New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

New England Colonies

The New England Colonies were located in the northeastern part of what is now the United States. The colonies included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. The economy of the New England Colonies was based on fishing, shipbuilding, and trade. The people in the New England Colonies were mostly Puritans and they established communities based on religious beliefs. Education was highly valued, and the first American public school was established in the New England Colonies.

Middle Colonies

The Middle Colonies were located between the New England and Southern Colonies and included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The economy of the Middle Colonies was diverse, with agriculture, trade, and industry playing important roles. The region was known for its fertile soil, which allowed for the growth of crops such as wheat and corn. The Middle Colonies were also known for their religious tolerance and diverse population, with people from various European backgrounds settling in the region.

Southern Colonies

The Southern Colonies were located in the southern part of what is now the United States and included Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The economy of the Southern Colonies was largely based on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of cash crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo. The Southern Colonies had a social structure that was based on a plantation system and relied heavily on enslaved labor from Africa. The region also had a warm climate and fertile soil, which contributed to the success of the agricultural economy.

Study Guide

What were the main industries in the New England Colonies?
Who were the primary settlers in the New England Colonies?
What was the economy of the Middle Colonies based on?
What was the social structure of the Southern Colonies based on?
Which cash crops were cultivated in the Southern Colonies?
What was the main focus of education in the New England Colonies?
What was the primary factor contributing to the success of the agricultural economy in the Southern Colonies?
What characterized the population of the Middle Colonies?

◂Social Studies Worksheets and Study Guides Fifth Grade. New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Study Guide

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Worksheet/Answer key

New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

The resources above cover the following skills:

National Standards for Civics and Government (NSCG)

What are the foundations of the American political system? What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?

Distinctive characteristics of American society. Students should be able to identify and explain the importance of historical experience and geographic, social, and economic factors that have helped to shape American society. To achieve this standard, students should be able to

Explain important factors that have helped shape American society

A history of slavery

What are the foundations of the American political system? What is American political culture?

The character of American political conflict. Students should be able to describe the character of American political conflict and explain factors that usually prevent violence or that lower its intensity. To achieve this standard, students should be able to

Describe political conflict in the United States both historically and at present, such as conflict about

Slavery and indentured servitude

National Center for History in Schools (NCHS)

Historical Thinking Standards

Historical Comprehension

Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.

United States History Content Standards

Era 1: Three Worlds Meet (Beginnings to 1620)

Comparative characteristics of societies in the Americas, Western Europe, and Western Africa that increasingly interacted after 1450.

The student understands the differences and similarities among Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans who converged in the western hemisphere after 1492.

How early European exploration and colonization resulted in cultural and ecological interactions among previously unconnected peoples.

The student understands the stages of European oceanic and overland exploration, amid international rivalries, from the 9th to 17th centuries.

Era 2: Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)

How political, religious, and social institutions emerged in the English colonies.

The student understands the roots of representative government and how political rights were defined.

The student understands social and cultural change in British America.

How the values and institutions of European economic life took root in the colonies, and how slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas.

The student understands colonial economic life and labor systems in the Americas.

The student understands economic life and the development of labor systems in the English colonies.

The student understands African life under slavery.

World History Content Standards

Era 6: The Emergence of the First Global Age, 1450-1770

How the transoceanic interlinking of all major regions of the world from 1450-1600 led to global transformations.

The student understands the encounters between Europeans and peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Era 7: An Age of Revolutions, 1750-1914

The causes and consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, 1700-1850.

The student understands the causes and consequences of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas.