Below you will find web links, extra printables, and other resources to use along with the Colonial History units in the Layers of Learning curriculum. Check out our Amazon store to see fun goodies we recommend to accompany this course.
Colonial History is sold as a single volume and as individual units, which are like chapters within the Colonial History book. Here’s a link to a free printable cover to accompany all of your Colonial History PDF units.
Age of Exploration
- YouTube Playlist of the Age of Exploration
- View a detailed timeline of the Age of Exploration
- Explore this awesome set of maps and articles from PBS and Google Earth about the most important explorers of this era
- Read and view an interactive lesson from PBS about the Columbian Exchange
- Print these cute and colorful worksheets about Columbus for kids 9 and under
- A set of printable worksheets about Pedro Alvarez Cabral
- The Waldseemuler’s 1507 map on which America is named for the first time. You can zoom in on this map in high resolution and examine it carefully, notice the differences between the actual world and this early map. See how much has been discovered by Europeans in 1507 and how far they still have to go.
- Hand your kids this fun coded message worksheet about the Age of Exploration to solve as an intro to a lesson
- Browse and explore the online Mariner’s Museum – lots of images and articles about people, events, and artifacts
- Read the translation of the Treaty of Tordesillas
- Read the Letters Patent granted to John Cabot by Henry VII
- See an image of a compass from Italy 1562 – you can browse through this entire site, looking at medieval and Renaissance era scientific instruments
- View a 16th century mariner’s astrolabe, used to determine latitude
- Read an illustrated article that explains how a mariner’s sextant works
- Read an account of Magellan’s voyage from a mariner who was there
- Khan Academy on the Exploration of the Americas
Colonialism
- This is a diary entry of a Virginia settler from 1607
- Read the letter from Queen Elizabeth I granting Walter Raleigh permission to explore and subdue Virginia
- Read the Charter of the Dutch West India Company, 1621
- Khan Academy on the Spanish & Portuguese Empires
- View a map of Portuguese Goa in 1600, the most important factory in India
- Play Build Your Stax, an online stock trading game to learn how joint stock companies work. You can do this individually or as a group, which works great for younger kids.
- Or play The Stock Market Game. This one is best for kids 13 and older.
- Khan Academy on Transoceanic Empires
- Khan Academy on New Economic Systems
Reformation
- YouTube Playlist for Reformation
- Reformation Trivia
- Quiz about the Reformation
- PBS: Counter-Reformation
- Reformation & Counter-Reformation
- National Geographic: Protestant Reformation
- Khan Academy: The Protestant Reformation
- Read the Treaty of Westphalia
India
- YouTube Playlist for India
- An article about the Mughal Empire for kids
- Mughal Empire from Khan Academy
- A video and an article about the greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar
- Read an article and then explore an interactive story map of the Grand Trunk Road
- Read an article about the British East India Company for kids
- Read a letter from Queen Elizabeth I to the Mughal Emperor, it also includes a lesson and discussion questions for educators
- Read the Humayun Nama online or download, this is a primary source about the life of Babur and Humayan written by Babur’s daughter, for high school and up
- Read an article about the Maratha Empire for kids
- Explore an interactive timeline of the British in India
- A lesson plan for mentors about the British in India featuring the poem “The White Man’s Burden”
- Articles about the Seven Years War, including the Battle of Plassey and Robert Clive
- An article about the Cornwallis Codes for students
- Khan Academy on Imperialism
- Khan Academy on the 1857 Sepoy Revolt
Far East
- YouTube Playlist for Far East
- Take a 3D panoramic tour of the Great Wall
- 3D virtual tur of the Forbidden City
- Take a virtual walk through the Forbidden City
- Explore a virtual map of the seven voyages of Zheng He
- Read an article that challenges the idea that the wars between Britain and China were about opium
- Ming Dynasty from Khan Academy
- Article about the Forbidden City from Khan Academy
- Article about Zheng He from Khan Academy
- Qing Dynasty from Khan Academy
- Opium Wars from Khan Academy plus here’s the video
- An article on the Opium Wars and the rebellions that brought down the Qing from Khan Academy
- Edo Period Japan from Khan Academy
- Ming dynasty Article from Smart History
Aztecs, Incas, & Conquistadors
- YouTube Playlist for Aztecs, Incas, & Conquistadors
- Read letters from Hernando Cortes in which he describes the land of Mexico and explains the actions he took
- An excellent article for 14 and older about the Spanish colonies and how they were organized politically and socially.
- A primary source document from a Spanish priest who spoke out against the mistreatment of the American natives
- View an engraving of De Soto discovering the Mississippi and read an article about the event and the engraving
- Read the 1542 letter from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, to the colonies of New Spain, redefining the encomienda system and instituting laws to protect the natives
Africa & the Slave Trade
- YouTube playlist for Africa & the Slave Trade
- Basil Davidson’s Africa: A Voyage of Discovery on YouTube
- View a high resolution image of the stowage of the slave ship Brooks
- Scroll down to Chapter 2 and read Olaudah Equiano’s account of being captured and carried across the Atlantic as a slave
- Visit the Fortress of Sao Miguel in Angola online or read about it at Wikipedia
South Pacific
- YouTube Playlist for South Pacific
- Take a virtual tour of the HMB Endeavour
- Read an article about the illustrations done by artists on the Endeavor expedition, then view the illustrations from the right sidebar
- Click around on this interactive map of Pacific nations to get a brief history snippet of each
- Explore a collection of objects from the gold rush period of Australian history
- Learn about Australia’s gold rush through 20 historical objects, the first is a board game with a gold rush theme
- An article for older kids about the Treaty of Waitangi
- Explore an interactive history map of New Zealand
- The story of New Zealand Whaling with articles, images, and maps
- Download an illustrated story of a battle during the New Zealand Wars told from the point of view of a Maori boy
Enlightenment
- YouTube Playlist for Enlightenment
- An article for kids about the Age of Enlightenment
- Simple worksheet for students to analyze an excerpt from John Locke
- Enlightenment word search puzzle
- Take a virtual tour of the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum
- Article for teens about the key philosophers of the Enlightenment
- Take a virtual tour of Versailles
- Khan Academy World History: Enlightenment unit