French and Indian War Study Guide

French and Indian War + Iroquois Longhouse Craft

Whenever we learn history, I like it to be fun. And I want it to be memorable. And when we do a project, any project, the kids remember their history so much more. This guide will give you an idea of how we do that. 

We study homeschool history with The Mystery of History Curriculum. A lot of people think you need a separate American history curriculum aside from Mystery of History, but that’s not so. This French and Indian War post illustrates exactly how we expand studies as needed. (Follow along with us as we integrate a deep study of American – and Texas – history with MOH.)

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Resources

Here are the resources we used for the French and Indian War and the Iroquois Confederacy.

Get started with this PBS Video The War That Made America. 

This interactive timeline by George Washington’s Mount Vernon is excellent.

Try my Escape Room activity with your kids when you complete your study:

Iroquois Confederacy

You will want this book! The Iroquois Handbook is a literal encyclopedia of all you would ever want to know about the Six Nations that inhabited the North East during the American colonial period. It was written in 1818 by a missionary who lived with the Iroquois for thirty years. This amazing book was out of print, and I have reprinted it for the 21st century. It is such a valuable resource for homeschooling! Order it from Amazon or my bookstore.

This book will help you understand so much in the books and movies in that time period, such as The Leather Stocking Tales – the series of books that includes Last of the Mohicans.

Also watch:

• Video tour of Indian homes during the colonial period and this video of a Wompanoag homesite
• Video of native games
• Short Delaware Nation documentary
• George Washington’s address to the Delaware tribes

And do:

• Lots of great information, printables, and projects on the Iroquois Confederacy at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool

Activities for the French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is such an important time in the history of America. It was this war that first saw George Washington in the military — but he was serving in the British Army. He fought against the French and certain Indian tribes over land in the North East. His service later recommended him for the position of Commander of the Continental Army in the Revolution.

This war also had much to do with starting the Revolution. When the French and Indian War was over, Britain was facing financial hardship. They turned to taxing the Americans for the cost of “protecting them from the French.” It was these increasing taxes that led to the Boston Tea Party and the events of the Revolution.

Read:

• The Matchlock Gun: In 1756, New York State was still a British colony, and the French and the Indians were constant threats to Edward and his family. When his father was called away to watch for a raid from the north, only Edward was left to protect Mama and little Trudy. His father had shown him how to use the huge matchlock gun, an old Spanish gun that was twice as long as he was, but would Edward be able to handle it if trouble actually came?
• The Sign of the Beaver: In this Newbery Honor book, a thirteen-year-old boy struggles to survive on his own in the wilderness of eighteenth-century Maine. When Matt’s father leaves him on his own to guard their new cabin in the wilderness, Matt is scared but determined to be brave and prove that he can take care of himself. And things are going fine until a white stranger steals his gun, leaving Matt defenseless and unable to hunt for his food. Then Matt meets Attean, a Native boy from the Beaver tribe, and soon learns that people called the land around him home long before the white settlers ever arrived. As Attean teaches him more about his own culture, Matt must come to terms with what the changing frontier really means. Now with an introduction by critically acclaimed writer Joseph Bruchac about the historical context and the relationships between Native peoples and white settlers in the eighteenth century.
• The Last of the Mohicans (Audible version) James Fenimore Cooper places the two beautiful Munro sisters in the midst of the the savagery of life on the frontier, dominated by feuding Indian tribes and the relentless European encroachment on the Native American lifestyle.  Cooper’s spine-tingling perennial best-seller is an essential part of American culture.
• The Last of the Mohicans (Illustrated Classics version)

Watch:

• Alone Yet Not Alone Based on a true story!
• Last of the Mohicans
• The Sign of the Beaver (Free with Amazon Prime membership, or order the DVD)

Do:

• Create a Sign of the Beaver lapbook, or add these activities to a history notebook
• Let your younger kids try loom beading with pony beads
• Let your younger kids try weaving yarn on a cardboard loom
• Check out this list of 15 Hands-On History Ideas for Middle School Kids Studying the French and Indian War 
• See this great post on a hands-on lesson on the French and Indian War
• French and Indian War Map Activity ($2.50 download)

Longhouse Diorama

When we began our study of the 18th century, and focused on Colonial American history, we spent some time on the Iroquois Indians of the Northeast. For our main hands-on project, we created an Iroquois Indian village diorama. [Update: my video disappeared from YouTube and I cannot retrieve it. Trust me, it was cool. But you can scroll down to see the diorama in a photo.]

To do this, we used some materials that were readily available, and a few that I found online.The base is just cardboard. It’s about 2 feet x 3 feet. For the dirt, we used dirt. From the yard. I mixed up some homemade decoupage glue (half Elmer’s glue and half water) and spread that all over the cardboard. Liberally. Then the kids sprinkled the dirt on top of the glue.