Hello history teacher! Which social studies unit are you working on? If you’re learning about the old British colonies, this is the perfect blog for you! Whether you’re looking for an independent activity, something new and practical, or something simple Whether or not the list below offers something special to add to your next colonial lesson in American history. A diverse list of 13 ways to engage students when learning about the original colonies Please read
1. Watch the video
A short video is a great way to start a new British colonial unit. There is a short summary at the end of this visual colony map, perfect for facilitating discussion. After this 4-minute video, he asks the students what they have learned and what they already know before entering the Colony he map activity.
Learn more: Kids Academy
2. Reading quiz
Ready-made digital activities are the best! A quick read is followed by his 10-question quiz that provides real-time student data. Learn the differences between the Central and Southern Colonies in this informative read about colonial areas.
Details: Duck Stars
3. Memorize in order
Which colony was first? Find the answer here! This PDF starts with Answer Key and moves on to a unique story about a girl named Virginia. The words in this story are a great addition to a child’s interactive unit for remembering which colony came first and which colony came last.
Learn More: Memory Jogger
4. Word search
This is a fun American colonial word search. Finding these provinces will allow you to exit the colony map activity. Complete the word search yourself and create your own answer key! Students can use highlighters to identify words or use colored pencils to circle them.
More information: Education
5. Play board games
This board game is a great way to review the 13 Colonies trivia. This colony map activity requires you to strategize on how to best use your geographic knowledge. Little or no teacher preparation is required. Just print, cut and tape.
More information: Education
6. Timed geography quiz
Show all colonies in color in this online quiz. A map quiz with colored colonies is much more interesting than a simple black and white colony he map quiz. Have your students log their time and see who can complete this the fastest!
More information: Purpose Games
7. Airplane game
Fly your plane to the correct cloud in this virtual maneuver. Quizzes with auto-correction provide immediate feedback to students. The learner will have so much fun catching clouds that the colony map he will not realize he is doing the activity.
More information: Word Wall
8. Game review
In this 13-question game show quiz, students are tested in various colonial regions. You can set this up as your partner’s activity on your laptop or tablet, or project it on the big screen for the whole class to participate in.
More information: Word Wall
9. Enter
Map quizzes are great, but this particular quiz game requires students to write the full name of the colony on the picture. When Add capital letters. This digital map is great for learning to spell difficult state names like Connecticut.
Details: IXL
10. Create a travel brochure
Have students distinguish between New England, the Southern Colonies, and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies with this interactive map activity. They divide the colonies into regions, color code maps and create their own travel brochures. Encourage students to do their own research for the “Reasons for Colonization” column.
More information: Teaching Starters
11. Create a storyboard
Economic Activities helps students connect with the map on a deeper level. The ones depicted here are about the economies of the 13 colonies, but students can create their own storyboards based on topics that interest them most.
More information: Storyboards
12. Jigsaw the facts
This link provides 13 facts about the colony. Print it out and divide the students into groups. Each group is assigned to be an expert on their assigned fact. Learn how the colonies of the South differ from those of New England.
Details: History
13. Interactive Notes

This is more than simple worksheets and redundant labeling tasks. Hands-on activities that allow students to color are very engaging. Once completed, this notebook acts as an interactive scavenger hunt, providing clues for the scavenger hunt and requiring students to flip through the correct colonies.
More information: Appletastic Learning