Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Do We Know about Colonial Life?
Young history sleuths examine an inventory of the belongings of a Virginia colonist and use deductive reasoning to determine what the document reveals about colonial life. They then use a Venn diagram to compare the inventory with a...
Curated OER
Colonial Trades and Apprenticeships
Learners examine and analyze culturally significant objects from colonial Boston. They construct a story around the life and work of Nathaniel Hurd from a list of keywords excerpted from a passage about Nathaniel Hurd. In addition, they...
Curated OER
How Has Colonialism Led to Multilingualism in Africa
Prepare yourself for a top-notch presentation on colonialism in Africa! Discussed are the reasons for African multilingualism. Maps and a country-by-country look at various colonists that made their mark on the African continent are...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Colonial America Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology explores Colonial America. Third graders listen to informational texts, discuss what they heard, and participate in extension activities and writing. Take-home materials, assessments, and remediation opportunities...
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: English Settlements in North America
A great writing exercise should have it all. This one requires learners to think critically about cause and effect, compare and contrast, and summarizing. They compose responses to five short answer questions regarding Spanish and...
EngageNY
Documenting Research: Sorting and Recording Information About the Wheelwright
Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly used...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Information: Writing an Apprentice Wanted Ad
Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...
Power Show
Colonial North America
This 54-slide PowerPoint outlines the significant events in the history of Colonial North America, beginning in 1603 with the ascendance of James I to the throne of England. Designed to accompany a lecture on this time period, the...
Stanford University
King Philip's War
King Philip's War was the crescendo of a violent period between the Pequot and English colonists. Using documents from English settlers, including a contemporary report on the conflict, learners explore the little-known period. They then...
Curated OER
Colonial Newspaper Template
Partners produce a colonial newspaper that includes news articles, advertisements, want ads, and more using this handy template.
Curated OER
"Pray, Why Speakest Thou Thusly?"
Examine popular language and slang and how they have changed over the course of American history. Conduct Internet research, use an online interactive Colonial House website to translate 17th century language into 21st century language,...
Curated OER
History Review: Colonial America
Explore key moments in American history with the click of a mouse! Learners read 50 questions from different eras in early America, and watch the rest of the presentation to find more questions to answer.
EngageNY
Research: Identifying Categories for Our Research About the Wheelwright
Here is a fine instructional activity on reading and understanding expository text designed for 4th graders. With a partner, learners read a passage of text about a machine called a wheelright. This machine was commonly used in the...
EngageNY
Discovering the Topic: Inferring and Confirming Using Evidence
Allow your class to figure out what they will be studying through an inquiry-based anticipatory set that involves analysis of mystery documents and practice with making inferences. The lesson plan document includes a detailed description...
Curated OER
Development of the English Colonies
Students research one of the original 13 colonies using the included worksheet. They also record their findings on a poster board to use during a class presentation. Students then take notes on the presentations using the provided...
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...
Curated OER
Celebrate Colonial Maryland
Students research colonial Maryland. In this colonial Maryland activity, students participate in a WebQuest to investigate how families led their lives long ago. Students compare family and city life from long ago and today. Students...
Curated OER
From Rags to (Paper) Riches: Explore Colonial Papermaking
Students explore Colonial papermaking. In this Colonial America U.S. history lesson, students analyze two poems written in the 1690s about the Rittenhouse paper mill to learn about papermaking. Students produce their own paper and...
Curated OER
Colonial Writing Project
Fourth graders write from the perspective of a child in the colonial period. In this writing lesson, 4th graders create a fictional character living in the colonial period and write about daily life from their perspective.
Curated OER
The African and the Pequot in Colonial America
Learners determine that the lands the English settled on were owned and inhabited by 70,000 Indians. They consider that the London Company sold land charters to the English, which gave them illegal title to lndian land and that the...
Curated OER
Colonial America
In this KWL chart worksheet, students explore colonial America. Students fill out the three columns, what I know, what I want to learn, and what I have learned as they study colonial America.
Curated OER
Colonial Williamsburg
Fifth graders share information on one aspect of colonial life with an email partner each week. They take on the personal of a character from Colonial iamsburg and tell their partner about they have done that day with a focus on a...
Curated OER
The Brief American Pageant: The Planting of the English America
A series of maps illustrate the early growth of English America, which includes the Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia colonies. Settlements such as Jamestown, Roanoke, and Charleston are labeled on the map, allowing a teacher or...
Curated OER
Life as a colonial silversmith
Students study the life experiences of people who lived in colonial Boston prior to the American Revolution. They define key terms including Loyalist and Patriot. They write a journal entry as Nathaniel Hurd, a silversmith.