Day 1 - Pocahontas

Read about Pocahontas

• Online story http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/famouspeople/standard/pocahontas/index.shtml#focus

• Flash Story (Reads story to students) http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/Pocahontas/Poca-flash.html with Picture Quiz http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/Pocahontas/Poca-QuizK.html

• Book - Pocahontas Princess of the River Tribes

Show 500 Nations video about Pocahontas (15 minutes)

Sequence story of Pocahontas with sentence strips (from Literature Unit Pocahontas pages 12-13)
OR
Have students retell the story using stick puppets (from Literature Unit Pocahontas pages 18-19).

Activity - Making a Picturestrip of Jamestown

Coloring picture of Pocahontas, Captain Smith, and Powhatan from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 2 - Jamestown

Lecture - Reasons why English came to America (Notes in Students' Folders)

• to practice religion they choose

• to bring Christ to "savages"

• British judges sent people who had commented crimes

• business people came to buy items like furs and tobacco

• farmers - chance to have own land

Lecture on Jamestown (Notes in Students' Folders)  ****Stress the reasons for locating Jamestown on the James River.

First colony in America

• Virginia Company sent three ships of settlers to New World in December 1607

• in Virginia named settlement Jamestown in honor of English King James

• came to set up trade between New World and England

• 105 men and boys led by John Smith

• built a fort near river that flowed in Chesapeake Bay

• named river James after King James

• fort was built on a swamp which contained mosquitoes carrying a deadly malaria virus

 

• Powhatan Indians lived in that part of Virginia

• 14,000 Indians lived in Chesapeake Bay when English came

• settlers did not build permanent houses or grow food, not good hunters

• many English died from disease and starvation

 

• 1608 Smith elected president of colony's council

• more settlers came

• Smith went back to England in 1609 after being badly burnt in a gun powder explosion

• suffered worst winter (fire, drought, disease, Indian attacks, and little food)

• almost destroyed the colony

• Pocahontas brought the settlers corn to eat

 

• 1610 Thomas De La Warr, new governor arrived with 3 ships of supplies

• wanted more settlers to come

• gave new settlers 50 acres of free land

• Indians unhappy with this

 

• Pocahontas captured and held in Jamestown

• converted to Christianity

• 8 year peace came with the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, a tobacco grower in 1614

 

• John Rolfe and Pocahontas visited London

• Pocahontas died before returning to her home

Give quiz on notes.

Activity - Make corn pudding

3 ½ cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups yellow cornmeal
butter
nutmeg
molasses

Pour water and salt into a large saucepan. Bring to boil and slowly add the cornmeal ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly. Turn heat down and continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Spoon into bowls and top with butter, sprinkle of nutmeg, and some molasses.

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Day 3 - Pilgrims Travel to America

Lecture on or read sections of the book . . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (Pages 10-26)

Pilgrims wanted to break away from the Church of England.
Pilgrims were jailed and fined in England for starting their own church.
Pilgrims were afraid to stay in England so went to Holland in 1608.
lived in Holland 12 years
not happy in Holland

bought ship Speedwell to go to America
ship small and old
needed second ship
so made an agreement with businessmen in England
businessmen got Pilgrims a ship Mayflower and bought food and supplies
in return Pilgrims agreed to work for the businessmen for 7 years
agreed to send furs and lumber from the New World
102 people left from England
given land in what is now New York

Speedwell became leaky and had to return to England
some passengers stayed behind in England - others crowded on Mayflower

Activity

1. Tape off an area 8 by 8 feet on the floor.

2. Have eleven children stand in the space.

3. Discuss how crowded they feel

4. Next serve a meal of beef jerky, soda crackers, cheese and water.

5. Tell the students that the Pilgrims ate a lot of dried salted meat, hard crackers called hard tack, and cheese on the Mayflower. Discuss that preserving food was necessary and that slating and drying were the best methods available in 1620.

Continue lecture or continue reading . . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (Pages 27 - 30)

Show poster of the Mayflower.

journey took 66 days
ship blown off course

Activity

1. Fill a one-liter plastic bottle about half full with mineral oil. Add a few drops of food coloring, and then fill the rest of the bottle with water. Add a small plastic object to represent the Mayflower.

2. Screw the top on tightly and tape.

3. Ask the students to make waves by shaking, rocking, and rolling the bottle.

4. Discussion

   1. Does the plastic object ride the waves or sink?

   2. How do you think the Pilgrims felt during the storms they had while on the Mayflower?

Continue Lecture

Pilgrims landed near Cape Cod in Massachusetts
settlement started in 160
leader William Bradford

Have students read the mini-book The Pilgrims by Barnacle, Ship's Cat of the Mayflower.

Show the video American History for Children:  Early Settlers:  The Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

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Day 4 - Mayflower Compact

Lecture

Once the people aboard the Mayflower realized that the terms of their agreement applied to Virginia, and not to New England, where they were, the leaders wrote the Mayflower Compact. The document was signed on ship within sight of land. The compact stated

• that they would remain united

• make laws for the general good of the new colony

• promised to obey laws

The Mayflower Compact was a form of government for the colony.

Show Video American History for Children:  Early Settlers:  The Story of the Mayflower Compact

Make Pilgrim costumes (coif for girls and hat for boys)

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Day 5 - Living in America

Lecture or continue reading . . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (Pages 43 - 56, 72, 74-80)

on November 11, 1620 after 66 days Pilgrims came to Cape Cod
first winter struggled to build shelter
in two or three months half of the people died
half the people who survived were children
only four women lived
called new settlement Plimoth Plantation

Show one of the following videos

• Plimoth Plantation (MCE Library) 30 minutes

• Inspector Gadget's Fieldtrip Plimoth Plantation 15 minutes (excellent)

• Animated Hero Classics:  The Story of Thanksgiving (30 minutes)

• American History for Children:  Early Settlers:  Squanto and the First Thanksgiving

Read play and act out play in costumes A Native American Welcome pages 33-36 (in student folders)

Give quiz and Pilgrims.

Coloring picture of Pilgrims from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 6 - Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire Colonies

Lecture

• Puritans wanted to "purify" or make clean the Church of England

• did not want to move away from the church (as the Pilgrims) wanted to change some of its ways

• treated badly in England because of beliefs

• came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630

• Puritans wanted only one religion to be practiced in the New World

• some Puritans thought their leaders were acting just as badly as the King of England

• John Mason took group of people from Massachusetts Bay Colony to find more fertile farming land (too rocky in Massachusetts) and to worship freely

• settled in Portsmouth and found New Hampshire Colony

Make a pomander ball - Pomander balls were often placed in basket or cupboards in colonial homes to hide bad cooking odors. Colonial women  placed small pomander balls in handkerchiefs when they traveled so they could sniff their sweet smell instead of bad street odors.

Directions for making a pomander ball:  Use a toothpick to prick a hole in the skin of a piece of fruit such as an apple or orange. Then place a clove in the hole. Repeat until the entire fruit is covered with cloves. Next stick the tips of a wire hairpin into the fruit at the stem. Then roll the fruit in a dish of cinnamon. Place the fruit in a piece of cheesecloth. Twist the cheesecloth together around the hairpin. Use a piece of yarn to tie the cheesecloth onto the hairpin. Next tie a ribbon bow around the yarn. Allow the fruit to dry in a cool, dark place for two to three weeks until the fruit hardens. Place the dried pomander ball in a closet or drawer.

The New England Primer was the first textbook used in the United States. The first edition was printed in 1690 and was used in 1900. The New England Primer was used to help teach children how to read. It taught the alphabet using two line rhymes such as "A dog will bite a thief at night." or "An eagle's flight is out of sight."  It included rhymes to teach the alphabet and vocabulary words, as well as many poems with religious references.  

Create your own version of The New England Primer. First write your own poem such as the ones in the New England Primer. Use berry ink and a quill to write the poem on coffee or tea stained paper.

Colonial Americans sealed their letters with a wax seal. Wax was dripped from a candle onto the seam of the letter. The family seal, often times from a ring, was pressed into the wax just before it hardened.

Build a New England village.  Most of the early New England farmers settled in towns. Large land areas were given to men who belonged to the church. These men divided the land among themselves. These towns had a village green. This was a common pasture for cattle, horses, and sheep. The village green was in the center of the village. A church or meeting house was built at one end of the green. The land surrounding the town was also divided among the families. This land was used to grow vegetable gardens and grain. Later the pasture land was moved outside the town. The village green then became a park. In later years a school house, a mill, a blacksmith shop, a general store, and a tavern were added.

Coloring pictures of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire Colonies from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 7 - Rhode Island and Connecticut Colonies

Lecture

• two men decided to leave Massachusetts Bay Colony and begin colonies of their won

• Roger Williams Puritan minister

• believed church leaders should not be colony leaders

• believed Indians should be paid for land

• Puritan leaders wanted to send Williams back to England, but escaped in 1636 and founded Rhode Island Colony (which he bought from Indians)

• allowed everyone to practice their own religion

• Thomas Hooker minister

• left Massachusetts Bay Colony with 35 families to form the Connecticut Colony

• families walked 2 weeks before reaching the site which is now Hartford

• By 1636 four New England Colonies founded

  • Connecticut

  • Massachusetts

  • Rhode Island

  • New Hampshire

• fished and built ships

• also carried on much of slave trade

Have students look at the chart in their folders and answer the following questions.

1. The settlement used as a trading center was __________.

2. The colonies set up for religious purposes were ______________.

3. The first British settlement in the New World was _____________________ in the colony of _____________ settled in the year _________________.

Have students find the four New England colonies on the map.

Give quiz

Activity

Read to the students "Lighting the Colonial House".
Have students use the picture wheel to tell the story of how candles were made.
Have students make a hand dipped candle.

Play Thirteen Colonies Game

Have students try to throw pennies one at a time on a floor map of the 13 colonies. Students try to land on Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Connecticut. Students earn points for each colony their penny lands in without touching any lines on the map. Students must name the colony before receiving the points.

Coloring pictures of Rhode Island and Connecticut from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 8 Henry Hudson - New Netherlands - New York

Lecture

The Dutch kept trying to find a westward passage to the Indies. They sent an Englishman, Captain Henry Hudson to find it. Hudson found a river that ran westward for a short time. He followed it and found that it turned north in what is now New York. The river was later named Hudson after him.

Hudson found the Indians living along the shores of this river were friendly. They were willing to trade furs. Hudson told the Dutch people about this. In 1623 the Dutch sent people to live in this area. They formed a new colony and began trading with the Indians. They called their new colony New Netherlands. The Dutch Governor Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island from the Indians for $24.00 worth of beads and trinkets.

Coloring picture of New York from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

We poured our soap into fruit shaped molds.

Make soap.

Make a colonial rag doll by tying a piece of yarn to form the head and arms on a dish towel.

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Day 9 Delaware and New Jersey

Lecture

Sweden wanted a colony to trade with the other colonies in America. They landed in Delaware in 1638. The Swedes were lead by Peter Minuit. Minuit had been fired by the Dutch in 1631. He was then hired by the Swedes in 1637. Since the Dutch were already living in this area the Dutch governor quickly took the land from the Swedes. This was done peacefully without any fighting.

The Dutch began to have problems with the British. England said that John Cabot's exploration in 1497 gave them the rights to New Netherlands. In 1664 war broke out between the Dutch and the English. The British took a fleet of ships to New Netherlands and took the colony without firing a shot. New Netherlands became New York. It was named after the Duke of York.

The land across the Hudson River became New Jersey. It was named in honor of an island off the coast of England.

Have students locate New Jersey, Delaware, and New York on the map, then pay the 13 Colonies Game.

Show video Once Upon a Time:  American (first half up to the War for Independence).

Give quiz.

Discuss colonial life on a farm. Make a model of a colonial kitchen. Include some to the following objects:  a fire place, kettles in the fire place, a musket and powder horn (hanging above the mantel), spinning wheel, churn, candles, wooden benches and table, cradle, etc.

Make butter

Allow cream to sit at room temperature for about an hour. Pour the cream into a glass jar. Shake the jar until butter begins to form (about 25 minutes). Remove the solid butter and wash it under cold running water. Pack in a dish. Serve over bread.

Coloring pictures of New Jersey and Delaware from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 10 - Quakers and Pennsylvania

Lecture

William Penn lived in England. He was a member of a religious group called the Quakers. The Quakers had no religious leaders. They believed every man was equal. All members met to worship God as equals.

The Quakers could not worship in England because they did not follow the Church of England. Many Quakers were sent to jail for not going to the Church of England.

William Penn was one of those who had been sent to jail. The King of England owed Penn's father a lot of money. Penn's father asked the King of England to give him land in America instead of the money. The King agreed.

In 1682 William Penn and his fellow Quakers came to the New World. They named their new colony Pennsylvania. This meant Penn's woods. Penn opened his land to Quakers from all over the world. Thousands came from Germany, Scotland, Ireland, and England.

Penn was also give Delaware after the English took it from the Swedes. The British governor, the Duke of York, did not want the problems of running a small colony so he give it to William Penn.

In 1704 Penn let it become a separate colony. The Middle Colonies of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York were called the Bread Colonies. The soil was good in this area raising crops. Many rivers made transportation easy. The chief products of this area was grain and livestock. Vegetable, cotton, and tobacco were also grown.

Play 13 Colonies Game

Video - American History for Children:  Early Settlers: Who were the Colonists?

Give quiz.

Coloring picture of Pennsylvania from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 11

Activities with the Quakers

Colonial homes were often decorated with stencils. Do some stenciling of your own like the ones we made below.

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Day 12 - Southern Colonies

Lecture

Maryland was founded in 1634 by a group of English Catholics who could not practice their religion in England. Their leader was Lord Baltimore. Baltimore sent about 300 settlers to the colony. Their settlement was called St. Mary's. Later the name was changed to Baltimore for their leader.

In 1663 King Charles of England gave a grant of land "South of Virginia" to a group of his friends.  They wanted to the use the colony for their businesses. They named the colony Carolina in honor of Charles. The first settlement was Charleston. When these men came they found that many settlers from Virginia were already living in the area. This caused arguments between the two groups. In 1680 the argument was solved by dividing Carolina into two separate colonies:  North Carolina and South Carolina.

Last of the original 13 colonies was Georgia. In 1733 the king gave land to a man named James Oglethrope. The king planned this colony as a place to get rid of people in England he did not want. The colony was to protect the other colonies from he French and Spanish to the south and west. Oglethorpe brought many people to Georgia who had been in jail or who owed money they could not pay. The first settlement was Savannah. Georgia was named in honor of King George of England.

The southern colonies were Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Large plantations were built there. They were worked by cheap labor. These plantations turned out turpentine, indigo, and tobacco.

Find Southern Colonies on the map. Play 13 Colonies Game.

Give quiz.

Coloring pictures of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Maryland from Educational Coloring Book of the Colonies

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Day 13

Activities with the Southern Colonies

Make a horn book. A hornbook was a page of writing that was fastened to a wooden frame. The writing was covered with a translucent sheet of animal horn. The handle of the hornbook had a hole so that the hornbook could be warn around a child's neck or fastened to his belt with a length of rope or twine. Directions:  Cut out the hornbook shape from a piece of brown poster board. Punch a hole in the handle. Thread a length of yarn through the hole and tie the yarn's ends. Write the alphabet using berry ink on a piece of paper. Glue this to the hornbook. Cover the paper with a clear piece of plastic.

Triangular Trade Activity  -  Triangular trade was the pattern of trade between the colonies, Europe, and Africa. Goods from the colonies were traded in England. From there the ships traveled to Africa to trade goods for slaves. Then the ships went back to the West Indies.

To remember the location of each colony play this game. Place a map of the thirteen colonies on the floor. Be sure the map does not have the names of the colonies written on it. Players take turns dropping a penny onto the map. The player must name the colony the penny lands on. If the player lands on a large colony and can correctly name it he earns 10 points. Smaller colonies are worth 5 points. The first player to reach 100 points is the winner.

Make a fan. Southern girls carried fans that matched their outfits. This one was made by cutting nine pieces of poster board. The poster board pieces were woven together at the top with a ribbon. The bottom was fastened together with a brad or a paper clip. Decorate your fan by painting flowers, butterflies, or bees on the blades like the one shown here.

Build a Southern Plantation - Your plantation will need the following buildings:

mansion - large three story building kitchen stables carpenter's shop

blacksmith's shop servants' quarters smoke house weaver's shop tannery shop slave houses tobacco barns

Label the 13 Colonies http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/label/13/13.shtml

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Lesson 7 Spanish Settlements (In Explorers Unit)

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Day 14 - Spanish Settlements

Lecture

The Spanish empire in the New World was ruled for the king of Spain by two men called Viceroys. Each controlled one area. One Viceroy controlled for the Kingdom of New Spain. This included Mexico, the islands of the West Indies, and North America. The other Viceroy controlled the Kingdom of Peru. This also included Panama and the Spanish land in South America. The Viceroys made sure the king's laws were followed and taxes were collected.

Conquistadors were soldiers and leaders who helped take over the land from the Indians. They treated the Indians like slaves.

Missionaries were Catholic priests. They built missions throughout Spanish territory. The missions were built like forts because the Indians often attacked them. Many Indians lived on large farms owned by the Spanish. The large farms were called haciendas.

The Spanish brought the new crops of sugar cane, coffee, and cereal grains to the New World. The Indians introduced the Spanish to tobacco, potatoes, corn, chocolate from cacao beans, and squash.

1. The explorers were introduced to new foods they had never seen or tasted before. Chocolate was one of these foods. The cacao tree grew wild in America. In the early 1500's when Hernando Cortex conquered Mexico, the Aztec emperor Montezuma served him a drink called chocolate. Cortez brought the beverage back to Spain. With sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon added to sweeten the bitter drink, it became a favorite with the Spanish aristocracy. In the 1600s the drink won popularity among the upper classes in France and England. Make a cup of hot chocolate.

2. Make two lists: one of foods, plants, and animals that were familiar to the Old World and one of foods, plants, and animals that were familiar to the New World. Go here to compare your lists to the ones we made.

Take quiz.

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Lesson 8 French Settlements (In Explorers Unit)

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Day 15 - French Settlements

Lecture

The French settled along the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi Rivers. Most of the people living in these outposts were men. They spent their time going up and down the river in canoes trapping or trading their furs. The beaver was the main trade fur.

A few people got rich on the beaver fur trades. Unfortunately they were not the trappers. The one who made money were the men who bought the furs from the trappers.

In the summer the trappers lived alone or in pairs in the woods. In the winter these trappers with with the Indians. They usually lived with the Algonquians or the Huron. Because the French helped the Algonquians and Huron, they became enemies with the Iroquois who were enemies with the Algonquians and Huron. Many French settlers were killed by the Iroquois.

The French king controlled his empire in America. The king ruled the area through the Royal Governor. Men under the Royal Governor were called seigniors. The seigniors controlled large pieces of land. In this hierarchy the lowest group of people were called habitants. They were the workers.

The law stated that all furs, lumber, and fish from the French colonies could be traded only with France or other French colonies. This kept the money between the French colonies and France.

Learn about the beaver. What was this animal like? Why was its fur so highly prized? What did the French make from the beavers' fur?

Take quiz.

Map Activities

• Instructional Fair, Inc. #IF8552 U. S. Map Skills pages 15-17

• United States and Its Neighbors Chapter 7, Building Geography Skills page 47

• Life in Colonial America "Land Claims in North America by 1670"

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Day 16

Lecture

Discuss barter system and concept of supply and demand.

Brain Pop - Money

Bartering Activity - Students bring in item worth $1.00-$2.00 to barter.

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Day 17

Jeopardy Game on 13 Colonies

Colonial Quiz

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