Unit Two: Early America, Topic Two: American Colonies

This flipchart goes with the 4th grade social studies curriculum provided by the state of Louisiana on www.louisianabelieves.com

Unit Two Instruction

Topic Two: American Colonies (4.1.2-4, 4.2.1-3, 4.4.7, 4.5.3, 4.9.7)

Connections to the unit claim: Students learn that regional geography heavily shaped the life, culture, and economies of colonies. Jamestown was founded as a profit venture and adapted to the climate as an agricultural colony, growing tobacco as a cash crop. In contrast, Plymouth was settled by whole family units seeking religious freedom, who engaged in subsistence farming to survive, but did not have the climate to produce high yields of crops. Lives in the colonies were extremely different as a result of the reasons for colonization and geography of the land where colonists settled.

Use this sample task:

● A Tale of Two Colonies

To explore these key questions:

● How did the colonists’ reasons for migrating influence where they chose to settle?

● How did geography influence life and economic activities in the colonies?

That students answer through this assessment:

● Students write a compare & contrast paragraph on Jamestown & Plymouth colonies.

● Students write a paragraph answering: Which is a more influential in the development of new settlements:

people or geography?