Ask fifth graders to compare and contrast daily life for the colonists with daily life of the Wampanoag tribe. After they research general information on the Internet and in textbooks and take notes on your lectures, ask the students to conduct pretend interviews, as suggested on the Scholastic Teacher website. Create interview questions, such as, "What do you do on a normal work day?" or "What are some of the biggest challenges you face?" Have the students answer the interview questions from both the colonist and Native American perspective -- verbally or written -- and share their answers with the rest of the class. Students can take turns being the interviewer and the interviewee.
Assign fifth grade students a project where they have to choose one of the 13 colonies and create a travel or tourist brochure about it, as is presented in Jen Beakas' fifth grade lesson plans on the Manchester University website. Even though the students might want to incorporate geographical and historical facts into the brochure, tell them that the bulk must be about life in that colony. Stress topics such as work, socialization, food, climate, entertainment, housing, cooking, festivities, family roles and gardening. Tell the students that you expect the brochure to be visually appealing, so they can explore their creative and artistic abilities. Have the students share their brochures with the rest of the class.
Prepare a lesson about the differences between colonial life in the 1600s and present-day life, like the project on the PBS Parents website. Incorporate a computerized slide show into your lesson, so fifth graders can visually see the differences between the two time periods. For example, compare slides that show a colonial classroom and a present-day classroom and discuss the impact technology has on learning. Or, show a slide of a farmer manually planting seeds in the 1600s and a present-day farm with high-tech machinery. Even though there aren't any actual photos from the colonial era, you can find drawings, current photos of people in costume and images designed to reflect that time period.
Fifth graders are in the pre-teen stage where they're very aware of cultural and societal norms. Lessons about the colonist's culture, religious beliefs, values, work ethic and clothing styles intrigue most fifth graders, making the topic even more real. Consider showing the PBS video series "Colonial House," and use the accompanying lesson plans to supplement the content. Select specific episodes about culture and daily life if you don't have time to show the entire series.