Guthriegabs About the American Colonies: 13 British Colonies in North America

Why was North America nicknamed the New World? Where was the Old World?
What happened to the Indigenous People of eastern North America as a result of colonization? 
What made the British colonies unique in each region?

In this 5 week course, compare how Colonial Europeans interacted with the Native Americans in the regions of New England, the British Middle, and British Southern colonies. Learn the motivations for colonization and the effects on the Native populations in the Americas, in addition to the people of West Africa. 

Students do not need prior knowledge of the British colonies, Indigenous, or African people involved, prior to class. 

Week 1: The three colonial regions of Southern colonies, the Middle colonies, and the New England colonies. What were the motivations for people moving to the 13 British colonies in North America?  We will discuss pushes and pulls to migrate. Europeans, Indigenous people, Indentured Servants, and enslaved Africans. 

Week 2: The New England Colonies: Economics, education, demographics, freedoms, government, and motivations (Mayflower Compact, Charter Colony, House of Burgesses, Fundamental Laws) Native American Nation: Wampanoag

Week 3: The Middle Colonies:  Economics, education, demographics, freedoms, government, and motivations (Proprietary Colonies, Royal Colonies, House of Burgesses) Nation American nation: Powhatan

Week 4:  The Southern Colonies:  Economics, demographics, government, and Motivations Native American nation: Yamassee ***

Week 5: Native Americans:  Map the Native American nations in the 13 colonies. Compare & contrast the three colony regions.

Students will be provided with links to student resources, vocabulary, and review games so that they can extend their knowledge of the British colonial regions in North America.  
Students will be assigned optional weekly projects to reinforce the class content. 
Throughout the course, I provide optional teacher-provided graphic organizers for note-taking. 

I teach using a combination of slides, lectures, note-taking using graphic organizers, timelines maps, and projects. This class brings together writing and history. 

Creativity is encouraged. Students will engage in optional writing activities for homework that will enable them to explore these topics further. I encourage reflection and personal connections with the history that we learn in class. 

***  African people were taken from Western Africa under force and brought to the European colonies throughout the Americas.  There were many Indigenous nations in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. This class focuses on three of the nations, one for each region of colonies.  This class will discuss the overall impact on both the Indigenous and African people that lived in the land that became the British colonies. All nations and people have unique cultures that are to be valued. Primary sources from the time period often show a negative attitude towards people that were not European. Students will discuss these impacts during class. This class focuses on the losses that both Indigenous and African people endured due to this attitude. Students are allowed and welcomed to voice their opinions, as long as they are respectful to all people.