Curated OER
The Road to the American Revolution
Fifth graders explore the causes of the American Revolution. In this American Revolution instructional activity, 5th graders examine the people, places, and events that led to the outbreak of war in the colonies.
Curated OER
Causes of the American Revolution
Students answer the question of: How did England impose its political and economic control over the colonies? They create a comic strip depicting the event of the Boston Massacre. Students complete a Wordstoming activity to anticipate...
Curated OER
Turning Points of the American Revolution
Students identify the major events of the American Revolution. Using the internet, they research the Patriot cause and complete a chart discovering the strengths and weaknesses of each side. They also analyze the contributions of...
Curated OER
American Colonies
Students record information in a database about the three American colonies. They are comparing and contrasting them. They are to log into a given database and fill in the corresponding sections. Once it is filled in the similiarities...
Curated OER
The European Conquest of the Americas
Witness the birth of the Americas in this presentation, which details the European Explorers who contributed to adding vital details on our modern-day maps. Viewers' worlds will literally expand after seeing the results of Cortes and the...
Curated OER
Colonial Trades and Apprenticeships
Students 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...
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: The First Great Awakening
High schoolers examine the First Great Awakening and how it affected religious belief in colonial America. They read and analyze primary source documents, explore various websites, and write a five-paragraph essay examining the beliefs...
Curated OER
American Life in the 17th Century: 1607-1692
What was American life like during the 1600s? Help your class discover facts about the unhealthy conditions at Chesapeake Bay, the tobacco economy, Bacon's Rebellion, colonial slavery, the Salem Witch Trials, and colonial life. Slides...
Curated OER
The Settlement of the Chesapeake
Focusing on the Virginia and Maryland settlements in the 1600's, this presentation is a complete and thorough resource during a unit on Colonial America. It includes pictures, maps, and interesting discussion points for you to address...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Tea Overboard
While less well known than the event in Boston, the Yorktown Tea Party was equally decisive in turning community sentiment against Great Britain. To gain an understanding of why the colonists objected to the Tea Act, young historians...
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
The Declaration of Independence
Learners analyze the Declaration of Independence. They identify and describe various sections of the document then discuss how the colonists responded to it. As a culminating activity, they write their own declarations of independence as...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin’s Philadelphia: Another Point of View
The impressive story of Benjamin Franklin, including his rise from a printer’s apprentice to a statesman, color upper-level scholars’ understanding of the possibilities of life in colonial Philadelphia. But not everyone had the...
Curated OER
Creating a Cartoon of the Philippine-American War
During the Industrial and commercial expansion of the United States, war broke out between America and the Philippines. Explore conflict, American Imperialism, and political cartoons with this creative project. Learners view the film,...
Curated OER
The Breaking of Charity
The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...
Curated OER
The Living Museum: George Washington, the Slave Owner
Eighth graders bring early America to life. In this George Washington lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of some of his...
American Museum of Natural History
Tools of the Trade
Archaeologist David Hurst Thomas details his search for a lost Spanish Mission on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. A great way to introduce youngsters to the life of and the tools used by archaeologists.
Curated OER
American Colonists Protest Song
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...
Curated OER
Tension Between Conflict and Compromise
Learners prepare for and participate in a debate and mock trial regarding laws broken during the Boston Tea Party. Several primary documents and a homework chart are included.
Curated OER
Patriots and Loyalists
Students examine portraits by John Singleton Copley and discuss how the subject's appearance communicates important information about his or her life. They write a diary entry from the point of view of a portrait subject.
EngageNY
Peer Critique: Historical Accuracy of Ideas and Vocabulary
Promote collaboration in the classroom with a historical fiction instructional activity. Fourth graders partner up and read the other's narrative to give feedback on vocabulary choice and the accuracy of historical information. After...
Curated OER
American Revolutionary War: Two Sides...Two Perspectives
Students investigate the American Revolutionary War era from the perspective of Britain and the American colonists by researching causes, effects, events and people. They compare the views of the Colonists, and the British and recognize...
Curated OER
Social Studies 7th Grade: American Revolution
A basic overview of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, this presentation provides learners with key terms and facts about life in the thirteen original colonies. The final slide includes an assignment for students...