The 13 Colonies

Have you ever thought how early America began? Or how life was like for them?

We are starting our Early American History lesson. Today we are going to explore the 13 Colonies! We are changing the way you'll receive the needed information. Today you (the students) are going to be the teacher. You and your group members are going to pick one of the three colony regions and you're going to study your colony so you can present to the class. I hope you all enjoy this learning activity. 

Today we are able to go anywhere, buy whatever and are free to do what we want. Do you think that was how the world was when the 13 Colonies were formed? 

You and your group will choose a Colony region and you will research it. Each member will be given a role to complete for the assignment. Your role will be what information you will research. 

The colony regions we will be researching are: The New England Colonies, The middle Colonies and The southern Colonies. 

The roles:

• The historian: This person will be the one to give the history about your colony. This will include any background knowledge about your colonies. Some questions to answer: Why was your colony formed? What states form your colony? 
• The maker: This person is responsible for researching what your colony made to sell to the colonists. Some questions to answer: What was your products? How were they produced?
• The colonists: This person is going to research the life of the colonists. Some questions to answer: What did the colonists do? How did the colonists live? Was life easy or hard and explain. 
• The people finder: This person will research important people during this colony time. 

1. Research- Once you have your colony begin researching. You are in a group to help each other, but you also have to focus on your specific role. Below are some links to websites and videos to help your research. 
2. Planning- While researching, take notes on your specific role and the information of that role to present to the class. 
3. Present- Once research is done, as a group you will teach the class about your findings on your colony. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd0fMpAIs1s

I want everyone to watch this brief overview of the colonies. In this video you will grasp an understanding of the different colony regions we will be researching. Here are some questions I want you to answer after the video:

• When the American flag had 13 stars, what did that represent?
• For each colony region, what were they good for?

https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/thirteen_colonies.php

This educational website explains what a colony is. It describes the different colonies, how and why they were formed. It also states some interesting facts about Colonies. I want you to think about the following questions after viewing this website:

• What is a colony?
• What did the English hope for?

https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/thirteen-colonies

This article explains what is important about each Colony. It explains the purposes of the Colonies. Answer these questions about viewing the article: (Hint to one of the questions- pay attention to the map closely!!)

• What are the 13 colonies?
• Which ocean do the 13 colonies touch? 

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-original-13-us-states-3322392 

This link describes the states in each Colony. It also talks about some history and government of the Colonies. Answer these questions after looking at this website:

• What was the first permanent colony?
• What are the three regions of colonies?

You will be graded with the following rubric. 

You made it to the end! You were able to research the 13 Colonies. Here are some ending questions I want you to answer after all the presentations:

1.  What colony would you like to live in, why?
2. What invention would you create for your colony?
3. How could life be better in your colony?

APA Cited works page:

History.com Editors. (2019, October 7). The 13 Colonies. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/thirteen-colonies. 

Kids Academy. (2019, January 25). The thirteen American Colonies, U.S History. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd0fMpAIs1s.

Longley, R. (2019, April 4). The Original 13 U.S. States. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-original-13-us-states-3322392. 

Nelson, Ken. (2019). Colonial America for Kids: The Thirteen Colonies. Ducksters. Retrieved from https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/thirteen_colonies.ph…;

This lesson was made for a fifth grade social studies class. 

The standards this lesson goes with:

• 5.G.MM.1- Analyze how cultural, economics and environment factors encouraged and restricted movement of people, ideas and goods to and within the United States.

• 5.G.GR.1- Use a variety of maps, images and models to explain relationship between location of places and regions and their human and environmental characteristics.