Students explore how labor systems in the colonies changed over time and examine how laws, race, and economics shaped the shift from indentured servitude to slavery.
Students explore how labor systems in the colonies changed over time and examine how laws, race, and economics shaped the shift from indentured servitude to slavery.
Students read an overview explaining that colonial settlements required extensive labor and that systems for supplying that labor shifted over time from indentured servitude to race-based slavery. They view an illustration of tobacco cultivation at Jamestown showing English settlers working alongside enslaved and indentured laborers, then respond on a discussion wall to the prompt about what might cause a colony to change the kind of workers it relies on.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the lesson focus on the evolution from indentured servitude to race-based slavery, review key vocabulary (indentured servant/servitude and headright system), and set norms for discussing difficult history in a respectful, evidence-based way. Highlight the lesson objectives and use the Jamestown image and student responses on the wall to surface initial ideas about labor needs, freedom, and power. Organize students into small groups for the next scene and unlock the following scene when the class is ready.
In small groups, students read From Indentured Servants to Slavery: How Colonial Labor Changed and watch the video From Servitude to Slavery to learn how colonial labor shifted from indentured servitude to race-based slavery, including the John Punch case and changing laws. Using evidence from both sources, they collaboratively respond on group walls to a series of questions about what indentured servitude was, how the John Punch case affected labor practices, why colonists shifted toward enslaved Africans, how laws began to treat people differently based on race, and how these changes shaped colonial society over time.
Teacher MovesRemind students of their small-group roles and purpose for reading and viewing the sources. Circulate to support comprehension, clarify key turning points (such as the John Punch case and emerging racialized laws), and prompt students to cite specific evidence in their responses. After groups complete the questions, invite several students to share what they see as the most significant impact of the shift from indentured servitude to slavery, drawing out economic, legal, and human consequences. Use this discussion to surface multiple perspectives and prepare students for deeper primary source analysis in the next scene, then unlock the following scene when ready.
Working again in small groups, students read and annotate a set of primary sources from Labor in the Colonies: Primary Sources, including an indentured servant contract, a court record from the John Punch case, a 1640 Virginia law about punishment for runaway servants, a 1662 law about inheriting status from the mother, and a 1705 law restricting the actions of enslaved people. They discuss what each document says, when it was written, and what it reveals about labor at that time. Groups then answer a discussion-wall question explaining how the sources as a whole describe the transition from indentured servitude to slavery, using evidence to support their claims. Next, each group selects one source for a deeper analysis using a graphic organizer, identifying what the source is, what it is about, how it connects to changes in labor, and supporting their reasoning with textual evidence.
Teacher MovesExplain the importance of primary sources for understanding how people in the past justified and structured systems like slavery, and prepare students for challenging or outdated language, including harmful racial terms, while maintaining a respectful environment. Model strategies for navigating difficult text, such as reading aloud, paraphrasing, and annotating. As groups work, prompt them to note dates, legal changes, and how race and status are defined in each document. After students respond to the guiding question, invite groups to share key insights or contradictions they noticed, using prompts like “What changed over time?” and “What stayed the same?” Then introduce the graphic organizer task, either assigning or allowing choice of sources, and support students in connecting each document to broader themes of race, law, power, and long-term labor. Optionally, facilitate a brief gallery walk or share-out where groups present their chosen source, its connection to the transition from servitude to slavery, and their evidence-based reasoning. Conclude by asking students to reflect on how laws and labor systems shaped colonial society and determined who held power, then unlock the next scene when ready.
Students read How the Headright System Shaped the Colonies to examine how the headright system influenced land ownership, population growth, and labor needs. Using a graphic organizer, they identify at least three effects of the headright system and explain how each effect changed life in the colonies, citing specific evidence from the article. They then respond on a discussion wall to the question about how the headright system impacted the development of the colonies, supporting their answer with at least one piece of evidence, and read and reply to classmates’ posts with respectful, evidence-based comments or follow-up questions.
Teacher MovesFrame this scene as an optional extension that deepens understanding of how land and labor policies shaped colonial society. Before students complete the organizer, check their understanding of key ideas such as land grants, migration, class divisions, and displacement of Indigenous peoples, and prompt them to return to the article for evidence. As students post and respond on the discussion wall, encourage them to look for patterns and differing perspectives about who benefited from the headright system and who was harmed. Use their reflections to reinforce how economic systems and land policies contributed to long-term social hierarchies, then unlock the final scene when the class is ready.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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