Browse lesson plans

Molly's Pilgrim Activity

Using the book by Barbara Cohen, students will respond to the social and historical significance of this portrayal of the Thanksgiving holiday. Students will also participate in constructing a Venn diagram and completing a cloze activity.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Susan Milholland, Kathy Vaden, and Rita Wilson.

The Carolina colony: Comparing three perspectives

In this lesson, students compare three different primary sources written by early colonists and consider the reasons the colonists had for moving to Carolina.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Discussion questions: Expanding to the west

This set of discussion questions was designed to help students understand an article about the settlement of the Piedmont region of North Carolina between 1730 and 1775.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Educator's guide: The arrival of Swiss immigrants

Teaching suggestions to help your students synthesize the information in the article "The Arrival of Swiss Immigrants."

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Graphic organizer: John Lawson's assessment of the Tuscarora

This graphic organizer will aid students' comprehension as they read a primary source account detailing an English traveler's encounters with the Tuscarora Indians in 1700-1701.

Format: chart/lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Immigrants' experiences in colonial North Carolina

In this lesson plan, students read two primary-source documents describing the experiences of new arrivals to North Carolina during the colonial period: One is a summary of a report written by a young Moravian settler from Pennsylvania; the other is a letter from a German immigrant. Students compare and contrast the journeys and settlement of the two groups.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Navigating the inlets and havens

In this lesson plan, students read and analyze a primary source document written in the early 1700s that describes the inlets of the North Carolina coast. The students adopt the perspective of a contemporary ship's captain and discuss the importance of the information in the document.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Reading guide: A Brief Description of the Province of Carolina

Reading guide designed to aid students' comprehension of a primary source document — a 17th-century pamphlet produced in London describing the economic opportunity and religious freedom available to settlers in Carolina.

Format: worksheet/lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Teaching suggestions: A Brief Description of the Province of Carolina

Teaching suggestions designed to support students' understanding of a 17th-century primary source document — a pamphlet produced in London at the request of the Lords Proprietors describing the economic opportunity and religious freedom available to settlers in Carolina.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Resources on the web

Discovering North Carolina: A colonial map webquest

Using historical maps of North Carolina and other primary sources now published online, students complete a webquest in which they describe the colony of North Carolina for the King of England and imagine they are explorers in his employ. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Provided by: UNC Libraries