Thirteen Original Colonies WebQuest
Introduction
Your expertise is needed immediately! We need historians to report on the 13 original colonies. The information you provide will be used to teach others about colonial times.
Select on of the thirteen original colonies to research.
| Massachusetts | New Jersey | New Hampshire | Rhode Island |
| Connecticut | Pennsylvania | Delaware | North Carolina |
| Maryland | South Carolina | Georgia | Virginia |
| New York |
After analyzing your findings, you will create a multimedia presentation to illustrate your colony's history. You will also view other multimedia presentations to compare the European settlements in North America.
The Task
The task is to identify and make discoveries of the 13 original colonies. You will uncover this information through research. Your final report will include:
Identification of the original colony
The founders of the colony and the year it was founded
Descriptions of why the colony was founded
Origin of colony name
Economical characteristics of the colony
Geography of colony
Other interesting facts discovered about the colony
Multimedia presentation
You will then view three PowerPoints, one from each of the colony groups, and compare the three in terms of economic activities, religious emphasis, government, and lifestyles.
The Process
1. Each person will select a colony to research.
2. Each expert must research and take notes on their colony.
Thirteen Original Colonies Organizer
3. Using the information organizer, answer the questions below for your area of expertise.
Name the colony, the date founded, and the founder of the colony.
Description of why this colony was founded and from where the settlers came.
Explain the origin of the name and why the name was given to the colony.
What products were produced in your colony and what were the major industries? How did people earn their living?
Describe the geography of your colony.
Include other interesting facts you have found about the colony.
5. Once the Information Sheet has been completed, create a multimedia presentation using PowerPoint. Your presentation will be approximately 3-5 minutes with 6 PowerPoint slides.
Title Slide- Name of colonies, years founded, colony founders, your name, and possibly a map
Slide 2- Reasons colony was founded and from where the settlers came
Slide 3-Origin of name and why the name was given
Slide 4- Describe the products and industries of this colony
Slide 5- Describe the geography of your colony
Slide 6-Other interesting facts
Day 5
6. Once all PowerPoints have been completed and published to the Media Library website, you will view three PowerPoints: one from the New England colony group, one from the Middle colony group, and one from the Southern colony group. You will then complete 4 Venn Diagrams using the tool on MS Word comparing and contrasting each of the three colonies in terms of
Economic Activities
Religious Emphasis
Government
Lifestyles
Evaluation
You will be evaluated using the the Evaluation Rubric.
Conclusion
Your research will give you a better understanding of how the 13 original colonies were founded and your PowerPoint will enable others to learn about the differences and similarities between the three groups of colonies.