PART 2

Introductory Lesson
Objectives:
Students will make connections regarding difficulties that come along with moving to a new
place to come up with an idea for helping make this transition easier for others who are
moving/have moved.
Standards:
5 P4.2.1 Develop and implement an action plan and know how, when, and where to address or
inform others about a public issue.
5 P4.2.2 Participate in projects to help or inform others.
S.CN.05.03 speak effectively using varying modulation, volume, and pace of speech to indicate
emotions, create excitement, and emphasize meaning in narrative and informational
presentations.
S.CN.05.02 adjust their use of language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences
and for different purposes including research, explanation, and persuasion.
Task:
- Introduce big idea to the class: starting a new life in a new world
- Class discussion: Students who have moved share their experience/emotions/challenges
that came along with moving to a new place. If no students have moved before, have
them imagine moving to a new state and share how they would feel.
- Lost Boys of Sudan: Watch The Lost Boys of Sudan
- Class Reflection/Discussion on movie: What challenges did the lost boys of Sudan face?
Have you personally experienced or witnessed this around you? What are ways we could
help make this transition better for people who move to a new place (new students,
people immigrating to the U.S, etc)?
- Take Action! Have students take action and actually do what they (or another student)
came up with. The time needed to complete this depends on what they come up with, it
may be a quick note writing or a longer project that we continue throughout a longer
period of time. Totally depends on the students and what they are passionate about, this is
a chance for them to get creative!
Student Thinking:
- Students will reflect on personal experiences and explain it to peers
- Students will imagine being told they have to move to a new place and come up with
challenges/feelings that might encompass the process of moving.
- Students will reflect and discuss the Lost Boys of Sudan and their reactions to the film
- Students will think critically and make personal connections to come up with ideas to
help make the transition easier for people who are moving to a new place
Teaching Notes:
- This is where you introduce the theme for the upcoming weeks, set the tone and be
enthusiastic! Grab students attention and get them to think about their own personal
experiences with starting a new life in a new place.
- Dont limit students brainstorming, dream big and help them find a way to complete their
ideas for helping others!

Key Lesson #1
Objectives:
Students will describe patterns of landform, climate and occupation of the people living in the
three regions of Colonial America (New England, Middle and Southern).
Essential Questions/learning objectives:
- How did climate, geographic features, and other available resources distinguish the three
colonial regions from each other?
- How did people use the natural resources of their region to earn a living or have their
basic needs met?
Standards:
5 U2.1.2 Describe significant developments in the New England colonies, including patterns
of settlement and control including the impact of geography (landforms and climate) on
settlement
5 U2.1.3 Describe significant developments in the Middle Colonies, including patterns of
settlement and control including the impact of geography (landforms and climate) on settlement
5 U2.1.1 Describe significant developments in the Southern colonies, including patterns of
settlement and control including the impact of geography (landforms and climate) on settlement
5 U2.3.5 Make generalizations about the reasons for regional differences in colonial America.
Task:
- Make connection for students about the Lost Boys of Sudan and people moving to
Colonial America and how these people may have been experiencing some of the same
emotions and challenges.
- Model historical thinking skills when working with primary sources for students (This
hopefully wouldnt be the first time theyve worked with primary sources so they should
know how to investigate but it is always good to model the task at hand)
- Student investigation: Students are given primary sources (letters from people living in
different regions of colonial America, photos of the land in different regions) that shed
light on the geography, landforms and lifestyle/occupation of the people in that region.
Students investigate and record information on a worksheet. This investigation makes up
the majority of this lesson but it also will be used in the next lesson when students
become the expert on one region and share their findings with the class.
- Science integration: Discuss landforms and how they are created and how they impact the
surrounding area.
Student Thinking:
- Students will make the connection from moving in todays world and moving to Colonial
America and how they faced similar challenges.
- During the investigation with primary sources students will be thinking about what the
writer discloses about what life looks like in that particular region of colonial America.
They also will look at photos of land forms to see if there are any patterns.
Teaching Notes:
- This is a chance for students to investigate and interact with primary sources, there arent
right and wrong answers, they just have to provide evidence for their claim!
- Guide students learning, let them work in small groups and facilitate conversation

Tier this lesson by providing students who need assistance with a handout that has
specific information for them to find, fill in and write out.

Key Lesson #2
Objectives:
The students will demonstrate an understanding that the 13 Colonies each have a different
history and will have provide information on topics from one of the 13 Colonies.
Given the choice of 1 of the 13 original colonies, the student will be able to discuss in writing at
least three topics specific to that colony. (People, founding, resources)
Standards:
5 U2.3.1 Locate the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies on a map.
5 U2.3.5 Make generalizations about the reasons for regional differences in colonial America.
5 U2.1.4 Compare the regional settlement patterns of the Southern colonies, New England, and
the Middle Colonies.
5 U2.1.1 Describe significant developments in the Southern colonies
5 U2.1.2 Describe significant developments in the New England colonies
5 U2.1.3 Describe significant developments in the Middle Colonies
Task:
- Show a map of the East side of the country using Google maps.
- Have students locate main cities that they recognize
- Class discussion: Has anyone ever been to any of the cities you see on the map? discuss
experiences students had while visiting different cities
- Student Research: Have students pick a city (from within the 13 original colonies) to
research. Some questions students will be encouraged to find include but arent limited to
founding year, founder/founding group, reason for founding, main resources/
imports/exports, what is this city known for, major events or battles that took place and
religion.
- Students take notes in their research in their journals.
- Students will present the information to their classmates.
- Each city students research will be marked on the class map of the 13 original colonies
to mark where each city is located.
- As a class we will divide the 13 colonies into the 3 regions and investigate if there are
any commonalities of the cities that are located within the region.
Student Thinking:
- Students will reflect on experiences they had while visiting different cities
- Students will be conducting research on a city of their choosing, they will decipher what
information is important and needs to be included in their presentation.
- Once the map is marked with the cities they researched and also divided into the 3
regions, students will think critically about if there are any commonalities within whole
regions. Taking it deeper, students will think about why/what factors influence the
commonalities they discovered.
Teaching Notes:

If you have photos of yourself in one of the cities, use those to grab students interest!
Be enthusiastic and get students excited about looking up information about the cities of
their choice.
Key Lesson #3
Objectives:
Students will understand the challenges and/or advantages that people in different social classes
encountered while living in colonial America.
Standards:
5 U2.3.2 Describe the daily life of people living in the New England, Middle, and Southern
colonies.
5 U2.3.3 Describe colonial life in America from the perspectives of at least three different
groups of people (e.g., wealthy landowners, farmers, merchants, indentured servants, laborers
and the poor, women, enslaved people, free Africans, and American Indians).
Task:
This whole class period would be a simulation activity to have the students better imagine
life for people in different social classes.
SIMULATION
Students will come into the classroom and everything will be rearranged. I will explain that we
have traveled back in time. Each student will be instructed to go to a specific section of the
classroom to find further instructions.

In one section of the room there will be the comfy chairs, some grape juice in wine
glasses, white gloves to wear, nice snacks, games out and soft music playing. The students
chosen for this role will have instructions that are to play games, eat snacks, laugh and have fun
for the next 10 minutes. Do not interact with any other classmates, especially not the ones
serving your snack. This is the section of students that will experience being in the social class of
gentry. They are top of the top, the richest of the rich.

Near the gentry section, there will be a table set up with the juice jug, and box of snacks,
this section will be the house slaves. The students (which I would have previously asked) would
be instructed to stand in silence and make eye contact with no one. If any of the gentry next to
finish their glasses or snacks refill them or offer them more. This section of students will
experience being a house slave.

Another section of the room there will be desks with chairs. On the desks will be lots of
paper clips and some tin foil. Students will be sent to this section and told to follow the
instructions as follow: "You are responsible for making a chain. Mold a paperclip into an oval.
Next, take tin foil to make sure the two ends don't fall apart. String the next oval paperclip
through the previous one so they interlock. Repeat this process until you have a 10-linked
chain. After completion you may eat a snack and enjoy each others company." This section will
be the middling social class which is made up of workers like blacksmiths and silversmiths.

In another section there will be scissors, tape, rulers, and a two baskets with a weight in
them, these are the field slaves. They would be instructed to pair up. One partner is instructed
to hold the weighted basket above their head while the other cuts 10 green papers to exact
dimensions listed and tapes them in a cylinder. Once the 10 are in the basket they have to bring
it to the farmers section and repeat until they are told to stop. This is the field slave section.
Field slaves often worked in tobacco fields and their work was hard labor and tough on their
body.


In the farmers section there will be a ruler and some markers. They will be instructed to
measure the cylinder and make sure it is the correct dimensions. If the dimensions are incorrect
by over a millimeter they go over to the other section and tell them they did it wrong and now
they have to each make 15 and add another weight in their basket. Once correctly measured,
they will have instructions on how to draw a colored pattern on each of the cylinders.
Student Thinking:
In this simulation students will all have different feelings and be thinking/enjoying/hating their
jobs. This will be a great reference for them to think back to when they are told to research their
assigned social class and they will share their experience from the simulation with the class
during their final presentation.
Teaching Notes:
- Be prepared, have supplies set up ahead of time.
- Dress up and be an alter ego to really get the students laughing and enjoying it!
Culminating Lesson
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of social classes living in Colonial America.
Standards:
5 U2.3.2 Describe the daily life of people living in the New England, Middle, and Southern
colonies.
5 U2.3.3 Describe colonial life in America from the perspectives of at least three different
groups of people (e.g., wealthy landowners, farmers, merchants, indentured servants, laborers
and the poor, women, enslaved people, free Africans, and American Indians).
S.CN.05.03 speak effectively using varying modulation, volume, and pace of speech to indicate
emotions, create excitement, and emphasize meaning in narrative and informational
presentations.
S.CN.05.02 adjust their use of language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences
and for different purposes including research, explanation, and persuasion.
Task:
The culminating lesson/activities for this unit are as follows:
- Students will give their presentation on their assigned social class which they would have
spent time researching and preparing a presentation.
- Their presentation must include three sections to complete a think-tac-toe
- The wrap up lesson essentially is time for students to show off all of the work that they
did the past week
Student Thinking:
- Students will be knowledgeable about their specific social class and think of how they
will present the information to their classmates.
- While other students are presenting, the observing students will take notes and learn
about the other social classes
Teaching Notes:
- This is a time to celebrate student learning and student work, create a safe environment
for students to share!

Create a journal written from

the perspective of a fifth
grader living in colonial
America within your social
class.

Write a poem or song that

incorporates your social class
in some form.

Compare/contrast the life of

someone living in the social
class you are studying to your
life using a Venn Diagram.

With one or more classmates

studying the same social
group, create a dramatization
to illustrate daily life or
challenges they faced.

*FREE CHOICE*

Write and illustrate a

childrens book that takes
place in colonial America and
depicts your social class.

Create a poster to share

information regarding your
social class of study

Choose one square to

complete

Write an informational essay

on your social class and what
daily life was like for that
group of people in Colonial
America.

Use iMovie to create a video

that illustrates/teaches about
your social class. Options are
endless; informational video,
commercial, write your own
movie, etc