The Thirteen Colonies 8th Grade ULTIMATE Lesson Plan

When it comes to 8th Grade social studies lesson plans about the 13 Colonies, there's seemingly an endless treasure trove of results when doing a search on Google or a third-party site like Teachers pay Teachers.

It's literally overwhelming. Where do you start? As you wallow your way through the search results, how do you decide which ones *might* be the one your looking for?

• Do they come in the format your looking for?
• Have they been purchased and reviewed by other teachers?
• Do they follow the standards your district/state follow?
• What about when it comes to pricing?? How do you know what a fair price is? What are others charging for similar products of similar quality?
• What happens if I run into a technical issue with my purchase, or I need some help with a resource, is there someone I can reach out to? I get it - it NEVER ends

And that's exactly why I've built this website. I do my absolute best to provide an answer to each and every single one of those questions and concerns that so many teachers must grapple with... seriously, I don't know a single teacher who has a bunch of free time on nights and weekends to just scour the web looking for awesome, easy-to-use, and affordable lesson plans and resources. It's my goal to help as many social studies as I possibly can to spend more time teaching, and less time preparing, creating, and/or searching for lesson plans.

Which brings me to the topic of teaching 8th graders about Colonial America, in particular, the 13 Colonies and colonial life.

By the time students reach the 8th grade level they should be more than ready to have their critical thinking skills challenged, developed an adequate level of historical inquiry abilities, and  formed a solid foundation of knowledge from which to grow upon when it comes to the American colonies. The lesson plans I've created and used to teach eighth graders all about the colonial times come with class presentation in both PowerPoint presentation and Google Slides format, includes ALL student exercise assignments in both PDF files and Google Slides formats (all with teacher answer keys), include guided notes student handout, project ideas for  students to conduct in-depth research, ready-to-go supplemental video links on YouTube, and so MUCH MORE!!

From the tragic causes and horrible effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade, to historically significant documents such as the English Bill of Rights & Mayflower Compact (which promoted and enabled the growth of representative government and ultimately would later culminate with the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence), to the motivations behind the gradual move towards widespread religious tolerance, as well as the geographies of the New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies and how that impacted their economies - it's ALL covered in my Colonial America Lesson Plan Unit!!

Through the incorporated use of extensive primary sources, students will gain a better understanding and comprehension of several important topics that pertain to the 13 Colonies including:

• The causes and effects of slavery in the 13 Colonies, and what daily life was like for enslaved people
• Why so many Europeans (religious groups) in search of religious freedom came to the British colonies in North America
• The motivations behind the colonial governments that colonists established, such as the Virginia House of Burgesses
• The historically significant roles of people like John Smith, William Penn, Roger Williams, James Oglethorpe, and many others played in the founding and establishment of the colonies
• Why Jamestown became a crucial settlement and how tobacco significantly altered the course of its development
• Influence of strict Puritan leaders and the Puritan way of life
• The Great Awakening and Enlightenment (Age of Reason): what they were, why they're important, key individuals associated with them
• Causes and effects of the French & Indian War
• Plus, a whole lot more!

Don't waste another minute creating or preparing 8th grade US history lesson plans!

I've already done it ALL for you!!

Click the link below to find out why so many U.S. History teachers (just like YOU!) rely on my full-year 8th grade social studies lesson plans and curriculum!

8th Grade U.S. History Curriculum

Thank you for reading!

-Jillian