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THE SIMULATION LAB
Free printable · APUSH Topic 2.3

Three-Region Colonial Evidence Cards

Eighteen evidence cards across New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies, a systems mat, and a teacher key. Six cards per region covering economy, labor, settlement, society, religion, and government.

Why this page exists: the Three-Region Systems Map lesson calls for a regional evidence deck that never shipped as a file.

Nothing to download, no email, no account. Print straight from this page. Built for the Three-Region Systems Map in Lesson 2.3 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. Six per region. Cut on the dashed lines; one set per group of three so each student can take a region.
  2. The systems mat — 1 page, prints sideways. One per group. Three region zones, then the comparison boxes.
  3. The teacher key — 1 page, for you only. A one-line profile per region and the flattening to correct.

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

Three-Region Colonial Evidence CardsSix cards per region. Cut on the dashed lines. thesimulationlabedu.com

The evidence cards

The same six categories in every region — economy, labor, settlement, society, religion, government — so a comparison is possible instead of three unrelated descriptions.

Three-Region Systems MatOne per group. Cards in a region, then compare on one category. thesimulationlabedu.com

The systems mat

Three zones. The boxes underneath force a comparison on one category rather than three parallel summaries.

New England

Cards here.

Middle Colonies

Cards here.

Southern Colonies

Cards here.

The category we compared
The biggest difference — and what caused it
Something all three shared
A difference inside one region that the region label hides
Teacher key — regional profiles and the flattening to correct (click to open)
Teacher Key — Three-Region Colonial Evidence 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/three-region-colonial-evidence-cards/

Run it in one class period

  1. Opener, 5 minutes. Ask which region students expect to be most different from the other two, and why. Record the prediction.
  2. Build the profiles, 18 minutes. One region per student, six cards each, then teach it to the group.
  3. Compare on one category, 12 minutes. Pick a category and compare all three regions on it. Fill the mat boxes.
  4. Break the label, 8 minutes. Each group names one difference inside a region that the regional label hides.
  5. Exit, 5 minutes. One sentence naming a regional difference and the cause behind it — geography, market, migration, or law.

Why the last mat box matters. Regional labels are useful and lossy. Backcountry Virginia had little in common with a tidewater plantation, and a Boston merchant and a Connecticut farmer lived different lives. Students who can name the difference inside a region are past memorizing three columns.

These are teacher-authored evidence cards, not primary sources. Pair with the Evidence and Source Guide in the lesson kit for the documents.

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.