Unit Topic: Colonial America

Grade: 5th Grade 

Lesson Topic: The First 13 Colonies of America 

Lesson Objectives: 

• The students will be able to identify the thirteen colonies on a map.

• The students will be able to identify which colony is classified under the New England, Middle, and Southern regions. 

Instructional Materials:

• Picture of the American flag

• Picture of a colonial American flag from the Revolutionary War

• Chromebooks

• Map of the thirteen colonies

• “13 Colonies Questions” worksheet (attached at end of packet)

• 13 colonies exploring website

• 13 Colonies Interactive Map. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2020, from https://mrnussbaum.com/13-colonies-interactive-map 

• “The US 13 Colonies Quiz Game Checklist” (attached at end of packet)

• 13 colonies quiz game website

• The U.S.: 13 Colonies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2020, from https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3044 

Procedure

Introductory Activity  (15 to 20 minutes)

1. To start the lesson, the teacher will introduce the lesson by showing an image of the present-day American flag. 

2. While showing the American flag, the teacher will pose questions about the number of stars and stripes and what the number of each design represents. The teacher will ask the questions; “How many stars are there?” “Why are there 50 stars?” and “How many stripes are on the flag?”

3. After the students answer the posed question, assuming the students answer correctly, the teacher will present a colonial flag from the Revolutionary War.

4.  The teacher will explain why there are thirteen stars and not fifty. 

5. The teacher will then present a map of the thirteen colonies.

6. The teacher will ask the students if they have any previous knowledge of the colonies. 

7. The teacher will then provide information about how the colonies were established and who established them.

8. The teacher will project a map of the thirteen colonies while identifying each colony.

9. The teacher will explain how the colonies are classified into three regions; New England, Middle, and Southern. 

10. Next, the teacher will let the students explore the thirteen colonies on their own. 

Step By Step (30 to 35 minutes)

1. Next, the teacher will hand out the “13 Colonies Questions” worksheet to each of the students. 

2. The teacher will explain that the student will go through the website before answering the questions. 

3. The students will then grab their Chromebooks and log on. 

4. The students will then follow the instructions on the worksheet and complete the questions. 

5. The teacher will then have the students turn in the worksheets. 

6. The teacher will go over the worksheet with the class.

7. The teacher will ask each of the questions from the worksheets to the whole class and allow the students to respond.

8. If the students were successful, the teacher will move onto the closing activity.

9. If the students were not successful, the teacher will explain the correct answers. Then the teacher will move on to the next activity.

Closure Activity (30 to 35 minutes)

1. The teacher will give directions for the closing activity and pass out the final worksheet, “The US 13 Colonies Quiz Game Checklist”. 

2. The teacher will explain to the students that on the final worksheet they will complete a checklist where they check off which colony they match correctly.

3. The teacher will also explain that they need to identify the region that the colony is part of in the next box.

4. The students will continue to work on their Chromebooks to complete the online quiz game. 

5. The students will hand in the worksheets when done for the final evaluation for a grade.

Evaluation

The lesson objectives were;

• The students will be able to identify the thirteen colonies on a map.

• The students will be able to identify which colony is classified under the New England, Middle, and Southern regions. 

The teacher will know the students met the objectives from the feedback they receive from the class when questions are asked. The teacher will know the students met the objectives by the students correctly identifying 10 out of the 13 colonies on the “The US 13 Colonies Quiz Game Checklist”. The teacher will know the students met the objectives by the students correctly classifying 10 out of the 13 colonies on the “The US 13 Colonies Quiz Game Checklist”. The teacher will document that students have successfully met the objectives from the data collected from “The US 13 Colonies Quiz Game Checklist”.