The fifth graders started an American History unit in social studies today. We briefly reviewed Native Americans and explorers, and moved quickly into new discussions on European colonies. Our class focused on the colony of New Spain today, learning about how mining for gold and silver was important to them. We discussed why and how Spanish colonists built presidios and missions. In addition, we learned how the ranchers on the haciendas became self-sufficient.
We will start tomorrow by reviewing New Spain and its colonies. We will take notes as a review. Vocabulary words will be: buffer, borderlands, presidio, permanent, scarce, hacienda, self-sufficient, and mission. Following the review, we will learn about New France and compare the colonists of New France to those of New Spain. We will be discussing the following vocabulary terms: royal colony, portage, tributary, proprietary colony, and proprietor.
Following our study of the Spanish and French colonists, we will move to the British colonists. We will discuss the Puritans, charters, and the Fundamental Orders, as well as why Rhode Island and New Hampshire were founded.
Towards the end of the week, we will discuss colonists that lived in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia, and their relationships with the Native Americans.
Our next test is scheduled for next Tuesday or Wednesday (as of right now). I may need to move the test due to Friday's play. The test will consist of 25 vocabulary terms to match with a definition--everything will be in their notes, listing facts the students learn about life in cities, on plantations, and on the frontier, and writing me a paragraph telling me where they would have wanted to live had they been a British colonist and why.
