Colonial Life in America

Grade 3 · Social Studies · Study Guide

Learn how people lived, worked, and survived in the American colonies during the 1600s and 1700s.

The American colonies were settlements started by people who came from Europe, mostly England, to live in a new land. The thirteen colonies were located along the eastern coast of North America.

Colonial life was very different from life today. Most families lived on farms and grew their own food. Children helped with chores like feeding animals, collecting eggs, and carrying water. There were no grocery stores or electricity.

Colonists built their own homes, usually out of wood. Towns had important buildings like a church, a general store, and sometimes a school. A blacksmith made metal tools and horseshoes. A miller ground grain into flour at a mill.

School was not like today. Many children learned to read using the Bible or a hornbook, which was a wooden paddle with the alphabet on it. Not all children went to school — many learned skills from their parents at home.

Colonists made most things they needed by hand. Candles gave light at night. Families cooked over a fireplace. Clothing was spun and woven from wool or cotton. Life was hard but communities worked together to help each other survive.

Key terms

colony: A settlement of people who move to a new land but are still ruled by their home country
colonist: A person who lives in a colony
blacksmith: A craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of iron, like tools and horseshoes
hornbook: A wooden paddle used to teach children the alphabet and reading in colonial times
mill: A building with machinery used to grind grain into flour
thirteen colonies: The thirteen original British settlements along the eastern coast of North America that became the United States

Flashcards

colony: A settlement ruled by a faraway country
colonist: A person who lives in a colony
blacksmith: A craftsperson who works with iron and metal
hornbook: A colonial learning tool shaped like a wooden paddle
thirteen colonies: The original British settlements that became the United States
mill: A building that grinds grain into flour
general store: A shop in colonial towns that sold many different goods
hearth: A fireplace used for cooking and heating in colonial homes

Questions

Where were the thirteen colonies located?
1. Along the western coast of North America
2. Along the eastern coast of North America
3. In the middle of North America
4. On islands in the Pacific Ocean
Show answer
Answer: Along the eastern coast of North America
The thirteen colonies were established along the eastern (Atlantic) coast of North America.
Most colonial families bought their food from large grocery stores.
Show answer
Answer: False
Colonial families grew their own food on farms. There were no grocery stores.
A ________ was a wooden paddle with the alphabet on it that helped colonial children learn to read.
Show answer
Answer: hornbook
A hornbook was a flat wooden paddle displaying the alphabet used to teach colonial children to read.
What did a blacksmith do in colonial towns?
1. Baked bread for the community
2. Taught children in school
3. Made and repaired metal tools and horseshoes
4. Ground grain into flour
Show answer
Answer: Made and repaired metal tools and horseshoes
A blacksmith was a skilled craftsperson who made and repaired iron objects like tools and horseshoes.
Colonial homes were lit by candles at night.
Show answer
Answer: True
Before electricity, colonists used candles made from beeswax or tallow to light their homes at night.

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