Creative Activity:

Students will research the impact that imports had on the Americas during the Columbian Exchange. They will use their creativity to display the resource and tell of its impact on the Americas.

This is a great introduction on how many items we rely on today are not truly native to our ecosystem. After the posters are complete, students will observe the class posters and gain information. Students will reflect and expand on the knowledge they have gained. They will determine how the imports affected the economy, culture, and environment of the Americas.

What's included:

• Teacher instructions.
• Students instructions.
• Rubric.
• Import list.
• Reflection questions.

How is this product useful:

• Students use their creativity.
• Gain knowledge concerning how imports changed the Americas.
• Requires students to reach conclusions when reflecting.

Engaging project:

Students practice their research skills while using creativity to create an explorer trading card. Students learn about what explorer goals were and how they were able to make their journeys. Students learn who sponsored the explorers and what their intent was.

Students need to use their previous knowledge and what they research in order to reach conclusions about how the explorer affected the indigenous peoples of the countries they entered.

Aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standard 5.H.2.

What's included:

• Instructions.
• Explorer choices.
• Two sizes of trading card templates.
• Rubric.

How is this resource useful:

• Students practice research skills.
• Students reach new conclusions.
• Low prep for teacher.
• Rubric provided.

Fun, Trading Game:

Students will explore the concept of trade routes and tariffs on trade routes along the Spice Road and then the New World.

Students will make trades with the Indies. Then they will then attempt to trade through the Ottoman Empire. Because of the struggle with the Ottoman Empire, they will then attempt to trade with the New World, the East Indies.

When the game is complete, students will complete a trade agreement and pay a final tariff. The student with the largest total at the end wins.

Students can answer questions concerning their game as individuals or as a class in discussion.

Covers Indiana Social Studies Standards 5.E.2, 5.E.5.

What's included:

• Teacher instructions.
• Game directions.
• Two sizes of game boards.
• Templates of products for printing.
• Discussion Questions.

How is this product useful:

• Competitive game, students love a competition.
• Represents trade barriers.
• Requires students to reach conclusions when reflecting.

Make rote memorization more engaging:

Students enjoy this engaging activity to practice naming the charter of the 13 colonies. Students are asked to name the charter (proprietary, company, or royal) of each colony. This information helps students understand why colonies developed in the way that they did.

Students have fun revealing the picture created using correct answers.

Self-checking as image is revealed by correct answers.

What's included:

• Google sheet of picture reveal.

How this product is useful:

• Engaging practice of naming the charters of the 13 colonies.
• Good for practice or remediation.
• Self-checking.
• Can be assigned in Google Classroom or through Google Drive.

Get students up and moving:

This activity gets students up to get or wait for crayons. All students are coloring a picture based on directions using a limited amount of crayons. The teacher brokers the use of crayons. Students will begin to understand the concept of supply and demand as they find the crayons they need are not available for their use and require them to wait. My students stuggledthe most with not sharing crayons with other students. Students can follow up with reflection questions that lead to a deeper level of knowledge.

An option extension explores the misunderstanding of land use that caused great difficulty between the Indigenous People and British Colonists. This extension demonstrates the Indigenous belief that the land couldn't be owned, just used and the British belief that land was to be owned, not just used. This optional part of the activity leads to interesting discussion. Students can follow up withe reflection questions that lead to a deeper level of knowledge.

These activities align with Indiana Social Studies standards 5.E.1, 5.E.5.

What's included:

• Teacher directions for both activities.
• Labelled color sheet.
• Reflection questions for each activity.

How is this product useful:

• Low prep for teacher.
• Hands on activity leads to better understanding.
• Meaningful extension activity.
• Enjoyable coloring opportunity.

Express a different point of view:

Students approach identifying and explaining the cooperation and conflict of the colonists and the indigenous people in Jamestown in a new way. They begin by presenting the thoughts and actions of the leaders of these two groups in thought bubbles. As an extension, the students evaluate what situations caused conflicts and speculate on how they may have handled the situations if they were present in Jamestown.

This approach requires students to be more creative than simply answering questions. Students can also research to find more in depth answers. This product is aligned with 5th grade Studies Weekly Week 13, American Foundations. However, this can be used as a stand alone assignment.

This product aligns with Indiana Social Studies standard 5.H.6.

What's included:

• Student instruction handout.
• Three versions of thought bubble worksheets.
• Further thinking questions.

How is this product useful:

• Creative approach.
• Encourages students to find a new point of view.
• Research opportunity.
• Inspires deeper level thinking.

Make rote memorization more engaging:

Students enjoy this engaging activity to practice telling the region of the colony when given the colonies' name. Colonies are listed alphabetically, students enter either New England, Middle, or Southern as the region to which the colony belongs.

Students have fun revealing the picture created using correct answers. The extra challenge is that correct spelling is necessary for the image to be revealed.

Self-checking as image is revealed by correct answers.

Activity aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standard 5.H.7.

What's included:

• Google sheet of picture reveal.

How this product is useful:

• Engaging practice of naming the 13 colonies.
• Good for practice or remediation.
• Self-checking.
• Can be assigned in Google Classroom or through Google Drive.

Flexible and Fun Trading Game:

This flexible and fun trading game will help students better understand the struggles that Indigenous Peoples (Native Americans) had when trading with Europeans (French and British Colonists). The game can be played as a whole group with cards projected onto the board or as small groups with cards printed for each group.

Students take the role of Indigenous traders. Each round they must complete trades which change the resources in their possession. The end of each round has an event which affects what resources they have. Students who run out of resources must move to new territories suffering the consequences of leaving their own land.

Once the entire set of cards have been used, the trade season ends. Students then reflect on their survival and struggles throughout the trade season. They also think more critically about how trades affected the Indigenous populations.

This activity aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standard 5.H.6, 5.E.1, and 5.E.2.

What's included:

• Teacher instructions.
• Printable trade recording sheet.
• Printable game cards.
• Printable reflections sheet.
• Link to digital game cards, for whole group game play.

How is this product useful:

• Fun and engaging trade study.
• Students experience barriers to trade and consequences of trade.
• Students engage in higher level thinking with reflection worksheet.

An interesting way to display facts:

Students will research Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and display their gained knowledge by building a rectangular prism. Challenge students to find the most interesting and unique fact about Benjamin Franklin possible to encourage engagement.

Students will get to practice some fine motor skills when cutting and assembling the rectangular prism.

This activity aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standard 5.H.11.

What's included:

• Teacher instructions.
• Student instructions.
• Rectangular Prism template.
• Rubric.

How is this product useful:

• Students get to add creativity to their fact finding research.
• Rubric included.
• Low Prep for teacher.
• Great start to the study of the Founding Fathers.

A unique way to compare and contrast:

Students will use what they know and what they research to compare and contrast elements of the American colonies. They will rank groups of elements based on their knowledge. Students will explain and support their rankings. This product challenges students to analyze what they know and support their opinions with facts.

Elements covered on these worksheets: diverse groups, workforce, religious groups, economies, and colonial charters.

This project aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standards 5.H.5.

What's included:

• Ranking Worksheets for 5 colonial elements.

How this product is useful:

• Engaging project.
• Students can make their own opinions.
• Students practice supporting opinions with facts.

Discover the consequences of the French and Indian War:

Students research how the alliances which were put into place following the French and Indian War effected the Native peoples. They will determine who gained power, who gained land, and who was taken advantage of during this time. Students will complete worksheets demonstrating their knowledge of the information which will lead to the movement of the Native peoples of the United States.

This is a great review or homework activity following the study of the French and Indian War.

This product aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standard 5.H.6.

What's included:

• Worksheets.
• Answer Keys.

How is this product useful:

• Low prep for teacher.
• Good research practice.

Gain the Ohio Country:

Students get involved in information concerning the French and Indian War by trying to obtain the deed for the Ohio Country. The do this by completing tasks which review what they have learned about the French and Indian War while working with a group.

Student will solve a logic puzzle using a map concerning the Iroquois Confederacy.

They will use a pigpen cipher to decode the names of important individuals from the French and Indian War.

Students will assemble puzzles and read maps to help understand the driving force behind this war.

They will break a code to determine the end goal of this war.

Students will also create a timeline of important events from the French and Indian War.

What's included:

• Teacher instructions.
• 5 different puzzles/activities.
• Signs for classroom organization.
• Completion certificate (Ohio Country Deed).
• Answer Keys.
• Link to digital version (Google Form).

How is the product useful:

• Availability of both print and digital versions.
• Engaging activities.
• Great review.
• Aligns with Studies Weekly Week 17.
• Clear instructions for set up.