Social Studies Projects on Colonial America

Colonial America comes alive for middle schoolers when they discover it themselves.

One of the best tools for teaching middle school students about colonial America is to have them work with special projects. These can bring the whole view of social studies to a more understandable level. When students are engaged at this level they tend to learn more. Many of these projects can be covered in less than a week. Remember that you are dealing with students from ages 10 to 14 and the workload needs to be comparable.

Timeline

Have students design a timeline of the major events in colonial history. Events such as the Stamp Act and the Boston Tea Party can be accented and have small write-ups on them. The students can also use large sheets of posterboard for this project and glue or draw images to represent the event. Another approach is to have students work in groups and each group assigned a separate part of the timeline.

Regionalism

Another interesting project is a study of the differences between the regions. New England was based on shipping and banking. The mid-Atlantic states were based on tobacco, while the southern states were based on indigo, rice and sugar cultivation. Cotton would not be introduced until the Revolutionary period and after. The best way to do this is have students work in groups and have a specific location given to each group. The students would then research the area in their text and present a small report to the class.

Ethnic Make-up of the Colonies

Not every person in the colonies was an Englishmen. There were Dutch, Spaniards and Scots as well as others. Have the students research what each one of these groups brought to the colonies, where they tended to settle and what particular skills they brought to the society. Have the students examine the role of slaves and African-Americans in the colonial period. Some African-Americans were actually free citizens and business owners as well as scientists. Have the students select an individual from each group or a particular citizen and discuss with the class the impact of this individual on society and the community.

Piracy

Have students examine the role of piracy and its economic impact. The majority of American shipping in the south was owned by northerners and was insured through northern holding groups. The majority of pirate action took place in the southern colonies and locales. A fun thing to do early in a semester is celebrate September 19th, National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Have students examine the language through handouts and then form small speeches of pirate speak.

Role of Native Americans

Have the students research the tribes of the eastern shore of colonial America. What was the impact of European colonization on the Native populations? Were there any wars fought between the settlers and the natives? Also have them examine the treatment that the natives were given by the three main colonial powers of France, Great Britain and Spain.

References

• "Bring History Alive: A Sourcebook for Teaching United States History by National Center for History in the Schools (U. S.)"; Kirk Ankeney, Richard Del Rio, and Gary B. Nash; 1996
• "History Alive!: Engaging All Learners in the Diverse Classroom"; Bert Bower, Jim Lobdell, and Lee Swenson; 1999
• Bring Learning Alive! (The TCI Approach for Middle and High School Social Studies)"; Jim Lobdell, Sherry Owens, and Bert Bower; 2004
• talklikeapirate

Resources

• "Bring History Alive: A Sourcebook for Teaching United States History
• "History Alive!: Engaging All Learners in the Diverse Classroom
• Bring Learning Alive! (The TCI Approach for Middle and High School Social Studies)";
• talklikeapirate