Lesson 1: Life in the New England Colonies

Big Ideas of the Lesson

The soil was rocky in the New England colonies and not very good for farming.
For this reason people depended on other economic activities like shipbuilding and
fishing.
Much of life in New England centered around towns. These towns were
organized in similar ways.
Town meetings were an important part of New England government.
New England traders carried trade goods to and from many ports.
Education was important in New England.

Lesson Abstract:
In this lesson, students build on what they learned about the early settlement patterns and
development of the New England colonies as they examine life in the New England region. The
lesson begins with a review of the five themes of geography with an emphasis on the theme of
regions. In small groups, students then create a chart of what they have learned about the New
England colonies in previous lessons. Next, students explore strategies and key words to look
for when reading social studies materials with a specific core area in mind such as geography,
history economics or culture. After assuming one of the following roles: geographers,
economists, political scientists, or anthropologists, students work in small groups to gather
information about life in the New England region, based on their assigned perspective. Groups
then share what they have learned. As an assessment, students create a web describing life in
the New England region.
Content Expectations
5 U2.3.1: Locate the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies on a map.

5 U2.1.2: Describe significant developments in the New England colonies, including:

the development of government including establishment of town meetings, development
of colonial legislatures and growth of royal government
growth of agricultural (small farms) and non-agricultural (shipping, manufacturing)
economies.
(portions omitted)
5 U2.3.2: Describe the daily life of people living in the New England, Middle, and Southern
colonies.

Common Core State Standards:

RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the
ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Key Concepts
culture
economic activities
government
regions

Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
12 X 18 Drawing paper for webs
Chart paper
Overhead projector or document camera/projector

Student Resource
Bower, Burt, et al. Americas Past, Social Studies Alive Program. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers
Curriculum Institute, 2010 (or a similar fifth grade social studies textbook). Pp. 85-87, 94.

A Colonial Family and Community. The Henry Ford. 1 December 2011

<http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/smartfun/colonial/intro/index.html>.

Web links for the New England Colonies. 1 December 2011

<http://www.kidinfo.com/american_history/colonization_ne_colonies.html>.

Teacher Resource
Egbo, Carol. Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Teacher-made material. Michigan
Citizenship Collaborative, 2011.

Thomson, Melissa and Ruth Dean. Life in the American Colonies. San Diego: Lucent Books,
1999.

Lesson Sequence
1. Using Word Card #1, located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1), review
the term geography and the idea that geography and history are closely linked. Display the
chart showing the Five Themes of Geography located in the S upplemental Materials (Unit 4,
Lesson 1.) Note that students should already have a copy of this chart from Lesson 3 of Unit 2.

2. Give each student a copy of Relating the Five Themes of Geography to History chart,
located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Explain that the left side of the chart
describes things students have already learned about the English colonies. Have students work
with a partner to determine to which of the five themes each statement relates and write it on
the right hand side of the chart. Give students time to work and then discuss various student
responses with the entire class. Note that a chart showing possible answers has also been
included in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1).

3. Using Word Card #3, remind students that the theme of regions refers to the way in
which geographers divide the Earth up into smaller, more manageable areas to study. Ask
students into which three regions the English colonies in North America were divided. Discuss
students answers and guide them to the idea that the English colonies were divided into three
regions: the New England, Middle, and Southern colonial regions. Using Word Card #4,
explain that in this lesson students will learn more about the New England colonial region.

4. Using the map of the colonies and colonial regions which students created in Unit 3 or a
textbook map review the location of the New England region and the four colonies which made
up this region,

5. Remind students that besides history and geography, there are other important core
areas of social studies. Review the following core areas:
Economics: the study of how people use resources to produce goods and services that
meet human needs and wants
Civics: the study of government and citizenship
Culture: the study of how people live

6. Ask students to think about what they have already learned about the New England colonies
in the previous unit. Then, have them choose one of the core areas discussed in Step 5 and
write an entry in their social studies journal that describes something they know about the New
England colonies that relates to that core area. Give students time to write.
7. Divide students into 8 small groups and provide each group with a copy of New England
Colonies Chart #1, located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Tell students to
work together to fill out the chart beginning with the sharing of their journal entries from Step 5.
Give groups time to discuss and write and then have groups share their ideas with the whole
class. Make a master class list of ideas on chart paper. Note that a chart showing possible
answers has also been included in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1).
Pimp my Unit: Integrating technology into this lesson, filling out the chart could be done in a
word document for all the students to put what they discussed in and then allowing groups to
share if they would like. Each group would have a different color font so the teacher could find
their thoughts easily.
8. Explain to students that they will now be working in small groups to gather information about
life in the New England colonies using their textbook. Using Word Card #5, explain that each
group will be assigned a role or perspective and asked to gather information with the eyes of
this perspective. Write the following roles on an overhead transparency or board: Geographer,
Political Scientist, Economist, and Anthropologist. Explain that each of these roles requires a
person to view history in a slightly different way. Using Word Cards #6-#9, discuss what each of
these social scientists study. For instance, geographers study the Earths natural features and
how people interact with the natural features. Political scientists study how people govern
themselves. Economists study how people produce, distribute, and consume goods and
services. Note that the term anthropologist is likely to be a new term for students. Explain that
anthropologists study people and how they live; in other words they study people and their
cultures.
Pimp my unit: I would allow the students to use resources other than the textbook. Students will
be allowed to use any books that give the correct information, and/or reliable sources on the
internet.
9. Give each student a copy of Reading for Information Reference Sheet, located in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Discuss key ideas and key words a geographer
would look for when reading history. Repeat with the other three roles. Make sure students
keep this sheet in a safe place because they will also need it in Lesson 2 and Lesson 3.

10. Using the same groups as Step 7, assign each group the role of one of the four social
scientists. Note that two groups will be assigned to each of the roles. Tell students to begin by
reading the section in their textbook on the New England colonies and taking notes on what
they learn from their assigned role and perspective. For the textbook listed in the Student
Resource section (Americas Past), students would read pages 85-87 and 94.

11. Give groups time to read and take notes. Then, have each group complete Information
Gathering Chart, located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Note that this chart
requires groups to identify the three most important things they learned about life in the New
England region based on their particular perspective.

12. Give each student a copy of New England Colonies Chart #2, located in the S
upplemental
Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). As groups share what they have learned have students record the
information on this chart. Note that you may wish to guide students in this process by making a
chart of your own on chart paper or an overhead. Note that a Teacher Reference Sheet
showing Important Ideas about the New England Colonies, has been included in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1.) Use this as a guide to discuss any important
information about this region that students may have missed.

13. Note that if time permits, you may wish to extend the research portion of this lesson by
having students gather information from other sources besides their textbook. The Internet site
listed in the Student Resources contains links to many useful websites for this.

14. As an enrichment activity, have students visit the following website which features an
investigation of a real family, the Daggetts, living in Connecticut during the mid 1700s:
http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/smartfun/colonial/intro/index.html. At the website,
students work as history detectives to look for clues from an account book, newspapers, and
illustrations.

Assessment
As an assessment, provide students with a copy of New England Colonies Web, located in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 4, Lesson 1). Have students use the web as a model for creating
their own web on 12 X 18 inch drawing paper. Note that the lesson graphic organizer can be
used in evaluating student webs.
Pimp my unit: For this I would extend and allow the students to create their graphic organizer in
anyway they wish. One way students could create their graphic organizer is on the website
https://bubbl.us/010450377920642495 which allows the students to add bubbles as they add
their thoughts.