Colonial Vocabulary in Context

This vocabulary and reading worksheet supports students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 as they build academic vocabulary, reading comprehension, and historical understanding related to Colonial America. By using context clues to define terms such as mercantilism, charter, indentured servant, and assembly, students strengthen their ability to infer meaning from informational text while connecting key words to colonial government, economy, and daily life.

Learning Goals

• Vocabulary Development (Grades 4-6) – Define important colonial terms using context clues rather than memorization.
• Colonial Governance & Economy – Understand how words relate to early self-government, labor systems, and economic policies.
• Reading for Meaning – Practice identifying clues in sentences that reveal word meaning.
• Vocabulary Application – Use a chosen term correctly in an original sentence to demonstrate understanding.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Context-Based Approach – Encourages deeper comprehension by teaching students how to learn words from text.
• Writing Extension Included – Sentence application reinforces long-term vocabulary retention.
• Flexible Use – Ideal for vocabulary lessons, colonial history units, independent practice, or assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, and historical reasoning by learning key colonial terms in meaningful context. By combining definition, inference, and application, learners gain confidence using academic language connected to early American history. It’s a simple, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning.

This worksheet is part of our Colonial America collection.