5th grade social studies lesson plan

Settling the Colonies
A WebQuest Activity for 5th Grade

Standards:
History-Social Science
5.3 Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers.
5.4 Students understand the political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved in the colonial era.
Listening and Speaking
1.0 Students deliver focused, coherent presentations that convey ideas clearly and relate to the background and interests of the audience. They evaluate the content of oral communication.

Big Idea/Essential Question:
People move to improve their lives or because they are forced and in doing so, they adapt to the geography of their environment and establish systems of government for order and group survival.

Instructional Objective:
Students will be able to describe the similarities and difference of the various colonies by completing a WebQuest activity which involves researching information pertaining to: geographical characteristics, availability of natural resources, the role of religion, native people, slavery, and economic conditions.

Instructional Materials:
Computer and internet access
Student research worksheets
Construction Paper and Crayons
Grading rubric for class debate (available on WebQuest teacher page)
WebQuest Link:
http://questgarden.com/author/preview.php?u=56025&l=56025-071012094251&a=&p=introduction&pt=student

Student Materials:
Research Worksheet
Pencil/Paper for debate notes

Instructional Input/Guided Practice:

1. Introduce students to the 13 colonies by showing the map provided on the WebQuest.
2. Explain to students that they are going to be divided into three groups (New England, Middle, Southern colony cluster) and they will each represent a single state in their colony cluster.
3. Explain that they have the opportunity to rewrite history because they will prepare for a debate about where to place the capital. Through their research, they will compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of their colonies and prepare to defend their state at The Great Debate.
4. Bring the WebQuest up and walk the students through the introduction, process, and task portions which will explain in detail what the students need to accomplish.
5. Hand out the research worksheet and point out that there are relevant websites linked to each state under the process page that will help them find useful information.
6. Depending on the amount of computers in your class, allow groups of students 15 minute time increments to research their individual states. (This may be spread out over a few days depending on the resources available)
7. Remind students that they need to be preparing for The Great Debate and need to collect as much information to support their state as they can.
8. Have students meet with their Colony Cluster and using a pro/con list, decide which state they will be supporting during The Great Debate.
9. Give students time to write down potential debate questions and defenses.
10. Check in with each of the three groups and make sure they are prepared for the debate.
11. Once the Colony Clusters have decided on a state, have groups create the flag representing their chosen state out of construction paper and crayons.
12. For the debate, have one colony cluster stand at the front of the room with their flag, and field questions from the other two colony clusters. Rotate until all colony clusters have presented their reasoning for being the best location for the capital.
13. The winning state can be selected in two ways: 1) classroom vote or 2) based on the presented material, the teacher decides which colony cluster presented the best case. A grading rubric for research findings and debate criteria are available under the Teacher Page on the WebQuest.

Closure:
Help students connect the trials and tribulations of the settlement of the 13 colonies to the process they experienced by preparing for the class debate.

Assessment:
A grading rubric for individual research findings and debate criteria are available under the Teacher Page on the WebQuest.