James Madison University – College of Education
Social Studies Lesson Plan Format
Name: Jennifer McKannan Date: 7/10/11
Subject/Class: U.S. History Grade Level: 11th grade Topic: Colonial Regions
NCSS Theme #1 & 3: Culture; People, Places, and Environments
Subthemes: Knowledge: concepts such as beliefs, values, mores, institutions…; concepts such as: location,
physical and human characteristics…
Processes: analyze different interpretations of the causes and effects of migrations of people in
various…
Essential Questions/Big Ideas:
1. Why did Europeans settle in the English colonies?
2. How did their motivations influence their settlement patterns and colony structures?
3. In what ways did the cultures of Europe, Africa, and the Americas interact?
4. What were the consequences of the interactions of European, African, and American cultures?
5. How did the economic activity of the three colonial regions reflect their geography and the European origins of their settlers?
6. Why was slavery introduced into the colonies?
7. How did the institution of slavery influence European and African life in the colonies?
SOLs/Standards addressed: VUS2, 3
Learning Outcomes/Objectives:
1. Identify and contrast the political, social, religious, and economic characteristics of early exploration and settlements of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. (explain)
2. Explain the political contributions of the early colonies (House of Burgesses, Mayflower Compact, town meetings). (explain)
3. Identify and locate the original 13 colonies on a map. (skill)
4. Contrast indentured servitude with slavery. (emphatic)
Assessment alignment chart: How will you know they know the objectives listed above?
Objective / Assessment (formative and summative)U1: SWBAT identify and contrast the political, social, religious, and economic characteristics of early exploration and settlements of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. / Students will write 1-2 sentences summarizing each colonial region. They complete a matrix on the colonial regions. Students will also complete a brochure on the colonial regions.
U2: SWBAT explain the political contributions of the early colonies. / Students will complete a brochure on the colonial regions; unit test
U3: SWBAT identify and locate the original 13 colonies on a map. / Students will participate in a smartboard exercise and complete a map quiz.
U4: SWBAT contrast indentured servitude with slavery. / Students will answer a direct question by the teacher; unit test
Background Content Outline: Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources: (31 March 1998).
I. European Models for Colonizing America
A. Spain--colonization with conversion
1. Earliest colonies in America (St. Augustine 1565, Santa Fe 1610), though most outposts were
destroyed by Indian attacks
2. Spain turned to Franciscan missionaries to control Indians, placing land grants in the hands of
encomenderos. Spanish rule was cruel, used slavery, and was limited, except for New Mexico.
California was virtually ignored until the late 1700s.
3. By 1560, the main goal of Spanish colonial policy was keeping other Europeans from
establishing colonies.
B. France--fur-trading empire
1. Indian wars developed as tribes fought for the French fur trade.
2. French missionaries did not enslave Indians and attempted to limit trading of alcohol
3. Though few in number, French settlers brought diseases that wiped out up to 90% of the
Indians in the Great Lakes region.
D. The English model--tobacco and settlers
1. Causes for English Colonizing in North America
a. Fall of Spanish Armada in 1588 opened North Atlantic to English expansion
b. England infused with a spirit of self-confidence and enthusiasm for adventure.
c. England could plant, supply, and protect colonies easily.
2. Changes in English economy.
a. Rise of merchant class to provide business leadership and wealth for colonial investment.
b. Joint-stock company allowed for pooling of capital with limited risk.
c. Surplus population in cities as farmers were pushed off lands converted to sheep herding
3. Protestant Reformation
a. Priesthood of all believers inspired religious dissidents
b. Anti-"Popish" believers (Puritans) felt that the Church of England was not Protestant enough in its beliefs and practices.
c. Persecution of Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers led to conflict with religious and political authorities
d. America was seen as a desirable haven for these groups.
II. Jamestown and Virginia
A. Virginia Company received charter (guaranteeing settlers the same rights as Englishmen at home)
from King James I for settlement in America (1607). Goals:
1. Gold and wealth
2. Convert Indians to Christianity
3. Find a passage to the Indies
B. Early group suffered from laziness, starvation, and malaria. Saved by leadership of John Smith and
enterprise of tobacco planter John Rolfe, who perfected methods of raising and curing tobacco?
1. Tobacco brought capital and workers to Virginia. Exports rose to 10 million pounds by 1660.
The Virginia Company provided land, established a headright system and courts, and allowed
self-government by planters.
2. Problems with tobacco farming
a) Chained prosperity of Virginia to one crop
b) Exhausted the soil
c) Promoted large-acreage plantations, which needed large amounts of cheap labor. First
indentured servants with few rights or chances to advance and then slaves with fewer rights
and no chance to advance.
C. Contributions of early Virginia
1. Provided model for further economic investment in America
2. First representative self-government (House of Burgesses--1619)
3. Demand for slaves (1st slaves sold by Dutch to settlers in 1619)
III. New England Colonies--settled most frequently by families
A. Separatists (Pilgrims) arrived at Plymouth in 1620 on Mayflower after initial settlement in Holland.
1. Mayflower Compact--first document of self-government in America.
2. After difficult first winter (44 out of 102 survived), Pilgrims survived under the leadership of Governor William Bradford.
B. Puritans established Massachusetts Bay in 1630 (John Winthrop and 900 settlers) for economic and
religious reasons.
1. Large numbers of middle class settlers, many of whom were educated.
2. Successful as fur traders, fishermen, and shipbuilders.
3. Great Puritan Migration of 1629-1640 brought many new settlers.
4. Ruled as 'Bible Commonwealth" with franchise restricted to male members of Puritan (later
Congregational) church--probably 1/5 of adult white male population.
C. Puritans and Pequots--series of disastrous contacts
1. Smallpox epidemic of 1633 killed over 10,000 Pequots
2. 500 Pequots killed by Puritans in 1636
3. Disease, military force, and religion (praying towns) essentially pacified Indians of New
England by 1670.
D. Contributions of early New England
1. First Self-government (Mayflower Compact)
2. Direct democracy with town meetings
IV. Middle Colonies
A. Religious Tolerance
B. Commercial Trading Centers
C. Large middle class
DEAN CHART
Concept word / D=define / E=examples / A=attributes / N=non-examplesProprietary / Colony that is privately owned / Maryland / Not royal ownership / Virgin
Heretic / People who disagreed with established religious beliefs / Anne Hutchinson / Spoke out against Puritan church / Believer
Indentured servants / Person who contracted their labor in the colonies inexchange for their voyage to be paid / English and Irish tobacco workers / Poor or penal / Enslaved persons
Town meeting / Local governments with landowners allowed to participate / New England governments / All landowning males could vote / direct democracy / Totalitarian
Instructional Plan:
What the Teacher Will Do / What the Students Will Do*Introduction
(5 min) / Columbus Bell Ringer: Students will study the engraving and cartoon of Columbus’ arrival and answer the following question:
a. Columbus’s landing in the Americas is one of the great turning points in world history. How do the illustrations give us some insight into our changing views of Columbus and his times?
/ Students will study the illustrations and answer the question.
PowerPoint
Notes
(10 min) / Motives of Exploration
a. How did advancements during the Renaissance lead to European exploration?
b. What were the political motives of exploration / colonization?
c. What were the economic motives of exploration / colonization?
d. What were the religious motives of exploration / colonization?
e. In what ways were the English colonies different from the French colonies? / Students will complete a note template.
a. Revenue from increased trade and the creation of strong states, along with new technologies in navigation and shipping facilitated exploration.
b. Competition for global empires
c. Gold; trade routes; fur trades
d. Religious freedom; spread missionary work
e. Population; use of the land; religion; how they were governed; permanent settlements
Geography Review (8 min) / Map Activity of the 13 Colonies / Students will identify the names of the colonies on the smartboard map.
Colonial Region Photo Gallery
(25 min) / 1. Distribute photo gallery handout to the students and explain directions. Ask for clarifications before moving forward.
2. Start with the New England colonies. Play the PowerPoint. Allow looping around two to three times.
3. Ask students what / who they saw in the pictures.
New England Questions:
a. Europeans who differed from Native Americans in their use of the land and surrounding waters settled these colonies. List 3 ways you think the Europeans used their environment and connect each guess with an arrow to a place it might have happened.
b. What do you think the land was like in New England? The weather?
c. Given the poor soil conditions & harsh winters, what type of farms do you think developed in New England?
d. In what other ways could New Englanders make a living from the land?
e. How did New Englanders who lived in coastal cities use the ocean to their advantage?
f. Why was the Mayflower Compact so important?
g. How important was the church to the Puritans?
Middle Colonies Questions:
a. What do you think the land was like in the Middle Colonies? The Weather?
b. Look carefully at the picture. What types of farming methods do you suppose the Middle Atlantic colonists used?
c. This picture shows small farms in PA where farmers produced abundant crops. What do you think they did with the excess crops, and how did this affect their way of life?
d. According to the picture, how would you describe the relationship the Quakers had with the Natives?
VA and Southern Colonies Questions:
a. What do you think the land was like in the Southern Colonies? The climate?
b. Look carefully at the picture. What type of settlement do you think this is? Why was this settlement founded on a river?
c. What type of crops?
d. Where did the large plantation owners find enough labor to work their vast plantations? How did their labor decisions affect land use in the Southern colonies? Did all colonists live on huge plantations? / Students will study each picture for 5 seconds and write down key words to describe the answers to the following questions:
· How did the people make use of the land and surrounding waters?
· What do you see happening in the pictures?
· What people do you see? What are they doing?
· What type of farming took place in the regions?
a. Environment greatly affected the culture
a. Developed ways of life that differed from those in
Europe & in other parts of the colonies
a. Abundant forests, streams, and natural harbors
b. Topsoil was thin, rocky landscape/ inlandàdense forests
b. Weather harsh—winters long & cold, violent
storms, & heavy snowfalls
c. Subsistence farming—few farms large enough to make slave labor profitable
c. Dependent on the help of their families to plant,
cultivate, & harvest
d. Timber industry developed into a major source of income for the region
d. Fur trappers (beaver, otter, raccoon)
e. Shipbuilding grew rapidly as fishing became the area’s most important commercial activity
e. Trade (between the colonies, England, and the
West Indies)
f. Established a set of rules to live by
g. Lives evolved around the church
a. Richest farmlandàagriculture became the foundation of the region’s economic life
a. Regular rainfall—winters lees harsh than New England
b. Wheat & barley (European plants) / corn, squash, & tomatoes (Native American crops)
PA farms pride of Middle Colonies (Bread Basket)—German (Dutch) farmers turned agriculture into a thriving commercial enterprise
c. Large surpluses of wheat, rye, & corn (even shipped to Europe) / To move the crops, series of roads built / also used rivers
d. peaceful / tolerant
a. Picture represents the tidewater region (flat coastal plain w/ land so low in places that the rivers crossing it flowed backwards w/ the incoming tides
· Mild winters / heat & humidity in summers
b. Grew into a major port exporting agricultural goods and imported manufactured goods from England
c. Tobacco (as in VA and SC)—as market for tobacco grew, the plantations multiplied
· Cash cropsàtobacco, rice, indigo
· Cash crops had to be cultivated on a large scale to be profitable, a plantation’s prosperity depended on a large supply of labor.
d. 1stàIndentured Servants but planters found it difficult to attract enough indentured servants to America to meet the needs of their growing plantations
· slave laboràJamestown (1619), 1st Africans were indentured servants, but became permanent bondage b/c planters wanted more control over their labor force
· English government est. the Royal African Company to carry on the slave trade
· Plantations—100s to 1000s of acres each / few rich planters owned vast sections of land & slaves
· Backcountryàsubsistence farming (live on & just enough to trade at the local market for tools & other necessities
Summarizing
(5-8 min) / 1. Distribute the note outline on the colonial regions.
2. Students will write a brief summary highlighting the key features of each colonial region.
3. Have 2 students share their sentences for each colonial region. / Students will demonstrate their knowledge by writing the sentence summaries for each colonial region.
*Quick Assessment
(5 min) / Colonial Region Matrix: Distribute and have the students complete by placing the “X” in the correct column. / Summative assessment for the students.
Assessment
(25 min) / Colonial Region brochure
1. Review the directions with the class.
2. Divide the class into groups of 3 to 4 students.
3. Each student will be assigned a specific page of the brochure.
4. Have the students create their brochure using Microsoft brochure template. / Students will apply their knowledge and create a colonial brochure.
Closure / Ticket out the Door: Ask the students which colonial region they would prefer to live in and why? / Students will answer the question on a slip of paper and give it to the teacher on their way out the door.
Materials Needed for the Lesson: