An Electronic Exploration of Colonial America
Building Background Knowledge
Directions: Click on the web address seen above each set of questions. Carefully explore each site while keeping your eyes open for the necessary information. Record your answers on the separate handout.
Life of a Slave:
1)What was the occupation (job) most slaves had?
2)What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a plantation/farm slave as opposed to being an urban/household slave?
3)Describe the daily life and responsibilities of the urban/ household slave?
4)Which life would you prefer—that of a plantation slave or an urban/household slave? Why?
5)How did slavery become part of the Virginia culture during this time in history?
Colonial Kids:
1)What did colonial homes look like?
2)Describe the attire adult men wore during colonial times? How is a woman’s clothing different?
3)Roles for men/boys and women/girls were different during colonial times. Briefly describe each gender’s daily responsibilities.
4)How was a colonial child’s education similar to your schooling experience? How was it different?
5)What methods of transportation were used during colonial times?
6)Read about the various jobs colonists had. Select one and summarize the job’s responsibilities.
Food:
1) Name 5 foods the colonists survived on when they first arrived to America.
Daily Life:
1)Scroll over the picture.Describe what daily life on a farm in colonial America was like.
Military:
1)Scroll over the picture. Compare and contrast the American soldier and British soldier.
Schooling:
1) What was the main focus of education in the New England colonies? In the middle colonies? In the Southern colonies?
Jamestown:
1)Who sponsored the colony of Jamestown? Why?
2)What were some of the problems Jamestown faced?
3)What information can you find about the person that first documented Africans in the colonies?
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