Read Works
Read Works: Colonization & Revolutionary War: Background to the Colonies
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the thirteen original colonies. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Quia
Quia: The Thirteen Colonies Quiz
Take this 15-question, multiple-choice quiz to test your knowledge of the Thirteen Colonies.
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: New England Expands to New Colonies
Article with photographs on the expansion of the new England Colonies to include the Middle and Southern Colonies. Links to primary source documents.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Southern Colonies
In contrast to New England and the middle colonies were the predominantly rural southern settlements: Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
Digital History
Digital History: The Middle Colonies: New York
Despite the title of this article, it discusses the settlement of New Netherland by the Dutch and explains the reasons for the settlement, and why settlers were not attracted to the area.
Other
U.s. History Images: New York Colony
Provides six historical illustrations of the colony of New York.
Other
Time Page: 13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies
Information about each of the thirteen colonies with links to additional good quality resources.
Other
Sites Alive: Comparison of American Colonies
Lesson plan focuses on comparing and contrasting the unique characteristics of the original thirteen American colonies.
Other
San Francisco Unified School District: Colonial Faire Project
A large collection of high-quality resources for learning and teaching about the Thirteen English Colonies. The main page outlines examples of student project possibilities. There are individual pages for primary resources, people from...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: The Middle Colonies, 1609 1702
A map of the Middle Colonies of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, with portions of New York, Maryland and Delaware, showing the early European settlements in the area from 1609 to 1702. The map shows the boundary between West New...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Middle Colonies: New Netherland to New York
Ironically, Henry Hudson, English explorer, was in the employ of the Dutch West India Company when he explored what is now the New York area. Read about the colony the Dutch established at the mouth of the Hudson River and see how the...
Other
University of Delaware: A History: Francis Alison's Academy
The opening of Alison's "Free School" was an event of importance both for the school's impact in its time and for its eventual development into a much larger and more comprehensive institution. The school was founded in 1736 by Francis...
Other
Thomas Hagen: Major Differences Between the Colonies
History paper provides a general overview of the northern, middle, and southern colonies highlighting their differences in religion, economics, and social issues.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Middle Colonies, 1620 1702
A map of the New Jersey Colony between the establishment of the Dutch settlement at Bergen (1620) and the unification of East and West Jersey in 1702. The map shows the 'North River’ (Hudson River) and 'South River’ (Delaware River), the...
Organization for Community Networks
Academy Curricular Exchange: Original Thirteen Colonies
A lesson plan for helping students remember the names of the the original thirteen American colonies.
Other
Hillcrest: England and Its Colonies [Pdf]
A textbook chapter about England and its relationship to its American colonies. Included are maps and map questions, study help, and assessments.
Digital History
Digital History: Middle Passage
The number of Africans who died or were enslaved as a result of slave trading both across the Atlantic and into the Arabian peninsula is truly shocking. Read about the Middle Passage which brought millions of slaves to the New World, see...
Other
New Netherland Institute: What Was New Netherland?
Provides a detailed history of New Netherland. Looks at why it was founded, where settlers came from, how they reached there, why they came, their homes, occupations, possessions, diet, childhood, school, play, and what eventually...
Curated OER
Middle Colonies
This site provides an extensive look into the people and events surrounding the founding of the original 13 colonies in America.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Colony Collapse Disorder
In this video segment from Nature, scientists work to discover why bees are disappearing. [2:39]
Digital History
Digital History: British Mercantilism and the Cost of Empire [Pdf]
Learn about the theory of mercantilism and how it affected the economies of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Practice making a bar graph showing the value of exports to and imports from England between 1700 and 1774 with...
SMART Technologies
Smart: Colonial Life
Factors that shaped British Colonial America. Compare and contrast life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies.