Learning Activities

1. Who are the Colonists and where do they live?

Teacher task

• Divide the class in groups (4)
• Assign each group a set of Colonists. (families, soldiers, enslaved people, workers, etc)
• Assign each student within a group the following roles for their individual tasks: - Journalist - Artist - Geographer - Archivist (These roles can be rotated within the group). Click here for a set of name cards and logs for each role.

Materials:

Student text: 1. North America before 1763

Group student task

• What is the job of each Colonist?
• Where does your group of Colonists live?
• Find a map to identify the location where they live.
• Choose, from the list of household effects, what your Colonist could own.
• Represent on a poster board your Colonist's lives and point of origin. Include: what they looked like, what they owned and a map of their origin.

Individual student task

• Journalist: Write a learning log.
• Artist: Draw a picture showing what you learned.
• Geographer: Plot on a map the information you have gained today.
• Archivist: Locate pictures and documents relevant to today's task.

2. Local conflicts

Teacher task

• Mini lesson on American Revolution
  

Materials:

Student texts: 2. The American Revolution

Group student task

• How is the American Revolution affecting the Loyalists' daily lives?
• Why are the Loyalists not supporting the American Revolution?
• What will force the Loyalists to leave their home?
• What battles are being fought? How are they affecting the Loyalists?

Individual student task

• Journalist: Write a learning log.
• Artist: Draw a picture showing what you learned.
• Geographer: Plot on a map the information you have gained today.
• Archivist: Locate pictures and documents relevant to today's task.

3. The Loyalists

Group student task

• How is the American Revolution affecting the Loyalists' daily lives?
• Why are the Loyalists not supporting the American Revolution?
• What will force the Loyalists to leave their home?
• What battles are being fought? How are they affecting the Loyalists?

Materials:

Student text: 3. Who were the Loyalists?

4. Exodus

Teacher task

• Mini lesson on the geography of the North American Colonies

Materials:

Student text: 4. Leaving home - Fleeing persecution

Group student task

• Determine the route to escape. What will be the mean of transportation and why?
• What household effects are the Loyalists taking with them?
• Represent on the other side of your poster board: the travellers, a map of where they are leaving from to where they want to go, their possessions that they are allowed to bring.

Individual student task

• Journalist: Write a learning log.
• Artist: Draw a picture showing what you learned.
• Geographer: Plot on a map the information you have gained today.
• Archivist: Locate pictures and document relevant to today's task.

5. Journey

Teacher task

• Class discussion - What will be some of the challenges that the Loyalists could face while travelling?

Student text: 5. The Journey - Danger on the road

Group student task

• What challenges face the Loyalists on their journey? How are they overcome? List many solutions, determine which one is the best and justify.
• Categorize the challenges accordingly: Climate - Relief - Human obstacles - Equipment and supplies.

Individual student task

• Journalist: Write a learning log.
• Artist: Draw a picture showing what you learned.
• Geographer: Plot on a map the information you have gained today.
• Archivist: Locate pictures and documents relevant to today's task.

6. Arrival and Petitioning

Teacher task

• Establish the process that they need to go through to get land.
• Establish which Loyalists have a right to a piece of land, and how much.
• Present sample of a petition.

Student text: 6.Arrival in a New Land

Group student task

• Establish where the Loyalists arrive.
• Where are the Loyalists living?
• What are the Loyalists' living conditions?
• Determine who is eligible to make a petition and how much land is each one allowed to request.
• Go back and determine what each Loyalist had and how much land is each one allowed to request.
• If a Loyalist had no possessions at the start, how much can he claim for his services?

Individual student task

• Summarize the voyage: report the losses and include the experiences lived by the Loyalists.
  

7. Settlement