Lesson Plan #: CC-0051

Lesson 2: Settlement: Everyday Life In Colonial America


Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. set a purpose for learning about the colonial period by generating questions about the economic, social, political, and geographic factors that influenced daily life.

2. work within a cooperative learning group to accomplish a research task.

3. answer questions by using research skills developed in previous units.

4. gather and record research data on a chart.

5. present research findings using effective speaking skills.


Description of lesson/activities

1. In Unit II, students were introduced to European culture of the l5th and l6th centuries. In this unit, students will investigate how that culture either remained the same or changed as Europeans traveled to North America seeking a new way of life. (The teacher should refer students to the "Culture Web" created in Unit I to reinforce the aspects that make up a culture.) In this part of the lesson, students will be introduced to colonial society by "visiting" one of the earliest settlements to be established in North America--Jamestown, Virginia. Teacher and students will "travel" through the pages of a book from the "Adventures in Colonial America" series entitled Jamestown: New World Adventure, by James E. Knight. The text of this book is written in journal form and is a fictional account of the establishment of Jamestown in l607. The vivid descriptions and accurate illustrations will create mental images that will peak student interest and curiosity to learn more about the colonies. As with the previous lesson, students will be told to use active listening skills during the read-aloud of the book to acquire as much information as possible about life in a colony. At the conclusion of the reading, teacher should discuss with students factual information that was learned about colonial life by listening to the story. (Students may need to have some sections reread for clarification of facts.) Record these facts on the board, or a large sheet of paper, and then ask students to generate questions about aspects of colonial life that were not covered in the book. The teacher should pose the question: "What do we need to find out about colonial life?" These details should also be recorded so they can be used to accomplish objective 2.


2. At the conclusion of the read-aloud discussion, teacher will tell students that although France, Holland, and Spain also claimed land in North America, by l763 England owned all the land east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of New Orleans. (Refer to maps used in Lesson l.) The teacher should tell students that this unit will focus on the political, social, and economic development of the thirteen colonies established by England.

At this time, students should be divided into three cooperative learning groups. Students have already worked cooperatively in previous units so they should be familiar with the ground rules for cooperative learning situations. A quick review of those rules, however, will reinforce what each person's commitment will be as the lesson progresses. Each group will represent one of the three regional groups of colonies--New England, Middle, and Southern--and desks should be organized so that students will be able to communicate effectively with each other. Signs showing NEW ENGLAND COLONIES, MIDDLE COLONIES, SOUTHERN COLONIES, could be hung over each groups of desks. Each group will be assigned the task of describing everyday life in the colonies assigned to them, based on the questions generated in number one above.

They will use the outline accompanying the lesson to organize the details they finds on the social, economic, and political aspects of colonial life. Each group will present their findings to the whole class when the research has been completed. The groups should be encouraged to make their presentations as interesting as possible--illustrations, artifacts, pictures, films, books, etc. may be used to enhance the information they will present. Groups should appoint a "governor" to lead them in making decisions about the presentations. Teacher should present a short mini-lesson on effective speaking skills before presentations are made.


3. After the groups have made their presentations, the whole class should engage in a discussion to determine how the three groups of colonies were alike and different. This information could be recorded on the chalk board, or become part of a bulletin board display.

Resource for Lesson 2:

Knight, James. Jamestown: New World Adventure. (Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associate).