Curated OER
Time Marches On
Learners discover the times of Colonial America by creating a timeline. In this U.S. History lesson, students research a teacher-directed website about African Americans in early colonial times. Learners utilize their information to...
Curated OER
We The People: A History
Students play a game about taxation where they have tax collectors that simulate the feelings and reasons that led to the American Revolution. In this taxation lesson plan, students learn about why the people in the colonies were so...
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Johnny Tremain for the 21st Century
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the American Revolution based on the novel, 'Johnny Tremain.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a timeline, write a report on a colonial craft, make a colonial flag, and create a...
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Barter Day
Fourth graders understand the process of bartering. In this barter day lesson, each student barters an item in their desk with another student. All items are returned at the end of the activity and it is important to tell the students...
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Everything Was Up to Date in 1628
Students examine the life and lifestyles of New England colonists in the year 1628, and then investigate what life was like in their own area during the same time period. After watching segments from the PBS history series, "Colonial...
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Jamestown
Seventh graders examine life at the Jamestown settlement. In this colonial America instructional activity, 7th graders visit the noted Web site to analyze artifacts from the settlement. Based on their findings, students write descriptive...
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Kids in the Colonies
Students compare and contrast family life in colonial America with life today. They describe what communities were like in colonial times and how they varied from life today. A spokesperson from each group will present a verbal report...
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Abigail Adams: Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts
Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...
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Consequences of Individual Choices
Students take the sides of Patriots or Tories. In this colonial American lesson, students read primary sources that feature James Murray and Captain Jones. Students then write dialogues and limericks based on a fictional meeting of the 2...
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Pennsylvania Colony
Students research the main reasons for the colonists moving to the Pennsylvania colony. They analyze maps, label a bubble map, list similarities/differences of immigrants then and now, and create a colonial newspaper advertisement.
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Consequences of Individual Choices
High schoolers simulate a Revolutionary War draft. In this American Revolution lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to advocate for the Patriots or the Tories. High schoolers examine selected primary...
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Conflict in the Frontier town of Deerfield
Students use primary sources to investigate, explore and represent varying perspectives on the 1704 Deerfield Raid. They consider the reasons Deerfield was at the center of English, French and Native American conflicts in the early 18th...
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South Carolina: Loyalist or Patriot?
Eighth graders examine the battle waged in South Carolina over the American Revolution. For this American Revolution lesson, 8th graders analyze primary sources as they determine how the Loyalists and Patriots chose sides in the war.
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Simulation: The King's Candy
Students examine the British tax laws in Colonial America. In this U. S. history lesson, students participate in a simulation that replicates the taxes levied by the British.
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Gather the Stones!
Review how gristmills affected the lives of the Pennsylvania community. The class uses documents and pictures to explore the purpose of the gristmill. They simulate members of the community and write a paper about colonial forces...
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Understanding Loyalist Vs. Revolutionary Ideology
Young scholars understand some causes of the American Revolution. Students learn the viewpoints of the loyalists and the American Revolutionaries. Young scholars learn a timeline of facts which they use to compare and contrast the views...
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The United States Flag
Young scholars study the United States flag. In this American history and government lesson, students define and give examples of familiar symbols. Young scholars design a classroom flag. Students identify and describe the American flag.
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Bison on the Plains
Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America in...
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Personalities, Perspectives and Agendas
Students debate the causes of the American Revolution. In this American history lesson, students conduct research to determine how bias and perspective have made their way into historical documents. Students compose essays about the 2...
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Branches of Government Worksheet
This is a basic multiple choice activity. Learners answer a set of 9 multiple choice questions about early colonists and branches of government. You might use this as a check for understanding or a quick quiz. The first 2 questions are...
Curated OER
Being Me in the Face of Adversity - Americans Who Stood Up for Their Beliefs
Young scholars identify important Americans from the colonial, revolutionary and slavery periods who are noted for standing up for their beliefs in the face of peer disapproval. They identify the importance of music in motivating and...
Curated OER
Colonial Living: A Look at the Arts, Crafts, History, and Literature of Early Americans
Sixth graders examine the different aspects of life in Colonial America. At home, they make traditional colonial recipes to share with the class. In groups, they read a book about the purpose and act of quilting and create their own...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Making a Patriot Inquiry: Are Independence, Freedom, and Liberty the Same Thing?
As part of a study of the American Revolution, class members engage in an inquiry-based lesson that has them watch a scene from the play Slave Spy, examine multiple primary source documents, and then discuss the similarities and...
Smithsonian Institution
We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...