Student Resources:

• Colonial Charters Primary Source Set 
• European Colonial Charters Primary Source Set 
• Optional: Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Graphic Organizer 

Teacher Resources:

• Optional: Unit 1 DBQ Mini-lesson Lesson Plan 
• Optional: Unit 1 DBQ Mini-lesson Slide Deck 

Facilitation Notes

• This activity is designed to build on our Colonial Charters lesson plan. Students will again use the colonial charters, with additional sources, to evaluate self-government in the colonies compared to the charters and governments of other nations on a scale ranging from most salutary neglect to more direct rule. 

Anticipate (Optional)

Glossary term(s): indicate the term(s) used during this part of the lesson for pre-teach opportunities. 

• Salutary Neglect 

Frayer Model 

• Post the phrase “salutary neglect” on the classroom board. 
• Pair students using a high-five strategy, or another strategy of your choosing. 
• Give students a secret number between 1-10 or allow a student to choose the number.  
• Have students stand and walk around the room casually. 
• Call out numbers one at a time. Each time you say a number, students must high-five the closest person to them. 
• Stop when you reach the secret number. The last person each student high-fived becomes their partner. 
• Give each group a plain piece of 8.5×11 printer paper. 
• Ask the pairs to divide their paper into 4 quadrants with a central circle or diamond, creating a Frayer Model. 

Scaffolding note: Students could also use our Vocabulary Word Study organizers from the BRI Jr. Curriculum for this task.  

• Instruct students on how to label each of their quadrants: 
• Center- Word 
• Top left- Definition 
• Top right- Illustration 
• Bottom left- Examples 
• Bottom right- Non-examples 
• Then allow students time, approximately 10-15 minutes, to work together to complete the Frayer Model.  

 Scaffolding note: To enhance instruction, return to the Frayer Model at the end of the lesson and allow students to add more examples and non-examples based on what they have learned. 

 

Engage 

Glossary term(s): indicate the term(s) used during this part of the lesson for pre-teach opportunities.  

• Monarchy, reign, rule 

Transition: Instruct students to prepare for independent work. Students will need a pencil and paper to write or draw on. 

Monarchy Imagination 

Ask students to imagine: 

• Say: “You are a King or Queen. You reign over a happy and prosperous people.  Your people are so happy and prosperous that you decide the land across the sea should also be a part of your kingdom, you are a great monarch after all. It will only benefit the world for more land to be under your rule.” 
• Ask: “Based on the description so far, what are some goals you might have for your expansion across the sea?”  
  • Students write or sketch their responses. Answers may include money from trade, natural resources, land to expand, more territory, or other responses.  
• Say: “You send a group of settlers and explorers on a voyage across the sea to begin a settlement in the new land. Based on your goals, how do you monitor and govern your new colony?” 
  • Student answers may include choosing a governor to carry out their will, instituting martial law, requiring taxes to be paid, allowing the settlers to create their own government, or other responses.  
• Say “What will you do if a natural disaster strikes or the people revolt against you? How do you keep control and offer support from so far away?” 
  • Student answers may include sending military to ensure cooperation, using technology to collect information to make decisions, choosing leaders loyal to their rule, or other responses.  
• Group students into small teams of 3-5 students to share and compare how they responded to the prompts. Allow 5-10 minutes for discussion. 
  • Finish the activity by drawing a direct connection to what students will be learning. Tell students that they will investigate how the monarchs of the Colonial Era ruled their settlements across the Atlantic Ocean. Monarchies used various methods, much like the class did during this activity.  

Explore 

 

Primary Source Color-coding and Positioning 

• Somewhere visible to students (on a whiteboard, digital screen, posterboard, etc.) draw a long horizontal line with salutary neglect on one side and direct rule on the other end.   

• Let students know that today they will be looking at various European colonial and exploration charters and determining where along the line they feel each fits best. The fit is based not only on the charter but also on how it compares to other charters. There are six examples, three from the American British colonies, and three from other European colonies looking to explore and settle in the “New World.” 

• Review the meaning of charter, “salutary neglect” and “direct rule.” Note to students that they will work in two rounds. During the first round, they will be working with three British colonial documents that they may have seen already. In the second round, they will be working with a Spanish, French, and Dutch charter. The goal is to identify common and divergent themes across the six documents.  

• Students will also be color-coding the charters to help identify the themes and draw conclusions. Work together with your students to determine a common color-coding scheme that all students can use. Such as: 

• Pink- Who holds the power in this document? 

• Blue- Who is power being bestowed upon? 

• Green- What powers or rewards are being given? 

• Yellow- What is expected in return? 

 

Scaffolding notes:  

• Students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups.  

• Teachers can adjust the number of primary sources used. To simplify, the Spanish document and a British colonial charter can illustrate self-rule versus direct rule.  

• Students can analyze one or two documents each and share their findings, ensuring full class coverage of the primary source sets. 

 

• Divide students as best suited for the classroom. Have students work to color-code each of the primary sources based on the color-coding scheme that is decided for the task. First, have students look at the three British colonial document set. Then have students color-code the other European charters in the second set. 

• After analyzing the documents, students will collectively place each primary source example on the class line drawn at the beginning of class. (This can be done in groups if a whole-class discussion does not suit the classroom environment.) There should be ongoing discussions explaining why each source is placed where it is, especially comparing the countries’ rule to one another.   

• Starters such as “Which is a better example of direct rule, the French document or the charter of Maryland?” might be needed to help facilitate conversation between students.   

Assess & Reflect 

1. Written Response 

• Prompt: Why did the British American colonies develop a more distinct identity from Britain than other European colonies did from their parent countries? Support your answer with evidence from the primary sources and your reasoning. 

 

AND/OR 

 

1. Thesis Statement Organizer 

• This additional activity can be used to build to an answer for the written response prompt above, or be used on it’s own.  

• Use the Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Graphic Organizer, the DBQ Thesis mini-lesson slide deck, and DBQ mini-lesson lesson plan to help students break down the question, collect evidence, and plan a thesis statement. This can help prepare them for the Deconstructed DBQ assessment at the end of the lesson. 

Dutch and British colonial charters should be closer to the “Salutary neglect” side of the line. French and Spanish charters should be closer to “direct rule.” 

Assess & Reflect

• Written Response 
  • Prompt: Why did the British American colonies develop a more distinct identity from Britain than other European colonies did from their parent countries? Support your answer with evidence from the primary sources and your reasoning. 

AND/OR 

• Thesis Statement Organizer 
  • This additional activity can be used to build to an answer for the written response prompt above, or be used on it’s own. 
  • Use the Thesis Deconstructed DBQ Graphic Organizer, the DBQ Thesis mini-lesson slide deck, and DBQ mini-lesson lesson plan to help students break down the question, collect evidence, and plan a thesis statement. This can help prepare them for the Deconstructed DBQ assessment at the end of the lesson.