Saturday, August 7, 2021

Teach The 13 Colonies Like A Champ With The Help Of These Tips

 

A chalkboard, globe, pencils, and an apple


The founding of the 13 colonies did not happen overnight. Additionally, it was not a smooth process 💣💥 There is just so much to teach middle school students about how America was actually developed. Additionally, this essential content occurs at a time in students' lives where their minds 🧠 and bodies are rapidly changing. Due to this, it is so important to incorporate their own interests, such as technology, when talking about content that occurred long ago. By following these 3 tips below, teaching about the 13 colonies will be interesting, rigorous, and thorough! 🙌


Explain the Founding of the 13 Colonies

The majority of middle school students 👦👧will not really know how America was formed. Additionally, many students may think all 50 states formed at once. Therefore, one of the joys of junior high 🏫 is teaching students how the world did not instantly develop. There were trials, tribulations, and a lot of compromises 🤝.

 

When teaching about the 13 colonies, it is important to start back at how they were founded 📓. One way to do this is to provide a quick overview. Middle school students do not have a long attention span. Therefore, this short video 🎥 on The Founding of the 13 Colonies is the perfect one to show. While it is short, it is powerful! It includes an incredible overview on how the colonies came about with strong visual aids.





Lay a Foundation at the Start of the Year

One of the goals of history 🌎 is to learn about the past and avoid making the same mistakes. Additionally, many concepts build upon each other 👷. Therefore, in order to learn about the individual colonies, a solid foundation should be taught from the beginning of the year. Students are going to consistently come back to the 13 colonies, so it is important they have a strong understanding 💯.

 

The 13 Colonies Drag and Drop resource is perfect 👍 to incorporate in lessons in order to ensure students truly know detailed information 🔍. This resource is best done after students have a general overview of the founding and the names of the colonies. This is due to how much information is packed into this digital resource 💁. Students will love 💖 the interactive component of drag and drop 💻 while learning 15 different aspects of the colonies! For example, students will learn about the reasons for founding, cash crops 💰🍞, and influential people. Students will love getting to have an in-depth exploration of the 13 colonies with an interactive resource!

a picture of parchment paper that a charter could be written on


Interactive Activities

Whenever students are engaged, they learn the information better 🧠. Ultimately, they are more focused 👀 on what is being taught versus daydreaming or doodling. Therefore, make activities interactive! For instance, in the resource above, students could have listened 👂 to a lecture about that information. However, the truth is that many middle school students would have been bored and ignored 😒😩 what was said. Hence, the drag and drop element is a great way to keep students focused and interested in the lesson!

 

Additionally, the Jamestown Online Adventure is a great way to challenge students. Here, they create their own colony 🏘 with the help of the London Company’s instructions. They can even ask other colonists and Native Americans for advice. By the end, students will see how hard it was to establish the colonies 😵 and common mistakes that were made.


 

students gathered around a computer working on an engaging activity together

Lastly, if activities are interactive, there is no worry about having to quickly change plans. If classes have to go virtual 💻, everything will be ready. Additionally, if students need to socially distance themselves 👦🠈🠊👧, they can each complete their own activities while still having fun in the classroom!





There is so much information to include when teaching about the 13 colonies. Between why the colonies were needed to the ups 👆 and downs 👇 that were constantly occurring, students can become confused 😕. However, by following the 3 tips above ✅, students will be excited to learn and they will be focusedengaged, and eager for the next lesson.




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