LESSON

OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify each of the
colonies in each of
the following
regions: New
England, Middle
Colonies, and
Southern Colonies.
2. Describe the land,
climate, and natural
resources of each
region of the 13
colonies.
 Growing seasons
 Tidewater
 Fall line
 backcountry
 Is it flat for miles?
 Are there mountains around?

How does the geography

of the land affect the
way you live?...Turn and
Talk!!! 
 REVIEW:Why did people from
England move to North America?

 When the English came to North

America, over time, they established
the 13 English colonies.
 Along the Atlantic Ocean
 New France to the north
 New Spain to the south
 Appalachian Mountains-formed a
natural boundary to the west.
 The 13 English
colonies were
separated into 3
different regions
based on geography
and climate:
 They are:
 1. New England
 2. Middle Colonies
 3. Southern
Colonies
 New England’s geography was shaped by
glaciers.
 During the Ice Age, the rock-filled glaciers moved
slowly across New England, cutting deep valleys
through the mountains, and scrapping up New
England’s rich soil, pushing it south. All that was left
was a thin layer of rocky dirt.
 Because of the thin, rocky soil, along with the
forests and rugged mountains, farming was
very difficult.
 Farming was also affected by climate.
 Warm summers
 Bitterly cold winters
 The growing season was short, lasting from
late May to early October.
 Growing season-time of year when it is warm
enough for plants to grow.
 Allowed farmers to only grow enough food
for their families, not enough to sell for
profit.
NATURAL RESOURCES!!
 Used wood from the thick forests to make
buildings and ships
 Caught fish and whales from the Atlantic
Ocean to use for food and other products.
 Allof the fertile soil that was scraped away from
New England was dropped in the hills and valleys of
the Middle Colonies.
 CROPS GREW WELL HERE because of the fertile soil.
 A more pleasant climate made the Middle Colonies
much more friendly to farmers!
 The growing season was much longer, with many
sunny days and lots of rain.
 Geography was much different from other
countries.
 The southern coast was full of rivers, bays, and
wetlands. This area was known as the tidewater.
 Tidewater-water rises and falls everyday with the
ocean’s tides.
 Excellent for farming
 Weather was warm for much of the year.
 Soil was rich and fertile, receiving plenty of rain.
 Many southern colonists grew cash crops.
 The southern colonists made great use of the waterways in their
region.
 They would use the tidewater to ship crops to markets and other
towns and countries.
 The tidewater ended at the fall line, which followed eastern edge
of the Appalachian Mountains all the way to New England.
 Fall line-rivers from higher land flow to lower land and many
times forms a waterfall.
 The higher land on the other side of the fall line was called the
backcountry.
 The land was steep and covered with forests.
 Farms were small and colonists fished and hunted for much of
their food.
1. Why was farming in the Middle and Southern
colonies so much better than in New England?
2. Why was the tidewater good for growing
crops?
3. What natural resources did colonists have in
New England?
4. Why would colonists want to settle near rivers
and other waterways?
5. Climate is one way to divide places into
regions. What are some other ways?
Core Lesson 2
 Puritans settled in New England in the 1600s.
 They wanted to set a good example for other people by following
laws based on the Bible.
 Their beliefs shaped the entire government of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
**Remember…the Puritans left England to gain religious freedom!!
**Question…DO YOU THINK THE PURITANS GAVE THE RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM THAT THEY WERE SEARCHING FOR?
 Only male church members could
vote or serve in town government.
 Town leaders made laws to control
how people worshipped.
 One law required all people to attend
church services.
 They gathered at the meeting house,
their most important building, for
church every Sunday.
 The meeting house was usually built in the middle of
town.
 Community members gathered at least once a year for a
town meeting, a gathering where colonists held elections
and voted on the laws for their towns. Anyone could
attend, but only men who owned property could vote.
 Self government-when people make laws for themselves.
 The Puritans wanted
religious freedom, but
they didn’t want to give it.
They thought everyone
should believe the way
they did.
 Some colonists were dissenters, which is a person who
does not agree with the beliefs of his or her leaders.
 Some thought the Puritans had no right to tell them
what to believe or how to act.
 Roger Williams wanted religious freedom and didn’t
believe that the Puritans should tell him what to believe.
 He was banished, forced to leave, from Massachusetts.
 Founded in 1636 by Roger Williams
 People could worship freely here.
 Government was separate from the
church.
 This was very important for the
history of religious freedom in North
America.
 Criticized church leaders
 Held meetings in her home to
discuss religion.
 The Puritans did not like it and got
mad and banished her from
Massachusetts. She moved to Rhode
Island.
 Also didn’t like some the rules made by
Puritan leaders.
 Wanted to form a colony where ALL men
could vote, not just church members.
 Led about 100 colonists west to the
Connecticut River in 1636
 They founded the town of Hartford, that
later joined with several other towns and
formed the colony of Connecticut.
 Othercolonists left Massachusetts
and settled the area that became
New Hampshire and Maine.
 The New England colonies were developed on land
where American Indians already lived.
 Colonists and Indians disagreed over the land
 The Indians believed that land was for everyone to use
and no one could truly own it and thought they were
agreeing to “share” the land when they sold it.
 Colonists expected the Indians to move from the land
once they bought it.
 Caused by conflict over land between
Indians and Colonists.
 The Colonists killed most of the
Pequots. The few that were left were
enslaved or fled.
 Metacomet, leader of the
Wampanoags, wanted peace, but
believed they had to fight for what was
left of their land. He was known to
colonists as King Philip.
 War broke out between the colonists
and Indians. These series of battles
was called King Philips War.
 Metacomet was defeated in 1676.
 There were very few slaves left in
New England after this.
 Describe major industries, especially
those related to the sea, in New
England.
 Indentify features of home and
community life in New England.
 Industry
 Export
 Import
 Middle Passage
 Slave trade
Think about some chores
you are responsible for
completing at home. Make
a chore web of all the
chores you can think of
that you do at home.
 Although farming was difficult in New England,
most colonists were still farmers.
 But because farming was difficult, they had to
find other ways to make money.
 The geography of New England made it a good
place to make a living from the sea.
 Boston became the center of New England’s
shipbuilding industry.
 Why did shipbuilding become such a strong industry
in New England?
 The fishing industry grew quickly because of
the abundance of fish in the ocean waters.
 In 1675, New England colonists caught 6 million
pounds of fish!!
 The most common fish is cod, in which they
sold mostly as exports to Europe and the West
Indies.
 Whaling was one of most important industries,
in which they used to make products such as oil
for lamps.
 Fish and lumber were shipped to
other countries and traded for
imports to bring back to the colonies
(tea and spices).
 Shipping routes between North
America, Europe, and Africa formed
an imaginary triangle across the
Atlantic, which became known as the
triangular trade.
 Some made money by selling human beings.
 Middle Passage-they would purchase human beings
from Africa, chain them together, and place them on
crowded, filthy ships to trade. This voyage from Africa to
the West Indies was called the Middle Passage.
 Many of these slaves died on the voyage of diseases or
hunger.
 If passengers survived the voyage, they were sold to
colonists who forced them to work.
 Young boy who survived the Middle
Passage.
 Wrote a book describing his horrible
experiences.

 Slave trade-business of buying and

selling slaves.
 Large families with 6 or 7 children
 Lived in small wooden houses, one room
with huge fireplace
 A cooking fire was kept burning at all times
 Table in middle of rooms for meals
 Slept on mattresses near the fire for warmth.
 Wealthier families might have a second story or
loft, providing more room for sleeping.
 Light came from candles and lamps
 Almost everything a family needed had
to be made or grown at home by hand,
so their homes were also workshops.

ACTIVITY:
In your groups, make a T chart
comparing the boys chores to the girls
chores. Look at page 177 for help.
 Men and boys worked in the fields
 Planted crops in the spring, harvested in
the fall
 Built and repaired buildings and tools
 Took care of families animals
 Women and girls were just a busy
inside the home.
 Prepared and preserved food
 Made clothing ,soap, and candles
 Helped in the fields during planting and
harvesting seasons.
***CHILDREN WERE EXPECTED TO
HELPE AROUND THE HOUSE AS
MUCH AS THE ADULTS.