LaShawna McCoy

11/20/14
CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE

Title: Comparing and Contrasting Everyday Life in American Colonies

Type: Circle of Knowledge
Subject: Social Studies
Grade: 4th
Description: Comparing and contrasting life in the New England, MidAtlantic, and
Southern Colonies
Duration: 90 minutes
Author: LaShawna McCoy
Standard(s)/Element(s)/Content Area Standard:

SS4H3 The student will explain the factors that shaped British colonial
America.
a. Compare and contrast life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and
Southern colonies.
b. Describe colonial life in America as experienced by various people,
including large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, indentured
servants, slaves, and Native Americans.
TAG Standard(s):
(HO/CTS)
2. The student responds to questions with supporting information that
reflects in-depth knowledge of a topic.
3. The student conducts comparisons using criteria.

Summary/Overview:

The purpose of this lesson is to understand how location and various

individuals choices affect the different colonial societies economy,
culture, and development.

Enduring Understanding(s):
Students will understand:

How the environments of the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and

Southern Colonies affected the lives of colonists, slaves, and Native

Americans
How the actions of individuals, groups, and/or institutions affect the
colonies through intended and unintended consequences

Essential Question(s):
How did the geography and climate impact life in the New England
colonies? Mid-Atlantic? Southern colonies?
How did the colonists' actions impact their new environment?
How were the economies alike and different in each of the colonial
regions?
How did religion affect colonial life?
How did farmers living in the different regions have an impact on
the environment around them?
How did the geography of each region impact the types of work
each region developed?
How was the work of colonial men and women alike and different?
Concept(s) to Maintain:
Colonies

New England

Mid-Atlantic

Southern

Differences and Similarities

Geography

Climate

Actions of individuals

Evidence of Learning:
Students should know:

The differences and similarities between the colonial regions

How geography and climate affected colonial life
How actions of individuals impacted the choices colonists could
make in deciding the types of jobs and way of life for each region.

Suggested Vocabulary:

New England colonies

Mid-Atlantic colonies
Southern colonies
environment
landowners
farmers
artisans
indentured servants
slaves
Native Americans.
Procedures:
Phase 1: Sparking the Discussion (Hook):
Put students in groups of 5 and give them words to sort. They will group
them and create headings for each group according to their understanding
of the words. When they are finished, each group will share with the class.
(The words consist of the vocabulary words and descriptors of the
colonies)

Phase 2: Acquiring Content Needed to Participate in the Discussion:

Jig Saw Method- Students will count off by 1, 2, and 3s. All of the 1s will
independently read the section in the textbook about the New England
colonies, the 2s will independently read about the Mid-Atlantic colonies,
and the 3s will independently read about the Southern colonies. As they
read, they will fill in a graphic organizer for their colonial region. After
about 15 minutes, all of the 1s will meet together, 2s will meet together,
and 3s will meet together to compare their information on their graphic
organizers. After about 6 minutes, each group will select representatives
to teach the class about their region while everyone fills in their own
graphic organizers.
Phase 3: Kindling the Discussion:
Students will get into groups of six and give their answers to the following
questions on the Questioning Cube:

How did the geography and climate impact life in the New England
colonies?
How did the geography and climate impact life in Mid-Atlantic?
How did the geography and climate impact life Southern colonies?
How did the colonists' actions impact their new environment?
How were the economies alike and different in each of the colonial
regions?
How did religion affect colonial life?

Phase 4: Synthesis Activity:

Summarizing Activity:
The students will research and explore the lives of colonial people and
share their findings orally with the class. Each student will be assigned a
colonial person and a colonial region: artisan, servant, slave, indentured
servant, large landowner, farmer, apprentice, woman, child, and Native
American. The students will use books, encyclopedias and the Internet to
research what life may have been like for their subjects. Students will
write three journal entries as their prescribed character.
When their journals are complete, students will work with partners to
compare and contrast the daily lives of their colonial people. Partners will
discuss the differences and similarities of the two colonial subjects. They
will work together to complete a Venn diagram organizing their
information to show the similarities and differences.
Resource(s):

Social Studies Textbook

Leveled companion books
Trade books:
The Thirteen Colonies
If You Lived in Colonial Times
Technology:
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/perspectives_daily.html
Handout(s):
1: Graphic organizer for the colonies
2: Venn diagram
3: Questioning Cube