Misery in Jamestown
Introduction
After the failure of Roanoke, plans for the establishment of a colony was delayed. Eventually, a joint-stock company came forward to initiate a new venture. Through primary sources, this lesson explores the founding and early development of Jamestown. Although the colony was established by the Virginia Company of London in the hope of making a profit by finding gold, locating a trade route to Asia, or harnessing the labor of the natives, only the discovery that tobacco could be profitably raised permitted the colony’s survival.
The colonists’ first years were marked by disease, disaster and death brought about largely by inappropriate expectations, poor planning and an inability to adapt to the unfamiliar world in which they found themselves.
The helplessness of the colonists to secure their own survival led them to establish an intimate relationship with the Indians of the Chesapeake. While this relationship was not the one originally desired by either people, the Indians were the ones who ultimately lost. Students need to understand how very tenuous England’s early efforts at colonization actually were. They need to learn how the haphazard and ill-considered decisions of the first English colonists had a profound impact on Anglo-Indian relations.
Procedure
We start with an activity surrounding a modern day mystery: "The whereabouts of DB Cooper." We will read a brief account of the unsolved crime and peak at the evidence, old and new.
Students will read a story on the much older, unsolved mystery of Roanoke. We wil create a timeline of events and have them examine John White's account of his return to Roanoke to see if White can shed any light on the mystery.
We will watch a somewhat cheesy video from a 70s TV series entitled "In Search Of" which will offer some evidence as to the disappearance of Roanoke.
We will review a power point entitled "Fail" which covers the history of the colony. Students will read "The Lost Colony" and learn 4 popular theories surrounding the disappearance of the colony
The students will read "What really happened to Roanoke?" to look critically for flaws in some of the popular theories. They will also read some more recent articles that present new evidence (from 2007 and 2012) and possibly new theories of the mystery.
From there, students must decide which is the most believable or propose a theory of their own and then convince others of their beliefs
Resources:
Objectives:
Upon the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Civics Standard One 6-8a: Students will understand that governments have the power to make and enforce laws and regulations, levy taxes, conduct foreign policy ,and make war.
Civics Standard One 6-8b: Students will analyze the different functions of federal, state, and local governments in the United States and examine the reasons for the different organizational structures each level of government employs.
Civics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will understand that the concept of majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.
Civics Standard Two 6-8b: Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the Declaration of Independence; United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights); and the Federalist Papers.
Civics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will understand that civil rights secure political freedom while property rights secure economic freedom and that both are essential protections for United States citizens.
Civics Standard Three 6-8b: Students will understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service.
Civics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will follow the actions of elected officials, and understand and employ the mechanisms for communicating with them while in office
Economics Standard One 6-8a: Students will analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services.
Economics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will analyze the role of money and banking in the economy, and the ways in which government taxes and spending affect the functioning of market economies.
Economics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will demonstrate the ways in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange in different economic systems have a relationship to cultural values, resources, and technologies.
Economics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will examine how nations with different economic systems specialize and become interdependent through trade and how government policies allow either free or restricted trade.
Geography Standard One 6-8a: Students will demonstrate mental maps of the world and its sub-regions which include the relative location and characteristics of major physical features, political divisions, and human settlements.
Geography Standard Two 6-8a: Students will apply a knowledge of the major processes shaping natural environments to understand how different peoples have changed, and been affected by, physical environments in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Three 6-8a: Students will identify and explain the major cultural patterns of human activity in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8a: Students will understand the processes affecting the location of economic activities in different world regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8b: Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive cultural and political territories.
History Standard One 6-8a: Students will examine historical materials relating to a particular region, society, or theme; analyze change over time, and make logical inferences concerning cause and effect.
History Standard Two 6-8a: Students will master the basic research skills necessary to conduct an independent investigation of historical phenomena.
History Standard Two 6-8b: Students will examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials, and analyze them in terms of credibility, as well as the purpose, perspective, or point of view for which they were constructed.
History Standard Three 6-8a: Students will compare different historians’ descriptions of the same societies in order to examine how the choice of questions and use of sources may affect their conclusions.
History Standard Four: Students will develop historical knowledge of major events and phenomena in world, United States, and Delaware history [Content].
Students will develop an understanding of pre-industrial United States history and its connections to Delaware history, including:
Three worlds meet (Beginnings to 1620)
-- Colonization and settlement (1585-1763)
-- Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
-- Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
-- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Students will develop an understanding of ancient and medieval world history, and the continuing influence of major civilizations, including:
-- The beginnings of human society
-- Early civilizations and pastoral peoples (4,000-1,000 BC)
-- Classical traditions, major religions, and great empires (1,000 BC-300AD)
-- Expanding zones of exchange and encounter (300-1,000AD)
-- Intensified hemispheric interactions (1,000-1,500 AD)
Introduction
After the failure of Roanoke, plans for the establishment of a colony was delayed. Eventually, a joint-stock company came forward to initiate a new venture. Through primary sources, this lesson explores the founding and early development of Jamestown. Although the colony was established by the Virginia Company of London in the hope of making a profit by finding gold, locating a trade route to Asia, or harnessing the labor of the natives, only the discovery that tobacco could be profitably raised permitted the colony’s survival.
The colonists’ first years were marked by disease, disaster and death brought about largely by inappropriate expectations, poor planning and an inability to adapt to the unfamiliar world in which they found themselves.
The helplessness of the colonists to secure their own survival led them to establish an intimate relationship with the Indians of the Chesapeake. While this relationship was not the one originally desired by either people, the Indians were the ones who ultimately lost. Students need to understand how very tenuous England’s early efforts at colonization actually were. They need to learn how the haphazard and ill-considered decisions of the first English colonists had a profound impact on Anglo-Indian relations.
Procedure
We start with an activity surrounding a modern day mystery: "The whereabouts of DB Cooper." We will read a brief account of the unsolved crime and peak at the evidence, old and new.
Students will read a story on the much older, unsolved mystery of Roanoke. We wil create a timeline of events and have them examine John White's account of his return to Roanoke to see if White can shed any light on the mystery.
We will watch a somewhat cheesy video from a 70s TV series entitled "In Search Of" which will offer some evidence as to the disappearance of Roanoke.
We will review a power point entitled "Fail" which covers the history of the colony. Students will read "The Lost Colony" and learn 4 popular theories surrounding the disappearance of the colony
The students will read "What really happened to Roanoke?" to look critically for flaws in some of the popular theories. They will also read some more recent articles that present new evidence (from 2007 and 2012) and possibly new theories of the mystery.
From there, students must decide which is the most believable or propose a theory of their own and then convince others of their beliefs
Resources:
- Text Material:
- "Navy Survival Test"
- "Hard Times in Jamestown: (handout)
- "Charter for the Colony of Virginia" (primary source)
- "What really happened to Roanoke?" (handout)
- "John Smith biography" (handout)
- "Did Pocahontas Rescue John Smith." (handout)
- "John Smith's Instruction for settling a colony" (primary source)
- "Diary of a Young Jamestown Girl" (primary source)
- Power point:
- Try, Try Again
- Video
- "Pocahontas rescues John Smith from the Disney movie
- Nightmare in Jamestown
Objectives:
Upon the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
- identify the location of the Roanoke colony (K)
- trace the history of the colony (K)
- explain the reasons for founding the colony (U)
- interpret evidence associated with the mystery of the colony (D)
- compare and assess different theories about how the colony disappeared (U/D)
- theorize how the colony may have disappeared (D)
- Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
- History Standard Two Grade 6-8
- History Standard Four Grade 6-8
- Quiz on the Lost colony
- Paper (proposal) on personal theory on disappearance
- Exam on the Southern colonies
- Virginia Dare and the Legend: The White Doe
Civics Standard One 6-8a: Students will understand that governments have the power to make and enforce laws and regulations, levy taxes, conduct foreign policy ,and make war.
Civics Standard One 6-8b: Students will analyze the different functions of federal, state, and local governments in the United States and examine the reasons for the different organizational structures each level of government employs.
Civics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will understand that the concept of majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.
Civics Standard Two 6-8b: Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the Declaration of Independence; United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights); and the Federalist Papers.
Civics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will understand that civil rights secure political freedom while property rights secure economic freedom and that both are essential protections for United States citizens.
Civics Standard Three 6-8b: Students will understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service.
Civics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will follow the actions of elected officials, and understand and employ the mechanisms for communicating with them while in office
Economics Standard One 6-8a: Students will analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services.
Economics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will analyze the role of money and banking in the economy, and the ways in which government taxes and spending affect the functioning of market economies.
Economics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will demonstrate the ways in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange in different economic systems have a relationship to cultural values, resources, and technologies.
Economics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will examine how nations with different economic systems specialize and become interdependent through trade and how government policies allow either free or restricted trade.
Geography Standard One 6-8a: Students will demonstrate mental maps of the world and its sub-regions which include the relative location and characteristics of major physical features, political divisions, and human settlements.
Geography Standard Two 6-8a: Students will apply a knowledge of the major processes shaping natural environments to understand how different peoples have changed, and been affected by, physical environments in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Three 6-8a: Students will identify and explain the major cultural patterns of human activity in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8a: Students will understand the processes affecting the location of economic activities in different world regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8b: Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive cultural and political territories.
History Standard One 6-8a: Students will examine historical materials relating to a particular region, society, or theme; analyze change over time, and make logical inferences concerning cause and effect.
History Standard Two 6-8a: Students will master the basic research skills necessary to conduct an independent investigation of historical phenomena.
History Standard Two 6-8b: Students will examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials, and analyze them in terms of credibility, as well as the purpose, perspective, or point of view for which they were constructed.
History Standard Three 6-8a: Students will compare different historians’ descriptions of the same societies in order to examine how the choice of questions and use of sources may affect their conclusions.
History Standard Four: Students will develop historical knowledge of major events and phenomena in world, United States, and Delaware history [Content].
Students will develop an understanding of pre-industrial United States history and its connections to Delaware history, including:
Three worlds meet (Beginnings to 1620)
-- Colonization and settlement (1585-1763)
-- Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
-- Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
-- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Students will develop an understanding of ancient and medieval world history, and the continuing influence of major civilizations, including:
-- The beginnings of human society
-- Early civilizations and pastoral peoples (4,000-1,000 BC)
-- Classical traditions, major religions, and great empires (1,000 BC-300AD)
-- Expanding zones of exchange and encounter (300-1,000AD)
-- Intensified hemispheric interactions (1,000-1,500 AD)