Jamestown mini-unit including text

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It took twenty years after the failure of Roanoke for England to try again to plant a colony in the New World to challenge Spain’s hegemony. Interestingly, it would be a business venture – the Virginia Company of London – that would finally succeed in gaining a foothold on the North American mainland. Despite pour planning, incompetent leadership, disease, starvation, and war, Jamestown would not only hold on to survive but eventually succeed, paving the way for English settlement of the entire eastern seaboard.

This four to nine day mini-unit (depending on whether or not you choose to have students complete the essay project) covers the first two decades of the fledgling colony, focusing on its early struggles and successes, the clash between the colonists and Powhatan Indians, and the personalities that drove both sides. These materials – all of which have been battle-tested in the crucible of my own 8th grade classroom, include:

* 18 pages of informative and interesting text (the chapters “Brave New World," "Did Pocahontas Save John Smith," "Jamestown Survives," and "Offending the Naturals" from my textbook “We Take Nothing by Conquest”);

* an inquiry based study guide for each chapter to focus students on the main points and supporting details;

* one PowerPoint for each chapter with answers to the study guides for review, and including pictures and maps to stimulate discussion and enhance understanding;

* a 27 page Teacher’s Guide which provides day-by-day and step-by-step instructions how to use all of the materials;

* a Cloze activity for one of the chapters;

* a fun and educational board game for one of the chapters;

* an essay writing project about the Pocahontas/Smith "rescue" complete with instructions, outline, and sample paragraphs;

* a PowerPoint Quiz Show review game; and

* a unit test.

Answer keys for the study guide and unit test are included in the Teacher’s Guide. Materials are provided as word documents and PDFs in one zip file.

Created by Cliff Baker - Visit Ye Olde History Emporium