HANC learns about the 13 colonies

Fifth Grade students in Mrs. Spitalnik’s Social Studies class at HANC Samuel & Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School, in West Hempstead, are having a wonderful time learning about the original Thirteen Colonies and what Colonial American life was like at the time. 

The students learned about literacy during the Colonial times. The students were surprised to learn that that not everyone living in Colonial America was able to read and as a result, most of the shops had signs that included pictures so that customers would know what was sold at that shop. Students were asked to think about what type of shop they would like to own and to create a sign that could have been used in Colonial times. The students came up with some very clever designs!

 The Fifth Graders also learned about the Middle Colonies, known as the “bread basket” of the colonies. The students particularly enjoyed learning about the Pennsylvania Dutch. The students thought it was interesting that this group of colonists was actually from Germany, but were named the “Pennsylvania Dutch” because they spoke “Deutsch.”

The students also thought it was cool that they were the ones who brought pretzels and mustard to the New World! And the students had a great time making homemade (“school made”) pretzels in their honor!

The Fifth Graders are bringing the Thirteen Colonies to life with their hands-on projects.