Title: Early English Settlements & Colonies, Day 2
Author: ICG
Subject: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 10
Unit Description
This second lesson of four is part of a larger unit that focuses on early English
settlements and colonies. In this particular set of lessons, students will learn about the
existing economics, geography, culture, government, and Native American relations
during that time period. Students will engage in several different activities to support
their learning and they will have several different opportunities throughout the four
days to share their new knowledge.
Lesson Description for Day
These lessons will begin with students filling-out a KWL chart (What I Know, What I
Want to Learn, What I Learned) as a way to summarize what they learned in Day 1
about Early English Settlements, and to provide a focus for their project research.
Students will become familiar with the resources for conducting their research, explore
project options, learn roles & responsibilities for group members, and plan and
develop their products. Over the course of the next few days, they will continue to
study the resources and develop their findings into polished presentations.
Alabama Content Standards, Social Studies.
United States History to 1877 (Grade 10): Compare various early English
settlements and colonies on the basis of economics, geography, culture,
government, and Native American relations.
Goals
Unit Goals:
1. Students will describe the economic, culture, government, and Native American
relations that existed in the early English settlements and colonies.
2. Students will successfully complete a cooperative research project that refines
their basic understanding of rock formation processes.
3. Students will apply their understanding of the economic, geography, culture, and
government in Early English settlements to making predictions about how current
political climate in the United States may impact these variables today.
Lesson Goals:
1. Students will learn the routines, roles, and responsibilities they need to establish
in order to successfully complete their research projects.
2. Students will become familiar with available resources and assess what further
resources they will need to acquire.
3. Students will learn effective strategies for project planning.
Methods
Anticipatory Set:
KWL Chart
(What I Know, What I Want to Learn, What I Learned)
Fill in the first two columns of a KWL chart with the whole class in order to summarize
what everyone currently Knows about the economic, culture, government, and Native
American relations that existed in the early English settlements and colonies, and
What they still want to learn. At the end of the lesson today, what the class Learned
will be discussed and entered on the chart.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:
1. Establish Routines and Responsibilities:
Explain that students will work in small groups to learn more in-depth information
about the economic, culture, government, and Native American relations that existed
in the early English settlements and colonies. Each group will describe (in writing,
orally, and/or visually), at least three 'big ideas' related to their investigation. Explain
that a 'big idea' is a general statement that can be made about what they have
studied. Big ideas should describe facts as well as contain explanations of why
something happens. In addition, for each big idea students generate, they are
responsible for providing at least three details that support it.
Before beginning, explain to students that even though they will work in small groups,
within their groups, there will be opportunities to work individually or with partners on
key elements of the project, in order to ensure that everyone has choices for how to
best accomplish their goals. Also let students know that they will be evaluated on the
accuracy of the information they present, the quality of their presentations, and on how
well they work together as a group.
Organize the class into heterogeneous, small groups of no more than 5 students, and
make the following assignments:
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Group 1: Big ideas and supporting details related to the economic factors in the
early English settlements and colonies.
Group 2: Big ideas and supporting details related to the cultural factors in the
early English settlements and colonies.
Group 3: Big ideas and supporting details related to the government factors in
the early English settlements and colonies.
Group 4: Big ideas and supporting details related to Native American relations in
the early English settlements and colonies.
Each group should designate jobs for each individual. All individuals gather
information, work on sections of the draft, and help with design tasks. Then, each
student should have one of the following additional roles:
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Fact checker: checks accuracy of all information for final product
Scribe: writes outline as group generates it, provides polished copy of final
product (based on everyone's input and work)
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Designer: does final art work, video, or PowerPoint editing, or fine-tunes any
presentation features
 Presenter(s): students should designate sections of the product for different
students to present
 Timeliner: Ensures that the group develops all phases of the work according to
the timelines. Checks in with everyone to see if they're on track to meet
deadlines for each stage of work: outline of their product, draft, revised/edited
copy, and final product according to the teacher's timelines.
**Provide the above roles as a handout
2. Preview Resources
Have the books from this lesson's materials list and lists of websites on hand. Provide
an overview of the resources—hold up key books and discuss their features, preview
one or two of the websites. (Books and websites should represent different reading
levels). Point out that students' social studies textbook is another resource. Finally,
explain that students will need to seek additional resources for their study as needed.
3. Discuss Project Options
Each group can choose from among the following options as ways to present their Big
Ideas and Supporting Details. All projects will be presented to the class. Students
should also be encouraged to develop their own product ideas, as long as they meet
project criteria.
 Use colony map material to construct, paint, summarize, and label information
about the targeted topic.
 Develop power point slides with illustrations, labels, and explanations.
 Develop a multi-media presentation that includes elements such as music,
photographs or other illustrations, and a narrator or dramatic overview.
 Develop a simulated newscast that describes the assigned topic. Include
sufficient detail so viewers will have a full understanding of the impact of the
factor in the early English settlements and colonies.
 Illustrate and label posters that could have been from the time period
communicating relevant information about the factor in the early English
settlements and colonies.
 Create a detailed scene using a shadow box
 Develop a book with illustrations, text, and labels of the assigned factors in the
early English settlements and colonies.
 Develop a mock travel brochure that provides a description of an early English
settlement or colony. In the brochure, provide an overview of the history of the
location and specific attention on the assigned factor.
Provide Guided Practice:
Project Planning
Have small groups get together and begin planning their projects. Once they're in their
small groups, share the attached Project Planning Organizer in order to facilitate
students' planning and work flow. Help students work backwards from the final due
date in order break their projects into smaller parts.
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outline
facts, concepts, & information collected
drafts completed (both text and art)
revising/proofreading
polished product
Rotate among the groups in order to determine whether they are developing a solid
plan for their projects. Ask questions as needed in order to facilitate their planning.
Provide Independent Practice:
Students should spend the remainder of the class time today, the next two class
periods, and out-of-class time studying their resources, collecting and organizing the
information they learn, and generating their products.
Wrap-Up
Have the class wrap-up by completing the L section of the KWL chart. Ask students to
reflect on what they learned today about the properties of rocks and how they're
formed, while previewing resources and developing project plans.
As work on the projects continues over the next few class periods, have students
continue to add to the KWL chart.
Assessment
Formative/Ongoing Assessment:
As students work on their projects, maintain ongoing observations of their learning
behaviors, questions they ask, and their expressions of new knowledge. Take notes
and make decisions about which students need additional support based on these
ongoing observations.
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:
Evaluating the Reports:
Use the attached rubric to evaluate students' reports. Attach a copy of the rubric to
each report, with each sub score highlighted, so students have a detailed analysis of
their projects.
Materials
Other Resources
 Evaluation Rubric
 Project Planner
 Model Project Planner