Change in the Time of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritans and the Massachusetts Bay Colony

This cluster explores how Puritan values and actions influenced their own community and the communities of people around them. Students examine visual and text sources to build an understanding of what Puritans deemed important as well as aspects of their daily life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Leadership in Massachusetts: 1600–1770

This cluster explores the specific actions and impacts of Indigenous and Puritan leaders during the expansion of colonization in the Northeast. Students work to identify facts and opinions in sources as well as whether the sources are primary or secondary. Through maps, informational texts, images, and quotes, students learn how different leaders made choices and how those choices both reflected values and impacted others.

Enslavement and Resistance in Massachusetts

Note: This cluster incorporates third grade content standards that address the realities of enslavement. While all content is developmentally appropriate for third grade students, it is suggested that you take extra care in previewing materials and communicating with families as needed. This cluster explores the history and impact of enslavement in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and beyond. In this series of lessons, students learn about the diversity of West Africans before they were forcibly removed from their land. Students then learn about the Triangular Trade and the lives of the enslaved and the few free Africans in the colony, along with various forms of resistance that were used. Throughout the cluster, students use maps, images, secondary source texts, and various forms of discussion to deepen their understanding.