Resources for Teaching Colonial Life in America
The Colonial period of American history began in the early 1600s and lasted until 1776. The colonists came to America for a variety of reasons, from the desire for religious freedom to the desire for land and wealth. Colonial life was different from colony to colony. The lifestyles of settlers were often dictated by their natural environment as well as the cultural and religious beliefs they brought with them. The colonies are generally divided into New England, Middle America and Southern. There are many resources available, both online and off, to help teach students about life in the colonies.
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Colonial Family and Community
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The Henry Ford Museum website has an interactive detective game about a real family from the colonies. Children can read excerpts from primary source documents and answer a series of questions about the family. If they answer all of the questions successfully, they play a historical "What's Wrong with This Picture" game.
North Carolina Office of Archives & History
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The North Carolina Office of Archives & History provides an online resource --"It Says in the Papers"--for early North Carolina news and events. Although there were numerous publications in North Carolina during the colonial period, only 77 newspaper issues have survived into the 21st century. The site has also compiled articles that originally appeared in North Carolina papers and were reprinted in other colonial publications. The articles can be searched by subject.
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Archiving Early America
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Archiving Early America is a website that provides access to colonial primary source documents. Students can read about early colonial life, as well as short biographies on famous colonial people and important American documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The site has an online publication entitled "Early American Reviews," which features articles about historic colonial American events or people. "Pages from the Past" has a sampling of front-page articles from three colonial newspapers with actual pictures of the papers.
PBS
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The Public Broadcasting System channel has had a variety of colonial America television shows. The websites for those shows are full of resources about colonial America. "Colonial House" was a reality show about a group of people who tried to live as the colonists did. The website has interactive materials on the colonies, including teaching about clothes, the differences between the colonies and the trip across the Atlantic. "Unearthing Secret America" was a show examining archaeological information on the colonies, particularly Jamestown. The website includes a teaching guide and videos. The "Africans in America" site has a resource bank with many articles on colonial America and a teaching guide.
Virtual Jamestown
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Virtual Jamestown is an ongoing project and website that contains a plethora of resources. It has primary documents, such a labor contracts, court and public records and personal accounts. There are also interactive activities and maps. The reference center contains timelines, essays, biographies and bibliographies.
Plymouth Colony Archive Project
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The Plymouth Colony Archive Project was begun to make primary documents and historical analysis about the Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1691 available to the general public. The site contains maps as well as essays on the legal structure of the colony and the lives of women and servants. Also available are primary documents such as wills and court cases. Students can study colonial laws, town and fort plans, and view photographs.
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