Sophomore Colony Project: Home

This guide is for the Sophomore Social Studies
COLONIES RESEARCH PROJECT 
Task: Answer the prompt - Why should your colony become a state?

You will need to investigate the economic, social, and political conditions of your assigned colony . 

Questions that should be addressed in your paper: 

1. When, why, and how was your colony founded?

2. Who went to your colony (what types of people, religions, background, social classes, education, etc.)?

3. What was the purpose of your colony?

4. What types of experiences did the colonists have when they arrived?

5. What types of hardships did they face?

6. How did the colonists respond to early problems?

7. What was the economy of the colony?

8. What was the religious/social life in your colony?

9. What was the political life of your colony?

10. What relationship did your colony have with other colonies?

11. What was your colony's relationship with Britain?

12. Who in your colony would be for/against the American Revolution?

Using library databases will ensure you create a quality research project 

Databases provide you with:

• Up to date, relevant information
• Evaluated sources
• Citation information 
• Subject specific content

Database Passwords - each database has a unique username and password (note - some only require a password, not a username) 

Note: From home you will need to enter a username and password - in school, the databases should be geolocated and you should not need a password. 

The BPL has a number of resources that could be beneficial to this project. Click this link to get a library card & access online resources (you do not need to be a Boston resident to use this service) This informational form will walk you through setting up an account. 

Preparing your search: 

What are your keywords? Searching a database requires entering search terms or keywords related to your search. Consider phrases, tag words, synonyms (don't be afraid to think outside the box). 
Ex: "American colonies" AND "history"  

OR 

"American colonies" AND "politics" 

Set up your search: Choose where in the document the database should search for your keywords:
Stick to Keyword or Entire Document 

Choose Your Search Limiters: Always choose "full document" - there is nothing worse than finding what could be the perfect resource, only to  discover you do not have access to the full article, only the abstract (summary). 

Additional Search Limiters: You can further limit your search by date and document type (the type of documents that are searchable can vary by database - unless you need something very specific (primary source, newspaper article, map) you do not have to use this limiter. Similarly using the date limiter is optional, but can be useful especially if you need current information.

This link brings you to a listing of all the library's books on colonial life in America 

This is a collection of ebooks & audiobooks on the colonies

Click the button to sign up for a public library card and have access to all of the library's resources—print and digital.