excavated in Jamestown

For Students 9th - 10th
Three English, a French, and a Spanish primary account of the staggering losses, misery, and deprivation that characterized early European settlement as well as the resilience needed to overcome those challenges.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Hardships, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Three English, a French, and a Spanish primary account of the staggering losses, misery, and deprivation that characterized early European settlement as well as the resilience needed to overcome those challenges.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Go Ahead, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Students 9th - 10th
A Spanish, an English, and a French account of the enormous challenges in maintaining a colonial presence in North America and of the potential national loss-of pride, wealth, and possibility for expansion-if nations abandoned these...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: First Arrivals, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Students 9th - 10th
Numerous visual images of artifacts from English settlements at Jamestown and at Plymouth, and from Spanish settlement in Hispaniola, and three original accounts of each of those early settlements that describe the possibilities and the...