The Process

1. Where are we? Your group will be assigned to study one of the three regions of English colonies in the New World: the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, or the Southern Colonies.

2. Meet with the members of your group and talk about the questions you must answer. Together, figure out how your group will tackle the task. Will you study each question one at a time as a whole group? Or maybe assign each person in the group one question? Maybe you could each research a question and take notes and then come back to the group and decide what to do next? How will your group meet this challenge? Record what you decide on the “Group Responsibility Sheet.” Here are the essential questions again:

· Why should people come to your colony?

· Where are the English Colonies? How do people get there from England?

· What is life like in the New England Colonies? You must answer the following questions:

o What is family life like?

o What does the colony and its surrounding area look like?

o What kinds of work are available?

o How is the colony governed?

o What is school like?

o What do homes look like?

o What do colonists do for fun?

o What is religious life like?

3. Use the resources available to find answers to your questions. Carefully read the given websites and books we have in school. Find the answers to your questions and read these sections carefully.

4. Write notes in your own words on index cards. You and your group will research each question and take notes on index cards. Label the cards carefully, so you know what question the card answers.

5. Credit other authors. Record the places you find information on your bibliography. When you get information from a book, an Internet site, an encyclopedia, a magazine, or anywhere else, you must tell your audience where you found the information. The author who created it worked hard and deserves credit for their work. We credit other authors by placing them in a bibliography. Take the time to write the resources down as you go, so you will have a great bibliography at the end of your project.

6. Create performances to demonstrate your understandings. Use the Possible Performances List to help you decide what to create to get people to come to the New World. Write down what your group decides on the “Performances Planning Sheet.”

What are some possible performances I can create to show my understandings?
Sculpture	Map	Dance
Painting	Storyboard	Script
Collage	Demonstration	Newspaper article
Collection	Skit	Brochure
Photo Album	Newscast	Dance
Ceramics	Interview	Editorial
Drawings	Reading	Essay
Graph	Song	Experiment
Multimedia	Speech	Act out a story
Build a model	Teach a lesson	Research report
Scrapbook	Biography	Letter
Display	Story	Diary
Build a model	Poem	Reenactment
Scrapbook	Display	Video

Websites

New England Colonies

Plimouth Plantation http://www.plimoth.org/index.htm

Pilgrim Hall Museum http://pilgrimhall.org/museum.htm

Mayflower History http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/history.php

Memorial Hall Museum Online http://memorialhall.mass.edu/home.html

To Market to Market http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/market_to_market/

Middle Colonies

Colonial Kids http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/

You Be the Historian http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/

To Market to Market http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/market_to_market/

Exploring Maryland’s Roots http://mdroots.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp

Southern Colonies

Colonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/

Virtual Jamestown http://www.virtualjamestown.org/page2.html

To Market to Market http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/market_to_market/