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...

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...

Learners develop an idea about what happened at the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In this Roanoke Colony lesson, students examine associated vocabulary before listening to Roanoke The Lost Colony, An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane...

In this Massachusetts Bay Colony learning exercise, students read information and assess comprehension and vocabulary skills. In this multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and true or false learning exercise, students answer ten questions.

Was Puritan society governed as more of a theocracy or democracy? After comparing and contrasting a series of primary source documents, middle and high schoolers form small groups and debate the question.

Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...

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...

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,...

Eleventh graders review the goals of John Winthrop.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders read Winthrop's speech and summarize his key points.  Students predict the possibilities for success and failure in the...

The work of building and maintaining a democracy is, in the words of Justice William Hastie, "never finished." To better understand what Hastie sees as an ongoing building process, class members listen to a seven-minute podcast about two...

Who were the founding fathers of the American Colonies? Engage in online activities, Internet research, and focused writing to find out. Students choose one colonial founder, conduct biographical research on the person, and take a quiz...

High schoolers understand the similarities and differences between English and Native American conceptions of the land and town settlement. They understand how the colony of Massachusetts developed and expanded. Students understand the...

Imagine living in the hold of a sailing ship for 63 days, enduring rough seas and autumn storms. As part of a study of the voyage of the Mayflower, class members examine an online resource that details life about the ship, watch a slide...

Young scholars 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 describe some of the important elements of life in Puritan New England. They create a timeline of the events of the Salem Witch Trials. They work in groups to explore the concept of multiple interpretations of history.

In this online interactive history quiz worksheet, students respond to 49 multiple choice questions about John Winthrop. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

Pilgrims, puritans, and Pennsylvania are all featured in a reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to read a short passage about these early settlers and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.

In this Vermont history instructional activity, students read two and a half pages of information about Vermont history. After reading, students complete 10 true or false questions about what they read.

Learners view and analyze three different images related to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. They also answer a variety of questions in a graphic organizer to help keep the information straight.

The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...

What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...

Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...

Was the United States significantly more democratic in their governing structures and laws after the overthrow of British authorities? Compare and contrast summaries of the country's constitutions under British rule and after...

Students view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...