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Year 1: Unit 1 – The “Old” World Meets the “New” – European Colonization in the Americas (1492 – 1754): Lessons

Lesson 1: Native Peoples of the Americas (Jigsaw)

Central Question: How did Native American societies differ across the Americas?

Historical Background

Many thousands of years before Christopher Columbus’ ships landed in the Bahamas, a different group of people discovered America: the nomadic ancestors of modern Native Americans. By the time European adventurers arrived in the 15th century, scholars estimate that more than 50 million people were already living in the Americas. Of these, some 10 million lived in the area that would become the United States. In order to keep track of these diverse groups, anthropologists and geographers have divided them into “culture areas,” or rough groupings of contiguous peoples who shared similar habitats and characteristics. Most historians break North America — excluding present-day Mexico — into 10 separate culture areas: the Arctic, the Subarctic, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Plains, the Southwest, the Great Basin, California, the Northwest Coast, and the Plateau.

For more background, read “Native American Cultures” on the History Channel website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • Native Americans
  • Native American cultural areas
  • Iroquois Confederacy

Scholars understand the spread of human societies in the Americas and can explain how these diverse native cultures differed.

Preparation

  • Display the Unit 1 Essential Question on the wall in your classroom for scholars to reference throughout the unit.
  • Create a word wall in your classroom with the Unit 1 Key Terms for scholars to reference during class discussion. Hold scholars accountable for using these Key Terms throughout the unit.
  • Post a timeline in your classroom or digitally to track key events from this unit.
  • Also, to complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
    • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Lesson 1 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 1 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 20 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Introduce the Essential Question for Unit 1: How did the European quest for “gold, God, and glory” affect the Americas during the colonial era?
  • Explain that, each day, scholars will gather more evidence to answer this question.
  • Remind scholars that this unit builds upon past content and that they must constantly make connections to previous periods of history to help them answer this Essential Question.
  • Then pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in beginning their study of the origins of the first encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Watch (13 minutes)

  • Watch the video National Geographic: America Before Columbus, available on YouTube.
    • Begin the clip at 8:55 and pause the clip at 22:07 to allow for discussion.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
    • How did different Native American communities survive in the Americas?

Discuss (5 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the question below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
    • How did the environment in the Americas affect how Native Americans lived?

Investigate — 10 minutes

  • Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars should be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
  • Divide scholars into groups and assign each group one of the following four culture groups: Northeastern Culture Region, Southeastern Culture Region, Southwestern Culture Region, or the Great Plains Culture Region, (all on page 3 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 5 minutes

  • Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 1 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook during each presentation.
  • Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 1 minute or less.
  • As scholars share, chart the major takeaways from each group and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • How did native cultures organize their societies?
    • Why did native cultures develop diverse societies across the Americas?
    • Make a connection to Essential Question. Ask: How do you expect the arrival of Europeans in the Americas will affect these native societies?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Scholars independently complete the Lesson 1 Exit Ticket in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Homework

  • Scholars read “Christopher Columbus Didn’t Discover the New World; He Rediscovered It” on the Newsela website and examine the map on page 5 in the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 2: Columbus and the Americas (Video Analysis)

Central Question: How did Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492 change the Americas for centuries to come?

Historical Background

In 1492, the voyages of Columbus triggered a great transfer of people, plants, animals, and diseases back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. This transfer, which still continues today, is called the Columbian Exchange. When Europeans first touched the shores of the Americas, Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips had not traveled west across the Atlantic, and New World crops such as maize, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and manioc had not traveled east to Europe. In the Americas, there were no horses, cattle, sheep, or goats, all animals of Old World origin. Nor did the New World have the diseases associated with the Old World’s dense populations of humans, such as smallpox, measles, chicken pox, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever. The Europeans who came to America brought with them germs that caused smallpox and other diseases deadly to Native Americans. Historians estimate that in some areas, 90% of the native population was wiped out by European diseases.

For more background, read “The Columbian Exchange” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • Age of Exploration
  • Christopher Columbus
  • Columbian Exchange

Scholars understand the significance of Columbus’ voyages and his interactions with indigenous peoples and can explain the course and consequences of the Columbian Exchange.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Watch and Discuss 1 — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the origins of the first encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Watch (10 minutes)

  • Watch the video National Geographic: America Before Columbus, available on YouTube.
    • Begin the clip at 43:10 and pause the clip at 53:47 to allow for discussion.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
    • Why did Europeans voyage to the New World?

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed before the video as well as the question below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
    • How did Columbus’ expectations for his voyage differ from the reality he faced?

Watch and Discuss 2 — 20 minutes

Watch (15 minutes)

  • Continue to watch the video National Geographic: America Before Columbus, available on YouTube.
    • Continue the clip at 54:47 and pause the clip at 1:04:20; resume the clip at 1:14:01 and pause the clip at 1:18:47 to allow for discussion.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
    • How were Native American societies affected by the arrival of Columbus and future Europeans?

Discuss (5 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed before the video as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
    • How was the American environment and its wildlife changed by the arrival of Europeans?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How might these changes in the Americas affect Europeans back in Europe?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

  • Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
    • How did Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492 change the Americas for centuries to come? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Lesson 3: Columbus and the Americas (Map Study)

Central Question: How did Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492 change the Americas for centuries to come?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Term:

  • Colony/colonization

Scholars understand the lasting impact of Columbus’ voyages on the Americas and can illustrate the major peoples of the Americas and the arrival of Europeans on a map.

Preparation

  • To complete this project, before class you must:
    • Print the Map of the Americas template in the Unit 1 Workbook for each scholar.
    • Create a teacher model of the map.
    • Gather colored pencils for illustrating and organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the origins of the first encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Examine (3 minutes)

  • Scholars examine the map “Sea Routes of European Explorers in the ‘New World’” on page 5 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they examine the map:
    • How did Columbus’ voyage to the Americas influence other European explorers in the 16th century?

Discuss (5 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the question posed before examining the map in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from the map.
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How might these European voyages most likely affect the New World?

Project Work — 25 minutes

  • Explain that scholars are going to create their own maps today to illustrate the peoples and environments in the Americas, referencing Maps A through E on pages 6–9 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook as they work. As an extension, scholars may add additional information about these communities to their maps studied in Lesson 1 (see page 3 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook).
  • Tell scholars that their maps should clearly and compellingly show:
    • Major Native American communities: Aztec, Huron, Iroquois, Powhatan, Pueblo, and Wampanoag (Maps A and B)
    • European colonial holdings in the Americas: British, French, Portuguese, and Spanish (Map C)
    • Physical features of the Americas: the Rocky and Andes Mountains, the Amazon Basin and River, and the Great Lakes (Map E)
    • Regions of British Colonial America: the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies (Map D)
  • While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for accurate labels and compelling visual features in project work and to determine major trends in scholars’ work.

Wrap-Up — 10 minutes

  • Show an exemplar map to the class. Look for work that clearly and compellingly illustrates the native peoples of the Americas and the arrival of the Europeans.

Homework

  • Scholars read the articles “Imperial Rivalries, Part One: Spain, Portugal and Pop Divvy New World,” “Imperial Rivalries, Part Two: England, France and Holland Race to New World,” and “Imperial Rivalries, Part Three: Religious Strife and the New World” adapted from the essay “Imperial Rivalries in the New World” by historian Peter Mancall on the Newsela website and study the map on page 11 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 4: European Colonization (Jigsaw)

Central Question: Why did different peoples come to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries?

Historical Background

As an international theater of colonial development, the culture of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries was a product of the many peoples that came — or were forcibly brought — to the New World. The first phase of European colonization in the Americas began with the Atlantic Ocean crossings of Christopher Columbus, followed by a phase of conquest led by Spain and Portugal. Future waves of European colonists were driven by varying combinations of economic, religious, and political motivations, based in part on the conditions in their nations of origin. And as native populations declined — mostly from European diseases but also from forced exploitation and conquest — they were often replaced by Africans imported through a large and growing commercial slave trade.

For more background, read “European Colonization of the Americas” on the New World Encyclopedia website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • Missionary
  • Transatlantic Slave Trade

Scholars can explain how and why different European colonists and enslaved Africans populated the Americas.

Preparation

  • To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
    • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Lesson 4 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 4 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 5 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in beginning their study of European colonization in the New World.

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the question below in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from their homework.
    • Why did European settlers colonize the Americas?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did these motivations affect the way Europeans interacted with Native Americans?

Investigate — 20 minutes

  • Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars should be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
  • Divide scholars into groups and assign each group one of the following five peoples: the Africans (page 12 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), the Dutch (pages 13–14 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), the English (page 15 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), the French (page 16 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), or the Spanish (page 17 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

  • Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 4 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook during each presentation.
  • Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 2 minutes or less.
  • As scholars share, chart the major takeaways from each group and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • Why did different Europeans come to the Americas?
    • To what extent were the reasons Europeans came to the Americas different?
    • Why were Africans forcibly brought to the Americas?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did these new peoples affect Native American societies in the Americas?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
    • Why did different peoples come to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, review scholars’ Exit Tickets and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their argument in this Exit Ticket as well as their future writing. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Lesson 5: European Colonization (Exit Ticket Revision)

Central Question: Why did different peoples come to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their Exit Tickets based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

  • To complete this Exit Ticket revision, before class you must:
    • Create a teacher model of the Exit Ticket.
    • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft Exit Ticket from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-Lesson. If there is no exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars read your feedback on their Exit Tickets and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

  • The launch is your opportunity to show scholars a model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
    • Reread the Exit Ticket question with scholars: Why did different peoples come to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries?
    • Ask: What is this question asking us to do?
    • Have scholars interpret the question in pairs. Call on pairs to share out.
    • Then share an exemplar response to this question from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s claim compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this claim.

Mini-Lesson — 10 minutes

  • Choose an anonymous scholar draft Exit Ticket that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholars’ work from the previous lesson and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
  • Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the Exit Ticket. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
  • Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

  • Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their Exit Tickets.
  • Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will only be productive if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
    • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

  • Share an Exit Ticket that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
    • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
  • Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
  • Scholars articulate to their partner how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

  • Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their Exit Tickets.
  • Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their Exit Tickets.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Help scholars focus on what is most important: claims and supporting evidence.
    • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

  • Scholars read “First Encounters” on page 19 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, give each scholar a final grade on their revised Exit Ticket, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Lesson 6: Encounters in Colonial America (Jigsaw)

Central Question: How did Europeans and Native Americans view one another?

Historical Background

Although often told as the story of the Europeans’ “discovery” of the Americas, native communities were just as awestruck by the arrival of a strange, new culture in their own world. It is little wonder then that rumors of the marvels to be had in exchange for beaver pelts and other furs preceded both settlers and native peoples wherever they went. Luxuries to one culture were commonplace in the other, and vice versa, leading to stories like the “sale” of Manhattan Island for $24 and the exchange of massive amounts of new resources from the Americas for seemingly innocuous trinkets and manufactured goods and, eventually, horses and guns.

For more background, read “Native American Discoveries of Europe” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand the emerging relationships between Europeans and the natives they encountered and can explain how these encounters led each group to view the other.

Preparation

  • To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
    • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Lesson 6 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 6 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 10 minutes

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in building upon their understanding of the encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in building upon their understanding of the encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Examine (5 minutes)

  • Scholars examine the image “The Indians Delivering Up the English Captives to Colonel Bouquet,” on page 21 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they examine the image:
    • How does the illustrator of this image characterize Native Americans?

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed before examining the image as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with a claim supported by evidence from their homework and the image.
    • To what extent did all European colonists share this illustrators’ perspective of Native Americans?
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did different European perspectives of the New World influence how colonists viewed Native Americans?

Investigate — 15 minutes

  • Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars should be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
  • Divide scholars into groups and assign each group one of the following three European and Native American encounters: English encounters (page 22 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), French encounters (pages 23–24 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), or Spanish encounters (page 25–26 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

  • Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 6 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook during each presentation.
  • Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 3 minutes or less.
  • As scholars share, chart the major takeaways from each group and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • How did Native Americans characterize Europeans?
    • How did Europeans characterize native communities?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did European perspectives of Native Americans influence their treatment of them in the Americas?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Scholars independently complete the Lesson 6 Exit Ticket in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Homework

  • Scholars study their Unit 1 Key Terms introduced so far in the unit in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 7: Encounters in Colonial America (PBL)

Central Question: How did Europeans and Native Americans view one another?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand how Europeans and Native Americans viewed one another and can plan illustrations demonstrating these differing perspectives of Native Americans and Europeans in a historically accurate and compelling way.

Preparation

  • To complete this project, before class you must:
    • Print the Colonial Encounters template in the Unit 1 Workbook for each scholar.
    • Create a teacher model of the Illustration Planning Guide.
    • Gather colored pencils for illustrating and organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Illustration Planning Guide in the Unit 1 Workbook accessible.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 7 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Study Mentor Images — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in building upon their understanding of the encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Examine (5 minutes)

  • Show Documents B and C on pages 29 and 30 in the Unit 1 Sourcebook to the class. Highlight features in these authentic examples to provide a model for scholars’ projects.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they examine the images:
    • How do these images demonstrate how Europeans and Native Americans viewed one another?
  • After examining each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • Be sure to address why the vast majority of surviving images and paintings represent the European perspective of native peoples, as these examples do. Challenge scholars to evaluate how native peoples would likely represent the same encounter from their point of view.

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Remind scholars to keep the Central Question front and center.
    • What are the main ideas in these images?
    • Why were these images created?

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea annotations for either image based on the discussion.

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the Sourcebook examples.
    • Whose perspective is represented in each image? How do you know?
    • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How might this same encounter be represented differently if it was created from the other perspective? From a neutral perspective?

Planning — 10 minutes

  • Explain that scholars will illustrate a European and Native American encounter studied in the previous lesson, creating two illustrations: one that represents the perspective of the Native Americans and the other the perspective of the Europeans.
  • Tell scholars that their illustrations must portray a powerful and compelling idea supported by strong visual evidence, just like in the sample documents.
    • Remind scholars that visual projects, just like written pieces, make arguments, and all arguments require a strong idea with supporting details.
  • Scholars may reference Documents A through E on pages 28–32 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook as they work.
  • Scholars may use the Illustration Planning Guide in the Unit 1 Workbook to plan their illustrations, writing their ideas and planning the details they will use to support them.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

  • Share an exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss how the plan illustrates the scholar’s idea with clear and coherent organization.
  • Share a non-exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss why the plan lacks an idea and/or clear and coherent organization.
  • Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
  • Scholars articulate to partners how they will create their final illustrations based on what they have learned.

Revise — 10 minutes

  • Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their plans.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Ensure that all scholars are rereading their plans so that they have strong ideas and clear organization.
    • Help scholars focus on what is most important: ideas and supporting details.
    • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, review scholars’ completed plans and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Focus on the quality and clarity of scholars’ ideas for their artwork and the details they plan to use to support them.

Lesson 8: Encounters in Colonial America (PBL)

Central Question: How did Europeans and Native Americans view one another?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand how Europeans and Native Americans viewed one another and can create illustrations demonstrating these differing perspectives of Native Americans and Europeans in a historically accurate and compelling way.

Preparation

  • To complete this project, before class you must:
    • Print the Colonial Encounters template from the Unit 1 Workbook for each scholar.
    • Create a teacher model of an illustration.
    • Gather colored pencils for illustrating and organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
    • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar plan from the previous lesson to use in the Launch. If there is no exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Illustration Planning Guide in the Unit 1 Workbook returned with feedback.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars read your feedback on their Illustration Planning Guides and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

  • Have scholars recall the previous lesson’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the encounters between native peoples and Europeans.
  • Explain that scholars will use their plans from the previous lesson to create their illustrations today.
  • Choose an exemplar plan from the previous lesson. As a class, discuss the features that make this plan effective and how scholars will use their planning to create accurate and compelling artwork.
  • Explain what scholars must do to finish their projects by the beginning of the next lesson and invest them in doing their best work to display in your classroom!
  • Remind scholars to apply your feedback on their planning guides to their project work today.

Project Work — 30 minutes

  • Scholars create their own illustrations, referring to Documents A through E on pages 28–32 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook as they work.
  • While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas and persuasive visual evidence in project work and to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the idea conveyed by his or her illustration. Can the idea be made stronger? How can the illustration convey the idea more effectively? Is the illustration interesting and visually compelling?
    • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on conveying European and Native American perspectives.

Wrap-Up — 5 minutes

  • Show an exemplar illustration to the class. Look for work that precisely illustrates both points of view and incorporates any feedback you gave to scholars on their plans and/or projects.

Homework

  • Scholars read the articles “Overview of Native American and European Relations” on the Newsela website and “King Philip’s War” on the History Channel website in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, give each scholar a grade on their final project, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Lesson 9: Colonial Conflicts with Native Americans (Source Analysis)

Central Question: Why did war erupt between Native Americans and European colonists?

Historical Background

While Spanish conquistadors used violence against Native Americans early on in their arrival in the Americas, full-scale war did not break out in the rest of European colonial America for many years. While skirmishes and conflicts often occurred, Native Americans and Europeans also often worked together or made peaceful agreements. King Philip’s War shattered a nearly 40-year peace between colonists and Native Americans in New England and changed the trajectory of the relationships between Europeans and native peoples in the rest of colonial America. The war, also known as Metacom’s Rebellion, marked the last major effort by the American Indians of southern New England to drive out English settlers following the collapse of their trading partnerships and the continued expansion of colonial settlements. As a percentage of population lost, King Philip’s War remains the most deadly conflict in American history.

For more background, watch “King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Term:

  • King Philip’s War

Scholars understand the power struggles between Europeans and Native Americans in the Americas and can explain why war ultimately broke out during King Philip’s War.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 9 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the encounters between native peoples and Europeans.

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework.
    • What was happening to New England’s Native American population before the war began? How did this affect the relationship between colonists and Native Americans?
    • Why did King Philip’s War erupt?
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did earlier encounters between Native Americans and European colonists contribute to King Philip’s War?

Investigate — 20 minutes

  • Scholars read and annotate Documents A through C on pages 34–35 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss — 10 minutes

  • Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • How did English colonists’ earlier encounters with Native Americans contribute to the outbreak of war?
    • Why did King Philip attack English settlements?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How might the outbreak of King Philip’s War most likely affect future Native American and colonist interactions?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

  • Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
    • Why did war erupt between Native Americans and European colonists? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Homework

  • Scholars read “Jamestown and the Founding of English America” on pages 37–39 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 10: The Jamestown Colony (Source Analysis)

Central Question: Why did early English colonists struggle to survive in North America?

Historical Background

The first English colonists to North America came to Roanoke, North Carolina. After three failed attempts to colonize the region — marked by starvation, freezing weather, conflicts with native peoples, and mysterious disappearances — the English finally settled their first successful colony in 1606: in Jamestown, Virginia. The colonists at Jamestown faced incredible hardships in settling the Americas for England. Indeed, the company that sponsored the colony ultimately failed and rule of Virginia was taken over by the English crown. Despite the hardships of the “starving time,” all successful English colonies followed in its wake.

For more background, read “Jamestown and the Founding of English America” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • British North America
  • Jamestown Colony

Scholars understand how the Jamestown colony was established and governed and can explain the hardships early English colonists faced to establish a colony in the Americas.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in beginning their study of British colonial North America.

Listen (8 minutes)

  • Listen to the episode “Cannibalism at Jamestown,” from the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class.
    • Begin the audio at 1:11 and pause the audio at 9:09 to allow for discussion.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they listen to the episode:
    • How did early European colonists respond to the hardships they faced in Jamestown?

Discuss (5 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the podcast in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with a claim supported by evidence from their homework and the podcast.
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did these challenges most likely affect European attitudes about colonizing the Americas?

Investigate — 20 minutes

  • Scholars read and annotate Documents A through C on pages 39–40 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • Why did so many early colonists die at Jamestown?
    • How did the natural environment of the Americas affect early European settlers?
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: Why did English settlers continue immigrating to the Jamestown colony despite the death toll?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
    • Why did early English colonists struggle to survive in British North America? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Homework

  • Scholars read “Who Were the Pilgrims?” on pages 42–43 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 11: Religion in the Colonies (Source Analysis)

Central Question: How did religion influence early European colonists’ views of the Americas?

Historical Background

The New England colonists — with the exception of those in Rhode Island — were predominantly Puritans, who, by and large, led strict religious lives. Puritan leadership, especially in Massachusetts and Connecticut, integrated their version of Protestantism into their political structure. The future governments of these colonies contained elements of theocracy, asserting that leaders derived authority from divine guidance and ought to enforce religious conformity. To understand America’s balance among national laws, local community practices, and individual freedom of belief, it’s important to first understand the experiences and influence around religion in early colonial culture.

For more background, read “The Puritans and Dissent” and “Religion and 18th-Century Revivalism,” both on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • Puritans
  • Plymouth Colony
  • Mayflower

Scholars understand the religious conflict between the Puritans and Church of England and can explain how Puritanism shaped the views of early New England colonists.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of British colonial North America.

Watch (3 minutes)

  • Watch the video “Pilgrims in America,” on the History Channel website.
  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
    • How did Puritan beliefs about religion differ from other Christians in England?

Discuss (5 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
    • Why did the Puritans set sail for America in the 17th century?
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did religion influence the Puritans’ decision to colonize the New World?

Investigate — 20 minutes

  • Scholars read and annotate Documents A through C on pages 43–45 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • How did religion influence the Puritans’ view of the world around them?
    • How did Puritan leaders view their new American colony in Massachusetts?
    • How did Puritans organize their government in the New World?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did these religious beliefs most likely affect how Puritans organized their society in the New World?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

  • Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
    • How did religion influence early European colonists’ views of the Americas? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, review scholars’ Exit Tickets and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their argument in this Exit Ticket as well as their future writing. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Lesson 12: Religion in the Colonies (Exit Ticket Revision)

Central Question: How did religion influence early European colonists’ views of the Americas?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their Exit Tickets based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

  • To complete this Exit Ticket revision, before class you must:
    • Create a teacher model of the Exit Ticket.
    • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft Exit Ticket from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-Lesson. If there is no exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars read your feedback on their Exit Tickets and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

  • The launch is your opportunity to show scholars a model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
    • Reread the Exit Ticket question with scholars: How did religion influence early European colonists’ views of the Americas?
    • Ask: What is this question asking us to do?
    • Have scholars interpret the question in pairs. Call on pairs to share out.
    • Then share an exemplar response to this question from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s claim compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this claim.

Mini-Lesson — 10 minutes

  • Choose an anonymous scholar’s draft Exit Ticket that demonstrates a whole class trend from your study of scholars’ work from the previous lesson and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
  • Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the Exit Ticket. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
  • Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

  • Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their Exit Tickets.
  • Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will only be productive if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
    • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

  • Share an Exit Ticket that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
    • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
  • Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
  • Scholars articulate to their partner how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

  • Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their Exit Tickets.
  • Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their Exit Tickets.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Help scholars focus on what is most important: claims and supporting evidence.
    • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

  • Scholars read the article “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials” by Jess Blumberg on the Newsela website and examine the image on page 47 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

  • Before the next lesson, give each scholar a final grade on their revised Exit Ticket, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Lesson 13: The Salem Witch Trials (Simulation)

Central Question: Why did the Salem Witch Trial hysteria erupt in Puritan Massachusetts?

Historical Background

In 17th-century New England, witchcraft was a serious crime. In Exodus 22:18, the Bible proclaims, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” Between 1620 and 1700, 16 individuals outside of Salem were executed after being convicted for witchcraft. This, however, pales in comparison to the hysteria that swept Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. By the end of the Salem Witch Trials, 20 residents had been executed and over 100 had been jailed. The fact that the governor’s own wife was accused helped bring an end to the killings.

For more background, read “The Witches of Salem” in The New Yorker and listen to “In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Term:

  • Salem Witch Trials

Scholars understand the causes of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 and can explain how religion affected cultural and societal values in colonial Massachusetts.

Preparation

  • To complete this simulation, before class you must:
    • Make a plan for how you are going to assign roles for this simulation.
    • Ensure that each scholar has their appropriate materials for the simulation, and make sure that no other scholars see the materials of Bridget Bishop or the accusers in advance.
    • Think through systems for managing the Investigate portion to ensure that Bridget Bishop and the accusers are prepared to assume their roles while also holding the rest of the class accountable for understanding their perspective as villagers.
    • Set up the room for the simulation. Set up two chairs facing each other in the front of the room for Bridget Bishop and the examiner to sit in; set up three chairs in the front of the room but off to the side for the accusers.
    • Ensure that you have studied the examiner instructions on page 52 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook and understand how you, as the examiner, will be moderating the trial.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 13 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 5 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of British colonial North America.
  • Introduce the contemporary meaning of the phrase “witch hunt” with scholars.
  • Ask: What examples of witch hunts can they recall from history or current events?
  • Tell scholars that they will be investigating the origins of this term with the very first witch hunt on American soil — the Salem Witch Trials!

Discuss (3 minutes)

  • Scholars discuss the questions below in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework.
    • Why did the residents of Salem believe in witchcraft?
    • Who was accused of witchcraft? Why?
    • Make a connection to previous content and the Essential Question. Ask: How did Puritan religious beliefs influence the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials?

Investigate — 15 minutes

  • Tell scholars that they will be simulating part of the Salem Witch Trials: the trial of Bridget Bishop!
  • Explain that scholars will assume the roles and perspectives of Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts, and that they must conduct this simulation based only on the perspectives of their assigned characters.
  • Assign one scholar the role of Bridget Bishop on page 48 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook and three scholars the role of the accusers on page 50 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook. Assign the rest of the class the role of villagers on page 54 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook. The villagers will serve as the jury for this trial.
  • Scholars read and annotate their assigned documents.
  • As scholars who are villagers read, they should answer the following questions:
    • How did the Puritans characterize witchcraft?
    • What were the key cultural values of Puritans in Salem?
    • Who was Bridget Bishop, and to what extent did she follow traditional Puritan cultural values?
  • As scholars who are either Bridget Bishop or the accusers read, they should:
    • Understand the background and characteristics of their assigned characters.
    • Be able to explain their roles and instructions for the trial.
    • Make a plan for how you will act and respond to the actions of others during the role play.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document support your understanding of the Salem Witch Trials?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Simulation — 15 minutes

  • Announce to the class that one of their very own — Bridget Bishop — has been accused of witchcraft.
  • Read aloud that the accusers (point to the accusers) claim that Ms. Bishop has bewitched them, as well as her husband, and has put them under her control. She causes them extreme distress. Tell the class that it is their job to determine if Ms. Bishop is innocent or guilty of witchcraft. If the class determines that Ms. Bishop is guilty, her punishment will be a hanging in the town square.
  • Instruct scholars that in order to best determine Ms. Bishop’s innocence or guilt, they must observe her every action very closely, for that is the only way to determine whether or not someone is a witch!
  • Before beginning, set clear expectations for scholar villagers as audience members during the first half of the simulation. Ensure that scholars understand that they must put themselves in the shoes of a Puritan in Salem during the 1600s in order to successfully judge on this case.
  • The teacher, as the examiner, begins by calling Ms. Bishop to the stand. Once the scholar is been seated, call the accusers to their seats.
  • The examiner, accused, and accusers read their roles from the script and play their parts as the villagers observe.
  • After the scene has finished, divide the villagers into small groups of no more than four scholars. Have each group discuss whether or not Ms. Bishop is guilty of witchcraft.
  • Before scholars begin discussing, set expectations for villager participation within groups. Each group must come to a decision on guilt or innocence together.
  • Then, as a class, conduct a vote for or against Ms. Bishop’s guilt. Each group gets one vote.
  • Tell scholars that, in fact, Ms. Bishop was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Altogether, about 72 people — mostly women — were accused and put on trial, and 20 were hung for their “crimes.”

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • How did Puritan religious beliefs contribute to the hysteria in Salem?
    • How did Puritan cultural values contribute to the hysteria in Salem?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: Why was the Salem Witch Trial hysteria possible in Puritan Massachusetts?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Scholars independently complete the Lesson 13 Exit Ticket in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Homework

  • Scholars read the article “Puritan New England” on the Khan Academy website, as well as “Early British Colonies in North America” on Independence Hall’s USHistory.org website in preparation for the next lesson.

Lesson 14: The 13 Colonies (Jigsaw)

Central Question: To what extent did colonial life differ across British America by the turn of the 18th century?

Historical Background

Over time, England’s colonial holdings in North America began to increase. What once began as Jamestown in Virginia and Plymouth in Massachusetts expanded to become 13 colonies along the East Coast of North America. The 13 colonies that joined together to become the United States of America were a small part of what would become the first British Empire. In 1707, the country of England merged with Scotland, forming a new nation: Great Britain. This new nation began more dramatically pursuing its empire and colonial growth. Beginning with a broad and dramatic expansion of England that began with the establishment of “plantations” in Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, British colonization reached a peak with the conquest of Canada and the extension of British influence over India during the 1760s. In the New World, alone, at the time of the American Revolution, Britain had close to two dozen colonies, most in the Caribbean, apart from the 13 rebellious ones. As was the case for other colonizing nations, this expansion was driven by a variety of factors, including religion, nationalism, and economics — often categorized as gold, God, and glory.

For more background, read “The 13 Colonies” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 1 Key Terms:

  • New England
  • Middle Colonies
  • The South
  • Quakers

Scholars understand how early colonies were established and governed, and can explain how and why the cultures, economies, and governments differed in New England, the Middle colonies, and the South.

Preparation

  • To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
    • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Lesson 14 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

  • Scholars complete the Unit 1 Lesson 14 Do Now in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

  • Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
  • Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of British colonial North America.

Watch (4 minutes)

  • Watch the video “The History of Colonial America,” available on Flocabulary.

To access Flocabulary videos, you must first make an account on the Flocabulary website.

  • Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
    • How did the environment of the colonies influence how New England, the Middle colonies, and the South developed?

Discuss (4 minutes)

  • Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
    • How did British North America change over time?
    • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did motivations of British colonists coming to North America differ?

Investigate — 15 minutes

  • Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars should be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
  • Divide scholars into groups and assign each group one of the three British colonial regions: the Middle Colonies (pages 57–60 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), the New England Colonies (pages 61–64 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook), or the Southern Colonies (pages 65–67 of the Unit 1 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
  • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
  • Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
    • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
    • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

  • Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 14 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 1 Workbook during each presentation.
  • Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 3 minutes or less.
  • As scholars share, chart major takeaways from each group and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

  • After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
    • Compare New England, the Middle colonies, and the South. How are they similar? Different?
    • Why did these colonial regions differ?
    • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did the earliest settlers in each region influence the later development of those colonies?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

  • Scholars independently complete the Lesson 14 Exit Ticket in the Unit 1 Workbook.

Optional Current Events Connection, Assignment 1

  • Scholars read the following articles on Newsela*:
    • “Should We Celebrate Christopher Columbus?”
    • “Two American Holidays Are Not Being Taught Truthfully”
  • Scholars write an essay of no more than 200 words based on both of the articles above in response to the following prompt:
    • Should Americans continue to celebrate Christopher Columbus?

*To access all articles on the Newsela website, you must create a free account.

Optional Current Events Connection, Assignment 2

  • Scholars read the following articles on Newsela*:
    • “Muslim, Jewish Holidays in Schools”
    • “Is It Time for Public Schools to Put Religion Back into Schools?”
  • Scholars write a paragraph of no more than 200 words based on both of the articles above in response to the following prompt:
    • How does the principle of religious freedom pose challenges in present-day American society?

*To access all articles on the Newsela website, you must create a free account.

Extra Credit

Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about Big Ideas in American history.

  • Choose one of the following civilizations: the Aztec, Huron, Iroquois, Powhatan, Pueblo, or Wampanoag. Explain the key traits of your chosen civilization in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans.
  • Did opportunity outweigh the hardships in the New World for early European colonists?
  • How free were the early British colonies in the Americas?

Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below.

  • Thematic Essay: Scholars write a thematic essay that answers one of the extra credit prompts, drawing on evidence both from the unit and from their own independent research.
  • Podcast: Scholars create an original podcast that answers one of the prompts above. The podcast should be 5–8 minutes long. Podcasts must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
  • “Docudrama”: Scholars create a “docudrama” that answers one of the prompts above. A docudrama is a dramatized video that tells the story of historic events. The docudrama should be 5–8 minutes long. Docudramas must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
  • Interview: Scholars record (video or podcast) an interview with a “historian” or a historical figure in order to answer one of the prompts above. The historian or historical figure must be the scholar. A parent, a classmate, or a teacher should be the interviewer. Interviews should be 5–8 minutes long. Interviews must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
  • Propose your own project: Scholars may propose to do their own project. These projects must still answer one of the extra credit prompts, and any project proposal must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.

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