Colonial Life

Introduction:

    Congratulations! You and your family just landed on America’s soil. Your ride over here was rough and very scary! You are eleven years old and you had to witness scary storms, you feared pirates, and you had very little to eat. Your parents put you in charge of your little brother and sister for most of the voyage. But, now all of that is behind you! You are now in America! Oh wait, you do not know anyone here, it is a foreign place, there are no cars or electricity, and everything you knew and loved is back in England. Your parents are trying to figure out where your family will live and what job your father will have. You have a lot ahead of you.


***For Language Translation please visit: iGoogle Language Translator***


       


Task:

    Your task is to research what it was like to live as a young child during the late 1600’s to mid 1700’s. This was a difficult time for many new immigrants and many often got sick and died. You will create a journal, artwork, and a “Wordle” to demonstrate your understanding of life during Colonial America. During your WebQuest please consider the following questions:

  1. 1.What would it feel like to live during this time period?

  2. 2.What hardships did immigrants face when coming to America (jobs, finding a home, language barriers, Native Americans, etc.)

  3. 3.What was schooling like back in the 1600’s in comparison to today’s schools.

  4. 4.What can we learn from our Colonial ancestors?

  5. 5.What have you learned from this WebQuest?


Process:

-You will keep a journal for one week (five entries) about your life as a colonial boy or girl.

-You will need to research five different websites about Colonial Life.

-You will also need to find two resources from the library (school or public library). I will also have books in the classroom for your use. You may also use your history textbook.

-You will create an artistic demonstration that illustrates your life as a young girl or boy during this time by drawing, creating a song, or writing a poem. You might write or draw about where you live, your home, a typical outfit you might wear, the chores you are responsible for, and your family.

-You will create also create a “Wordle” with at least 15 words that describe your experiences and what you have learned.

-You will combine the journal, your artwork, and your “Wordle” to create a bound journal. You may add anything else to this journal that you might like (pictures, drawings, etc.)

-You will be required to cite your sources. When you use information from a website you need to copy that website url address down (copy and paste into a word document). This will be turned in with your journal. All sources must be cited. For books please give me the title of the book and the author on the same word document. You may and are encouraged to use your “citing” reference guide that I have given you.


STEP ONE: Research & Journal Writing

Here are links to get you started, feel free to find your own as well:


http://www.history.org/kids/

http://earlyamerica.com

http://history.org/Almanack/life/trades/tradehdr.cfm

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

http://www.history.org/History/clothing

http://libertyskids.com/nowthen/index.html

http://www.stratfordhall.org/learn/teacher/education.php

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colonial.htm

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/colonial

http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/youth/jcsscolonial.html

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13colonieslife.htm

http://www.usahistory.info/colonial/customs.html


STEP TWO: Create your own artwork (drawings, paintings, song lyrics, poems, etc.)


STEP THREE: Create your “Wordle”

To create your Wordle click here!


Evaluation:

    We have researched the lives of Colonial Americans and have created our own interpretation of their lives.  Below is a rubric of how your project will be graded:



















Conclusion:

Congratulations students, you have made it! I hope you have learned a lot about Colonial America and what a challenging time it was in our history. I also hope you had fun!



Credits:

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page.

Also, thank you to Mark Bailey for all of your support and help in creating this.