Colonial America

Colonial America (COLN) was a Baby CTY Humanities course for grades 5-6 focused on the early years of The United States of America. It was offered at Bethlehem and South Hadley.

Course Description

From the CTY Course Catalog (2003):

This interdisciplinary course immerses students in the political, social, and cultural history of colonial America. It affords students the opportunity to explore firsthand the richness of America’s colonial past. Visiting nearby landmarks and reading primary documents, students learn what life was like for the wide range of people in North America during the colonial period.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has carefully preserved many of its original buildings dating to settlement in 1741 by members of the Moravian Church. Students are within walking distance of a working colonial-era farm, a tannery and waterworks, and the homes of several early settlers.

South Hadley, Massachusetts, lies near historic Deerfield, which was settled in 1669 by English families who sought new lives on the frontier beyond Boston. Today, students can observe what daily life was like in rural, colonial New England through Deerfield’s many historical reconstructions.

Students complement their reading and field trips by exploring the arts, crafts, and folk expressions of the time in order to gain insight into colonial life. Possible activities include researching colonial inventions and making paper.