British trade laws and new taxes—like the Sugar, Stamp, and Townshend Acts—disrupted colonial trade, raised everyday costs, and sparked boycotts and protests, creating rising tensions that pushed the colonies and Britain toward open conflict.

Early colonial assemblies and town meetings introduced self-government, representation, and citizen participation, forming key foundations of American democracy despite limits under royal rule.

Create a collaborative class atlas that uses maps, charts, and evidence-based explanations to highlight regional differences, Indigenous homelands, and Atlantic trade routes, showing how geography, environment, and movement shaped colonial America.

Explore daily life in colonial America by comparing work, religion, economy, and community roles across diverse groups, showing how families earned, traded, and made decisions in a changing society.

Compare New England, Middle, and Southern colonial regions by examining how geography and climate shaped crops, jobs, resources, and regional specializations, revealing how land and labor built distinct colonial economies.

Explore early English colonies by locating settlements like Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth while uncovering why people colonized North America and how geography, climate, and scarce resources shaped their earliest challenges.

Explore how goods, people, and ideas moved among Europe, Africa, and the Americas, highlighting interdependence, trade, taxation, and boycotts that shaped economic choices across the Atlantic world.

European exploration was driven by wealth, trade, religion, and competition, shaping ocean routes and encounters that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas while bringing both exchange and profound impacts on Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous nations adapted to and shaped their environments through practices like controlled burns, irrigation, and sustainable harvesting, showing deep interdependence between people, place, movement, and trade.

Explore the rich diversity of Indigenous nations across North America in this 5th-grade unit, as students map homelands, examine how land and environment shaped daily life, compare cultures respectfully, and recognize Indigenous peoples’ enduring presence and traditions.

Explore how landforms, waterways, and climate shape life across North America in this 5th-grade geography unit, as students map major regions, examine Indigenous homelands and colonial regions, and explain how environment influences settlement, culture, and economies.