MassachusettsHISTORY EXPLORERS GRADES 3–8
Language / Idioma
Choose your path

Reading tools & my notebook
My passport
Quick glossary
evidence
Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.

Illustrated Massachusetts history collage with Wampanoag people, ships, reformers, science, arts, and MVPCS students gathered around an open book.
Your Massachusetts story starts here. This imaginative montage is an illustration, not documentary evidence; use the sourced pages to check historical details.
Our history. Our home. Our future.

Explore Massachusetts

Start with one question. Meet a person, examine a source, visit a place, and tell us what you discover.

100 events & readingsTake a virtual field tripTry a history interactive

Choose a chapter

Six pathways follow the Massachusetts Grade 3 history framework, with ways to start simply and investigate more deeply.

1. Our towns, our voicesFind the history in your neighborhood—and discover how your voice can help.2. Land & Native nationsExplore New England’s land, water, and the Native nations who call it home.3. Across the AtlanticAsk why Europeans crossed the ocean—and whose stories their maps leave out.4. Plymouth & PatuxetExamine the Mayflower journey, a written agreement, and Wampanoag–English relationships.5. Life in the coloniesCompare communities and learn how land, labor, and ocean trade shaped daily life.6. The road to revolutionFollow the events, people, and ideas that changed Massachusetts and the nation.

Follow your curiosity

Explore a collection, or use Search to find a person, place, or topic.

BiographiesMeet the people who shaped our communities.Maps & atlasesPhysical, political, Vineyard, specialized, and pre-1800 maps.Gosnold & explorersVoyages, names, maps, and different perspectives.Living Native nationsTribal voices, homelands, wampum, and continuity.Discover MVPCSWest Tisbury, land acknowledgment, and school evidence.Brazilian VineyardCommunity, migration, language, and individual stories.Parks & historic sitesExplore places preserved for the future.MuseumsObjects, collections, and questions to investigate.Art & artistsLook closely at Massachusetts connections.Books & authorsFrom picture books to young adult reading.Government & our voicesThe constitution, offices, and civic participation.Games & learning studioTry a puzzle, investigate a source, or build an explanation.

Keep an explorer’s notebook

Use “I notice…”, “My evidence is…”, and “I wonder…” to turn a visit into an investigation. Draw, speak, dictate, or write. No student account is needed.

My learning notebookTeacher guideHelp me get started
Explore the six lessons →Image credits & sources →
Browse all collections