This unit explores Important topics in colonial American history between 1521 and 1763. Lessons examine wills and estate inventories in seventeenth-century New England, the hardships encountered by early settlers, the colonial attitude towards slavery, the role of women, and medical treatment. Two lessons deal with the development of the colonial economy and Great Britain’s attitude towards colonial possessions. Other lessons deal with the close relationship between biblical and colonial law and the establishment of religious institutions in the Spanish borderlands. The remaining lesson examines the political climate of the North Carolina colony in the eighteenth century.

Academic activities include play writing, role-playing, analysis of immigration records, transcription of sixteenth-century historical documents, and examining eighteenth-century law and politics. Students use a variety of materials and approaches that promote critical thinking, reading, and writing.