Center for History Education
The Tobacco Economy: How did the Geography of the Chesapeake Region Influence its Development?
Explore the relationship between geography and economy using primary sources. After examining wills, advertisements, and other primary sources, individuals consider how the Chesapeake Region came to be home first to indentured servants,...
Smithsonian Institution
We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...
Curated OER
Native Americans of the Chesapeake Bay: Using Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Discover the rich Native American culture that existed at the time of early European exploration into the Chesapeake region through analysis of several primary and secondary sources.
Curated OER
Lesson 1: English-Indian Encounters
What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...
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
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
Bordering States & VA Regions
In this Virginia geography learning exercise, students respond to 2 fill in the blank questions and 16 multiple choice questions regarding the bordering states and regions of Virginia.
NPR
Women Of Jamestown Lesson Plan
To better understand the role women played in early 17th century US history, class members examine the National Women's History Museum's online exhibit, Building the New World: the Women of Jamestown Settlement. After studying the 11...
Curated OER
Captain John Smith's Chesapeake Bay
Middle schoolers conduct research to determine how the Chesapeake Bay has changed since the 17th century when Captain John Smith first explored it. Students read from Smith's historical documents.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Maryland and Its Culture
Students discuss the history and culture of Baltimore, Maryland. they discover the importance of the city's port along with the state bird and song. Background sources include "The Prairie Dog That Met the President" and "Journey of...
Curated OER
Jamestown
Fifth graders research the Jamestown settlement and examine life in the colonies from 1607-1610. They explore websites, develop a timeline, select two settlers to research, and write three letters written from the point of view of their...
Curated OER
Leadership in Jamestown
Students formulate the criteria for leadership in the Jamestown colony in order to develop understanding of early U.S. government. In this history instructional activity, students read an article about leadership in this colony and rate...
Curated OER
A Nation of Nations Lesson Plan: Charting African Ethnicities in America
Students read a portion of the narrative, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, to explain the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans brought to the US. They create charts and bar graphs comparing ethnicities in the lowlands and tidewater regions.
Curated OER
Give Me the C and D Canal!!!
Students estimate the distance between Baltimore to Philadelphia via the water route before the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built. They familiarize themselves with canals and how transporation and economic necessities dictate the...
Curated OER
Mapping the New World Lesson Plan
Learners compare two maps of the same area from different time periods. In this American History lesson, students look at two maps of the English colonies from 1636 and 1651. They discuss why the maps changed and predict maps from the...
Curated OER
Water Features of Virginia
Students locate and identify water features important to the early history of Virginia. Thye recognize where most cities developed and locate and label the rivers on a Virginia wall map.
Curated OER
The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...
Curated OER
Give Me The C and D Canal!!!
Learners estimate the distance from Baltimore to Philadelphia via the water route before the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built. Students study canals and how transportation and economic necessities dictate the building of a canal.
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
Leadership in Jamestown
Learners formulate criteria for leadership based on evaluation of Jamestown's leaders, and identify origins, compositions, and goals of the Virginia Company.
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
Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders read and analyze narrative writing by and about Henry Spelman, a boy-laborer who helped settle Jamestown. They read biographical information, discuss the harsh conditions, and write a narrative piece on Henry's experiences.
Curated OER
From Sea to Shining Sea
Students study the geography of the United States of America. Students write letters, create travel brochures, make maps, graph population numbers, read fiction and nonfiction selections, complete KWL charts, and watch films.
Curated OER
Virginia: Reading Comprehension
In this Virginia reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a multiple-page selection regarding the state and then respond to 10 true or false questions.