Teachers.netGreat Colonial America Projects
Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself introduces readers ages 9–12 to colonial America through hands-on building projects that use common household supplies. From dyeing and spinning yarn to weaving cloth, from creating tin plates and lanterns to learning wattle and daub construction,
Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself gives readers a chance to experience 
how colonial Americans lived, cooked, entertained themselves, and interacted with their neighbors. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies, and trivia for the real-life models of each project. Together they give kids a first-hand look at the daily life of our American ancestors.
"There’s a lot of fun to be had with Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself, for both children and adults. There’s history turned into story and sharing, so that even if, maybe especially if, history was never your best subject, you and your kids will come away with stories of your own to share." Read more...
—Kerry Dexter, Blogger News Network 10/24/08
"A friendly tone draws young readers in… a treat for those mothers with young children who want to bring the colonial period to life for them." —Connie Lapallo, author Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky
"…an educational yet fun approach to history." —Family Fun, February 2007
"This is one of the best books for children about Colonial America. History teachers should own this book…" —Children's Literature
"Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself is an abundant and valuable resource for engaging students in understanding early American life." —Jack Larkin, Chief Historian and Museum Scholar, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
"This delightful book is a wonderful and new way for children to become intrigued wtih colonial American history. This book should be a hit with families, teachers, and history museums!" —Paula Locklair, Old Salem Museums and Gardens, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Books and Periodicals
Adler, David A. Benjamin Franklin, Printer. New York: Holiday House, 2001.
Breig, James. “Early American Newspapering.” Williamsburg: The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Spring 2003.
Collier, Christopher, and James Lincoln. The French and Indian War. New York, Benchmark Books, 1998.
Crews, Ed. “Spies and Scouts, Secret Writing, and Sympathetic Citizens.” Colonial Williamsburg: The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Summer 2004.
Crews, Ed. “Volumes to Last for Centuries.” Colonial Williamsburg: The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Summer 2005.
Dolan, Edward F. The American Indian Wars. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, Inc., 2003.
Earle, Alice Morse. Child Life in Colonial Days. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire House Publishers, 1993.
Gray, Edward G. Colonial America: A History in Documents. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Hakim, Joy. From Colonies to Country. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Hakim, Joy. Making Thirteen Colonies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Hashagen, Paul. “Firefighting in Colonial America” Firehouse Magazine, September 1998.
Maestro, Betsy and Giulio. Exploration and Conquest. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, 1994.
Slavicek, Louise Chipley. Life Among the Puritans. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 2001.
Stevens, Bernardine S. Colonial American Craftspeople. New York: Franklin Watts, 1993.
Taylor, Dale. The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1997.
Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Living. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957.Encarta. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 2003.(Multiple articles)
Web Sites
University, Museum, and Government Sites
Cape Cod National Seashore http://www.nps.gov/caco/heritage/pilgrims.html
Colonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/trades/tradebri.cfm
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site http://www.nps.gov/fora/roanokerev.htm
George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens http://www.Mountvernon.org
History of Jamestown http://www.apva.org/history/
Monticello—The Home of Thomas Jefferson http://www.monticello.org
National Park Service (includes information on many colonial-era parks) http://www.nps.gov
National Agricultural Library http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/images1/popcorn.html
National Weather Service Forecast office http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/coop/history.php
The Noah Webster House Museum of West Hartford History
http://noahwebsterhouse.org/games.html
Northern Illinois University, Blackwell History of Education Collection: Books
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/books.html
Stanley Whitman House http://www.stanleywhitman.org/ropebed.html
Stratford Hall Plantation http://www.stratfordhall.org/ed-servants.html
The Salem Witch Museum http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html
Privately Held Sites
A Fire Pro http://www.afirepro.com/history.html
Africans in America on PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html
Anne Hutchinson http://www.annehutchinson.com/
Archiving Early America http://earlyamerica.com/lives/boone/
Colonial House on PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/print/p-teach_lesson1_answers.html
Mayflower History.com http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/
Native Tech—Native American Technology and Art
http://www.nativetech.org/games/index.php
Salem Massachusetts Witch Trials http://www.salemweb.com/memorial/
State history guide resources http://www.shgresources.com
World Book http://www2.worldbook.com/
Shawn Braley, Shawn Braley is an award-winning illustrator. He attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc. He specializes in cartoon and editorial illustration. Braley is also a world traveler, musician, cat owner, and comic art collector. He lives in Southern Vermont. http://www.shawnbraley.com
Can you imagine spinning enough wool, balls and balls and balls of it, to make an entire outfit?
