Center for History Education
This Land is Whose Land?
Whose land is it, anyway? Young scholars debate the question using primary sources from a case where Maryland indigenous people petitioned for land rights after they lost their original tribal lands. An included chart helps organize...
Curated OER
American Becomes a Colonial Power
Exploring the idea of America joining "the imperialist club" at the end of the 19th century, this presentation presents reasons why America not only had the drive to explore the world, but the power and wealth with which to do so....
Curated OER
American Heroines
Third graders explore the heroines of the Revolutionary War. In this Revolutionary War instructional activity, 3rd graders read a passage about famous heroines and discuss the trade practiced during Colonial times.
Curated OER
We Are Colony! Settlement Design
Students explore government systems. In this colonial America lesson, students consider colonial settlement needs as they design settlements that can sustain themselves and meet the needs of colonists.
Curated OER
Will the Real Ben Franklin Please Stand Up?
Students explore the life and accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin. For this colonial history lesson, students research Benjamin Franklin's work as a printer, a writer, a statesman, and an inventor. Students determine what his most...
Curated OER
American Revolution Tug-of-War
Fifth graders examine the strengths of the colonists and the British. In this American Revolution lesson, 5th graders participate in a tug-of-war game that requires them to consider the strengths of the colonists as well as the British...
Curated OER
The Non-Importation Movement
Students analyze a primary source document to determine appropriate colonial substitutions for British goods. They evaluate colonial perspectives of the Non-Importation Movement. Students discuss women's unique roles in the...
Curated OER
Breaking Down the Declaration of Independence
Students examine the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America lesson, students analyze the three sections of the Declaration and determine the beliefs the founding fathers had about rights.
Curated OER
Conflict and Compromise
Students examine opinions about the Boston Tea Party. In this colonial America lesson, students analyze several primary sources about the Tea Party and then write essays that reveal efforts to compromise as well as efforts to instigate...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A teacher's guide to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness proves that it is not impossible to delve into the heart of darkness. Containing a wealth of information about Conrad, the Scramble for Africa, and the history of the Belgian Congo,...
Curated OER
You're Invited...To A Tea Party
Kids read the book Boston Tea Party by Steven Kroll and use maps to locate various landmarks. They identify the cause and effect of the events related to the Boston Tea Party, then write a descriptive composition.
Curated OER
Labor Needs in Colonial America
Students examine the labor needs in colonial America. Using primary and secondary resources, they explore the major events and life in the United States during colonial times. They complete a chart listing the pros and cons of a slave...
Curated OER
The Architecture of New England and the Southern Colonies as it Reflects the Changes in Colonial Life
Learners compare and contrast the various types of architecture in the Southern colonies. Using slides, they discuss how the homes were made and the materials used. In groups, they identify how the types of homes reflected the...
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence
Students empathize with the colonists. For this lesson on the Declaration of Independence, students collaborate to problem solve a school dilemma that enables them to understand the issues and difficulties that occurred in the creation...
Curated OER
Jamestown: A Brief History
Eighth graders investigate the history of the United States by researching Jamestown. In this archaeological instructional activity, 8th graders attend a field trip to historical Jamestown in Virgina to discover key figures that formed...
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
Overview of World events during the Deerfield Colonial Period
Eighth graders explore the political, social, religious, and economic world and national context in which the events of Deerfield occurred.
Curated OER
Slavery in Colonial America
Students examine the experience of the middle passage of slaves. They review slave songs and discuss their common themes. They develop a monologue in which they integrate a fragment of an actual slave song into a poem they have written.
Curated OER
Early English Settlement
Fifth graders encounter the TCI History Alive Assessment. Create a rubric together with other students. Use graphic organizers to brainstorm challenges that one would face attending school in a foreign country.
Curated OER
Colonial North Carolina
Pupils resarch people and events from a given list. Then based on teacher options, students employ perspectives, an audience, a presentation format, and topic to prepare a two-page document to share with the class. Pupils also prepare...
Curated OER
The Mayflower Story Up-Close and Personal
Students gain a deeper understanding of what the early colonists experienced in search of a new life in America while giving them a taste of historical methodology. This is an engaging way to assess what your students know about the...
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 4 - What Went Wrong?
Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...
Curated OER
Mayflower Compact
Learners explore the Pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact. They practice these concepts by examining the school rules.
National First Ladies' Library
Colonial America: The Original 13
Middle schoolers work in small groups to research the initial history of two colonies and answering a list of questions. They then prepare a PowerPoint presentation or poster that includes all the findings of the questions and share...