I didn’t post anything last week because I was rushing to get my new book, HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek ready to distribute in time to be used for your Colonial Unit. I’m thrilled to announce that the e-version is now available at Amazon and Barns and Noble.
The Teacher’s Guide that accompanies HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek is available here. Hard copies are still coming in the future, but I was eager to make the novel and teaching materials available for use by students this year—especially in light of the Common Core Standards creating an urgent need for more aligned resources. While I was writing my last post about teaching the Colonial Period, I kept thinking about all of my best strategies and activities that had to wait to be shared, so I decided to publish an e-book format first. In this post I will tell you a little about the book and the activities for teaching about the American Colonies that I developed to go with it. I will also share some reading and discussion strategies for any social studies or ELA class (scroll down).
About the Book 
HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek is about a group of kids who travel to the Colonial Period via a Q-Pad and get entangled in real historical events with real historical figures. Because many teachers are faced with diminishing time to teach Social Studies content as they prepare their students for standardized testing in Reading and Language Arts, I saw the need to provide a way to do both at the same time. Even classes that have the luxury of a whole period to teach Social Studies Content, the common core standards necessitate teaching literacy as well. To purchase the e-book for just $3.99 click here to go to my page on Amazon or here for Barns and Noble.
Besides having all of the Social Studies content most state standards require in the form of a sweeping saga of the Colonial Era, the novel tells a compelling coming of age story with all of the rich characters, complex plot and sensory imagery that an ELA teacher would want. It is appropriate for students in 5th-9thgrades and is versatile enough to be used as a supplementary extra credit reading assignment or independent study unit if there is no time in class, or as an entire curriculum unit. It will work well for both regular and homeschool classrooms.
About the HISTORY QUESTERS Teachers Guide
The 90 page HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek Teacher’s Guide includes over 30 interdisciplinary activities that can be used to enhance and enrich the reading experience. Many of them can be used alone, without reading the novel, but together the novel and the teacher’s guide form a complete unit with more than enough material to teach the Colonial Period. A textbook would not even be needed. There are primary source documents, maps, timelines, graphic organizers, graphs, charts, art activities and cooperative learning activities. Here is a copy of the table of contents.requirements of most states.
Look at the Table of Contents:
Lesson Ideas for History Questers’ Colonies Trek……………………………….…4-12
Learner Standards Correlations……………………………………………………..13-14
Background Activities
Time Quest: European Colonies in North America teacher key……………..…..15-16
Time Quest: European Colonies in North America student page…………….……..17
Motives for English Colonization Chart Teacher key…………………………………18
Motives for English Colonization Chart student page…………….....……………….19
Push-Pull Factors Activity teacher key…………………………………………………20
Push-Pull Factors Activity student page………………………………………..………21
Strategies for Reading History Questers’ Colonies Quest
HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek Discussion Questions……………..…….22-27
Readers’ Theatre: The Wampum Belt Cast of Characters………………....……28-29
Readers’ Theatre: The Wampum Belt………………………………………..…….30-36
Readers’ Theatre: The Wampum Belt Debriefing Questions student pages…..37-38
Readers’ Theatre: The Wampum Belt Debriefing Questions key……………….39-41
13 Colonies Chart key…...……………………………………..……………….……….42
13 Colonies Chart student page….……………………………………….……………43
PEGS New England Colonies Chart key.................................................................44
PEGS (Political, Economic, Geography, Social ) Middle Colonies Chart key..........45
PEGS Southern Colonies Chart key…..............................……………………....….46
PEGS New England Colonies Chart student page……………………………………47
PEGS Middle Colonies Chart student page…......…………………………………….48
PEGS Southern Colonies Chart student page..........…………………………………49
Terms and Vocabulary Activities
Colonies Terms Crossword Puzzle key…..……………..........……………………50
Colonies Terms Crossword Puzzle student page……………………………………..51
Each One Teach One: Colonial Terms…......……………………………………….…52
Each One Teach One: Blank……......…………………………………………………..53
Art-based Activities
Timeline Key …………………………………………………………………….....…54-55
Timeline student pages……………………..………………………………….…….56-57
Tree of Liberty Activity Bulletin Board Template……....……………………..……….58
Tree of Liberty Activity key…………………………………………….…….…………..59
Tree of Liberty Activity student page……………………………………….........…60-61
Story Elements Cube...…………………………………………………….…………….62
HOTS (Higher Order Thinking and Skills) Daily Activities
Foundations of Freedom: Analyzing Documents key…......……..……….........….…63
- Document A: Mayflower Compact…………………………………….….....…..64
- Document B: Rhode Island Charter…...…………………………………......…65
- Document C: English Bill of Rights…......………………………………..……..66
The First Thanksgiving True/ False and Evidence key…….…………………..….67-68
The First Thanksgiving Teaching Notes……………………………………….…….….69
- Document A: Edward Winslow’s Mourt’s Relation………………….…....….…70
- Document B: First Thanksgiving Painting………………......…………....……..70
- Document C: Journal of William Bradford…....………………………....……....71
- Document D: National Thanksgiving Day Proclamation…..……….…...…......71
The First Thanksgiving True/ False and Evidence student page..………....…..…72-73
Colonial Economy Map key …….......……………………………………………........…74
Colonial Economy Map student page……...……………………………………..….75-76
Triangular Trade Map key….......………………………………………………...…...…..77
Triangular Trade Map student page……………….…………………………...……..…78
Colonial Ethnic Population Graph key…..………………………………………....…....79
Colonial Ethnic Population Graph student page…...………………………….…….....80
Did Pocahontas Save John Smith? Analyzing the Evidence key…....……….…....…81
Did Pocahontas Save John Smith Teaching Notes.……………………………….…..82
Background Reading on John Smith and Pocahontas by Dr. John Birchfield…..83-88
- Document A: John Smith’s A True Relation…………………..…….……....….89
- Document B: John Smith’s General History of Virginia………………….…....89
Did Pocahontas Save John Smith? Analyzing the Evidence student page……........90
Reading Strategies for Social Studies
I don’t want this blog to turn entirely into a sales pitch, because its true purpose is to share teaching ideas that can benefit all of our students. In celebration of the book’s release, I thought I would share some reading strategies today. I have used my book as the example, however. :) To read about the strategise visit my blog at http://www.historyquesters.com
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