Materials

• Maps of colonial and present-day America
• Computer with Internet access

Instructional Activities

1. Briefly review the previous session’s activity, as needed.
   
   
2. Begin discussion of the middle colonies from the perspective of their economy. Remind students that this information should be added to the chart they began during study of the previous organizing topic.
   
   
3. Instruct students to identify the present-day states (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland) that were considered part of the middle colonies. Use maps to illustrate this. Provide students with an outline map they can color code. NOTE: Some resources place Maryland in the southern colonies; the curriculum framework places Maryland in the middle colonies.
   
   
4. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   The economy of the middle colonies was based on shipbuilding, small-scale farming, and trading. Maryland had some plantation agriculture.
   Display a period map of the middle colonies or a present-day map reflecting their location, and stimulate student discussion with questions that will identify what geographic and cultural characteristics contributed to the facts in the statement. Sample questions to prompt student responses may include:
   • How did the middle colonies contribute to the economic structure of the colonies?
   • Did the origin of the middle colonists contribute to the economic structure of the colonies? Why, or
   why not? For example, did the middle colonists come from areas where shipbuilding or small-scale farming was prominentWhat were the dominant religions in the middle colonies, and especially in Pennsylvania and Maryland? How did the religious beliefs of the middle colonists contribute to the economic structure of these colonies?
   • To whom did the middle colonist sell their products? (Great Britain and Spain) What are some examples of products they sold? (wheat, corn, and tobacco) What products did they get in exchange? (manufactured goods from Great Britain and Spain and wine from Spain).
   
   
5. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources.