Colonial Era 6-8
European Settlement of North America to 1775
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The American Indian during the Age of European Expansion
Patricia Kenan-Herrmann
Description of Lesson: First, the teacher will provide a working definition for the term imperialism as part of the Age of Discovery or Age of European Exploration. As part of this introduction, the teacher will discuss imperialism not only in relation to European expansion outward from the 16th to the 19th centuries but also with regard to the American Indian empires of the Aztecs and Incas. As part of this introduction, the teacher will provide a map and overhead depiction of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán in present-day Mexico. Students will then read an excerpt from Bernal Díaz's The Conquest of New Spain and Bartolomé de las Casas' The Devastation of the Indies. Together these works reveal cultural contact, collision, and collaboration between American Indians and European settlers as part of this Age of Discovery or Age of European Expansion. Díaz, who was a Spanish soldier and chronicler, provides a first-hand account of the initial contact between Hernán Cortés' men and Montezuma, a ruler of the Aztec empire. Las Casas, who was a Spanish missionary in the early 16th century in Hispaniola, lobbied for the human rights of American Indians whom he viewed as cruelly mistreated by the Spanish conquistadors. After reading the two primary works, the teacher will divide the students into groups of three. Each group will be given a question in which they are asked to compare the two works. After ten minutes, each group will present their question and their answer to the rest of the class.
North Carolina Native Americans
Joe Newton
Description of Lesson: As we study Ch. 2, the student will be introduced to the rich variety of Native Americans that were found in N.C. from 1500-1800 and their effect on our state's heritage.
NC's Native American Past
Daniel Britt
Description of Lesson: Students will use a variety of primary and secondary resources to formulate and develop a response to the daily essential question. Students will present their responses through one of the mandated technology rich activities. Possible presentations include: PowerPoint, Video Diary, Recreations, “Toon Doo” or “XtraNormal”.
Finding the Lost Colony
Martie Arrowood
Description of Lesson: Students to study the colonization of Roanoke and the theories behind the disappearance of the settlers.
Who Can Claim the First Thanksgiving, Plymouth or Berkeley
Martie Arrowood
Description of Lesson: Socratic Seminar. Students will first read accounts of both the celebration at Plymouth and Berkeley Plantation. Students will read the only 2 primary sources accounts from Plymouth and a statement given by Capt. John Woodleif, a survivor of the “starving time.” After answering a series of didactic questions to provide seminar information, students will discuss their thought about Thanksgiving. Once the seminar is over, students will complete a persuasive essay outlining their beliefs about the first Thanksgiving.
You will flip over the 13 colonies
Christine Velazquez
Description of Lesson: The students will create a flip book about colonial America
Colonial Gazettes
Martie Arrowood
Description of Lesson: This is a review/enrichment activity to summarize the Pre-Revolutionary Era leading up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The goal is to integrate the Communication Skills curriculum – creative writing and historical fiction – and the Social Studies curriculum – causes of the Revolutionary War. Students will engage in discussion/debate of materials as they chose and create their articles.
Which Colony Would You Choose?
Daniel Britt
Description of Lesson:Students will find and review several primary source documents for the colonies of Virginia and North Carolina. Based on comparison students will then use a decision making chart to detail their choices. Finally students will write a letter back home to their family and/or friends to describe why they chose their particular colony.
Religious Ties Between Africa and Eastern North Carolina
Daniel Britt
Description of Lesson: Students will use a prepared PowerPoint to visit informational web sites and complete task associated with the essential question. By the end of the Power Quest students should be able to completely answer the essential question based on the information learned and the evidence compiled by completing the task.
Freedom of Religion
Joe Newton
Description of Lesson: As we study Ch.4, People and Cultures, we will look at the worlds 5 major religions and focus on our nation’s tolerance of religious diversity.
Independence Across the Atlantic
Daniel Britt
Description of Lesson: The colonial experience of Africa is very similar to that of America. With the exception of two countries all of Africa was once a European colony as was the United States. Students will explore primary source documents to create theoretical links to demonstrate how the feelings of colonial Americans toward independence were similar to that of colonial Africans almost 200 years later. Students may also choose to show how independence in America inspired and eventually led to independence in Africa.
Slavery on Trial
Daniel Britt
Description of Lesson: Students will participate in a mock trial to determine the legality of slavery. Students will take on historical roles as slave owners, abolitionist, freemen, and slaves, to present their cases for or against slavery in early America. Students will use primary source documents to build evidence in support of both arguments. Findings will be presented in courtroom format with characters portraying different roles expected in a judicial proceeding. A jury will decide the case depending on amount of evidence presented.
Slave Trade and Anti-Slavery
Patricia Kenan-Herrmann
Description of Lesson: The teacher will give an introduction to the transatlantic slave trade, describe plantation agriculture in the Americas, and then divide the students into 4 groups. The students will read two primary sources on the slave trade and slavery. The first source is by Mary Prince, who was a female slave in the Caribbean, and the second is by Olaudah Equiano, who was a slave throughout the Americas and eventually bought his freedom and settled in London. Each group will be assigned one of the questions. After 15 minutes, the groups will present their question and answer to the rest of the class. As each group answers their question, the rest of the class will write the answers on the handout to be turned into the teacher at the end of the class. The questions will be used to compare the two accounts of enslavement in the Americas as well as relating these accounts to growing antislavery movements taking place across the Atlantic World beginning in the late 18th century. Both of these accounts were used by abolitionists to push for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery. At the end of the class, the teacher will explain what is meant by abolition and emancipation and how these works contributed to movements to end the slave trade and slavery.
Introduction to Brunswick Town
Ed Deberri
Description of Lesson: Students will: a) be introduced to Brunswick Town in the 1730s through the 1770s by an Internet-based TrackStar activity; b) take a field trip to Brunswick Town during which BT staff and volunteers, in period costume, will assist the students to interpret BT's role and life on the eve of the Revolutionary War; and c) process and discuss their experience of the field trip.
The Impact of Brunswick Town and Ft. Anderson
Holly Byrd
Description of Lesson: This lesson is the third part of a three-day series. The first part (written by Ed DeBerri) involves the students participating in an online webquest using Trackstar in order to get background information about Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson and colonial life. On day two, students actually visit Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson and learn about colonial food, woodworking, religion, crime & punishment, militia, and the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. In this lesson, students will reflect on what they have learrned through these experiences and read an article about a recent archaeological finding at Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson.
Regulators and Lawyers
Martie Arrowood
Description of Lesson: Students will use their background of sectionalism in North Carolina and the goals of the colonial government to discuss the letter from Richard Henry Lee and his opinion of the Regulator Movement. Students will review characteristics of the easterners and westerners. They will then analyze the letter to determine who Richard Lee supported in the situation.
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