Sparking Student Motivation - Colonial Crafts

I love teaching about the American colonies. There are so many fun activities and things that you can do with it to create connections and memorable experiences.

Early in the week, we completed two colonial crafts that I've done for years and years. I actually put these two together with a few other activities (two more of which we will do next week) in my {Colonial Craftivities and Activities} product.


We were doing a lot of reading last week about colonial jobs in New England. I had the students choose a profession and then make a shop sign for it. There were three criteria - the student's name, the name of the shop, and a large picture. We discussed how it was important to include a large picture so that those who couldn't read would be able to identify what kind of shop it was.


Many of my students this year are very talented artists, so it was difficult to just choose a few to share here. We spent about two class periods on the shop signs, as I made them do a complete rough draft first. I find that they always make their first pictures way too small.


On Wednesday, I gave them a blank quilt block. They were to look for some sort of pattern to color. I love how so many different variations come from the same blank page. I will take each square and assemble them into a class quilt. I think that the bottom left is one of my favorites of all time. I have never had a student color it anywhere near that pattern.

Look for more great ideas to spark student motivation by clicking the picture below!


You can also find more ideas for teaching the thirteen colonies by clicking this picture!

13 Colonies

3 comments

  1. Anytime you integrate a craft or some crayons, students are very motivated! I agree, I love that bottom left quilt square-lots of time went into that one! You do such a great job teaching social studies! So creative! Thanks for sharing and linking up BBB!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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