Student Handouts
Guy Fawkes Night
What happened on the fifth of November that has prompted an annual, national commemoration in Great Britain? Young historians look at a traditional English rhyme and folk tale from the seventeenth century that describes the failed...
Curated OER
Seventeenth Century Pick-up Lines
Young scholars analyze passages from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing, written in the seventeenth century. Students analyze the images, words and figures of speech the author used and compare...
Illustrative Mathematics
Making 22 Seventeenths in Different Ways
There is more than one way to determine a sum. Scholars demonstrate their understanding of the decomposition of fractions similar to the decomposition of whole numbers. The short task requires pupils to determine which sums of fractions...
Curated OER
Native Americans and Natural Resources
North American Indian civilizations had already been in place for over 10,000 years before the arrival of European settlers. Introduce your young historians to Indian tribes that lived in the Chesapeake region in the early seventeenth...
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare the...
Curated OER
Science and Natural Philosophy Before the Seventeenth Century
Students complete a worksheet about some of the natural philosophers in history. They use graph paper and create a timeline with the dates of birth and names of a list of natural philosophers. They list four questions concerning life and...
Curated OER
The Brief American Pageant: American Life in the Seventeenth Century
While chapter 4 of The American Pageant might be about American life in the 17th century, this presentation only includes one slide (beyond the title slides), which displays the sources and trade routes of African slaves. An interesting...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Ingenious: Franklin Assembles a Scientific Community
Few Americans have heard of the burgeoning scientific community known as the America Philosophical society, started by none other than Benjamin Franklin. With inquiry, research, and discussion, high schoolers come to understand their...
Curated OER
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Landscape Long Ago and Today
Combine a fantastic review of primary source analysis with a study of Captain John Smith's influence on the Chesapeake Bay region in the seventeenth century. Your young historians will use images, a primary source excerpt, and maps...
Curated OER
The Stories of Status Symbols
A good writer needs to be observant and have an imagination. Hone those creative writing skills with an activity inspired by a very old Chinese artifact. Learners examine the piece Mandarin Duck Rank Badge, and then write a story from...
Curated OER
Primary Source Analysis: 95 Theses Excerpts
By reviewing and analyzing these nine selected points from Martin Luther's 95 Theses, your young historians will discern the major tenets of the revolutionary challenge made against the Catholic Church in the seventeenth century. This is...
Curated OER
Robert Boyle and Oxford
Students investigate seventeenth century sources that reveal why Oxford became an outstanding centre of science during Boyle's residence. They write a summary of the information found on Oxford and Robert Boyle's accomplishments.
Curated OER
Ojibwa Sewn Bead Designs
Young scholars recognize and describe the sewn beading style of the Ojibwa tribe that was influenced by seventeenth-century French floral embroidery and fabric prints imported by the French traders. They adapt and recreate an Ojibwa bead...
Curated OER
Fire-fighting in the Seventeenth Century Wordsearch
In this 17th century firefighting activity, students locate and circle 18 significant names and terms in a wordsearch. A word bank is provided.
Curated OER
Original Line or Familiar Find?
Students examine a primary source document from 1684 that includes many of the same lines found in Romeo's speech to Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Students compare the texts and discuss authorship during the sixteenth and...
Curated OER
Ptolemy vs. Copernicus
Students list differences in the diagrams of a geocentric universe and a heliocentric universe. They students describe the religious impact of this change on man's conception of the universe and man's place within it. Students describe...
Curated OER
The Plague Doctor
In this informational worksheet about the Plague during the seventeenth century worksheet, students read a chart of Suggested Preventions and Cures, How they were supposed to work, and What they actually did, and observe a labeled...
Curated OER
The Changing Experience of Colonial Childhood
Students research how childhood was depicted in art in the 17th through 19th centuries. In groups, they research pieces of art and write a paper explaining how the portrayal of students in art changed at the end of the 18th century.
Curated OER
Comparing and Contrasting Images of Child Labor
Young scholars study child labor in the 19th century through one painting and multiple photographs. In discussion and writing, they consider the differences between photography and painting as mediums for expressing these attitudes.
K12 Reader
The Mayflower
The journey aboard the Mayflower in 1620 was long and arduous for the Pilgrims set for the New World. Learn about the difficulties of the expedition, including the extended timeframe and cramped quarters, with an informative reading...
Curated OER
Andrew Johnson Portrait
In this Andrew Johnson learning exercise, students color and decorate a picture of the seventeenth President of the United States, Andrew Johnson.
Curated OER
Colonial History: Fearless and faaithful
Young scholars discuss reasons why early europeans immigrated to North America. Working in groups, they complete Internet activities on the PBS Website. They take a simulated voyage to the new world and rercord their actions on...
Michael Hunter and Fiona Kisby
Robert Boyle and Medical Reform in the 17th Century
Introduce pupils to the work of Robert Boyle and his influence on medical practice through a series of informational texts and discussion questions.
Curated OER
Robert Boyle and Religion
High schoolers discuss past cultures and the history of ideas in seventeenth century science. They answer a list of questions and prepare for a debate on the subjects of science and religion and views on how the universe was created.