Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 9, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 9, Lesson 2: A Mixture of Many Cultures (pp. 213-219)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Diversity Groups of people from all over Europe came to the Middle Colonies because of its reputation for tolerance.

Ask students how they think cultural diversity, or having many different cultural backgrounds in their community, can enrich their lives. You may also wish to discuss what problems could occur when many diverse groups live closely together, especially if they do not speak the same language.

Write the following sentence on the chalkboard:

"Holy Experiment": success or failure?

Then help students make a list describing what Penn wanted his colony to be like. Discuss point by point whether Penn's plans were successful, both when he ran the colony and after he died.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Assign students a country of origin, such as the Netherlands, England, Wales, France, Germany, Sweden, Scotland, or Ireland, and have them write a letter home describing life in Pennsylvania and persuading other family members to come to the colony.
Divide the class into eight groups. Explain that each group will represent settlers from a specific country: the Netherlands, England, Wales, France, Germany, Sweden, Scotland, and Ireland. Encourage each group to select a spokesperson. Tell students that the groups are going to role-play a meeting to try to solve some of the problems occurring among them in the Middle Colonies. What actions can the representatives take to help all of the settlers get along better? Later, ask students to discuss the meeting. Was it successful? Why or why not? Also, ask them to note which groups were not represented, such as the Indians and Africans. Why was this?

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