Other
Virtual Jamestown: Laws on Indentured Servants
A list of laws and legal opinions from 17th-century colonial Virginia concerning indentured servants.
Other
New York State Museum: The New Netherland Dutch
This site gives a brief background of the ethnic makeup of New Netherland.
Other
Sites Alive: Comparison of American Colonies
Lesson plan focuses on comparing and contrasting the unique characteristics of the original thirteen American colonies.
Quia
Quia: The English Colonies
Test your knowledge of the thirteen colonies with these interactive games. You'll find matching, concentration, flashcards, and a word search, along with a list of terms to refresh your memory.
Quia
Quia: Literary Term Quiz
This brief, multiple choice quiz, is a great way to wrap up a unit on the thirteen colonies. Click "check answers" at the bottom to view questions you answered correctly.
Other
History Buff: Colonial America Newspapers and Transcripts
This site contains a brief history of newspapers in colonial America. Also provides links to the texts of the papers themselves, looking back at the actual words used in American Colonial newspapers.
Other
Virtual Jamestown: Experiences of an Indentured Servant
This site from the Virtual Jamestown of Crandall Shifflett provides the letter of Richard Frethorne to his parents in 1623 begging for their support in a desperate situation.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Who Am I? (Portrait Puzzler)
Match the portraits of eight famous Americans who played major roles in the American Revolution with their famous deeds. A short exercise that can be used by individual learners to test their understanding of basic U.S. history content...
PurposeGames
Purpose Games: Can You Identify the 13 Original Colonies of the Usa?
Play this interactive game to test your knowledge of the original thirteen colonies. Can you find them on a map?
Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: Letter Writing in America
Article from the National Postal Museum on letter writing in America and how it became important as a tie between people exploring or settling in the new world and the sponsors or loved ones they left behind. With primary source material.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: The Randolphs
Learn about the Randolphs, a wealthy family of influence in Colonial America.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Eighteenth Century Music and Dance
Site provides lesson that examines the role of dance and music in Colonial Williamsburg. Interactive group activities highlight this lesson.
Read Works
Read Works: Growing Up Long Ago
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the typical life of a child during the 1800's. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Museum of History and Culture: Early Images of Virginia Indians
A collection of images of early Virginia Indians that includes information on interpreting the images and shows fanciful images that were not historically accurate.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Redefining Family
This site from the Colonial Williamsburg Museum explores the different "families" of colonial Williamsburg. Content includes a focus on each cultural group: white, Native American, and black.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: The Two Williamsburgs
This lesson plan on daily life in Colonial Williamsburg challenges students to compare and contrast the lives of the African and European populations.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: A Colonial Christmas in Wiliamsburg
Site offers a glimpse of Christmas Celebrations in Colonial Virginia.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Gardening in the 18th Century
Site offers students the opportunity to design their own gardens. Several disciplines can be used through this imaginative group lesson.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Travel in the 18th Century
This site has a lesson plan that contrasts the methods of travel during Colonial Times, with those of today.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Phillis Wheatley, Poet
A brief look at the fascinating life of African American poet, Phillis Wheatley. Provides two portraits, and a sample page from Wheatley's collection of poems.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Christmas in Colonial Virginia
Detailed description of a typical Colonial Virginian Christmas celebration and how it differs from the modern Christmas.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Timeline of American Literature 1750 1799
Timeline of the social, political, and literary history of Colonial America and the United States, from 1750 to 1799. Contains information about writers of the period, along with portraits and links to related websites.
Black Past
Black Past: Phillis Wheatley
This on-line encyclopedia article gives information about Phillis Wheatley, the Boston slave who surprised colonial America with her poetry. She was the first African-American woman to have her work published.
Library of Congress
Loc: Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
In this activity, students discuss the reliability of a painting of the First Thanksgiving to introduce the idea that is crucial to consider a source's date.