The Unlabeled Chests

Did you know...historians have recently discovered artifacts from settlers who migrated to the New World in the 1600's, from the European countries of Spain, France, and England? The historians have filled chests with the Spanish, French, and English artifacts. They now want to send the chests back to the European countries so they can be used for display in a museum. Below are the chests with the artifacts inside.

The chests were labeled correctly and were ready to head back to their home countries, but somehow the labels have fallen off and the chests have been mixed up.

The students in my social studies class were presented with the above scenario. Their job is to investigate and analyze the artifacts inside the chests, in order to judge which European country the settlers were from. Once the group members have identified the country the chest belongs to, they are required to investigate what each artifact in the chest represents.

                    

 

The students were provided topics and guiding questions to support their research and learning in analyzing of the artifacts. Below are some of the topics and questions students are using to guide their thinking. 

Settlements/Geography Where did each country establish colonies?	Population Sources Who were the colonists that were recruited to live in the New World. Did these colonists have any specialized talents or trades that would help start up a colony?	Government How was the government run? Who did the colonists in the New World have to follow the orders of?
Religion How was religion controlled in the colonies?	Economy What activities and/or goods did the colonists rely on?	Population Growth How fast did the population grow in the colonies? ---------------------- Relation with Native Americans Describe positive and/or negative relationships

The students have had a lot of fun looking through the chests and examining the artifacts. It has led to great questioning about the colonial time period and the beginning of the American Revolution.