Exploring Colonial America - literacyworldwide.org

July 2014 DOI:10.1598/bridges.7011 | © 2014 International Reading Association

Exploring Colonial AmericaTeaching History Through Literacy for Grade 6 Using the GAUGE StrategyLeila Richey Nuland, Ana Taboada Barber, Traci Whiting Murray, and Susan Groundwater

DescriptionThis two-week unit for grade 6 focuses on the shared goals of teaching history content related to the coloni-zation of America while strengthening literacy skills through comprehension monitoring. Comprehension monitoring is essential to literacy, as it enables the reader to be aware, while reading, whether a text is making sense and to select from a menu of strategies to fix his or her misunderstandings accordingly. Once students identify what they do not understand, they can use fix-up strategies as tools to improve their compre-hension. This unit presents a specific comprehension monitoring strategy for accomplishing this objective: the GAUGE strategy, which encourages students to use Graphic organizers, Ask questions, Use text features or context clues, Go back and reread, and Explain what you read. GAUGE is used as an anchor in this unit because students cannot apply strategies if they are not aware of their thinking while reading. Therefore, GAUGE facili-tates students’ thinking about their reading.

This unit was developed and implemented within the United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER), a multiyear project designed to codevelop a

history–literacy integrated curriculum between literacy researchers and language arts and social studies middle school (grades 6 and 7) teachers (Taboada Barber et al., in press). The implementation took place with several teachers in a large urban school district in the Mid-Atlantic region. USHER has the dual goal of supporting the reading comprehension and engagement of middle school students with history texts through the use of specific comprehension or cognitive strategies and mo-tivation support practices.

Motivation practices refer to teacher supports for stu-dent motivation for reading history and learning history topics. In this unit, we emphasize two motivation prac-tices: reading self-efficacy and task relevance. Fostering reading self-efficacy consists of teacher supports to in-crease students’ own perceptions of their reading ca-pabilities through fostering competence with specific reading skills or activities. Fostering relevance consists of teacher supports for students’ understanding of the importance and value of learning (a) certain tasks or topics or (b) the use of specific reading strategies.

GRADES

6–8

Instructional Units for the Engaging ClassroomIRA BRIDGES

July 2014 | Exploring Colonial America DOI:10.1598/bridges.7011 | © 2014 International Reading Association2

Several middle school teachers in a large urban school district have implemented the Colonization unit over a three-year period in a variety of classroom settings: regular education, a gifted and talented cluster, English learners (ELs), and special education students have all been a part of the implementation process. This unit is designed for the general sixth-grade student population with specific supports for ELs who are reading at or be-low the sixth-grade level. ELs experience some specific barriers to reading in the domain of social studies:

• Decontextualized written discourse• Few graphic cues• Less predictable sequence of ideas, as compared to

narratives• Limited background knowledge necessary to under-

stand topic• Specific vocabulary tied to essential concepts

This unit targets specific practices to overcome the barriers experienced by ELs and to increase the read-ing comprehension and reading engagement for this specific population. General practices include the following:

• Use of visual aids to build background knowledge• Use of graphic organizers• Explicit instruction of reading comprehension strate-

gies alongside content• Collaborative activities

Specific practices for ELs include (a) texts with multi-ple text features (e.g., pictures, special vocabulary, and section titles) that compensate the complexities of lin-ear, turgid text; (b) discussion prompts to facilitate di-alogue among students; and (c) a word wall for both content-specific and general academic words.

Unit ObjectivesIn each of the 10 days for this unit, teachers introduce the purpose for comprehension monitoring, model this strategy, provide guided practice for the strategy, and ultimately provide time for independent practice. Therefore, each lesson includes a warm-up activity, whole-class or partner reading, and a closure activity for each day of instruction. The lessons provided here are intended for 90-minute periods. (The teachers who originally implemented this unit used their social stud-ies and language arts periods.)

Motivation Support Objectives• Students will develop initial motivation to read about

the early colonies by increasing self-efficacy for reading.

• Students will discuss and understand the relevance of studying topics about Colonial America.

Reading Comprehension Objectives• Students will activate background knowledge about

specific topics (e.g., Jamestown, European Settlers, Pocahontas) and relate to text content.

• Students will use GAUGE to monitor their compre-hension while reading about the colonies.

Content ObjectivesStudents will read to answer the following questions during and by the end of the unit:

1. Why did Europeans establish colonies in North America?

2. How did climate, geographic features, and other available resources distinguish the three regions from each other?

3. How did people use the natural resources of their re-gion to earn a living?

4. What are the benefits of specialization and trade?5. How did political and social life evolve in each of the

three regions?


Texts Required TextsPartner or Small-Group ReadingBelval, B. (2006). A primary source history of the colony

of Roanoke. New York, NY: Rosen. Lexile level: 830. (Nonfiction).

Freedman, J. (2006). A primary source history of the col-ony of Massachusetts. New York, NY: Rosen. Lexile level: 1090. (Nonfiction).

Hasan, H. (2006). A primary source history of the colony of South Carolina. New York, NY: Rosen. Lexile level: 1070. (Nonfiction).

Prentzas, G.S. (2006). A primary source history of the colony of Pennsylvania. New York, NY: Rosen. Lexile level: 1150. (Nonfiction).

Rai, V. (2004). Massachusetts: Colonial America. Independence, KY: National Geographic. Lexile level: 590. (Nonfiction).

Unit Overview

Week Grouping Central Ideas ObjectivesTeaching and Learning Activities

Common Core State Standards and Learning Goals Achieved Texts Used

1 Individuals, pairs, small groups, whole class

Students will gain an understanding of how to monitor their comprehension through the use of the GAUGE strategy and develop an understanding of how and why the original 13 American colonies were established.

Students will demonstrate increased motivation and self-efficacy, relate background knowledge to content, monitor comprehension using GAUGE, and develop an understanding of European colonization of North America and the three colonial regions.

Students will participate in both collaborative and independent reading and in writing activities (to include writing a short essay, developing a timeline, and completing a compare/contrast graphic organizer) and be introduced to a culminating project.

RH.6-8.2RH.6-8.4RH.6-8.7

WHST.6-8.2WHST.6-8.2a

Jamestown by D. RosenThe Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A

Pilgrim Boy by A. RinaldiA Primary Source History of the Lost

Colony of Roanoke by B. Belval A Primary Source History of the Colony

of Massachusetts by J. FreedmanA Primary Source History of the Colony

of South Carolina by H. HasanA Primary Source History of the Colony

of Pennsylvania by G.S. PrentzasMassachusetts: Colonial America by

V. RaiPennsylvania: Colonial America by

V. RaiSouth Carolina: Colonial America by

V. RaiA Primary Source History of the Colony

of Georgia by L. SonnebornThe Pilgrims by R.C. Stein

2 Individuals, pairs, small groups, whole class

Students will improve organizational ability and comprehension and refine cognitive skills through the use of the GAUGE stragegy as well as develop an understanding of life in Colonial America and reasons for the colonists’ dissatisfaction with Great Britain.

Students will demonstrate increased motivation and self-efficacy, relate background knowledge to content, monitor comprehension using GAUGE, and develop an understanding of European colonization of North America and the three colonial regions.

Students will participate in collaborative and independent reading, utilize graphic organizers, do perspective writing, and create artifacts as part of a summative project.

RH.6-8.2RH.6-8.4RH.6-8.7

WHST.6-8.2WHST.6-8.2a

The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy by A. Rinaldi

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/6-8/2/



http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/6-8/2/

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/6-8/2/a/







Rai, V. (2007). Pennsylvania: Colonial America. Independence, KY: National Geographic. Lexile level: 710. (Nonfiction).

Rai, V. (2007). South Carolina: Colonial America. Independence, KY: National Geographic. Lexile level: 410. (Nonfiction).

Sonneborn, L. (2006). A primary source history of the colony of Georgia. New York, NY: Rosen. Lexile level: 1130. (Nonfiction).

Stein, R.C. (1995). The Pilgrims. Chicago, IL: Children’s Press. Lexile level: 950. (Nonfiction).

Independent (or Whole-Class) ReadingCollier, J.L., & Collier, C. (2007). My brother Sam is

dead. New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 770. (Historical fiction).

Hermes, P. (2000). Our strange new land: Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony diary. New York, NY: Scholastic.Lexile level: 350. (Historical fiction).

Rinaldi, A. (2000). The story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim boy. New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 680. (Historical fiction).

Whole-Class ReadingRosen, D. (2004). Jamestown and the Virginia Colony.

Independence, KY: National Geographic. Lexile level: 570. (Nonfiction).

Supplemental Texts The following list provides alternatives for the required texts in the unit. The authors provide this list as a tool for teacher adaptations to the curriculum.Anderson, L.H. (2008). Chains. New York, NY:

Scholastic. Lexile level: 780. (Historical fiction).Bruchac, J. (2003). Pocahontas. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Lexile level: 970. (Historical fiction).Burt, B. (2002). Colonial life: The adventures of Benjamin

Wilcox. Independence, KY: National Geographic.Lexile level: 580. (Nonfiction).

Fritz, J. (1975). Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 1000 (Historical fiction).

Hermes, P. (2002). Season of promise: Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony diary. New York, NY: Scholastic.Lexile level: 430. (Historical fiction).

Mack, S., & Champlin, S. (2009). Road to revolution. New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 430. (Graphic novel).

Studelska, J.V. (2007). We the people: Women of Colonial America. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point. Lexile level: 890. (Nonfiction).

Waters, K. (1993). Samuel Eaton’s day: A day in the life of a Pilgrim boy. New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 590. (Picture book).

Yolen, J., & Stemple, H. (2003). Roanoke: The lost colony. New York, NY: Scholastic. Lexile level: 850. (Picture book).

Teaching and Learning ActivitiesWeek 1: Establishing ColoniesEssential Questions• Why did Europeans establish colonies in North

America?• How did climate, geographic features, and other avail-

able resources distinguish the three regions from each other?

• How did people use the natural resources of their re-gion to earn a living?

• What are the benefits of specialization and trade?• How did political and social life evolve in each of the

regions?

Group DescriptionThese lessons are designed for individual, paired, small-group, and whole-class instruction.

Materials• GAUGE poster and bookmarks• Sticky notes• Pictures of a tepee and a colonial house• Jamestown by D. Rosen• The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy by

A. Rinaldi• A Primary Source History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

by B. Belval• A Primary Source History of the Colony of Massachusetts

by J. Freedman• A Primary Source History of the Colony of South

Carolina by H. Hasan• A Primary Source History of the Colony of Pennsylvania

by G.S. Prentzas• A Primary Source History of the Colony of Georgia by

L. Sonneborn


• Massachusetts: Colonial America by V. Rai• Pennsylvania: Colonial America by V. Rai• South Carolina: Colonial America by V. Rai• The Pilgrims by R.C. Stein

Objectives• Students will develop initial motivation to read about

the early colonies by developing self-efficacy for reading. • Students will activate background knowledge about

specific topics (e.g., Jamestown, European Settlers, Pocahontas) and relate it to text content.

• Students will use text features while reading in order to learn about the founding of the Jamestown colony.


Common Core State Standards and Learning Goals AchievedReading Standards for Literacy in History/Social

Studies, Grade 6–8, Standard 2Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social


Studies, Grade 6–8, Standard 7Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social


Studies, Grade 6–8, Standard 2a

ProceduresLesson 1: Colonial America and Understanding What We Read in HistoryWarm-Up (10 minutes)Encourage students to understand the relevance of studying Colonial America by asking, “What is your heritage?” Remind students that most families came to the United States from another country. Ask them why someone would want to leave their homeland to come to the United States.

Whole Class (25 minutes)Introduce students to comprehension monitoring.1. Review the essential questions for the unit and discuss

how students will develop a deep understanding about colonization by monitoring their comprehension.

2. Discuss the meaning of the word monitor.

3. Be sure the GAUGE poster is displayed in a visible place in the classroom. Show bookmarks to students (see Figure 1). Review the mnemonic, letter by letter.

Then, model comprehension monitoring. (Remember, the goal of modeling is to show your thinking to students. Students should not participate in the modeling portion of the lesson.) Modeling consists of a (teacher) think-aloud to demonstrate the use of the strategy and should not last more than 15 minutes in any given lesson. The goal is to show your thinking while reading (i.e., the use of the strategy) in an explicit way. Students should have the text in front of them to follow along as you read aloud.1. Conduct a think-aloud using GAUGE (refer to book-

mark and poster) while reading the initial pages of Jamestown by D. Rosen. Be sure to use the language and the questions on the GAUGE poster. a. Can I show what I read on this graphic organizer?b. Does this make sense?

2. Demonstrate the use of sticky notes as a support for comprehension monitoring.

3. Project a web graphic organizer and add information to it after the think-aloud.

4. Ask students to tell you what they observed during your modeling.

Collaborative Reading (35 minutes)Guided practice aims to provide time for students to apply a strategy (or strategies) with support from the teacher.

Provide students with a 10-minute time frame to read Jamestown with a partner, and tell students to record questions, connections, or important information on sticky notes as they read. After students have had time to read, project the Thinking About My Reading graphic organizer (see Figure 2) on the board. As students share important information, connections, and questions, fa-cilitate a content-based discussion about the portion of text they have just read. Then, repeat this process with another chunk of the text.

Closure (15 minutes)Use the Comprehension Monitoring Exit Slip (see Figure 3) to assess students’ understanding of the strat-egy. After students have completed the exit slip, have them share how they are learning new information by referring to the essential questions.

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Post the word monitor on the word wall and discuss the meaning of the word with students. If necessary, encourage students to record the word on a word map.












English Language for ELs: Repeat or elaborate on student responses to model English statements and questions (e.g., use of question words, verb and noun agreement, use of content words in sentences).Strategy: Encourage students to refer to their GAUGE bookmark while reading with partners or in small groups.Motivation: Ask students why we activate our back-ground knowledge. How does this help us to connect

more with the readings? Then, offer students specific praise for their ability to correctly identify the level of questions; if necessary, clarify any misconceptions.

Lesson 2: England Establishes Colonies in North AmericaWarm-Up (10 minutes)Project pictures of a tepee and a colonial house and lead a discussion about the difference in the types of structure, activating students’ prior knowledge (tepees

FIGURE 1. GAUGE Bookmark

Graphic organizers· To show the important points of

what you read by asking, Can I show the important points of what I read?

· To connect main ideas to supporting details

· To show meanings of new words

Ask questions · To help you understand what you

read by asking, Does this make sense?

· To make you and others think more deeply

Use text features and/or context clues

· To activate your background knowledge

· To help you understand new vocabulary

Go back and reread· To help you find the main idea· To answer a question· To help you when you lose track of

what you are reading

Explain what you read· To someone else· In a poster or other project

Ask someone for help if you still don’t understand!


FIGURE 2. Thinking About My Reading

Important Information

Connections: to self, to text,

to world

My Questions

Important Information

Connections: to self, to text,

to world

My Questions

Read the following list and mark the comprehension monitoring strategies you use when you are reading a difficult or new text. Mark Y for “yes, I do this,” or N for “no, I don’t do this.”____ I stop and ask, “Does this make sense?”____ I ask, “Where did I lose track?”____ I reread.____ I visualize when I’m reading.____ I connect what I’m reading to what I have read previously in the text and to what I already know.____ I ask myself questions about what I’m reading.____ I use context clues to help figure out a word or series of words that I don’t understand.

What else do you do when you monitor your understanding during reading? Think of at least one more strategy that you used while monitoring your understanding of text and write that strategy here.

How did monitoring your comprehension help you learn something new today? What did you learn?

FIGURE 3. Comprehension Monitoring Exit Slip


support a nomadic lifestyle; the house is a more perma-nent structure). Explain to students that when you set up something like a home or a village and intend for it to be permanent, you use the word establish to describe what you did. So, you might say that the owner of the house established his home in Vermont because he can-not move the house and he probably built it to live in for a long time. Project the definition of the word establish. Connect the word to the text read during the previous day of instruction.

Whole Class (30 minutes)Modeling or Guided Practice for Comprehension Monitoring: Provide time for guided practice and conduct a think-aloud using Jamestown by D. Rosen. (Student performance from previous lesson should guide decision).

Independent Reading: Provide time for students to in-dependently apply GAUGE and discuss reading. Add

information to the web graphic organizer from the pre-vious day (see Lesson 1).

Partner Reading (20 minutes)Select a student volunteer to model the use of the Partner Reading Directions (see Figure 4) while reading two pages from Jamestown by D. Rosen.

Closure (15 minutes)Direct students to write a short essay or develop a vi-sual representation (i.e., a timeline) explaining why Jamestown was settled, how colonists established it as a colony, and how political and social life evolved in Jamestown. Remind students that they are Explaining what they read. Redirect students to whole-class dis-cussion. Ask them to refer to the essential questions and explain how they learned new information from reading. Distribute the Comparing Colonies Chart (see Figure 5) and have students add information about the Jamestown colony. Explain that students will read with a partner about other colonies.

Getting Ready

1. Sit next to the partner your teacher has assigned to you.

2. Come prepared with your Partner Reading materials: a. bookb. pencilc. graphic organizerd. GAUGE bookmark

Reading Text Together & Monitoring Comprehension

1. Decide who will read aloud each of the assigned pages, from ___ to ___. Make sure you read to the end of a topic or paragraph and do not stop in the middle of it. Be sure to use your GAUGE bookmark as you read.• If there are some words you don’t know how to pronounce, ask your partner. • If your partner doesn’t know, check the glossary. If the word is not in the glossary, raise your hand and ask your teacher. • You may create a Word Map for any vocabulary that is unfamiliar to you.

2. Silently reread the pages that you will read aloud, thinking of good expression and pace. Be ready to Explain what the reading is about. Ask yourself, Can I show the important points of what I read on my graphic organizer?• Record on a sticky note any questions you would like to Ask about the reading.

3. If you are reading the first passage, read those pages aloud. If not, listen as your partner reads aloud.

4. If you are the reader, Explain what the reading is about.• Check to see if your partner agrees.• Your partner should record this information on their Linking Main Idea and Supporting Details graphic organizer.

Thinking and Talking About the Text

1. Ask questions about the reading.

2. Discuss how the reading relates to the essential questions for the day.

FIGURE 4. Partner Reading Directions


ScaffoldsVocabulary: Post the word civilization on the word wall and have students define it after reading Jamestown by D. Rosen.English Language for ELs: Provide examples of Discussion Prompts (see Figure 6) to students so they can participate in content-driven interactions during the partner reading activity. Strategy: Remind students to refer to their GAUGE bookmark (Figure 1) during independent reading.Motivation: Offer students specific praise for their abil-ity to connect new content to background knowledge during the warm-up activity. Provide specific praise for students’ use of GAUGE—for example, “I like how you asked questions about....”

Lesson 3: Different Ways to Learn About Colonial AmericaWarm-Up (10 minutes)Remind students of the term establish and how they used the word to describe the house in Vermont but not

FIGURE 5. Comparing Colonies Chart

Colony Why Was It Settled? Climate Important People ResourcesPolitical Life/ Social Life

FIGURE 6. Examples of Discussion Prompts

Types of Discussion Stem

Receiving what the partner says • Those are good ideas.• That was interesting.• You helped me understand this in a new

way.

More elaboration and extension of the idea

• What does that mean?• Can you think of another example?• What you said reminds me of....

Clarification • Can you explain that a little more?• I’m not sure what you mean. Can you say

it in a different way?• Where in the text did you find that idea?

Making connections • I made that connection with....• I think this is like....• I remember reading about....• It reminds me of....

Add a different perspective • That’s interesting.• I hadn’t thought of it in that way. I was

thinking something different.


the tepee structure of the Sioux. Direct students to work with a group to write their own definition of the word. One group member should record the definition on a dry-erase board. Discuss student definitions.

Whole Class (15 minutes)Distribute copies of The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy by A. Rinaldi and have the students com-pare their social studies textbook to the narrative text. 1. Draw a T-chart on the board and label one column

Narrative and the other Expository. Tell students their novel is an example of narrative text and the textbook is an example of expository text.

2. Conduct a Think/Pair/Share by directing students to brainstorm some differences between the two types of texts.

3. Tell students that it is normal to struggle with reading, whether the text is narrative or expository. You may indicate, “Over the next few weeks, we are going to read a narrative text about Colonial America and ex-pository texts about some of the colonies. [Show stu-dents the texts.] We are going to focus on being aware of when we understand our reading and when we do not understand our reading.”

4. Review the GAUGE poster. Tell students that when monitoring their comprehension, they do not go through all these steps at once. Some can be used at a certain point, and others can be used later on.

Model comprehension monitoring (see the Whole Class section in Lesson 1). After modeling, discuss how this narrative text is different from the expository text Jamestown by D. Rosen. Ask students which strategies are more appropriate for the novel in comparison to the expository text.

Partner Reading (30 minutes)Assign students a partner and partner reading text (see Partner or Small-Group Reading List under Texts). Review the Partner Reading Directions (Figure 4) and Discussion Prompts (Figure 6). Note: Different groups of students can read about different colonies; for example, one pair may read about South Carolina while another reads about Pennsylvania.

Then, select two or three pairs to work with during the reading time while the other small groups work on the same activity. When meeting with a given group, provide any additional instructional support or scaf-folds that students appear to need. Remember to encour-age students to choose the strategy they are focusing on

during guided reading, but facilitate the use of two strat-egies with any given group.

Whole Class (15 minutes)Have students share information about their colony and add information to the Comparing Colonies Chart (Figure 5). Keep in mind that different groups of students should have read about different colonies. Take time to answer students’ questions and clarify misconceptions.

Closure (15 minutes)Ask students to conduct a free write and reflect how the novel connects to their partner reading texts about spe-cific colonies.

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Post the word establish on the word wall and refer to it regularly during instruction. Ask stu-dents for examples of the use of the word and possible synonyms.English Language for ELs: Elaborate on or rephrase students’ responses.Strategy: Ask students why they should monitor their reading during social studies. Ask them to show you how they monitor and how it helped with understand-ing a section of text.Motivation: As students share, provide specific praise for their ideas, such as, “That is an important difference between narrative and expository. I like how specific you were in pointing that out that difference.”

Lesson 4: The Colonies in North AmericaWarm-Up (10 minutes)Refer to the student definitions of establish and civiliza-tion and briefly review the meaning of each word. Tell students that the Jamestown settlers were at the start of establishing a civilization. Based on their definitions, ask students to brainstorm what that might mean. After a few minutes, project the “A Union in the Interest of Humanity...” poster (see Figure 7). Tell the students that this is how the artist of the poster chose to depict civi-lization years later. Brainstorm what the poster means, and define any words that the students may not know. Ask the students if they think this is what the original Jamestown settlers envisioned for their future. Ask them if this changes their definition, and if so, how. Write on the board or project the following dictionary definition of civilization: “A society where a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached.” Discuss how this differs from their definition. Tell stu-dents that as they are reading today, they should think


about the kind of civilization that the early colonists were creating.

Whole Class (15 minutes)Conduct a think-aloud of The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy. Ask students to identify how you monitored your comprehension. Make sure that stu-dents identify specific components of GAUGE.

Partner Reading (30 minutes)Direct students to continue reading about the colony from the previous day. See procedure in Lesson 3.

Group Discussion (15 minutes)Direct each pair of students to group with one or two other pairs to discuss their reading. Have students dis-cuss an essential question of their choice.

Closure (15 minutes)Project the Comparing Colonies graphic organizer and ask for student volunteers who read about different

colonies to contribute new information to the chart. Ask students how The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy and their partner reading text is help-ing them understand what life was like during colonial times.

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Encourage students to record definitions of unfamiliar words in their notebook with examples and non-examples of each word.English Language for ELs: Encourage students to incorporate words from the word wall when they are speaking. For examples, if a student used the word made, remind them that it is synonymous with establish.Strategy: Encourage students to ask questions about their reading and recognize their questions during whole-class discussion.Motivation: Relevance: Encourage students to think about how the nation’s history would be different if the colonies were not established, and lead a discussion about the topic.

Lesson 5: Comparing Colonies in North AmericaWarm-Up (10 minutes)Review GAUGE and ask students to take a few min-utes to think about and reflect on the ways they have been using GAUGE. Has one element been more helpful than others? Ask them to write (on a sticky note) a spe-cific example of how they used one of the elements and what specific content they learned from it. Have them circulate and find at least one other person who chose a different element. Have them share with each other the element, why it is helpful to them, and what they learned.

Whole Class (30 minutes)Provide students with time to independently read The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy, and en-courage them to use their GAUGE bookmarks. After students have read silently for 15 minutes, discuss any connections or questions students have about the reading.

Partner Reading (30 minutes)Students should read about a new colony (see Partner or Small-Group Reading list under Texts) and select a partner of their choice. Have students develop a Venn diagram to compare their new colony to the one they read about during Lessons 3 and 4.

FIGURE 7. A Union in the Interest of Humanity—Civilization—Freedom and Peace for All Time


Whole Class (15 minutes)Present students with the Colonial America Museum Exhibit Project assignment (see Figure 8). This project gives students an opportunity to use their resources and new knowledge to demonstrate their understanding of the content in various modes. Allow students to choose which colony they want to study. Remind students of their Comparing Colonies Chart (Figure 5) and empha-size how they will select one colony to study for the proj-ect assignment.

Closure (10 minutes)Have students complete the Comprehension Monitoring Exit Slip (Figure 3).

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Provide explicit or implicit instruction about the term human resources by connecting it to the essential questions for the unit and students’ reading. Post the word on the word wall.English Language for ELs: Use the language in the Discussion Prompts (Figure 6) during whole-class dis-cussion to model the use of academic discussion.Strategy: Provide a model of comprehension monitor-ing for students during partner reading time if they are struggling with independent use of the strategy.Motivation: Provide specific feedback when students use any portion of GAUGE, such as “That is a good Use

For your final project for the Colonization unit, you will create a Colony Museum. You will be required to include various written and visual artifacts that address the different aspects of life in your colony. You will use the information you’ve learned during partner reading with trade books as well as information learned through reading your narrative text.

Your choices:• You may choose which colony you would like to focus on. Your choices are Jamestown, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, or South Carolina.• You may work with other students in your class. Groups can have three or four members. NO MORE THAN FOUR STUDENTS MAY WORK TOGETHER.

What you must do:• You are required to complete the artifacts below. At the end of your multiple work periods on this project, you will have a friendly letter, a graphic organizer,

a map, a biography, and a three-dimensional model of your colony.• You may use the trade book of your chosen colony for this project. You may also use the computer to research additional information about your colony or to

print other materials needed for your artifacts.

Required artifacts:1. Write a friendly letter to a family member or friend at home in England. Use the information you have learned in this unit to accurately describe what

your new life is like in your colony. This must be typed. ______ / 10 points

2. Create a story map or other graphic organizer that summarizes your narrative text. You can choose what kind of graphic organizer you want to use. Make sure to include all of the important events of your narrative text in sequence.______ / 10 points

3. Make a colorful map of your colony and the region of the 13 colonies it belongs to. Both your colony AND its region should be depicted accurately. A map legend should be included. ______ / 5 points

4. Provide a written description and picture of a person or group of people who settled in your colony. The two- to three-paragraph written description must be typed.______ / 5 points

5. Create a three-dimensional visual depiction of life in your colony. Think about what life looks like in your colony: the geography, shelters, foods, clothing, daily activities, etc. Create this three-dimensional “picture” using items in the classroom (provided by your teacher) or items you are allowed to bring in from home. ______ / 20 points

FIGURE 8. Colonial America Museum Exhibit Project


of context clues. Can you tell me why? How did it help you?”

Week 2: Life in the ColoniesGroup DescriptionThese lessons are designed for individual, paired, small-group, and whole-group instruction.

Materials• GAUGE poster and bookmarks• Sticky notes• Pictures of a tepee and a colonial house• The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy by

A. Rinaldi

Objectives• Students will develop initial motivation to read about

the early colonies by developing self-efficacy for reading.

• Students will activate background knowledge about specific topics (e.g., Jamestown, European Settlers, Pocahontas) and relate it to text content.

• Students will use text features while reading in order to learn about the founding of the Jamestown colony.


Common Core State Standards and Learning Goals AchievedReading Standards for Literacy in History/Social





Studies, Grade 6–8, Standard 2a

ProceduresLesson 6: People in Colonial AmericaWarm-Up (15 minutes)Ask students, “Do you think you would have liked liv-ing during colonial times?” Discuss why or why not.

Encourage students to connect their responses to their reading.

Whole Class (30 minutes)Conduct a think-aloud of The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy. After reading, provide students with 15 minutes of silent reading time.

Partner Reading (25 minutes)Students should continue their partner reading from the previous day. Remind students to use their Venn dia-gram and sticky notes as they read and to think about life in Colonial America.

Closure (20 minutes)Direct students to write a letter as if they were colonists sending notes to family or friends in England describing their new home. Remind students that they will use this letter as an artifact for the Colonial American Museum Exhibit (Figure 8).

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Encourage students to refer to the word wall as they write their letter.English Language for ELs: Elaborate on or repeat stu-dents’ responses. For example, if a student says, “The word monitor means ‘to keep track of,’” you might say, “OK, what are we keeping track of?”Strategy: Acknowledge students’ questions about their reading and discuss them.Motivation: Relevance: Ask students how they think people will write about this period of time in their lives. How will future generations describe our civilization?

Lesson 7: Colonial America and Seeds for RevolutionWarm-Up (10 minutes)Ask students, “Why do you think England did not want the colonists to be free?” Encourage students to discuss their reading.

Whole Class (40 minutes)Conduct a think-aloud of The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy. Provide students time to con-tinue working on their letters from the previous day. Encourage them to think about how families in England felt about people living in the colonies.

Collaborative Reading and Writing (30 minutes)Provide students with time to choose their group members for their Colonial America Museum Exhibit Project assignment (Figure 8) and to begin preparing it. Encourage students to create a graphic organizer to plan












their project; remind them of the Jamestown web, the Comparing Colonies Chart (Figure 5), and their Venn diagram.

Closure (15 minutes)Lead a discussion about the next unit and discuss how it connects to the current unit.

ScaffoldsVocabulary: Identify any words in The Story of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy that students may strug-gle with, and add them to the word wall. Address at least two of these new words. Can they be found in the expos-itory books? Why or why not?English Language for ELs: Encourage students to use the Discussion Prompts (Figure 6) as they work together on their project to facilitate academic dialogue about the project assignment.Strategy: Ask students how comprehension monitoring has helped them understand the unit topic. Encourage them to refer to specific portions of GAUGE.Motivation: Relevance: Ask students to think of spe-cific connections between their reading and coming to a new land. Why is it important to learn about the colo-nies and how the colonists lived?

Culminating Project: Colonial America Museum (Days 8–10)Students should work on the assigned Colonial America Museum Project (Figure 8). Provide students with two

to three days of instruction to complete their projects; the entire project should be done in class. Allow students time to work in a computer lab or provide students time on a computer to find texts and visuals relevant to their research topic. Invite guests to come to the classroom on the museum day to view student work, which should be displayed around the room. As a part of the project, stu-dents have already generated questions for the audience to answer about their display. The teacher should collect all student-generated questions prior to the museum day to create a question packet. As students review each oth-er’s work on the museum day, they should respond to the questions in the question packet.

AssessmentThe Comprehension Monitoring Exit Slip (Figure 3) and the Colonial America Museum Exhibit project (Figure 8) allow teachers to assess students’ use of the strategy and students’ understanding of the social stud-ies content. Students also demonstrate their under-standing of the content and strategy as they participate during class discussions throughout the unit.

REFERENCETaboada Barber, A., Buehl, M.M., Kidd, J., Sturtevant,

E., Nuland, L.R., & Beck, J. (in press). Reading en-gagement in social studies: Exploring the role of a social studies literacy intervention on reading com-prehension, reading self-efficacy, and engagement in middle school students with different language back-grounds. Reading Psychology.


About the AuthorsLeila Richey Nuland is a PhD Candidate in the College of Education & Human Development at George Mason University. As a former high school social studies teacher, she became interested in the complexity of literacy instruction embedded in the domain of his-tory. Since then, she obtained a master’s degree in the Reading Specialist program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and has focused her research on teacher professional development and content area lit-eracy. She has served as a codeveloper of the United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER), a mid-dle school literacy-in-social-studies curriculum, and serves on the leadership team for the Doctoral Student Innovative Community Group for the Literacy Research Association.

Ana Taboada Barber, PhD, is an associate professor in the College of Education & Human Development at George Mason University. Dr. Taboada Barber’s re-search focuses on the examination of classroom con-texts that support reading engagement for monolingual students and second-language learners. She is interested in the psychology of literacy from a cognitive and moti-vational perspective.

In the past, she worked on the development of the model of reading engagement as it applies to all learn-ers in the late elementary grades. She is currently work-ing on the development of frameworks within the engagement model as they apply to second-language

learners and has led the development of United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER), a literacy curriculum for middle school students of diverse lan-guage backgrounds. Her research has been published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, the Journal of Literacy Research, the Journal of Educational Research, and Lectura y Vida: Latin American Journal of the International Reading Association. She was also a class-room teacher in bilingual schools in Buenos Aires be-fore coming to the United States as a Fulbright scholar.

Traci Whiting Murray holds Virginia teaching en-dorsements in elementary education, special education, and as a reading specialist. She has taught fifth- and sixth-graders in Manassas, Virginia, for eight years in various capacities. While completing the research for the USHER project, Mrs. Murray was a self-contained special education teacher working with students of varying handicapping conditions.

Susan Groundwater is a Gifted and Talented Specialist with Manassas City Public Schools and a Ph.D student in the College of Education & Human Development at George Mason University, specializing in Teaching and Teacher Education and Reading and Literacy. Her re-search interests include professional development as a means of lifelong learning and content area literacy.

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