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THE SIMULATION LAB
Free printable · APUSH Topic 2.7

Colonial Society and Hierarchy Cards

Eighteen cards covering who held power in colonial society and how migration, religion, and print changed it, plus a mat and a teacher key. Runs the hierarchy lesson and the culture-change stations from one deck.

Why this page exists: two lessons name social-hierarchy cards and culture-change station cards that never shipped as files. One deck covers both.

Nothing to download, no email, no account. Print straight from this page. Built for Lessons 2.7 of APUSH Launch Control, and it works in any course that teaches the same ground.

How to print it

Each button opens your browser's normal print box with only that one piece selected — the website navigation, this text, and the teacher key never come out of the printer by accident. Choose your printer, press Print. Nothing downloads.

  1. The 18 cards — 3 pages, 6 per page. Nine position cards and nine change cards. Cut on the dashed lines; one set per group.
  2. The mat — 1 page, prints sideways. One per group. Four zones: who held power, who was denied it, what changed, and what stayed.
  3. The teacher key — 1 page, for you only. What each card shows and the flattening to correct.

18 cards · 3 pages at 6 per page · cut on the dashed lines

Colonial Society and Hierarchy CardsPositions and changes. Cut on the dashed lines. thesimulationlabedu.com

The cards

Nine cards describe a position in colonial society; nine describe a force that was changing it. The interesting work is which changes reached which positions.

Colonial Society MatOne per group. Positions, then which changes reached them. thesimulationlabedu.com

The society mat

Four zones. The last two are the argument: change was real, and it did not reach everyone.

Held power

Position cards here.

Denied power

Position cards here.

What was changing

Change cards here.

What did not change

Name it in writing.

A change that reached almost everyone
A change that reached only some — and who it skipped
A group whose position hardened while others loosened
The best evidence that colonists were becoming distinct from Britain
Teacher key — what each card shows and the flattening to correct (click to open)
Teacher Key — Colonial Society and Hierarchy CardsDo not hand to students. thesimulationlabedu.com

Kept closed by default so it is not on the board behind you.

Free from The Simulation Lab · https://thesimulationlabedu.com/history/apush/tools/colonial-society-hierarchy-cards/

Run it in one class period

  1. Opener, 5 minutes. Deal the nine position cards. Groups rank them by power before any change card appears.
  2. Add the changes, 18 minutes. For each change card, groups decide which positions it reached and which it did not.
  3. The hard question, 10 minutes. Which group's position hardened while others loosened? Enslaved and free Black colonists are the answer to defend.
  4. Debrief, 10 minutes. What is the best evidence colonists were becoming distinct from Britain — and what still argues against it?
  5. Exit, 5 minutes. One sentence naming a change and one group it did not reach.

The point of the fourth zone. A unit on change invites students to narrate steady progress. Slavery hardened in law during the same decades that revival preaching and self-government spread. Both are true, and a strong answer holds them together.

These are teacher-authored cards, not primary sources. Sermons and newspaper texts belong in the lesson kit's Evidence and Source Guide.

All free printable card sets · Back to the APUSH Skills Lab

Written and reviewed by Josh, classroom history teacher and Simulation Lab creator. Published and reviewed August 19, 2026. Print and copy freely for your own classroom. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.