Curated OER
Thirteen Original Colonies
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...
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...
Curated OER
Thirteen Original Colonies
Students use maps, the Internet, graphic organizers and discussion to explore the history of the Middle American Colonies. They consider how the colonies were founded and the ideas of religious freedom and self-government they embodied.
Curated OER
Virtual Colony Project
Students develop strategies to create a successful colony by analyzing the environment, individual rights, and responsibilities. They gain an understanding of the challenges faced by colonists.
Curated OER
Comparison of American Colonies
Learners explore the lifestyles of the American colonies. They conduct various activities according to their grade level including jigsaw research and creating a poster. Lesson includes primary source readings related to the topic.
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 for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students 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 about...
Curated OER
The Founding Fathers
Students discuss the basic ideas about the government of the English colonists. They identify three kinds of colonial government developed in the thirteen colonies.
Curated OER
Comparison of Colonial Regions in British North America
Middle schoolers compare and contrast the colonies in British North America. As a class, they brainstorm a list of people, places and ideas associated with the Colonial Era. They discover the relationships and interactions between the...
Curated OER
Message in the Waves :Two Earth Day Lessons for Middle School Students
Fifth graders are introduced to Earth day and study the nesting colonies of Midway. In this Earth Day lesson students watch an online clip and see the effects our waste has on wildlife.
Curated OER
Colony Crops
Fifth graders determine which crops were grown in the 13 colonies depending on their climate and geography. They explore what crops are grown in the states created from the original colonies.
Curated OER
Refinement in Deerfield: The River Gods
Students research the town of Deerfield, CT and its River God families to show how the middle class developed in the Connecticut River Valley.
Curated OER
How did Geography Affect the Economy of the Colonies
Eighth graders examine the impact of geography on a region. In this geography lesson, 8th graders study the themes of geography. Students write an open response to a question.
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence
Students reflect on the Declaration of Independence. For this U.S. History lesson, students read the Declaration of Independence then complete an activity and worksheet on the topic.
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...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Imperialism, Arab Nationalism and World War I
Continued conflict in the Middle East makes this lesson relevant, and the inclusion of a critique of Lawrence of Arabia might increase student interest in a potentially challenging topic. The resource includes a solid...
Curated OER
We Are Colony! Settlement Design
Young scholars explore government systems. In this colonial America instructional activity, students consider colonial settlement needs as they design settlements that can sustain themselves and meet the needs of colonists.
Curated OER
Wildlife Burrows
Burrowing animals are busy! Get your middle school ecologists busy as well by having them create a scale model of a burrowing population. They also design a PowerPoint or poster to explain their models.
Curated OER
Colonial Flag
Students examine the reasons for and the results of the US Revolutionary War. They watch a PowerPoint presentation to review the immediate results of the war. They design a flag for the newly free colonies.
Curated OER
Bossy Britain Upsets Colonists
Students examine the causes of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution. Then they make a Flap Vocabulary Book and glue on a map of the thirteen colonies and make a title page called "Road to War in it." Students also...
Curated OER
Bison on the Plains
Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America in...
Curated OER
Geography of the English Settlements
Third graders locate several important American colonial cities on a map and research how their proximity to water and nearby arable land affected the rate and success of settlement.
Curated OER
Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Learners evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an essay...