In social studies this trimester, the fifth graders are learning about the colonial era of United States history.  We kicked things off with a research project on the three regions of British colonies in North America.  Three different groups focused on the three distinct regions: New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies.  They researched information on the colonies’ founding principles, their climates, governments, economies, and peoples, all the while paying attention to the ways in which the colonies are different and similar. Throughout the research phase, students focused on using quality resources, paraphrasing vs quoting information, and how to handle dividing up tasks between group members.

All this research culminated with presentations, where the groups shared their information with the class using visuals.  We filled out some comparison charts to look for similarities and differences between the colonial regions, and painted an overall pictures of what life was like in the British colonies in North America.  Next, we will move to learning about what similarities brought these colonies together and about the growing tensions between the colonies and Great Britain.