Overview: Europe in the 17th century was wrought with problems such as the enclosure movement, religious persecution and debtor prisons. Consequently, they came by ship across the stormy Atlantic to the New World. When they landed many stayed at least at first within a close proximity, because there were no roads or other means of transportation. Time passed and they cleared land and began to move inland to better locations to avoid impure water, insects and disease. They were primarily looking a new start, opportunity and freedom.
Connection to Curriculum:
Alabama Course of Study – Grade
5 page 48, English Colonization #13
Grade 10 page 100, The Colonial Era #14
National Geography Standards
- # 9, 12, 15, and 17.
Suggested Grade Levels: Grades 5 and 10
Purpose: To study geographical patterns of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies and why people settled in the different areas.
Lesson Procedures:
Materials: Pencils, worksheet, physical geography maps
of separate U.S. regions, Web page overview of landscape photographs
and maps.
Students will first observe slides of U.S. coastal geography.
They will then divide into 3 regional groups. Each group will study
topography and vegetation maps for their region as well as photographs
of the region. They will gather geographic facts on a guided
worksheet.
In the activity they are to see themselves as colonists
arriving on a foreign shore. Presented with the geographic limitations
of the region and keeping their past experiences in mind, they are
to decide what kind of economic system they would develop in their colony.
They will need to explain why they choose this type of economy.
Each group will present their finding to class.
Class discussion will center on textbook presentation of types of colonies
that developed and why. Students will check how close their decisions
were to the actual events.
Primary Geographic Question: How did the past experiences of settlers and the geographic characteristics of the area effect the economic characteristics of American settlement.
Secondary Geographic Questions:
1. How did the type of soil effect the type of settlement?
2. How did the climate effect where people settled?
End of Lesson Activity:
Literal Questions
1. Which groups settled for economic reasons?
Interpretive Questions
1. Do you think the groups who were interested in economic
gain settled where they did by accident or on purpose?
2. Why do you think they chose the sites they did and
the sites to which they later moved?
Evaluative Questions:
How does each settlements’ expansion effect the
purpose of the colonists?
Home Page
New England Page
Middle Colonies Page
Southern Colonies
Worksheet Link:
#1