Growing Tobacco, Rice, and Indigo — Reading Comprehension

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Grades

Standards

D2.HIS.2.3-5
D2.HIS.3.3-5
RI.4.3
RI.4.4
W.4.2

About This Reader

This history reading passage explores the development of tobacco, rice, and indigo in the Southern Colonies of colonial America, highlighting their importance to the economy and daily life. Students will learn how these cash crops influenced settlement, labor, and trade in places like Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia. The passage provides a clear, chronological narrative suited for building foundational literacy and history knowledge. It aligns with C3 Framework D2.His.2.3-5 and relevant Common Core ELA standards. Also included are a glossary, multiple-choice quiz, writing prompts, a timeline, graphic organizers, and a Spanish translation. A relevant public domain image and a coloring page prompt help students visualize the era. This passage is ideal for classroom use, supporting both history and literacy skills, with read aloud audio and Spanish translation for accessibility.

CONTENT PREVIEW

Sharecropper with wife and child in their tobacco field. Note that the tobacco grows up to the front porch. Near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Source: Library of Congress - Lange, Dorothea

The Southern Colonies became known for growing tobacco, rice, and indigo. These three crops helped the colonies grow strong. Farmers found that the warm weather and rich soil were perfect for these plants.

In Virginia, farmers started growing tobacco in the early 1600s. Tobacco was a plant with large green leaves. People in Europe wanted tobacco, so planters sent it across the ocean. One Virginia settler, John Rolfe, wrote, "I know that tobacco will bring us great profit." Soon, tobacco became the main crop in Virginia and Maryland. Many people came to the colonies to work on tobacco farms.

South Carolina and Georgia became famous for their rice fields. Planters used wet, muddy land called swamps to grow rice. Rice was hard to grow, but it sold for a high price. Enslaved Africans brought their skills for growing and harvesting rice. Their knowledge helped make the rice fields successful. Many families in the colonies depended on the rice trade for money.

Indigo was a plant used to make blue dye for cloth. Eliza Lucas Pinckney, a young woman in South Carolina, worked hard to grow indigo. She learned how to turn the plant into dye and taught others. By the 1740s, indigo was an important crop. It brought new jobs to the colonies. Indigo dye was sent to England and used to color clothes.

Plantations grew larger as more crops were planted. Workers were needed for the fields. Many enslaved Africans were forced to work on these plantations. Their work was hard, but they helped build the colonies’ wealth. As a result, the Southern Colonies became rich from selling crops to other places.

The growth of tobacco, rice, and indigo changed the land and the people. Towns and ports grew along rivers. Ships carried goods from the colonies to Europe. The success of these crops made the Southern Colonies important in America’s early history.

Interesting Fact: Indigo was so valuable that it was sometimes called “blue gold.”

Which crop was first grown in Virginia?

TobaccoIndigoRiceCotton

Who helped make indigo a big crop?

John SmithEliza Lucas PinckneyBenjamin FranklinJames Oglethorpe

Where were rice fields mainly found?

Virginia and MarylandGeorgia and South CarolinaNew York and New JerseyPennsylvania and Delaware

Why did planters need many workers?

Crops needed lots of helpThey built shipsTo make lawsTo teach school

What was indigo used for?

Making foodMaking blue dyeBuilding housesCuring tobacco

How did enslaved Africans help rice farms?