Building Colonial Government

Overview

Students read a self-contained account of why England established 13 colonies and how representative government developed. They organize evidence about colonial purposes, compare colonial government with government in England, and explain how these developments shaped American self-government.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Explain economic, religious, geographic, and political reasons colonies were established.
• Describe how representative government developed in the colonies.
• Organize evidence in chronological and cause-and-effect order.
• Communicate a conclusion using evidence from a historical reading.

Success criteria

• I can identify at least three reasons England established colonies.
• I can explain the importance of the House of Burgesses and Mayflower Compact.
• I can connect colonial self-government to later American ideas about representation.
• I can answer questions using evidence from the reading.

Curriculum links

• Colonial development: explain the establishment, growth, and regional characteristics of English colonies.
• Historical development: explain how representative government and political ideas developed in the colonies.
• Geography and settlement: describe how geography influenced colonial economic activities and settlement patterns.
• Citizenship and government: analyze the foundations of representative government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
• Critical thinking and communication: sequence events, identify causes and effects, summarize information, and communicate conclusions in writing and visuals.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Do-now. Open the opening question slide and write on the board: “Why might people leave their homeland to start a new community?” Students silently list two possible reasons, then share with a partner. Collect two or three responses.

2. 5–8 min · Set the purpose. Display the learning target and key vocabulary slides. Tell students they will read about the English colonies and track both why colonies were created and how colonists gained a voice in government. Briefly define colony, representative, charter, economy, and self-government.

3. 8–20 min · Read and annotate. Distribute the Building the Colonies reading and organizer. Read the passage aloud while students follow; pause after each paragraph for students to underline a reason for colonization, circle a government term, and mark one cause-and-effect relationship. Students may reread with a partner.

Building the Colonies

England established colonies in North America for several connected reasons. Some leaders wanted wealth. Colonies could provide land, natural resources, and products that England could sell or use. Tobacco became an important cash crop in Virginia, while fish, timber, furs, and shipbuilding supported other settlements. Colonies also created new markets for English goods and helped England compete with Spain, France, and the Netherlands.

Religion was another reason for colonization. Many English people disagreed about how the Church of England should be organized. The Pilgrims, who settled Plymouth in 1620, wanted to worship separately from the Church of England. In 1630, Puritans established Massachusetts Bay to create a community guided by their religious beliefs. Religious goals sometimes encouraged cooperation, but colonists did not always allow people with different beliefs the same freedom.

England also wanted to increase its power. An overseas empire could strengthen England’s navy, trade, and influence. Colonies could serve as military and trading centers. England granted companies and individuals charters, or official permissions, to establish settlements. These charters often gave colonists rights to make local rules, which helped self-government grow.

Geography influenced how colonies developed. The New England colonies had rocky soil, forests, and many harbors. Their economies included fishing, shipbuilding, trade, and small farms. The Middle Colonies had fertile soil and navigable rivers, supporting grain farming and diverse trade. The Southern Colonies had longer growing seasons and large areas of fertile land. Plantations produced tobacco, rice, and indigo. Enslaved Africans were forced to provide much of the labor on many plantations, creating a system based on violence and denying basic human rights.

Representative government developed as colonists managed local problems far from England. In 1619, Virginia created the House of Burgesses, an elected assembly. Male property owners chose representatives to help make laws and approve taxes. It was limited and excluded women, enslaved people, Native Americans, and many poor men, but it established an important idea: some colonists could select people to speak and act for them.

At Plymouth, the Mayflower Compact of 1620 stated that settlers would create “just and equal laws” for the good of the community. The agreement showed the principle of consent: government should have the support of the people it governs. Town meetings in New England also allowed some local residents to discuss community issues and vote.

Colonial self-government was not complete democracy. England still claimed authority, and governors or officials could be appointed by the king or proprietors. Laws and voting rights were unequal. However, elected assemblies, town meetings, written agreements, and local courts gave colonists practice in debate, lawmaking, and representation. Over time, these experiences helped shape later American arguments that government should protect rights and depend on the consent of the governed.

4. 20–32 min · Comprehension and organizer. Students complete the questions and cause/effect organizer on the Building the Colonies reading and organizer independently for six minutes, then compare answers in pairs. Review using the question and discussion slides. Ask students to support answers with a phrase or sentence from the reading.

5. 32–39 min · Evidence discussion. In groups of four, students answer: “Which reason for establishing colonies was most important: wealth, religion, competition, or self-government?” Each group records one claim and two pieces of evidence on the worksheet. Invite two groups with different choices to share.

6. 39–45 min · Exit ticket and close. Display the exit-ticket prompt slide. Students answer: “Name one reason England established colonies. Explain one way representative government developed, and why that development mattered.” Collect the worksheet and exit ticket at the door.

Resources

• the Colonial Era substitute-teacher slide deck
• the Building the Colonies reading and organizer
• Board or projector
• Pencils or pens
• Highlighters, if available
• Exit-ticket slips or notebook paper
• Seating chart and class roster

Assessment

• Check do-now responses and listen for accurate use of cause-and-effect language.
• Monitor annotations, organizer entries, and partner explanations; require students to return to the text for evidence.
• Use the exit ticket to assess reasons for colonization and the development and significance of representative government.

Differentiation

• Provide the reading in four chunks, preteach the five vocabulary terms, and allow students to annotate one paragraph at a time.
• Offer read-aloud or text-to-speech support and pair students strategically; do not require students to read aloud.
• Reduce writing by allowing labeled phrases, bullet points, or oral responses recorded by a partner.
• Provide sentence stems: “England established colonies to ___ because ___.” “Representative government developed when ___.” “This mattered because ___.”
• For students needing additional support, assign only the essential questions and provide a word bank: wealth, religion, competition, geography, assembly, consent, representation.

Answer key and management notes

• Organizer: Wealth—resources, products, markets; religion—separate worship and religious communities; competition—power against European rivals; geography—different economies and settlement patterns.
• Questions: The House of Burgesses was an elected assembly; the Mayflower Compact expressed consent and agreement to make laws; colonial government was limited because many groups could not vote and England retained authority; geography shaped regional economies; colonial self-government gave colonists practice with representation and lawmaking.
• Accept any evidence-based response identifying wealth, religion, competition, or power as most important.
• Management: Seat students before distributing papers. Keep students reading or writing during transitions. Use a visible timer, assign partners rather than allowing large groups to form, and collect all papers before dismissal. If students finish early, ask them to add a second cause-and-effect relationship from the reading.