Student Resources:

• Colonial Charters Excerpts Primary Source

Anticipate

Begin with a think-pair-share activity:

• Ask students: “What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘agreement’? Can you think of examples of agreements you’ve made in your own life?”
• Have students share their thoughts with a partner, then discuss a few examples as a class (e.g., rules for a club, a sports contract, or a class syllabus).

Transition: Tell Students – Colonial charters were official documents given by the English Crown that acted like agreements between the Crown and the colonists. These charters explained how the colonies should be governed and what rights the settlers had. They set up the rules for how the colonies and the Crown would work together. The charters allowed colonial leaders some freedom to govern themselves, but they still had to stay loyal to England. These agreements helped shape how the colonies would grow and develop over time.

Engage

• Provide students with the excerpts of the charters from establishing Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
• For each charter, ask the students the following guided reading questions:
  • Who granted the authority or rights in the document?
    • Look for mentions of the king or governing authorities. Highlight references to specific grants or permissions.
  • What powers or rights were given to the colonists or colonial leaders?
    • Underline areas where colonists were allowed self-governance, land ownership, or other freedoms.
  • How does this show the Crown’s relationship with the colonies?
    • Circle evidence showing trust, control, or loyalty requirements.

Explore

As a class, explore these discussion questions:

• Why do you think the Crown wanted to retain control over the colonies?
• How might these rights and powers encourage people to settle in Virginia?
• How does this charter reflect trust in local leaders?
• Why do you think the Crown wanted to emphasize allegiance to England?

Teacher note: Options for exploring the questions as a class include think-pair-share, stations or classroom discussion. Choose a method that works for your time and classroom environment.

Assess & Reflect

Have students complete a short, written response to the following prompt:

• “Based on the charters we analyzed, how did the Crown balance control and freedom in the colonies? Provide examples from at least two charters to support your answer.”
• Evaluate and provide feedback of their ability to use specific evidence from the primary sources to address the question.

Teacher note: Use our deconstructed DBQ resources from Unit 7: American Expansion to teaching using evidence, if needed. To provide feedback of student responses, use the expectations of your students English Language Arts teacher to evaluate this task and create cross-curricular connections for students.