Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
History of Immigration Through the 1850s
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...
Curated OER
The 13 Originals: Exploring the Who, When, Where, and Why Behind the 13 Original Colonies of Early America
Discover the stories behind each of the thirteen stripes on the American flag with this straightforward presentation. Complete with learning objectives, discussion questions, and solid information about each of the original thirteen...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Patriots or Traitors - Point of View in the War for Independence
Patriots or traitors? Class members analyze images that present widely differing views of the Boston Tea Party, identifying the point of view of the image, the propaganda devices used, and the intended audience.
EngageNY
Documenting Research: Sorting and Recording Information About the Wheelwright
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...
Curated OER
Life in the Colonies
What was life like for the early colonists? Read along with an informational presentation, rich in text. Colonial slavery, slave culuture, colonial religion, and the Great Awakening are all described in full. Tip: The resource could be...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Did Relations between Britain and the Colonies Change after the French and Indian War?
What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...
Curated OER
Thirteen Original Colonies
An outstanding lesson plan 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...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 3-5
Thirteen steps make up a lesson that challenges pupils to compare and contrast the daily lives of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. Learners revisit the Graffiti Wall then break into small groups for an investigative reading assignment...
Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
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...
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 5 - Dear Mem
Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...
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...
Curated OER
A Flip of Life in the 13 Colonies
Fourth graders create a flip book illustrating the 13 original colonies. They study the growth and development of each of the three groups of the original colonies. They use maps to observe and interpret geographic information and...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life
A lesson looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's daily routines and...
Curated OER
The Antebellum South
Your history students will be on the edges of their seats during this fascinating presentation, which details the abolition movement and slave life during the Antebellum period in the American South. Students will be left agape at the...
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
Thanksgiving 2—The Pilgrim Story and My Immigrant Story
The tradition of the First Thanksgiving is really a story of immigration. Connect the feelings and customs of the early Pilgrims to the experiences of the immigrants in your class with an introduction to the 13 colonies, the Mayflower,...
EngageNY
End of Unit 1 Assessment: Inferring and Synthesizing (From Two Texts) About Life in Colonial America
Close your colonial America unit with a performance-based assessment. Class members will show their proficiency in several skills including using details to back up inferences, determining the meaning of words in context,...
Curated OER
American Revolution Simulation
Middle schoolers explore the grievances of the American colonists. They relate to that which is held most dearly i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Curated OER
American Revolution Simulation: Colonial History, Drama
Students 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.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Slaves and Indentured Servants
In theory, at least, indentured servitude and slavery were two different practices in the American colonies. Class groups conduct a close reading of two primary source documents, one written by a slave and one by an indentured servant,...
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...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin’s Philadelphia: Another Point of View
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...
Curated OER
Social Studies 7th Grade: American Revolution
A basic overview of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, this presentation provides students with key terms and facts about life in the thirteen original colonies. The final slide includes an assignment for students...
Plimoth Plantation
History In A New Light: Illuminating the Archaeology of Historic Patuxet and Plymouth
Sixty-seven pages take scholars on a digital tour through the exhibit, History in a New Light: Illuminating the Archaeology of Historic Patuxet and Plymouth. Crystal clear pictures accompanied by text offer a deep understanding of the...