The Township
Found a town in 1803 Ohio, and learn that the choice that sounds exciting is rarely the one that lasts.
Founding a town means choosing what lasts over what sounds exciting.
The Township makes your fourth graders a founding committee in the brand-new state of Ohio in 1803. Over five days they decide where buildings go, how to settle disputes, and how to spend a limited treasury. On Day 3 a storm and a land dispute force a hard, fair choice between two families. It is Ohio history they help write, not a chapter they memorize.
See what your students get, and why it lands.
No mockups. Every page below is real, pulled straight from the files you download. Tap any one to see it full size.
A worksheet cannot do what a real decision does.
Your fourth graders are not memorizing the founding of Ohio. They are a township committee in 1803, deciding where to place buildings and how to settle real disputes. On Day 3 a storm floods one family's farm and a land claim collides with land another family farms, and the committee has one class period to make a fair call. The teams who weigh both sides decide better than the teams who pick the option that sounds exciting. That is civic reasoning, lived.
Tap to read the Day 3 dispute
They are graded on their thinking, not on the outcome.
Here is what surprises teachers. A committee that built a thriving town is not graded higher than one that struggled. There is no winning result. Students are graded on the quality of their reasoning, written in their own reflection. A committee that made a hard, fair call that did not work out scores higher than one that got lucky. That is how a fourth grader learns to value how a decision was made over how it turned out.
Tap to read the grading note
Let the workbook keep the records.
The Township comes with a workbook that tracks the lots, the treasury, and the charter the committee writes. They log each decision, and the records and totals keep themselves. Their attention stays on the real work, where to build and how to be fair, instead of on the bookkeeping.
Tap to see the lot tracker
Five days, already scripted. You just run the room.
You do not need to be an Ohio history expert to teach this. The guide scripts every day, tells you what students will likely say, and gives you exactly how to respond. The settlers, the land dispute, the charter, and the Day 5 reveal are all written for you. You bring the facilitation. The mission brings everything else.
Tap to read the teacher guide
The lesson plan is already written.
Every simulation comes with a fully editable, admin-ready lesson plan. Standards alignment, daily pacing, learning objectives, differentiation, and an assessment plan are already done, so you can hand it to an administrator or adapt it to your district template in minutes.
Tap to preview the lesson plan
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Everything you need to run it.
- An admin-ready lesson plan. A fully editable plan with standards alignment, daily pacing, differentiation, and assessment, ready to adapt to your district template. Included with every purchase.
- Five daily playbooks that script every day, including the Day 3 dispute.
- A student workbook with a lot tracker, treasury, and charter draft for each team.
- Scenario cards with settler letters, land claims, and the storm advisory.
- Daily reflection prompts and a simple rubric that grades thinking, not outcomes.
- Scaffolded student versions included for learners who need more support.
- Aligned to the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies (History, Civics, and Geography).
Bring The Township to your classroom.
Five days, fully planned, and a week of Ohio history your students help write.
Get this simulationPreview real pages from the simulation before you spend a dollar. No guessing, no surprises.