National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Divining America: Religion in American History
A collection of scholarly essays consisting of instructional guides accompanied by commentary. Designed to help teachers of American history bring students to a greater understanding of the role religion has played in the development of...
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: The Puritans of New England
A description of religious strife and factions in the 17th Century. Provides a detailed and comprehensive account of the Puritans, their life and culture, as they migrate to America and establish themselves in New England.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Social Studies: Grade 5: Religion in Colonial America
This sample task contains a set of primary and authentic sources about Puritans and the role religion played in the Puritan society of colonial America.
Read Works
Read Works: Pilgrims and Puritans Who Were the Pilgrims?
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Pilgrims who eventually made their new home in America. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Puritan and Quaker Utopian Promise
This unit explores the documented perceptions of Native Americans, religious faiths, physical challenges of new lands and how the combination of immigrants and Native Americans shaped the New World. Click on "Activities" for related...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Massachusetts
The Library of Congress profiles Massachusetts in this fact-filled article about the "Old Colony State."
Other
American Journeys: French and English Approaches to Exploration [Pdf]
A lengthy lesson plan that examines French and English approaches to exploration and colonization in reference to religious factors. Using primary sources from French missionary Gabriel Sagard and Wiliam Bradford, first governor of...
Other
Fine Arts Museum: Teachers' Guide to American Art
This guide focuses on twenty-four paintings from the impressive collection of American art housed at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The earliest work, a portrait of the children of a Puritan family, dates from 1670. The last piece...
Curated OER
Early Settlements in New England and Distribution of the Indian Tribes, 1686
A map of the Dominion of New England (1686), showing the early settlements and the general tribal lands of the Pawtuckets, Massachusetts, Wampanoags, Narragansets, Nipmucks, Pequods, and Mohegans. "New England, a collective name given to...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Witches of Salem
In 1692 a group of adolescent girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, became subject to strange fits after hearing tales told by a West Indian slave. When they were questioned, they accused several women of being witches who were...
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Anne Hutchinson
The National Women's Hall of Fame honors Anne Hutchinson for her early advocation for religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.