Engage

What does it mean to be an American? We often ask ourselves "where did we come from?" If we look at reasons for why North America was original colonized we might be able to understand better the cultures and societies that exist today in each of the founding regions.

This lesson will take you back to the roots of three main settlement regions in America as you explore the past we will be creating projects that use today’s technology to better understand "Why did we come to America?". Many of the original ideas for colonization are still being used today to establish the foundations of organizations and communities. We must first bring about a modern understanding and connection with our original discovery and its trials and tribulations.

What were the basic priciples and roadblocks that were encounrter by the orginal settlers?

Next, Let's Explore our background and relive the past by creating a project that uses today’s technology to create a better understanding of who we are.

Explore

You will need to read and research these sites and others to answer the essential questions in your Explain section.

Make sure that you properly cite and your sources using a guideline such as Purdue University's resource on APA formatting style for online resources:

You will also need to use a word processor to collect and save your information. This material you will be turning in for a research grade.

To begin you may want to review the Nortel LearniT video tutorials on Discovering the Internet

What does Wikipedia say about:European colonization of the Americas? 

What can you find out about:  

• Why Europeans settled North America?

• What was the motivations for settling where they did and what was their colony structure?

• What was the interactions between the European, African, and American cultures like?

Explain

You will need to completely answer all of the following questions. This assignment should be completed by copying the questions into an outline format using a word processor, and then inserting the answers.

1. How did the Renaissance and the Reformation help to cause the early colonization?
2. Why were joint stock companies establish and what were the advantages?
3. Why did the colonies depend on England?
4. Why did Europeans settle in the English colonies? ( try to find about 5 reasons) a)

a) What was unique and motived of each of the settlements in New England, The Middle Atlantic and in Virginia and the other Southern colonies

b) OK, so who were the Pilgrims, and what did they want?

c) Who were the Puritans and why did they come?

d) What did the Puritan use to help establish the foundation for a democratic society?

e) What is a plan of government called?

f) What is a self-governing political unit?

g) Which colony with elective government was based on equality?

h) What countries settled this region The Middle Atlantic and why did they come?

i) What groups settled in the Virginia and the other Southern colonies and what were the seeking?

j) Which colony had the most varied population?

5. In what ways did the cultures of Europe, Africa, and the Americas interact?

6. What happened when the European nations (English, French and Spanish) interacted with the African, and Native American cultures?

7. Terms to be identified: House of Burgesses , Pilgrims, Virginia Company , Anglican Church, Separatists, Pilgrims, The Mayflower Compact, Covenant community, Direct democracy (town meeting), New Amsterdam, Quakers, Roanoke Island, Virginia Company, Plymouth Company, John Smith, Royal colony, Cavaliers, Economic opportunities, House of Burgesses, Indentured servants, Slavery, Jamestown

Elaborate

You have just completed in the Explain part of the lesson and you now need to bring all of that information together chronologically. Let’s first apply our new knowledge to an open class discussion (If this class is online can break the essential questions into discussion board activities). (Teachers may want to use some kind of concept mapping tool (Inspiration) that will help direct the discussion.) What do we need to know from all of that work?

For your projects you will need to reflect your understanding of how Early European exploration and colonization resulted in the redistribution of the world's population as millions of people from Europe and Africa voluntarily and involuntarily moved to the New World; How the exploration and colonization initiated worldwide commercial expansion as agricultural products were exchanged between the Americas and Europe. Finally, how in time did colonization led to ideas of representative government and religious toleration that over several centuries would inspire similar transformations in other parts of the world.Now let’s find out what you know. Here are your choices:

1. Choose one of the colonial regions and build a webpage that details the work that you have researched in Explain. Make sure to compare your colony development with the others and why you choose to the region. Use this Nortel LearniT site to help you create your Web Content Creation
2. Produce a skit/video that sequences the development of the colony settlements and/or conduct an interview with members of each colony and how they evolved. Make sure you prepare a storyboard for you project. Use this Nortel LearniT site to help you create your Video Production
3. Create a newsletter of the time that represents each colonial region and covers all of the material covered in the Explain section. Use this Nortel LearniT site to capture Imaging for your pages.

Each one of these projects will be presented to an audience of your peers through a pre determined media.

Make sure you look at the rubric for each project style.

Evaluate

Evaluation is an on going process for any good lesson. Here you need to make sure that you let them know on what their grade will be based. You want to give the students incentives for completing each of the stages in the lesson therefore you should assess each.

Whether you give points or acknowledge that they have completed each phase before they go to the next one, it will give you the opportunity to evaluate the lesson at different stages just in case you need to adjust.

Note the materials that are being researched must be in the evaluation of the project, either through your rubric or you can use other assessment tools. We recommend a rubric to assessment; it gives all students the best opportunity for success regardless of learning level. (here is an example one that you can adapt)

Here is a link on the Nortel LearniT site that you can use to access other project evaluations rubrics: Assessment Tools: Rubrics for Evaluating

Extend

So you did a great job and the kids are excited about what they have learned. You need to seize on this in taking the students beyond the lesson. The purpose is to examine ways in which they can bring their findings to others or apply their understanding to new and unfamiliar circumstances.

This is highly student-driven, though teachers may want to gently suggest that the students enter their work in a competition or take their displays to other locations outside of their own school.

Have your students post their websites to your schools page, or have them share their videos with middle school are elementary school students to explain to them the history lesson and the excitement of the project. How about starting a new nation today? How would you go about it and why would you do it? Explore the possibilities of becoming the leaders of a new world order.