Curated OER
Mapping the New World Lesson Plan
Young scholars compare two maps of the same area from different time periods. In this American History lesson, students look at two maps of the English colonies from 1636 and 1651. They discuss why the maps changed and predict maps from...
Curated OER
AIH-15: Colony Settlement & American Indian Involvement
Middle schoolers examine American Indian individuals and tribes involved in the settlement of English colonies.
George Mason University
Chnm: Differences Among Colonial Regions
Learners will explore the differences among the three colonial regions of New England, Mid-Atlantic/Middle, and the Southern colonies. In small groups for each region, students will observe and note details of pictures, maps, and...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Becoming American: The British American Colonies, 1690 1763
Explore these primary source documents detailing the growth, peoples, economies, and ideas relating to the British American Colonies in the 18th century. Features notes and discussion questions.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1629
Provides background information and the complete text of the charter of the Massachusetts Bay 1629.
Other
New York State Museum: Colonial Albany
Provides information about life in the colonial village of Albany. Includes many resources about important structures, happenings, and people. A great resource for information on colonial America as a whole.
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: The 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay
Complete text of the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, 1629.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: United States History Map: Colonists
Use these interactive maps to see and read about the colonization of the New World by several European nations. When you are finished looking at the maps, test your skills with the European Colonies Challenge.
Other
San Francisco Unified School District: Colonial Faire Project
A large collection of high-quality resources for learning and teaching about the Thirteen English Colonies. The main page outlines examples of student project possibilities. There are individual pages for primary resources, people from...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Life at Jamestown [Pdf]
A 16-page history of the establishment and growth of the colony of Jamestown. Covers the early challenges, the starving time, the Virginia Company, the conflict with Powhatan, the beginnings of the tobacco economy, the introduction of...
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...
City University of New York
Revolutionary Generation: Political Traditions and Structures
This site has information pertaining to Britain's colonial policy. The policy of salutary neglect is covered. Links to sites for more information.
Library of Congress
Loc: Geography and Its Impact on Colonial Life
European settlement patterns were influenced by geographic conditions such as access to water, harbors, natural protection, arable land, natural resources and adequate growing season and rainfall. Examine a variety of primary sources to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s
In this very detailed lesson plan, students will explore what life was like during colonial life in the late 1700s. Students will use what they have learned to write fictional letters to a cousin.
Library of Congress
Loc: Exploring the Early Americas: Competition for Empire
Part of a larger site, the primary sources here deal with the competition among the European countries in establishing a foothold in the New World.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Colonial House
Colonial House video segment in which Colonists and the Passamaquoddy people encounter each other for the first time in a reenactment of a New England settlement in 1628. [4:38]
Scholastic
Scholastic: Teaching With Dear America: Colonial Period
Activities useful in presenting American colonial life. Find references to novels, a colonial home, and a diary entry activity.
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Connecticut: A Case Study in Anti Imperialism
Lesson plan for 7th and 8th grade. Gives notes on imperialism, mercantilism and how Great Britain used the colonies as a source for raw materials.
The History Place
The History Place: English Colonial Era 1700 to 1763
This site from The History Place provides a timeline of important events that occurred in the United States during the early- and mid-18th century. The information provided is in-depth and worth checking out.
Other
Us Gen Net: The Settlers of East Jersey
This site describes the wide variety of settlers who came to East Jersey. They came from many different countries and religions.
Other
Time Page: 13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies
Information about each of the thirteen colonies with links to additional good quality resources.
Other
New York State Museum: The New Netherland Dutch
This site gives a brief background of the ethnic makeup of New Netherland.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The New England Colonies
New England colonies and society were very different from the Jamestown and subsequent Southern colonies. Find out the reasons the colonists had for founding the New England colonies.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Britain in the New World: The House of Burgesses
The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first elected legislature in the New World. Find out why the governmental conditions in England led to this representative government and how it was so different from the governing of colonies in...